Printable coupons are a great way to save money at the grocery store especially when you combine those printable coupons with sales. Matching up coupons is a sure way to get the most savings. Printable coupons have some special considerations that are different from using Sunday insert coupons. Knowing the ins and outs of using printable coupons can save you a lot of grief at the checkout line.
Printing Coupons
Most coupon publishers or manufacturers require you to download an application that will allow you to print their coupons. This is a way of controlling how many time you can print the coupon and when the coupon will expire. It is also an effort on the part of the companies to prevent fraudulent use of a coupon.
Now here is the secret. In most cases, you can print out one additional copy of the coupon just by hitting your back button on your browser. Many people don’t know this, and they miss out on that additional savings.
If you have additional computers in your home, you can print out more of the same coupon, two copies per computer.
Using Printable Coupons
Many stores are wary of printable coupons because so many people have tried to do illegal things with them, such as photocopying coupons or making their own from scratch.
As a result of the fraud, stores have cracked down on printable coupon use. Check your store’s official store coupon policy. I bet is states that you can not use a printable coupon that offers a free product. Some stores won’t take any printable coupons that even contain the word free, such as “buy one get one free.”
Before you use your printable coupon, take a look at it. Does the coupon have a clear expiration date and a bar code on it? Some printable coupons also have a background image called a watermark that is hard to reproduce with a photo copier. If your coupon contains all of these things, then you can be pretty sure that it will be accepted at the store.
