I made $8.42 because Wal-Mart is the only local store (that I know of) that explicitly states in their coupon policy that overage can be applied toward other items:
If coupon value exceeds the price of the item, the excess may be given to the customer as cash or applied toward the basket purchase.
I have always been very anti-Wal-Mart and haven't shopped there in years. Their corporate policies are questionable, not to mention their stores are just icky. But, after we shopped at Nordstrom Rack and Banana Republic in Auburn, Wal-Mart was close by and I needed to use two coupons.
I requested coupons from Earthbound Organic Farms in June, and they generously emailed me two coupons for $5 off any Earthbound product. I had looked *everywhere* (Fred Meyer, QFC, Albertsons, Top Foods, Trader Joe's, Target and Safeway) for their lettuce mixes and came up empty handed. They have them at Costco but Costco doesn't take any coupons but their own. So, I went online and saw that Wal-Mart carried their big spinach tubs. We used our GPS to find Wal-Mart in Auburn/Fed Way area...so this brought us to:
First Wal-Mart stop:
- 4 pack of Noxema razors ($2.97 - $2 coupon from 7/10 RP)
- Vlasic relish ($.98 - $.55 printable)
- = $1.40 out of pocket but no fresh food
Then we used the GPS to find the much nicer but still dodgy Wal-Mart Super Center just down the street (two Wal-Marts in one town?! we don't even have one in Gig Harbor thank goodness)
- 2 Earthbound Farms organic carrots ($.78 each minus two $5 printable coupons)
- Tillamook light sour cream $1.44
- Minute Maid lemonade $1.00
- Olay face lotion (I was out!) $7.67
- =$1.67 out pocket
LOL, sorry just had to laugh. Hi! *waves* I've been checking in on your site since you left me a comment on mine :) I really like your smaller-scale shops, it shows how couponing can be easily applied in REALITY.
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I just had to comment on the Walmart post. I shop at Walmart maybe once a month or so, usually to pick up pet food if I need some along with any of the other REALLY good deals/freebies/moneymakers. I live in Edmonds so the closest store is about 30min out of my way to everything except my massage therapist. It's not a supercenter so they don't have a full grocery which is too bad.
I know all the ethics and whatnot of anti-Walmart-ers but I grew up in the midwest where Walmart was the ONLY store and it was a godsend for so many things. And as long as they have a coupon policy that allows price matching AND overage AND accepting competitor's catalinas....I'll still shop there. Sometimes. Truth is, even though their everyday prices are better than the grocery stores, if you know how to play the coupon game, you'll usually find better deals at the grocery/drug stores!
Hi Lissa! Thanks for the comment!
ReplyDeleteMy closest Wal-Mart is actually in Port Orchard (where someone was shot and killed last year!) I guess that's why I don't go there much. :P That said, if it's all you have for certain things, like in the Midwest, I can definitely see how it'd be a go-to store. We're lucky that we can pick and choose the best stores and sales to shop at around here!
BTW your most recent Wal-Mart shop was AWESOME! I am impressed.
Thanks! Yeah I think if a person doesn't coupon, Walmart is a good deal, especially when options are limited. I also feel like the Walmarts in the midwest are a little nicer, not as grungy as the ones out here? But for us couponers, we can usually find better deals elsewhere...for most things. I love me a good overage deal though. :D
ReplyDeleteI still do a little larger-scale shopping, but I have several co-workers who are very excited when I bring in a couple boxes of food/toiletries for them to "shop" from. Whatever they don't take goes to the food bank. And I am parcelling granola bars into the candy drawer at work from all the crazy deals this last month!