Coupon Armageddon Pt 3: Get to Know Your Stores

When it comes to stores, not all of them are created equal.  Before coupons, I shopped at HEB and Walmart.  Both have great prices and HEB has fabulous, quality foods.  (If you don't know HEB, it's a Texas-based store.)  There is a Kroger about five seconds from my house, but I only went there when I was out of milk or something at 11pm, just because the prices in general are higher than both HEB and Walmart.  Now, post couponing, I go basically to Kroger and, and then CVS for a few great deals. Here is my lowdown on just a few stores and links for those I don't know much about.

Keep in mind that each store is different and while some stores have nationwide coupon policies, others may be different store to store.  Look at the end of this post for a few tips.

Kroger
My Kroger doubles and triples coupons.  I'd always heard that in commercials and didn't know what that meant.  Here's what it means:  Kroger automatically triples coupons that have a face value of up to 35 cents and doubles coupons up to 50 cents.  This comes in handy when an item is knocked down to something like $1 and you have either a 35 or 50 cent coupon.  This is how I got free BestLife butter spread the other night:  marked down to a dollar and I had 50 cent coupons.  Ta da!

Also, you can use a coupon for BOTH items when you do a buy one, get one free sale.  As in, if you're getting in on a buy one shampoo, get one free coupon and use TWO $1 off coupons.  Or, use a B1G1 coupon AND a $1 off for the item that is free.  Huge savings!  My store no longer accepts printed coupons, but there are tons you can digitally load on your Kroger card.  There are definitely some items that never get cheap enough for me to buy there, especially certain produce, like romaine lettuce, which I buy every week.
-Here's a great link to a video by Southern Savers on Kroger. (Thanks, Sarah!!)  I can't watch it right now because my computer is being wonky, but I know people who love this site so check it out!

CVS
The Extra Care Bucks (store credit that prints on the end of your receipt) make CVS home for some great deals.  I have made out like a bandit here--my record being spending $2 on a $40 bill.  CVS takes printed and paper coupons and every week changes out the ECB deals.  Often every week there will be at least one deal that is buy an item for a certain price and get that exact price back in ECBs.  If you use other ECBs to pay for that item, you keep the free game going.  See how this can work?  Free, free, free!

The key is often doing several transactions in one visit.  Example: Today, I bought diapers for $21, used a $1.50 coupon, and then used $7 in ECBs from a previous day.  So, paid $15 out of pocket.  Then I got $10 in ECBs back.  In my next transaction, I bought two Arm & Hammer detergents for $7, used a $1/2 coupon and 1 2-pack of Dove beauty bars and used a 75 cent coupon.  I paid for this with my ECBs (and bought a pack of gum since there was a buck left and you can't carry it over past that one transation) and then received $4 ECBs back.  The total I paid was $15 and I got a giant pack of diapers, two detergents for cloth diapers, and two soaps.  AND I still have $4 ECB to use on my next CVS trip.
-A great CVS site is  I Heart CVS.  Check for lots of tips and tricks!

Walgreens
I have had a few issues with Walgreens, which works basically like CVS.  Partly, my problems began with the experience involving shirtless women and undercover cops and body wash, which you can read about here.  What really gets me about Walgreens is how they have a lot of specials that are "in store coupons."  Several times I have gone and asked about these "in store coupons" and have been told by employees that there are none left.  When you're being specific about coupons and deals, you need those coupons.  Also, I'm pretty sure that if they advertise a price with an in store coupon, then they are supposed to honor it, and have been told this by NICE Walgreens employees, while others refused that advertised price.  I don't like hassling and dealing with managers and having to explain how shopping should work, so I usually avoid the hassle unless it's an amazing deal.
-A great Walgreens site is I Heart Wags.  They could probably explain my in store coupon issues.

HEB
This is one of my favorite stores ever.  When people come to visit Texas, we go to HEB.  I love their brand of products and am addicted to the fully cooked sweet chili chicken.  YUM!  They do not double or triple coupons, so even though sometimes their normal prices are lower than Kroger, you can still save more at Kroger.  There are also lots of restrictions, which I'm not getting into here.  I wish it was better, because again, this is my favorite store.
-If you want to read their coupon policy, check here.  I haven't found (yet) a fully HEB dedicated site.

Target
I get overwhelmed with Target and tend to buy things I don't need when I go there.  It's one big temptation, so unless I read about a great deal, I don't go there.  It is nice that they have their own printable coupons that you can stack (combine) with other paper coupons or printed coupons.
-To become a Target expert, check out Totally Target.

A few tips on stores:
-Before you head out to a store, find and print the coupon policy.  Then, if you run into trouble at the register, you can reference their own policy.
-Check expiration dates and your store's policy on accepting them.  Some stores take expired coupons, some don't.
-Realize that often, the deals you find on websites may not apply to YOUR store.  Some stores are very different in different locations, just as coupon policies can vary.  (Also, sometimes the coupons that come in the Sunday papers vary by region.)