Lori's Question - What Does it Mean to Stack Coupons?

I love to get questions - thanks Lori!  Stacking is one of the true joys of couponing. Stacking is simply using more than one TYPE of coupon to get an item for the lowest possible price. Notice the word type...that's important. Let me try to explain.

We all know what a manufacturer's coupon looks like - here are two examples for Venus razors and Garnier  face stuff. You can't use two manufacturer's coupons on one item - ever. Never, ever, ever!

Two of the best places to stack coupons are Rite Aid and CVS. I have a trip planned to CVS so I'm going to use it as my example.  First, I get together all of my manufacturers coupons that I plan to use.  Then, I check for CVS store coupons. Most of them will come from the magic coupon machine and look like this:

These are definitely stackable - let's say I had one for $1.00 off any facial product. I could use that on top of my Garnier coupon for a total of $3.00 off one product. Rite Aid has more store coupons than CVS does. They are listed monthly on their Facebook page and on the Rite Aid Video Values website. They are fantastic and often result in free products when combined with a mfg coupon. Rite Aid also has coupons in their weekly ads. These look like manufacturers coupons but are really store coupons. How can you tell?  Rite Aid store coupon codes start with the letters RA.

On to more stacking. This is another type of CVS store coupon.

This one was emailed to me and offers a general $2.00 my entire purchase. So guess what?  I can stack this one on top of my CVS store coupon on top of my manufacturers coupon. See the beauty??

The final layer of stacking (for now) is to use a mobile phone app to increase your savings. The easiest one (and one that is also available online) is Saving Star. You just sign up, add your store loyalty cards, choose the offers you want and that savings is added as cash to your account. Yep, it's that easy.

I also use the Endorse app and the Ibotta app for my smartphone. They involve a little more work, but offer large savings on top of coupons.  Right now, Ibotta is offering $1.25 off a bottle of Clean and Clear shampoo. They don't care about your coupons - even if you got the bottle for free,you can make $1.25. Both apps involved taking a picture of your receipt and the product's bar code.

Martin's has been offering a few store coupons each week on the side of their ad. You can stack a manufacturer's coupon on top of them also. Using this method, I was able to get All Laundry detergent for just .99 cents!  I also saw in the Food Lion ad today that they will be installing magic coupon machines in their stores. They will be store coupons and stackable.

Whew!  Are you crazy yet?  I recommend starting small. Try to stack a mfg coupon with a store coupon just once. Then add another layer. Then try the apps. Let me know if you have any more questions!

How I Get My Top Secret Information!

Every day, actually several times a day, I search coupon message boards for deals and steals. When I find great ones, I'll share them on the Underground Couponer's Facebook page. Since I don't post everything that I see during the day, I thought I'd share the websites with you.There are literally hundreds of sites out there, but these are the ones I have luck with.  If you have some free computer time, you can check them out!!!

For general coupons and deals:

www.livingrichwithcoupons.com

www.coupongeek.com

www.forthemommas.com

www.hip2save.com

www.thekrazycouponlady.com

www.southernsavers.com

www.moneysavingmom.com

For organic coupons:

www.commonkindness.com

www.mambosprouts.com

Rite Aid Points Rewards - Not UP Rewards...

Are you ready for yet another way to save at Rite Aid?  You should already know how to do the UP rewards (see earlier blog posts) and how to stack manufacturers coupons with store coupons (earlier post) so now it's time for the final piece of Rite Aid savings.

With a Rite Aid rewards card, you earn one point for every dollar you spend in the store and 25 points for most prescriptions. Points start accumulating at the beginning of the year and reset on Dec 31st. If you watch the ads and store tags, you will start to notice deals that increase the number of points you earn, or provide bonus points. Your total number of points will print each time on your receipt.

Points Levels:
0-249                            Member
250-499                        Bronze - 10% off all Rite Aid brands for the rest of the year and a one time 10%                   shopping pass.
500-999                        Silver - 10% off the entire store for a year and a free wellness reward.
1000+                           Gold - 20% off the entire store for a year.

I just reached the Silver level!  10% off the entire store doesn't seem like much, but it's like having a $5.00 coupon on a $50.00 order! I had an order total today of $82.52. My wellness savings were $27.17 (discount and sales) and my coupon savings was $25.59 for a grand total of $29.78!!! In addition to that, I earned $4.50 in UP rewards.

Coupons are great, but it's the stacking of all available methods of saving that net you the big bucks.

Another Rite Aid Tip!

Have you figured out yet that Rite Aid is my favorite store?  They just have so many ways to save. I was planning my trip this morning and thought of yet another Rite Aid tip...

The Rite Aid ad usually has several (this week lots) of coupons in the ad itself. They all say "manufacturers coupon" on the top. So, how do you know if you can stack them?  Check the UPC code. If it starts with RC, then stack away!  Even though it says "mfg coupon" it's a Rite Aid coupon and can be stacked.

For example, there's a coupon in the ad for Mitchum deodorant that can be stacked with a coupon for the same item that's available on coupons.com.  Almost free deo!

Saving with Kraft

So sorry...it's been a while since I've done a blog post. I have been posting a lot on the Facebook page, so if you haven't "liked" it yet, please do!

Woke up this morning to find a free product in my inbox (LOVE those days)!  Of course I'll share it with you.

The Kraft rewards program is called First Taste. You can find it here www.kraftfirsttaste.com.  Sign up with you email address and a password and you're off!  You'll receive high value coupons on new items that Kraft has brought to the grocery store. And, if you interact with the site, you'll receive some free products too!

Today was a new dipping sauce from Miracle Whip. Combined with the full sized Lysol hand soap from Bzz Agent yesterday, it's a good free week!

Happy couponing!

Another Way to Save at Rite Aid

I had a great snow day, catching up on all my coupon activities! I found some great deals this evening, but I can't remember if I've shared this method with you yet....Rite Aid Video Values. You can find the link here:
www.riteaid.adperk.com.

Here's how it works. First, go to the above website and create an account using the same information you used at Riteaid.com.  Same user name and password, please.  Then go to the Video Values home page and watch videos. They are really short - most of them no more than 15 seconds. I let them play in the background while I"m doing something else. When the video finishes, you will have to enter a code that will be shown on the screen.  That's it!  There is no limit to the number of videos you can watch.

Each video comes with an attached coupon (each one is a different amount).  These are Rite Aid store coupons and can be stacked with a manufacturers coupon. Double savings...wait for a sale and get triple savings!

To print the coupons, go to the My Rewards tab in the top right corner. Check the coupons you want to print and hit the red print button.

I just spend 5 minutes and earned $15.25 in coupons!  Hint:  there are some for Easter candy!

OUR FIRST CONTEST!!!

A snow day is the perfect day to announce The Underground Couponer's first ever contest. I dropped a hint on our Facebook page a few days ago...

The Easter Basket Challenge!

1.     Think about items that would fit in a child's Easter basket.

2.     Using coupons, search for the best available deals.

3.     Give us a total cost for the items in your basket (basket cost not included).

4.     Post the results on The Underground Couponer's Facebook page.

5.     Every post will result in one entry into our contest. You may enter multiple baskets if you wish.

6.     One additional entry can be received for sharing the blog or Facebook page with your friends. Leave
        a note on the Facebook page and tell us you've shared.

The winner will receive a $10.00 WalMart gift card!