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FRIENDLY COUPONING!

Friendly Couponing-Practical Couponing

 

It has been brought to my attention lately by others and I have seen it myself since the airing of Extreme Couponing that Friendly Couponing is getting harder and harder to come by. Extreme Couponing is now a fad, what happened to PRACTICAL COUPONING!

 

What is Friendly Couponing?

 

Well it is kind of like a "girl" code or "guy" code, its a "coupon" code.  Here is a few HIGHLIGHTs of Friendly Couponing that needs to be addressed every where, especially in Dubuque, Iowa.

 

There is no need to clear the shelves.  If you really feel the need to buy more than a few of one item at a time here are a few options for you

•  PRE-ORDER, PRE-ORDER, PRE-ORDER!  I know that Walgreens is very good about doing this! If you order on Sunday, day of the sale it should be there with their next shipment by Friday! Just ask for the store manager and they will give you more details. I have heard Walmart is good at it too.  
• Buy a few at a time, once at the beginning of the sale, once at the end.  This way everyone gets a fair chance. 

Some people donate, yes, I get that, I do too, a lot, but I always get my donation products at the end of a sale or pre-order! I go at the beginning for my family and at the end of the sale for my donations.  When I say at the end of a sale I mean if the sale ends Saturday at 9p.m.(close) I go at 7p.m. Saturday night.  Some people NEED these deals to survive!  If I didn't PRACTICAL COUPON, as I like to call it, I would not be able to be a stay at home mom, this is my job to budget my husbands income to make our family work, I am PRACTICAL! I am a PRACTICAL COUPONER!  Yes I have a stockpile, yes I stock up when I find a great deal but I promise a few items at a time does add up after a few months!  Lets try and really help others the best way we can, let them benefit from great deals also! 

NEVER COPY COUPONS!

• Not much to say but just DON'T DO IT!  There are unique codes on coupons, they will not reimburse the store if they get more than one with the same code.  If you are coping coupons you are hurting not only the store but everyone that uses coupons and shops.  It is stealing.  What happens when someone steals products from a store, the prices go up, same with coupons the manufacture and store are loosing money so prices rise. And soon if people don't stop coping coupons there won't be printable coupons and a lot of the time they are the top coupons! Coping coupons is punishable by law with hefty fines and jail time!

DON'T BE RUDE!

• We all know that Extreme Couponing on TLC has made using coupons a lot harder, almost a competition.  We all also know sometimes it is frustrating, well NEWS FLASH it can be very frustrating to the cashier also! Yes it is their job and they are getting paid but they are people to and get frustrated!  I know the cashiers can be rude but how about us PRACTICAL COUPONERS stick together, lets be the bigger person, lets kill them with kindness as my parents taught me. 
•  Why be rude back? There is no reason it just makes the situation worse, let try and change their minds about coupon users and make them enjoy seeing the savings too!
• If a coupon isn't going through and they don't want to even talk to you about it double check the coupon...expiration date, product, wording, ect  if you feel you are still right.....SMILE and just ask for the CSM.  It can be frustrating not having a coupon scan and even worse when the CSM is rude and won't put it through but really try it another day with another cashier, it isn't going to kill you not to get one deal!  ALWAYS HAVE YOUR COUPON POLICIES ON HAND!

Lets not be Extreme lets be PRACTICAL!

KMART COUPON POLICY

• Will take all manufacturer coupons
• Will now take printed coupons, See Kmart coupon policy press release here
• Print Kmart coupons from their site
• Does not match competitors ads or prices
• Dose not take other stores in-store coupons
• If you sign up at Kmart.com and join their email list, they send special deals, like double or triple coupon sales!
• Kmart will not accept “FREE product” (no purchase required) print-at-home coupons.
• Kmart will accept BOGO free internet coupons.
• Catalinas will be triggered when you buy certain items, but you can’t use that catalina to pay for an item from the same manufacturer and have another catalina print *unless* the catalina that is supposed to print is for a different amount then the catalina you used to pay for the item! Watch the video above for more kmart catalina and filler item rules!
• Some Kmart Super Coupons say they can’t be stacked with manufacturer coupons, others don’t say this. So it just depends on the coupon whether you can stack it with a manufacturer one or not
• Kmart Coupons (called just “Coupons” in their circular) which look like this: “Spend $20, get $5 coupon at checkout” have a rule where the deal must be over the specified amount, in this case $30, AFTER all coupons are calculated and BEFORE tax is calculated. These coupons print on the CRT or cash register tape and not on the catalina machine.

Here’s the rules for $.99 double coupon policy:

• Kmart will double up to $.99 manufacturer’s coupons!
  $0.25 = $0.50
  $0.50 = $1.00
  $0.75 = $1.50
  $1.00 = $1.00
• Only 1 coupon will be doubled per item.
• You must scan your shop your way rewards card to get your coupons doubled
• Kmart won’t give you overage.
• View participating locations here
• Look for a Super Coupon book at the Customer Service desk. The Super Coupons CAN be combined with manufacturer coupons.
• Kmart Store Coupons – called “super coupons” can’t be doubled.  But stack them with a manufacturer coupon and double it and wow you’ve got a cuckoo deal.
• $5 off $50 Kmart in-store purchase coupon via email when you sign up for their mailing list.

Rules for Kmart Super Double Coupon Events (when they double $2 coupons up to $4!):

• Kmart will double up to $2 manufacturer’s coupons!
• Limit 5 coupons per day
• You may only purchase 4 of the same item using double coupons
• Only 1 coupon will be doubled per item.
• You must scan your shop your way rewards card to get your coupons doubled
• You must have a minimum of $25 in groceries and pharmacy items before coupons are scanned in order for them to be doubled.
• At Kmart, if an item is $3, and you have a $2 off coupon, it will take off $3, not $4. Kmart won’t give you overage.

B1G1 With a B1G1 Store deal

BUY ONE GET ONE STORE SALE +  COUPONS:  When a store runs a B1G1 Free promotion, you can purchase two items and use two coupons – one for each.   After all, you are still purchasing two items, so you should get the discount on both. So, if your item you are purchasing as B1G1 Free retails for $4.00 and you have two coupons for $0.50/1, you will actually get two items for only $3.00 (One is free and then $0.50*2=$1.00).
The only caution I have to cashing in on store B1G1 is if you have a coupon for B1G1. When this occurs, you will need to check with the store’s coupon policy to see how this works. This would be handled one of two ways:
Option 1 – Both items will be free.  The store gives you one free (which is considered to be the one you paid for) and then the coupon gives you the other one for free.
Option 2 -  You would need to purchase 4 items.  Two of them would be free due to the store’s promotion, one would be free as a result of your coupon and you would pay for the last item.  So, this is like getting 4 products for the price of one.

Thanks PPP!


Not often does any other store in Dubuque other than Walgreens do the B1G1 sale, they have actually not been around much at Walgreens either.  I try and stay away from this! It is a huge headache. Yes two free are best but your time is worth more!  I would rather use a B1G1 coupon with another coupon to maximize my savings and save myself the headache!

What does that mean?

B1G1 = Buy 1 Get 1. This is when you can purchase one item and you can purchase another one of the same product (same size or smaller) for free, 50% off, etc. The B1G1 will be followed with Free, 50%, etc.

CAT = Catalina Coupon. These are the coupons that are printed at the register and often handed to you along with your receipt. Not all stores will print these.

CRT = Cash Register Tape. This is your actual receipt and coupons can be at the bottom or sometimes printed on the backside.

FAR = Free after rebate. This is pretty self explanatory. When you purchase the item and get your rebate back, your total cost will be zero, or free.

GM = General Mills. Insert found in the Sunday newspapers.

INSERT = The coupon inserts found in the Sunday newspapers.

IP = Internet Printable. Coupons accessed and printed on line.

MIR = Mail in Rebate. These are available in packages, store fliers or sometimes on line. You may need the UPC label and your receipt in many instances, in order to claim your rebate.

MM = Money Maker.

MQ = Manufacturer Coupon.

OOP = Out of Pocket. This is the amount you will actually spend to complete your purchase.

PG or P&G = Proctor & Gamble. This is both an insert found in the Sunday newspaper and also a Manufacturer.

Q = Coupon.

R = Regional.  That means you may or may not find this exact coupon in your newspaper inserts since those can vary from region to region.

SS = Smartsource. An insert found in the Sunday newspaper.

RP = RedPlum. An insert found in the Sunday newspaper.

YMMV = Your mileage may vary. This refers to what value you can get for your coupons as some stores, including national chains, may differ on what they will and will not allow.