One of the most important strategies to saving on groceries and household items with coupons is to combine high-value coupons with the lowest sale prices. We can apply this method to using coupons on clearance items as well. It is a little more difficult to do, as clearance prices vary not only from chain to chain, but between store locations, too. However, when everything lines up perfectly, you can score some incredible deals. Here are a couple of recent examples from my readers:
<strong>Dear Jill,</strong> cereal was on clearance with orange tags noting an .85 price today. I had coupons for $1 off two boxes. These coupons made each cereal box only .35.
I was sure the cereal must be expiring soon with that low price, but no — it does not expire until summertime next year. So, I looked closer to figure out why it was suddenly a bargain. That’s when I saw an advertisement printed on the box noting each box contained a coupon for diapers.
This brand of cereal is popular with both young children and adults, so I can understand this kind of promotion. When I took the cereal home and opened the box, I found even though the cereal itself is fresh for 12 more months, the diaper coupons were expiring at the end of this month. I wanted to share this with you as I had not considered a different brand’s promotion might be the reason the price was so low. — Ari L.
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This email raises several important things to consider when clearance shopping. Not every clearance item’s price is low because of an approaching expiration date, and third-party promotions could be the cause of a product hitting the clearance shelf. I once found granola bars on clearance for .59 per box because the box’ s packaging advertised a movie ticket promotion that had expired. The granola bars’ expiration date was many months away, and I used a .40 coupon to take them home for under a quarter per box.
<strong>Dear Jill,</strong> here is a tip I would like to share. If I am in the supermarket and I see something on the clearance shelf I wasn’t planning to buy, I will open the store’s coupon app and search for that item. A lot of times, I will find a discount in there for the same item I just found, making it an even better price. — Mickey T.
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Finding an unexpected bargain on a clearance item is always a welcome surprise, but it also means there is a good chance I won’t have a coupon on me right at that moment to further reduce that great clearance price. A quick peek at the store’s coupon app just might yield a deeper discount.
It is worth checking out your store’s coupon policy to see if they allow post-redemption of coupons.