Super Doubles Refresher/Info for Newbies

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Here are a few pieces of important information for those of you that are new to couponing.

Super Doubles is an event that Harris Teeter has periodically.  Harris Teeter ALWAYS doubles coupons up to .99, but during Super Doubles, the coupons double up to $1.98.  That means that your $1.50 coupon is worth $3.00.  The event will begin at 7:00 a.m. on the first day, Wednesday, May 19 and will go until midnight, Tuesday, May 25. 

Harris Teeter will triple up to 20 coupons per card per day.  The cards are tracked by address. If you have a 21 coupons and one of your coupons is worth $2 or more, ask the cashier to scan the $2 coupon last, so that your first 20 will triple.

If you have a coupon that says "Do Not Double or Do Not Double or Triple" (DND), if it starts with a 5, it will triple automatically.  If it starts with a 9, it will not triple.  The store has a right to pull the DND coupons and hand key them in so that they will not triple.  MY store does not do this, that is one of the reasons that I am so loyal to them - and, their customer service is out of this world!!! If I visit another store and this happens to me, I tell the cashier to void the item off.

If you have any rainchecks, this may be a good time to use them if you have a good coupon to use with the item.  I tend to wait until later in the week to purchase these items...you probably won't have to worry about the stock being low - not many people remember this trick.

My Strategy:

Organizing your Coupons.....
Since I do not clip any of my coupons, I check my blog and others' blogs to see what the best deals are.  I clip/print out the necessary coupons and file them in a small three ring binder in the order of where the items are located in the store.  I have make-shift dividers - only about 5-6.  That way I am not lugging my large coupon binder around (which wouldn't do any good with barely anything in it!)

I create a list of items that I want to purchase....FIRST on my list are items that I think will be sold out quickly, aka, the free items. I create a spreadsheet with those items, how many I am going to purchase, the coupon value and my total out of pocket, in the order of the store.  Have a couple of standbys on your list in case they are out of an item.  I fell really disappointed when I don't use ALL 20 of my coupon limit.

With this method, I can do a Super Doubles run in 15 minutes.

I stick with that list for the first few shopping trips, or until I run out of those coupons.  Then I start using the other coupons on those items that cost money and/or are a good deal.

Ordering Coupons.....
I order my coupons from Your Coupon Cafe, yourcouponcafe.com.  She is local, ships the same day and if you are local to Winston Salem/Greensboro, you will get the coupons in one day. The downfall is she gets the coupons that we get, but since I have started ordering from her, I have not placed an order with any other service - aka, I have not found the need.

If there is an item that you are interested in, but don't have a coupon, you can do a search on afullcup.com under coupons.  They will tell you if there is a coupon for the item and it's origin. There are other coupon services available (google coupon clipping service), but it can take anywhere from 2+ days to receive them. Also, you could order off Ebay.  The saving grace about this is that the stock in the stores for those particular items should be good, since our area did not receive the coupons.

When checking out, know your total before you get to the register.  Count your coupons.  If your total is higher than you anticipated, ask the cashier to count the coupons on the screen to make sure two coupons did not get stuck together.  Also, make sure you GIVE the cashier all of your coupons. When I shop from my list, as I am shopping, I do not pull the coupons.  I find that I am dropping them a lot and struggling while holding my list and pen and pulling the items from the shelf.  I find a place in the store that is not busy (my store has a display with 12 pack sodas, near the magazines that always seem to be stacked at the right height.) I glance through the cart and pull the coupons, looking at my list as well.  I count and double count to make sure I don't have more than 20.

Also, a very important note.  I shop with people a lot. We get one cart and put a basket inside the cart for the two different orders.  Make sure that you put the correct item in the correct place.  During last Triples, DH and I did a transaction each and I had an item of his - my total was WAYYY off. The wonderful cashier helped me realize this and we were on our merry way.  STAY FOCUSED!!! (sometimes easier said than done).

One final note...don't hog the isles - stay to the side.  The non-couponers have very little tolerance for us couponers and it's just good etiquette with other couponers.

One final final note...be nice to the cashiers - they work very hard and have been standing on their feet all day.

Please let me know if you want to do a shopping trip with me - I would be happy to take you!!