Money Saving Q and A- Stacking Coupons



Q: I am having a hard time understanding how to stack coupons. For example, I found Hamburger Helper on sale for $1.00 and  have a coupon that says $.75 off of three. Isn't that only one coupon for three boxes? Please Help! 

 A: The first thing to understand is that there are different types of coupons. There are manufacture coupons, store coupons, and eCoupons. There are also coupons that print at the time of purchase called Catalina coupons, Register Rewards, and Extra Care Bucks. Here is some information on each type:

Manufacturer’s coupons are the coupons that come from newspapers, magazines, websites, inside products, on products, or from blinkie machines. They are made by the manufacturer of the product and say so near the top of the coupon.

Store coupons are coupons that a particular store puts out. Walgreens, for example, has a weekly flier with weekly deals inside and Walgreens coupons you can use for that week. 

eCoupons can be loaded to your shoppers card for an extra discount automatically deducted at the register!

Catalinas, Register Rewards, and Extra Care Bucks are printed when you purchase certain products at certain stores. You'll find catalinas at most grocery stores, such as Dillons. Register Rewards print from Walgreens registers and Extra Care bucks come from CVS. These type of coupons can be used on the next purchase, but are like free money to me! They will say things like save $2 on your next purchase.  (Read through my Couponing 101 links for more information on these.)

One of the ways to get a really great deal is to be able to “stack” store and manufacturer coupons for the same item. The store pays for the one store coupon and the manufacturer for the other. This is why you can “stack.” The thing to always remember for a “store” coupon is to make sure it is a STORE coupon—no where on the coupon can it say “Manufacturer’s coupon” as some will list a store but state that. In addition to Walgreens and CVS, Target also has stackable store coupons! You can also stack a manufacture coupon with an eCoupon!

Examples:

Hamburger Helper $1
-$.75/3 Manufacture Coupon (doubles to $1 at my store)
-$.75/3 eCoupon
-Catalina promotion- Buy three get $1 off your next purchase
Final Price: When you buy three....$3-$1-$.75-$1=.25 for three or $.08 per box!

Huggies Diapers $8.99
-$3/1 manufacture coupon
-$2 Register Reward
Final Price: $3.99

Kraft Dressing $2.00
-$1/1 manufacture coupon
-$1/1 store coupon
Final Price: FREE

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this topic! Leave it in a comment!

Have a question?  Email me at couponmomoftwo@live.com!

4 comments:

  1. I have heard that Dillons will no longer stack e-coupons with paper coupons, is that true?

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  2. I actually just read for the first time this dislaimer on the Dillon's e-coupons: "Only one coupon per item. A paper coupon many not be combined with an e-coupon." Yes, some cashiers may allow it, but now that I've read that with my own eyes I feel like I should abide by it. I just won't be loading many e-coupons now- especially since they don't double!

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  3. Here is some info that was passed on to be by a blogger friend:

    Hi Mandie,

    Dillons is not doing away with stacking MQ's and E-Coupons. I've been working with their communications department to help dispell all of this crazy gossip that's going around in the coupon world, and that's one of the issues we've addressed. I've fielded several emails on this one, thought you might want to alert your readers.

    I personally haven't ever had a problem with stacking an ecoupon with a manufacture. Hope that helps! :)

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  4. Thanks! This will definitely make for happy shopping tonight!

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