*Reason #1 ~ The Kroger Plus Card
I know many shoppers cards can be controversial. People ask, "why do I need a card to save money" or think "it is such a hassle to sign up and use it." Well I have found that using my Kroger Plus card is the way to save a bundle. Being able to load electronic coupons on the card from 3 different sites is a couponers dream! As I mentioned in an earlier post the electronic coupon will come off of your bill automatically so you can also use a paper coupon for the same item! The ability to save double on one item is enough for me to sign up for the Plus Card and load it full of electronic coupons.
*NOTE* Kroger has now changed this policy and the stacking of eCoupons and paper coupons are no longer being allowed in many areas.
*Reason #2 ~ Kroger Loyalty Coupons
When you start using your Kroger Plus card for groceries, Kroger begins to notice you as a valued customer. When you sign up for the card make sure that you give them a correct home address because they will start sending you coupons designed with you in mind! Just today I received a packet of coupons from Kroger that will save me a bundle. Here are a few examples of what I received today:
*Free Groceries ~ Save $5.00 when you spend $50
*Save $2.00 when you spend $10 from our Frozen Food Department
*Save $1.00 on Lysol
*Save $.40 on Kroger Salads
*Save $3.00 when you buy 4 General Mills Cereal
In total I received 14 coupons picked especially for me based on my spending habits with my Kroger Plus Card! The total savings from these coupons will be $17.85 and all I had to do was get a Plus Card and buy my groceries from Kroger! They will send these on a regular basis also! Just last week I got a packet of coupons with a Super Bowl theme and included coupons for snack items and included recipes for items based on the coupons in the coupon booklet. I get very excited when I see one of these mailings because they are free coupons and I have done little work to get them :)
*Reason #3 ~ Kroger's FABULOUS Scanner Error Policy
This is one couponing secret that few people know...so read this carefully! After every shopping trip before I leave the parking lot I make sure and scan my receipt...THOROUGHLY! The reason...if Kroger has an item marked a certain price and it rings up for a different price you can take the receipt to the customer service desk and they will give you the item PLUS refund you the amount of money you paid for that item! You get the item for free and your money back! Who can beat that!? Just last week Chad and I went to the store for a major shopping trip. I will admit that I was tired and by the time we loaded our massive amounts of groceries we went home before I even thought to check my receipt item-by-item. As soon as I got home I realized that there was a mistake. Maxwell House coffee was part of the "Buy 10 items save $5.00" sale and was suppose to ring up for $6.99. As I scanned my receipt I saw that it rang up for $12.95 and since it rang up for the regular price it messed my counts up for the "Buy 10" sale! The next morning I took my receipt to Kroger and made the customer service associate aware of the problem. She never asked any questions and without skipping a beat she refunded me the $12.95 for the coffee and also the $5.00 I missed out on due to the item not ringing up for the sale price! I can't stress enough how important it is to check those receipts and to KNOW what the sale prices are! Hey...it could mean getting a great item for free :)
*Reason #4 ~ The infamous "10 for $10" sale
This one is pretty simple, but many people do not know this little fact. When Kroger holds this type of sale, you do not have to buy 10 items. When I see the signs for "10 for $10" all I see is $1.00 items and I am digging through my coupons looking for a coupon that could help me save big or get that item for free! This also goes for the "Buy one Get one Free" sale. If you see this sign and you only need one of those items...you get it for half price!
*Reason #5 ~ Spend $100 in groceries save $.10 per gallon on a fill up at Kroger Fuel
Many people are aware of this deal and it draws people to Kroger now that fuel prices are on the rise. However, what many of you may not know is that when you use your coupons to save a bundle on your grocery bill...those discounts do not come off of your fuel rewards. If your total bill is $230.10 (like ours was a week ago) and your coupons reduces your bill to $65.87...Kroger does not take those savings into account and you will be given credit for spending $230! This equals 2 fill ups at Kroger Fuel where you will save $.10 per gallon. You can't beat saving money at the register AND at the gas pump :)
*Reason #6 ~ Catalina Machine
You are probably thinking..what in the world is she talking about? Well you may not realize it, but if you have shopped at Kroger you are VERY familiar with the Catalina Machine. This is the little box next to the cash register that will print coupons as your cashier rings up your order! Kroger is one of the few stores I know that uses the Catalina machine on a regular basis and these coupons are generated based on your purchases at the register...so you are sure to want them and use them!
*Reason #7 ~ Blinkie Machine
The blinkie machine is also a favorite here in the Patterson home! As you are shopping the aisles of Kroger you may notice little machines that have a blinking light that dispenses coupons. This is the blinkie machine and it contains free coupons for your taking! If there are coupons in the blinkie that we need or may use...we take our share of the free coupons :)
*Reason #8 ~ Kroger Prescription Program
If you use the Kroger Pharmacy to fill a prescription always be sure to give them your Kroger Plus card. For every prescription you get filled Kroger will credit you 50 points on your Kroger Plus Card. Once you receive 100 points you can use those points for 1 fill up on gas at Kroger Fuel where you will save $.10 per gallon. These points can also be combined with the points you earn for every dollar you spend on groceries. So if you go shopping and your bill is $50 and you fill one prescription and get 50 points...you now have enough points for a discounted fill up of gas!
*Reason #9 ~ Rain Check Program
Have you ever been to the store and they were all out of a discounted item you wanted to buy? I know there have been plenty of times when this has happened to me and I would just leave the store wishing I had shopped a little earlier in the week! Well not anymore! I have become very familiar with the Kroger Rain Check and I now ask for one anytime there is a sale item that I wanted to purchase that the store no longer has. This process is very easy. All you have to do is go to the customer service desk and explain that the Butterball Bacon (or whatever item you want to purchase) that is on sale for $2.50 is no longer on the shelf. The sales associate will verify the price and that they are in fact out of the item and then they will write you a rain check! With the rain check you can come back to the store at a later date and get the item for the sale price that is marked on the check. It is very easy and yes...when you redeem your rain check...you can still combine it with a coupon :)
*Reason #10 ~ Kroger.com
The 10th and final reason I shop at Kroger is because of their website! I enjoy the fact that you can upload electronic coupons, print coupons, read the sale ad for the week, get recipes, refill a prescription, and get sneak peeks of the upcoming sales all in one place! If you haven't already go and check out the "Game Day Greats" game that they are holding on the site right now! I have already won a free pack of Oscar Meyer lunch meat and there are still 4 more days left to play! Go check it out and leave a comment below if you win something :)
I hope these tips have given you some insight into all the ways you can use Kroger to your advantage to save big! If you are going to be a dedicated couponer you need to know all a store can offer and use it to your advantage! Check back tomorrow as I begin to get down to the idea of stocking up during a great sale. This will begin to pull all of our "lessons" together and you will begin to see how it is totally possible to save 60%-70% (or more!!) on your grocery bill!
I leave you with this *Freebie* from Kroger this week! Be sure and print 2 of these coupons from each computer in the home! This item can be found by the cash registers and won't cost you a dime :)
I'm not sure how this coupon will actually come up on your screen so you are looking for the coupon that says "Save $1.00 on 2 Butterfinger Snackerz." This week at Kroger they are $.50 a pack so you can get 2 packs for free! The more coupons you print...the more you take home for free!
Wow, I didn't know about the scanner error policy! I'm a frequent shopper of Food Lion, so i'm going to see if they have a similar policy!! :) Also, I was in Food Lion today and their Earth's Best baby food (4oz.) jars are buy one get one free... they also have a coupon on their website for $1.00 off ten jars, so that makes for a great deal! Just something you can maybe pass on to your fabulous followers. :) Thanks for the tips! I'm slowly but surely becoming a couponer! ;)
ReplyDeleteDefinitely check into the error policy at Food Lion Amanda! Hey it's just a machine and very capable of making mistakes! We have gotten so many things for free from Kroger because of it! And you can't beat that great deal on baby food! Those little ones can sure be expensive :)
ReplyDeleteI know you are closer to the Danville/Harrodsburg area, but I thought I'd share something with you. I tried to use an electronic coupon along with a paper coupon last week at the Kroger here in Louisville and it would not take. The scanner automatically took the e-coupon and afterwards the cashier told me that the scanner would not allow her to use the paper coupon for that item. I don't know if it's taken effect there or not, but here we can no longer use e-coupons with paper ones.
ReplyDeleteBianca..you are absolutely correct and thank you for pointing this out! When I published this post back in February Kroger was still allowing you to "stack" eCoupons and paper coupons...but they no longer allow it :( I have changed this post so that people are aware of the change. Thanks so much for bringing this to my attention!
ReplyDeleteThe bad part of loading the e coupons to your Kroger Plus Card: it automatically takes a specified amount off an item and will not allow you to use your paper coupon, as you stated above. The e coupon is almost always less (intentionally I'm sure) plus does not double. So Kroger gets away with giving you 35 cents off a product even if you had a paper coupon for 50 cents ($1 if doubled) I think the e coupons are a rip off. They are Kroger's way of getting us to save less! That being said, one has to pay very close attention to what one loads on their card, to make sure one isn't trumping one's own good deal! :)
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