Coupons: Still around, but not as friendly

About 15 years ago, like Great recession It was still Tightening our walletsA new type of reality show appeared.

The contestants did not incite against each other, forcing them to eat insects or challenge them to make clothes from the trash; This exhibition highlighted how consumers designed to penetrate them Grocery bills With one great weapon: coupons.

“Extremist voucherTLC ran for four seasons, from 2010 to 2012, other consumers explain how to get elements for almost nothing. But as we find ourselves again Unconfirmed economic timesSome consumers began to ask: What happened to the coupons?

As it turns out, the vouchers are still present. But the way the shoppers find, and allowed them to use it, has evolved a little.

How the voucher changed

One of the biggest changes that the influencer, mother and coupon Brittani Klein watched Mama intelligence It is the actual value of the voucher. It has decreased dramatically.

“I noticed that instead of obtaining a voucher for 50 cents or one dollar from one element, it may now be a voucher for 75 cents of three elements,” Klein said. “This may not seem like a big deal, but it really adds – especially if you are trying to stick to a limited budget. Forced to buy more only to save a little with the voucher looks like the defeat of this purpose.”

Once again in the old days, shoppers will find coupons in the Sunday newspaper, and the stable basis voucher will buy many papers to increase the value to the maximum. But the insertion of the voucher decreased with the transformation of more retailers into digital coupons.

“It is disappointing, because this insertion was one of the best ways to get coupons,” Klein said.

Sites like Coupons.com allows shoppers to print or cut digital coupons. But “some stores have stopped accepting it due to fraud problems, and this is frustrating if it faces a problem to find it and print it.”

Another major change: In the past, if the voucher reduces the cost of an element to less than zero, you can get money. This means that you can already earn money by voucher.

What you can now get is a free element, but you will not receive money from the store.

“Do not understand me a mistake – the free still a victory, but those excessive amounts were used to add up and make a big difference in reducing my grocery bill,” said Klein.

Many retailers still allow shoppers to accumulate vouchers, specifically a voucher or deal for the store and the manufacturer’s voucher.

However, the policy of hitting vouchers – one or three voucher calculations – has often disappeared. This was one of the main methods that consumers can save money with vouchers, especially if the element was already offered. Some stores also had additional special days, especially for the elderly, but these stores have also been largely.

Many stores have restricted the number of identical vouchers that you can use at one time. For example, you can no longer use more than four identical coupons in Walmart – even if the manufacturer’s voucher allows more.

“In the past, if you have a friendly treasurer and a lot of vouchers, you can really build a stock,” said Christine McGrath, Editor -in -Chief of Crazi Lady. “There are some gaps that were connected with digital vouchers.”

Another major change: retailers such as Walmart and Kroger are no longer allowed employees to bypass the system if the registry is rejected. If you do not check the voucher, there is nothing that anyone can do or do.

How can you save with vouchers now

These days, if you want to record a good deal on an element you need to search for digital coupons. Just like the newspapers that they used to contain, many paper vouchers faded.

“Digital vouchers are more convenient, easier – it takes a lot of guessing,” McGrath said.

You usually need an account with each store to increase your vouchers to the maximum. Most stores have a reward program that you can join for free. Once you create an account, you can visit the store application or the web site to find their coupon online. You can then “clip” these vouchers on your account, and they will be there when logging out. This can be useful if you forget your coupon at home.

You can easily sort through digital vouchers, knowing which of them is more valuable or is about to finish. If you are looking for a specific brand or element, you can search for it instead of going into dozens of printed circles.

Since the voucher really became, one of the latest innovations was the stores that send coupons based on previous purchases. This is one of the greatest technological developments in the voucher. Unfortunately, it can be difficult to get these targeted vouchers.

“It is difficult to deliberately provoke these offers, but it is definitely something,” said McGrath.

Applications such as IBOTTA and Fetch have also joined the market. This has its own coupons, but it may also give you points if you scan your delivery. McGRATH recommends that your receipts scan these applications to increase your savings to the maximum.

“What these applications do is that they really embody the accumulation of the voucher,” said McGrath. “You can still stap the voucher in the retail seller, but many digital vouchers will have limits that make stacks difficult.”