Secrets To Super Savings At Discount Stores
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- If you shop at Walmart and other discount stores, you probably already think you save money. But the Coupon Mom says there's something we should all be doing to save even more.
"Many shoppers don't realize that Walmart and discount stores take coupons, they don't double coupons, but they do take coupons," said Stephanie Nelson. "What we discovered was when we put coupons on top of everyday low prices, in many cases, you can get lower prices than the supermarket!"
So she has sent out "strategic shoppers" as she calls them to compile prices on more than 200 Walmart items each week. Then at her website, CouponMom.com, she figures out which of those products also have manufacturers coupons that have come out in the Sunday coupon circulars. She calculates the savings, and some items work out to be free!
"Walmart is not publishing this kind of list on their website," said Nelson.
As an example of the deals, Maalox that is normally $4.52 turns out to be free.
Here's another: Nelson says Ronzoni Garden Delights Pasta can be $1.99 in some supermarkets, the Walmart everyday low price is $1.18, and then use a coupon from the Sunday paper and you get the pasta for just 18 cents!
She calculated how to get fabric softener for 26 cents and deodorant for 47 cents.
Nelson says it's important to plan your shopping trips out before you got to the store. Also, rather than clip all the coupons out of the Sunday circulars, just write a date on the circular, and Nelson's website will tell you which one to go to for the deal you want. One option on her site is to see a list of the deals by how much you're saving, starting with the free items.
"The Walmart list gets more traffic than other store lists," Nelson said, but her website offers similar lists for other discount and drug stores such as Target, Kmart, Walgreen's, Rite-Aid, CVS and she just added Dollar General. "They don't double coupons, but they do accept coupons. Not all dollar stores accept coupons. Dollar General accepts coupons."
As for Target, if you go its website, you can actually print coupons. "You can combine a Target store coupon with a manufacturer's coupon for the same item," said Nelson, who showed us how you could do that to get toilet tissue for free.
She says having this kind of information before you go shopping can help shoppers figure out which stores they want to go to for which deals. "The more information we can provide to people to give them the ability to plan their trip from home before they leave, the more they can save and the more I think we can help them!"
RELATED LINKS:
CouponMom.com
Coupon Mom: Drug Store Deals (Log-in)
Target: Coupon Savings
Going "Extreme Couponing" With Coupon Mom
Online Grocery Shopping Put To The Test
More Consumer News
