Coupon Changes in the Air!!!

WOW!!!  I have been having a hard time keeping up with the recent changes out there with stores and their coupon policies.  I have been waiting to post anything until I was able to verify them myself and am finding what everyone says… is TRUE!!!

ALBERTSONS and DO NOT DOUBLE Coupons:

I have had so many people ask me what it means when an Internet Printable coupon says DO NOT DOUBLE across the top.  Essentially what that means is that the manufacturer will NOT reimburse the store for the “doubling”.  If the coupon is for .50 off Nature Valley Granola Bars and the store doubles it to $1.00, the manufacturer will only send them .50.  It is up to each store whether or not they will double the DO NOT DOUBLE coupons.  I have never had a problem with this… UNTIL yesterday!!!  Of course it was the store that I had trouble with last time (Albs) and I should have learned my lesson by now, but I was SO excited to snag some of the freebies!  Anyways… when I handed the cashier my stack of coupons, she separated them into two piles: internet printables, and other coupons.  The “other” coupons she scanned and they automatically doubled.  The internet printable ones she hand entered and told me that they were not allowed to double any DO NOT DOUBLE coupons.  Needless to say, I did not save anywhere near the amount I should have and was frustrated all together!  We are so fortunate here in Grand Junction that our City Market and Safeway always double.  I have yet to run into this problem there and hope that it does not come up.  Be sure to keep an eye out for this situation and try and structure your coupons so that they will benefit you in the long run.

SAFEWAY

I have seen a lot of hype today in regards to changes that Safeway is making to their coupon policy.  I have NOT been able to verify any of this information and have yet to see an update policy, BUT I do think that we need to be prepared for the changes.  Thanks KCL for the heads up… here are the highlights:

• Safeway will no longer allow you to stack an eCoupon with a manufacturer coupon!!! (UGH!!!  This one hit me HARD!!)
• There is a new eCoupon Program that Safeway has made available that is supposed to have some wonderful deals.  (I have yet to sign up for this and am curious to hear if you have.)
• Safeway will accept manufacturer coupons with another store’s logo on it.  It sounds like this is the same “teaser” that they gave up a few months ago that essentially allowed us to use ANY CATS (including RRs from Walgreens) at their store.  (I am a little skeptical if this is for real or not)

KCL has a great write up on this!  Visit their page for greater details!

Couponing with Kids!!

My kids are the love of my life and my pride and joy.  I enjoy every single minute we spend together, BUT I cringe at the thought of taking them with me to the grocery store!  Learning how to shop differently once I entered the world of couponing was hard enough, but teaching my children that we would no longer be partaking in the “buy whatever is on the end cap and looked good at the time” way of grocery shopping would take some time!  I honestly avoided taking my kids with me to the grocery store for a while until I could get through an entire trip without breaking a sweat!  I am happy to report that I think I have now mastered couponing on my own and am getting even better at couponing with kids. 

So if carting the kids to the store is a must, here are a few tips to making the experience a pleasant one for all of you!

1. Give your children an “age appropriate” definiton of couponing and why you are shopping a little differently.
2. Teach your children from the beginning to not ask for anything while at the store! 
   1. If they expect this from the beginning, then there are no surprises at the store.
   2. If they do ask for something, or worse, throw a fit about not getting it… then no treat! (see #5)
3. Give each child a job.
   1. Each of my kids knows what item(s) they are in charge of. 
   2. They know how many they are supposed to find and even take the coupon with them.
4. Have your kids help you keep an eye out for blinkies, tearpads, and other coupons throughout the store.  Teach them how many to get of each one (make sure to keep in mind your coupon ethics).
5. BRIBERY!!!  Yes, I said it!  But it works!  My kids know that if they come to the store with me and do not have any issues with the time spent there, then they get to pick out a treat from the bakery.  They love the doughnuts the best!
6. Try to keep cool even in tougher situations.
   1. It’s sad to say, but some trips through the checkout lane are tougher than others.  Try to keep cool, yet confident about your coupon knowledge.
   2. If you display an attitude that shopping like a Coupon Fanatic is a positive experience, then they will be much more apt to display a positive attitude as well.

It’s amazing how much our children lead by example.  Here are a few examples of what is not uncommon to hear from the mouths of my children:

• ” Mom… the next time you have a coupon for that pink kind of gum that blows really big bubbles, can we buy it?”
• ” Mom… you shouldn’t be buying that!  You don’t have a coupon!”
• (As I gasp at the price for my new phone and accessories at the Verizon Store… my daughter reassures me…) “Don’t worry mom, you haven’t given him the coupons yet!”