Getting more bang for your buck just got harder.

So, I’ve touched on this before.  Couponing is getting harder.  This last year that I’ve been couponing has seen some pretty mild changes to store’s coupon policies as well as the coupons that have been made available.  Maybe not so many great deals, maybe a few less identical coupons accepted in a transaction.  But here in the last few months we’ve hit some pretty big stumbling blocks as far as what I’d call coupon friendliness.

Walgreens, for one.  I loved me some Walgreens, still do for clearance..but the great deals I used to get are gone.  We’re no longer allowed to use more than one coupon on a B1/G1 offer (or a B1/G2, etc).  Also, coupons will no longer be adjusted down.  For example…I have a $1/1 coupon on an item that is on sale for 99 cents.  I can’t use that coupon now.  Previously the cashier would have adjusted that coupon down to 99 cents, no longer.  And the big thing I’m reading a lot about is the RR changes.  We’re no longer allowed to use a Register Reward on an item that’s less than the value of the RR.  So say I’m buying a $3 item and have a  $4 RR.  I can’t use it, there are no more fillers accepted.  It can only be used on an item greater than the amount of the RR.   This is going to be really close to a deal breaker for me.  Nothing has been put into stone yet as far as  I know, but it’s happening to Walgreens couponers all over the US.

Now let’s talk turkey Target.  You all should know by now how I feel about it.  I heart the Target so bad it’s not funny.  It’s very likely something that I should seek help for, but you know…it keeps me off the streets and calling you for bail money.  I had heard thru different couponing sites and other bloggers that Target was preparing to scale back on their great deals.  Since the big security breach last December, Target has gone above and beyond to bring shoppers back into the stores with great threshold coupons on food, beauty, pets, etc.  I hadn’t seen anything much at our store yet, but this week Target released a $10/50 grocery coupon.  The problem?  It was regional.  For the first time, only select areas received it.  I asked Customer Service about it and was told, yes..regional only.   Coupons In The News printed an article a couple of days ago that goes into more detail, and changes…the not for the better kind…appear to be on the horizon.

Great coupon, too bad we didn't get it here.  I have a feeling this is going to be a trend from now on.

Great coupon, too bad we didn’t get it here. I have a feeling this is going to be a trend from now on.

So where does this leave me?  Will I still push thru the aisles blissfully with my tall, silent buggy, seeking out clearance tags with a binder full of coupons?  Well, that’s a good question.  There is another big box type store up the road…but I don’t see myself there, y’all.  I don’t see my Volvo parked outside, glittering in the sun.  I don’t see a large, salted and buttered soft pretzel clutched in my hand whilst I peruse the offerings.  Store snob?  Yep.  When that other box store starts offering Phillip Lim and Joseph Altuzarra in their fall design line-up, you let me know and I’ll put right on over.

HOWEVER….that being said.  I do have a family to shop and save money for and  I, like so many others, have to go where the deals are.  So we’ll have to see how this pans out.  I can’t imagine that Target will quit while they’re ahead..but I’m not a huge corporate CEO..who knows how they think.  And like the article from Coupons In The News says…Christmas is coming and the competition is going to be fierce…would Target really risk driving away couponers with the holidays coming just around the corner?

 

Allyson Sorenson

About Allyson Sorenson

Bangor mom. BDN blogger. Volvo lover. Coffee drinker.