How to properly use coupons?

I cashiered in a grocery store for 13 years. When we scan the coupon, it does more than take a few cents off for you. It also knows if you’ve bought the corresponding item or not – or, at least that is what it’s supposed to know, when everyone has done their job correctly in the programming department.

Those bar codes, when scanned, make the computer “look up” a number. The information it finds when it looks that up includes such things as what item the coupon is for. And if it’s a Kroger coupon, for example, the programmers at Meijer should not have entered the number in their system.

The system isn’t 100% foolproof, as there are (very occasional) optical errors, such as the scanner “seeing” the barcode incorrectly and “looking up” the wrong number. But those kinds of mistakes were more common when barcode scanners were very new, back in the 70s. Technology is much improved, and the success rate nears 100%.

In short, yes, the cashier should be paying attention, but their register helps them do this. And once you’ve cashiered for a while, you move more quickly because you know what you’re doing. Also, I haven’t seen the TV show you mention, but as with all things on TV, I would suspect most of what you see is acting (i.e., staged) and doesn’t reflect what cashiers do in their natural habitat. ;)

Like @laureth said, the machines can usually recognize if the coupon matches the items already scanned or not. I was a cashier when I was younger and I did get really good at recognizing coupons, to the point that I could just glance at them and scan them (especially with the system helping out). As far as using one store’s coupons at another store, it just depends on the store’s rules for coupons. Each store has their own rules about which coupons they will and won’t accept, so you just need to check your local stores to see what their policy is. Some stores will double and even triple coupons, which is nice too.

Also, some companies send out checks (I know baby formula companies do this). You use those checks like a payment, so you can use a coupon along with those checks and get a better discount on the item. They are a nice way to save up. For example, Similac sends out $5 checks to people that have signed up on their website. I can take the $5 check they send out along with a $5 off coupon and buy formula for about half price (or less if I also catch it on sale). So, in a sense, it may look like I have 2 coupons for the one item, but since they are entered in the system different (one as a coupon and the other as a payment), I can do it.

The register tracks the coupon against what was bought.

@AshlynM I think what you are confusing as two coupons is the grocery store sale coupon and the manufacturer’s coupon. Yes, the two can be combined to get a greater discount.

You cannot use two manufacturers coupons on one item.

You’ll see that the coupon fanatics are buying as many of one item as they can to get the cheapest price possible. If they have 20 manufacturers coupons and 20 of that item, and the store has a sale price on the item, then they get all 20 at that low price.

I only use coupons for the items I would buy anyway, and only when they are cheaper than the other choices on the shelf. Usually the best value for my money is the generics, which are lower price than the coupon item.

None of the grocery stores in our area offer double coupons, and the items the people buy on those TV shows are brand name, more expensive items. The savings shown might happen if you save up for a whole year, or use coupons from other people, but not on a regular basis.

We save approximately $20 to $30 a week at the store by watching for bargains. We joined a kiosk savings plan at $40 money back guarantee, and at the end of the year, we asked for our money back, because we had not saved the $40 over the year.