Coupon Events are a great way to maximize your coupon savings. Stores know that by offering coupon events, they can get shoppers into their store spending money.  Stores increase sales and shoppers walk away with amazing bargains.

Two local grocery stores, Farm Fresh and Harris Teeter, offer double and triple coupon events.   Look for a Harris Teeter coupon event about every 4-6 weeks.  The most frequent event is Super Doubles.  This is when coupons up to and including $2 will be doubled – your $2 coupon will be worth $4!

Simply walking into the grocery store with a stack of coupon isn’t the best way to shop a coupon event.  Maximize your savings with these 10 tips.

How to Shop a Coupon Event:

1.  Visit blogs to find coupon matchups to use as a guide for making your shopping list.  The product price, coupon to use and final price are all listed to help you save.  All the work has already been done for you, so take advantage of this free service.  You’ll find Farm Fresh Supermarket and Harris Teeter Grocery Store matchups here for each event!  Print your shopping list from the matchups or create a an excel spreadsheet for the deals you want to purchase.

2.  Make a shopping list and organize your coupons before heading to the store.  Sort your coupons by priority, so you get free items and you “must haves” first.  When entering the store, head straight to the aisles where you know the items that will be free after coupon are located. Free products always go fast, so make sure they are first on your shopping list.

If you have a shopping list with you, you can have a total in mind.  If you’re total at the register is over what you expected, you can head to Customer Service.  Maybe a coupon didn’t double or an item didn’t ring up at the sale price.  Maybe one of your ZVR coupons didn’t come off – this happens to be a lot!   Take a minute to get these issues fixed while in store.

3.  Shop early.  You know the phase “the early bird gets the worm?” Well, the early shopper gets the deals.  The sales start typically start by 7am, so you could shop before work if you’re an early riser. You can head to the store a bit early, fill up your cart then checkout at 7am.

Can’t get there early?  Don’t fret!  You will still be able to get deals.

4. After you load your cart with FREE items, purchase items with the lowest quantities. A free or cheap item where there are only 15-20 in the store should be high on your priority list.  Products with low quantities can be cleared out fast by just a few shoppers.  Having extra coupons for items you want, but aren’t a priority item is a tip I personally use. If I can’t get one of my first 20 must-haves, I can still pick up a few other items I want to hit 20 coupons.

5.  Products in the health and beauty section tend to have a lower stock and are harder for the stores to get shipped quickly.  It may take a week for that cheap deodorant to be shipped to the store (unless it was pre-ordered) but those Goldfish may only take a day or two.

6. Shop multiple days to take advantage of restocking & get to use more coupons.  Ask your local store when trucks come in and plan to arrive that evening or the next morning when more items have been added to the shelves.  Does your store not restock during events?  Talk with the manager, call corporate or shop at a different store.

7.  Get a raincheck if the store is out of stock.  The high value coupon will not double outside of event dates, but you can get the same sale price during another coupon event.  Harris Teeter rainchecks are valid for one year.  It is highly likely that another coupon will be available to paired with the raincheck within that year.  Don’t forget about using previously earned rainchecks to score deals during the event!  Make sure to show the raincheck to your cashier, so your item is entered at the raincheck price.

8.  Know the store coupon policy.  All stores have specific policies for coupon redemption.  How many coupons can you use, how many like coupons, can coupons be “stacked?” Locally, Harris Teeter and Farm Fresh both limit customers to 20 coupons doubled per day.  Harris Teeter has a limit of 3 like coupons while Farm Fresh has a limit of 2 like coupons.

9.  Get a loyalty card for your store & load e-coupons.  Most stores require a store card for coupons to double.  Harris Teeter requires you to scan your VIC card or provide your phone number.  You should also sign up for e-VIC for other special offers & e-Coupons. Farm Fresh does not have a shoppers card. UPDATE:  Farm Fresh now has a loyalty card, but you don’t need to scan it to get the sales price.

Harris Teeter e-VIC coupons can be “stacked” with manufacture savings.  Always load your e-coupons before shopping or do it from your phone on the HT App while shopping.

10. Use the online shopping feature (Express Lane)  to check prices.  Harris Teeter & Farm Fresh both have the option to shop online.  Use this feature to check prices of items you plan to purchase.  This is especially great to check the price on old printables, peelies or other coupons you may have that aren’t listed in the matchups.

Bonus tip – One of the most important tips is to be respectful of other shoppers &store employees.  Consider letting other shoppers check out ahead of you and either limit your quantities in each store or special order.  If something doesn’t work out the way you expected, remain calm and friendly with the cashier or manager.  Politeness goes a long way.  If they won’t double your coupon, return the item and move on.  It’s not worth getting upset over.

We all have a common goal-saving our family money!

What are your tips for shopping coupon events?