In-Store Coupons

One of the best places to find great coupons is in your local grocery store. You will find a couple of different kinds of coupons here:

• Peelies: These are sticker like coupons that are affixed to the front of items. Typically these are found on items that are not refrigerated or frozen, but occasionally I do find them on pizzas or other frozen products. They don't stick as well when cold I find.
• Blinkies: These are coupons that can be found in dispensers throughout the store. A coupon spits out and within several seconds another coupon spits out. These can be found anywhere in the store including the freezer and refrigeration cases.
• Hang Tags: These are the coupons that hang from the neck of bottles. You can find them on the 2L bottles of pop, syrup, ketchup, pickles, etc.

You can find each of these types of coupons if you keep your eyes open! The peelies and blinkies are most often found at eye-level. The hang tags tend to be a bit higher, often on the top shelf where the taller bottles are kept.

My strategy with these types of coupons is to take a couple of them when I see them and hang on to them until there is a deal to be had. Now, I know that this infuriates some of you since that means the coupons are not there for the next shopper, but here's my rationale. These coupons are rarely available on products when they are on sale. Typically they are available when the product is at full price. If you remove one of these coupons and check the expiration date it is usually 30-45 days out. These are manufacturer's coupons and obviously the manufacturer doesn't expect you to only take the coupon if you plan to buy the product that day.

I have been able to capitalize on deals like crazy by doing this lately. Just this week I was able to use some $1 Keebler Cookie coupons with the $5 gift card deal at Target to make money on the purchase of these snacks. Tomorrow I will get 2 FREE bags of marshmallows for purchasing some Rice Krispies because of a couple of peelies I picked up weeks ago.

Now, I don't clean out the shelves when I see coupons on products. I take a couple of them and leave the rest for other Smart Shoppers. I definitely believe in sharing a deal and allowing others to benefit as well as myself.

I recommend to my Grocery Tutor students that you stop by the stores you like to shop at occasionally when you do not intend to purchase anything. Stop by for the sole purpose of looking for coupons. You'll be surprised how many you will find. I suggest you do with at the gas stations that you frequent also. Gas stations can have really great coupons!

This is a great strategy that can really make a difference for you when you shop!