Coupon Basics: Coupon Values and When to Use Your Coupons

Understanding Coupon Values and When to Use Your Coupons is the key to couponing success.  Just because you have a coupon does not mean that you need to use it as soon as you clip it. Patience can be your friend!  

I am going to explain how to get maximum value for your coupons below.

Coupon Values:

• Single Item Coupons are good off 1 Item. These are typically listed as $1 off 1 or $1/1. That means that you will save $1 when you purchase one of the items listed on the coupon.
• Multiple Product Discounts are listed as $1/2 or $2 off 3, and so on. These require you to purchase multiple items in order to use your coupon. So if a coupon says $2 off the purchase of 3 then you need to buy 3 before you can use the coupon. You cannot get partial value for these coupons.
• Buy 1 Get 1 Free Coupons are sometimes noted as B1G1 or BOGO (Buy One Get One). These require you to purchase one item and the second one is free. These are perfect for combining with Buy 1 Get 1 Free Sales in your local grocery stores.
• Free Product Coupons are typically issued directly from the manufacturer and typically do not require any other purchase. You will find that you can sign up for Free Product Coupons on Facebook and Company Websites.

When to use your Coupons:

One of the first things you start to realize when using coupons is that one of the most important aspects of saving money with coupons is WHEN you use your coupons. Using coupons is all about when and where you use your coupons as much as it is about the value of the actual coupons. Here are a few factors to keep in mind:

• Timing - Saving with Coupons is all about knowing when to use your coupons. Watch for Store Promotions, Store Coupons, or Loss Leader Sales. These tend to be great times to spend those coupons. Think of it as doubling your savings if you can use a coupon at the same time as you find an item on sale.
• Location - Some coupons are better spent at one store over another. Double coupons are a great example. A $0.50 coupon that doubles may be worth more at one store than at a store that doesn’t double coupons.
• Value - Start paying attention to prices. Just because you have a coupon doesn’t mean an item is going to be a great deal. Also companies release different value coupons for the same items so a $0.50 coupon might not be that great if you know that a company typically releases $1 coupons for the same product.

Things to Watch Out For:

• Store B1G1 Sales-  This is the best way to save money using coupons.  This is the first thing that I look for when I look through the weekly ads and Southern Savers website.  If there is a B1G1 sale, think of each item as being half price.  And then use your coupon on the half price item and you have BIG savings!
• Competitor Coupons- The Publix that I shop at reguarly considers Target and Foodlion a competitor, and these two stores always have printable coupons.  I always try to find items that I can stack a competitor coupon and a manufacturer coupon together. 
• Drug Store Rewards- I am going to admit that this is the one area that I am still trying to master.  Most of the Drug Stores have some form of Reward Card, and when you use the reward card for certain items you get "cash" back to use towards your next purchase.  The Cash is printed at the bottom of your receipt and you use it like a store credit.  

All three of these factors will contribute to your overall couponing success. 

Adapted from Passion For Savings