I love saving money, that’s pretty obvious! I have learned some great ways to save money over the years and I love sharing them with you. There is one ultimate savings hack that I really want you to know and be able to use….coupon and discount stacking!
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By learning how to really use coupons and discounts to the max, I save on average 60-75% on all of my shopping trips. This includes in store and online shopping.
It really isn’t that hard to master and it becomes a little fun, like a puzzle, once you get the hang of it. I only spend about 30 minutes a week getting everything ready for my shopping trips.
As with everything, how you can stack coupons will vary from store to store. I wanted to give you an over view of some of the most popular stores where people shop so that you can start using this savings hack on your next trip.
Discount Gift Cards
If you don’t want to get into all of the coupon stacking, one of the easiest ways to save a little money on every purchase is to use discount gift cards.
I usually purchase mine from Raise. You can get them for pretty much any store and the savings range from 2-10%, depending on the store.
You can take the discount gift card and use it by itself or you can really maximize your savings by using it to pay for your purchase after you do some coupon stacking.
Stacking Online
Online shopping is one of my favorite ways to shop. It is so easy to find discounts by using sites like Retailmenot.com and using cash back sites.
My favorite cash back site is Ebates because they have the most variety of stores and you can easily find some discount codes for the store you will be making your purchase. Plus, they offer a $10 bonus when you first sign up!
Let’s take Kohl’s as an example because it’s one of my favorite stores to shop online:
- Shop through Ebates and get 3-6% (value will vary by store and any promos Ebates is having) cash back +
- shop items that are on sale +
- Use a discount code and/or free shipping code that you find on Ebates +
- pay with a discount gift card
- = Amazing Savings
What I also like about Kohl’s is that they will offer Kohl’s cash periodically where if you spend $50 you get $10 back so keep an eye out for stores that offer that as well.
Stacking In-Store
If you prefer to shop in-store, you can use some money saving apps that will give you a rebate on certain items that you purchase. My favorite money saving app is Ibotta. The items will change weekly so always check it before you go shopping.
Let’s take Target as an example of how to stack some coupons and deals:
- Look for products on sale or that offer a free Target gift card with purchase promo +
- Use Target Cartwheel App for % off the product +
- Use a manufacturer coupon you found in the paper or at Coupons.com +
- Use a Target coupon if available +
- Pay with a Target Redcard for 5% off your total purchase +
- Submit your receipt to a money saving app for a rebate on the product
- = Amazing Savings!
I recommend using a Target Redcard instead of using a discount gift card because I’ve never seen a discount gift card that would offer more than 2-3% savings where the Redcard offers 5% every time and it is free to get one.
I have a post with more Target Saving Strategies if you want to learn more tips and tricks for shopping at Target.
Stacking at Drugstores
Stacking at Drugstores can be a little different because they offer rewards on certain items that you buy and these change every week.
Walgreens has Register Rewards, CVS has Extracare Bucks, and Rite Aid has Plenti Points. They basically work the same, you buy the item that offers the reward and get the reward when you checkout to spend on your next purchase.
I like this because you can continually buy items that offer the rewards and use them to pay for other items that offer rewards and just keep the cycle going so you pay less out of pocket each time.
Let’s take CVS as an example:
- Buy a product that offers $3 in Extracare Bucks when you make a purchase+
- Use a coupon from the paper or Coupons.com+
- Use a CVS store coupon if you have one from a mailer or the red coupon machine in-store+
- Pay with any Extracare Bucks you may have from the previous shopping trip+
- Pay the remaining balance with a discount gift card+
- Get back $3 Extracare Bucks for buying the item to be used on your next purchase+
- Use any money saving apps that offer a rebate on the product
- =Amazing Savings!
You can get more money saving tips for CVS and learn how to really save at the drugstores. I save the most at the drugstores and get a lot of items for free after doing all of the savings options.
Stacking at the Grocery Stores
Grocery stores are a little bit different than shopping at stores like Walmart or Target. A lot of stores will double coupons up to a certain amount. My local grocery store will double coupons up to $.99 everyday! So if I have a coupon for $.50 then I will really save $1.00.
They may also offer some online coupons that you can save to your loyalty card so that when you buy a particular product, that coupon will automatically come off. A lot of stores let you use that online coupon as well as a paper coupon on the same item.
Here is an example of what you may be able to do:
- Load any online coupons on to your store card+
- Buy items that are on sale if possible+
- Use a coupon from the newspaper or Coupons.com (luckily you have a store that will double it)+
- Use any store coupons that you may have (some may offer $10 off a $50 purchase, etc.)+
- Pay with a discount gift card +
- Submit receipt on any money saving apps to get rebates for your products
- =Amazing Savings!
Before you go shopping, always check your store’s coupon policy to make sure you are allowed to do coupon stacking, most allow it but some may not so it is always a good idea to check.
It know it may seem like a lot but hopefully the examples were able to explain it clearly. Coupon stacking really is my ultimate savings hack. I am able to save so much by doing this.
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Meagan @ Okay Now Breathe says
These are such awesome hacks! So many people are throwing money down the drain when there are so many ways you can save. Great post!
Audrey says
Thank you for the great tips!