Other Tips and Tricks of the trade

Here you'll learn how to protect your savings from cashiers in the wrong, or if your store is out of the item you were in search of. Don't give up......read on!

Ask for rainchecks!

Sometimes you have done all the homework, gone to the store, and they are out of what you want. Rainchecks are the solution: they give you the sale price on the item when it is back on the shelf, even when the sale is over. You may have anywhere from 2 weeks to a year to get that price, depending on the expiration date of the raincheck. (Some stores' rainchecks never expire!) By that time, you may have newer and better coupons!

Here is a helpful strategy mentioned at HCW:

"I do my shopping for stuff I already have coupons for early in the sale. Our sales here end on Tuesday night at the grocery stores or Saturday night for the other stores (drug stores). I always hit the grocery stores one last time on Tuesday night for rainchecks. You can get rainchecks for items out of stock. That’s what they are there for. So if "Hot Pockets" are on sale and they are out of just one flavor I get a raincheck. Often times you can tell them that you need a raincheck for the item you want and they don't really care or check to see if its out of stock. So theoretically they don’t have to be out of stock of something in order to get a raincheck, but that is dishonest, to each his own. I personally play the your out of "Diet Coke" can I get a raincheck on the Coke products on sale for .80 cents please. Does that make sense? With raincheck now in my binder I now have TIME to collect coupons! You can trade for them or buy them! I have rainchecks issued to me from a year ago. I get rainchecks on stuff that doesn’t have coupons, too. Meat especially. When boneless skinless chicken breasts go on sale for $1.49LB I buy a bunch (40lbs or more) and freeze it... then I get a raincheck too in case it doesn't go on a good sale by the time I run out of chicken.

Look for unadvertised sales!

One store may have too much of a certain item in stock, and will put it on sale. Others will have items on clearance. This is why you need to have all of your coupons with you as you shop and this is one big reason why I don't carry a huge binder full of coupons,leave it in the car and run back out if I find something good on sale I didn't expect. I ALWAYS find something unadvertised it seems, and I like having it all right there with me as I shop..it's just easier to me. To each her own!

Keep your eyes on the cashier!

Occasionally, you will run into a cashier who is a master of the sleight-of-hand. This results in some of your coupons not being scanned. Stand up for yourself and don't let it happen. If you had 10 coupons and she only scanned 9, speak up. It's your money we're talking about here.

Also, many stores have a "scan right guarantee": it scans correctly or it is free, or you get double the difference back. Make sure that you get the price that you were expecting!

Sometimes, buy the smallest size possible!

Stores like Sam's Club and Costco may have you convinced that the bigger sizes are the better value. You're a couponer now, and you know better!

A large product may be much less expensive with coupons, but the smallest size may be free! This is part of the logic behind multiple coupons. One of our members bought the 34oz coffee for a few dollars until she realized that the 11-13oz size was totally free!

Don't let the cashier pull the "one coupon per purchase" line on you!

One coupon per purchase does NOT mean one coupon per transaction. Each item is considered a purchase-- many coupons actually say "one coupon per item purchased, which is a much better way to phrase it.

Item 1= this is a purchase; Item 2= this is a purchase; Item 3= this is a purchase; etc... Have them ring them up in individual transactions if they don't get it.

To further drive your point home, you can show them a receipt that has total items purchased= xx, followed by a transaction number. I have found that as big time couponers, we understand the store/coupon policies much better than many cashiers and sometimes they speak up and say things or deny us just to be authoritative, and not because it is actually so. So be sure to familiarize yourself with that stores policies so you can defend your purchase. For the more troublesome stores, there are ladies that actually print out the store policy on line and keep it with them and have had to actually USE it to prove to a store manager the correct policy.

And, remember, the deals almost always come around again-- sometimes better the next time! I've mentioned it before, but see this thread at HCW on sales cycles to see the best time to buy many items. This is in my favorites because it helps me line up some coupons for sales that are typical this time of year. I only learned this by frequenting that thread.

I hope you're having a great weekend! I'll be back on Monday with more goodies to help you
!!!!!!