Saving Star - How it works - get extra coupons loaded to your store cards

Signing up for Saving Star is a must for a couponer. It gives you coupons you can use along with the manufacturers coupon to make the item even cheaper. I will try to explain how it works here. If you are unclear about anything just ask. If I can't help I will refer you to people that have helped me.

Here are the steps:

1. sign up here

2. register your store card #'s like Shaws, CVS, Rite Aid

3. Pick the coupons. They will be added to all your cards. They do run out of copies available. Add anything you think you might be interested in. If you wait for a sale and coupon match up from a blog you might find out the one you want is out.

Note: These are not printable coupons. They will be added to your cards. When you use your card for the item Saving Star will track it and add the savings to your Saving Star account. The savings will show up in 2 to 3 days. They are usable only once.

4. When your Saving Star account reaches $5.00 you will have a payout option. Your choices will be to have it deposited into your Bank account, Paypal, Amazon gift card or American Forests (not sure what that is. They list these choices here.

Free Dental Floss At Wal-Mart

Here is the deal at Wal-Mart.

Buy (1) Reach dental floss priced at .98
Use (1) $1.00 Reach Dental Floss (2 prints per computer)
Final price is FREE!!! Plus .01 towards the tax. So final price is only .03

Krusteaz Bakery Style Cookie Mix .78 At Wal-Mart

I love this deal. I got 6 packages of chocolate chip cookie mixes with it. They make 3 dozen each.

Please let me know if the link still works. It didn't work when I posted this. I didn't know if it was because I had already printed my limit from this computer.

Here is the deal at Wal-Mart

Buy (1) Krusteaz Bakery Style cookie mix for  $1.78
Use (1) $1.00 off Krusteaz bakery style cookie mix
Pay.78

Coupon Talk

I have a page on this blog labeled "Coupon Talk". It is a page that can help you decipher all that "coupon language" couponers use a lot.

Here is the link to that page.

Here is what it says on that page. Coupon talk translated.

 Coupon Talk...................English

BOGO                          Buy 1 Get 1 Free

B1G1                            Buy 1 Get1 Free

B2G1                            Buy 2 Get 1 Free

B1G2                            Buy 1 Get 2 Free

$1/2                               $1 off 2

.75/2                              .75 off 2

OOP                          Out of pocket cost, the amount you spend before
                                              you get any RR,  +Up or any 

                                  " buy this and get $ off your next order" deals.

WYB                          When you buy,

OYNO                         On Your Next Order

 Example: $4 OYNO WYB 4 bags M&M's


DND                         " do not double", listed at the top of some
                                    coupons may also be in fine print at the
                                    bottom of the coupon.Couponers will
                                    usually tell you about it if they see it
                                    before they list a deal. Means the
                                    store can not double the coupon.
                                    So it wouldn't double at Shaws.
                                    Tip: if the bar code starts with a 5
                                    the coupon will usually double unless
                                    the store has fixed the computers to
                                    recognize it or the cashier notices it.

Catalina                     a coupon that prints from the store.
                                   Like $ off your next order

MM                           Money Maker
                                  When your coupon is more than the
                                  item you are purchasing.
                                 Note: Wal-Mart is the only place that
                                  will give you money back. I usually
                                 have other things I'm buying for that
                                 money to go towards. Cvs, Rite Aid
                                 and other places that give you store
                                 money will not give you money back.
                                 usually you get more rewards back
                                 than you spent. Shaws will reduce the
                                 coupon to the price so no money. If
                                 the item is on sale then the coupon
                                 will be reduced to regular price
                                 giving you money towards other
                                 things you are buying. They will not
                                give you the extra money back.


Overage                  When your coupon is more than the
                                item. This is the money you either
                                get back or that goes toward the rest
                                of your purchases.


ETS                        Excludes trial size
                               A couponer will use this abreviation
                               when telling you about a coupon for a deal

Sunday Coupon inserts. Not all come every week. Check out the Sunday coupon preview to see what might be coming in your Sunday paper.

SS                                 Smart Source insert

RP                                Red Plum insert

GM                              General Mills insert

P&G                            Proctor & Gamble insert

EX.                               Expires

Money given back to you to spend in the store again. Usually printed on your receipt.

RR                               Register rewards Wallgreens

Ups ( or)  +up              Up Rewards Rite Aid

ECB                             Extra Care Bucks CVS

 

 

 

Example of how some people list deals and how to read them.

Hershey's candy bar $1.50
Buy 1 at $1.50
Use  $1/1 coupons from the 8/12 SS exp. 10/12
Final cost $.50


What it says in English:
 Hershey's candy bar $1.50
Buy one at $1.50
Use the $1 off 1 coupon found in the 8/12 Smart Source coupon insert expiring 10/12
Final cost $.50

Pick Your Cashier

I think I need to tell you all a very important part of couponing. It makes the transaction go much smoother. How many people have ended up with a cashier that looks at you like you have ruined their day with coupons. Or looked at you like you are stealing. They should get it. The store gets their money back form the Manufacturer. In some cases the store makes more money. That would be because more people start shopping at stores they never would've before coupons.

I call this "Cashier Profiling". Here are my choices for tellers in order of my favorite to least favorite and why. I have been known to stand in a longer line to get a teller I want. I know many other couponers that do also. I do check out all my options before cashing out.

#1 Choice.Young Male cashier

Why? 

There is seldom an attitude towards couponers. They don't act like you are wasting their time. They don't act like you are stealing. Just a smoother transaction by far. I don't wait in a long line if choice #2 has a shorter line.

#2 Choice. Young Female

Why?

Again seldom an attitude toward a couponer. Never an attitude toward acting like you are stealing. Once in a great while there may be a slight attitude about wasting time. I'm a girl I can admit sometimes we are just moody. But again this is choice #2 out of 4. Still a good choice. I will wait in line if choice #2 is not an option.

#3 Choice. Older Male

Why?

Less of an attitude about wasting their time and thinking you are stealing. I will go here if choice #1 and #2 are not an option.

#4Choice. Older Female

Why?

My last choice. Please take no offense to this. I have just had too many bad experiences and so have other couponers. There have just been too many times that I and others have been given bad attitudes when cashing out. I have all my coupons in order. I have the right items for my coupons. None of my coupons are expired. And still I get the attitude that I'm wasting their time or they think I'm stealing. They make me feel cheap...Yes I am cheap but in a good way not a bad way. So this option is only ok when all other options are unavailable. Which almost never happens.

You can follow me by email to get the latest posts each day when I post them. You will only get an email when I post something new. Sign up at the top left side of my blog. You will get a confirmation email. Click on the confirmation and you will start receiving daily updates.

Tips For A Smooth Transaction With Coupons

Here are a few thing I do to make it easier and quicker at the checkout counter when i use coupons.

#1 Make sure you have your coupons out and ready for the cashier before you get to them. I usually wait out of the way in the section before the cashiers to check that I have them out. Then I double check the following.



 #2 Always make sure none of the coupons you will be using are expired. No store will take an expired coupon. If it says "expires 9/27/2012" Then the last day you can use that coupon is on the 27th. It is expired the next day on the 28th.



#3 Make sure your items match the coupons you are using. That means the item size and description needs to match the wording on the coupon Not the picture. It is ok if the picture is different than the wording. Example: picture of Honey Nut Cheerios and the coupon says "off any Cheerios cereal" Then that coupon is good on any flavor / variety of Cheerios. If it doesn't state a size your coupon is good on any size they sell of the item you are getting. That is when couponers usually check the travel size section. Gotten a few free hand creams and toothpaste that way.


#4 Know your stores coupon policy. I have a printed copy of the stores policy in my coupon binder for each store I coupon at. It's important to know what stores double coupons. Also what stores may give you overages if your store allows that. You can check some of the coupon policies here. You should check them every few months in case they change.



#5 I like to know what my final price is going to be after coupons. Remember that if you will be getting a taxed item for free most of the time you are responsible for the original tax on the item.


#6 Now that you have all your coupons in hand for your items you will need to pick your cashier. You can find tips on picking your cashier here.



With all these tips you should have a smooth transaction. That means less people waiting in line for you to dig out your coupons. Less chance of needing to argue with the cashier about how you think you are right only to find out your coupon expired or there policy is different than you thought.

You can follow me by email to get the latest posts each day when I post them. You will only get an email when I post something new. Sign up at the top left side of my blog. You will get a confirmation email. Click on the confirmation and you will start receiving daily updates.

Expiring This Month....Cains PDF Coupon

Quik get these printable coupons. They expire this month....

Here is a great coupon to save for a sale. I got a lot of relish with it for .50 each at Shaws. It is a PDF coupon so you can print it off as many times as you would like. It has 3 different coupons on it. My favorite is the $1.00 off any 2 Cains products.

$1/2 Cains products, $1/2 Naturally delicious products, $1/2 Olde Cape Cod products PDF printable coupon.