To access and use the coupons, you simply sign up for Zavers with your store card, and click through the list of coupons online to select those you want to use.  Once the coupons have been linked to your store shopping card, the discounts will be automatically redeemed at checkout when you use your shopping card.

You can store and use up to 40 clipfree coupons through Zavers.  Paperless coupons are not doubled or tripled.  Some manufacturers allow the use of a paperless coupon and a paper coupon for the same item, while others do not.
Stores currently participating in this new program include:

• A&P
• Waldbaum’s
• Superfresh
• The Food Emporium
• Pathmark

Mambo Sprouts has updated their programs, and now offer coupon booklets, printable coupons, free samples, consumer surveys, and education materials through direct mail, email, and in-store distribution. When you sign up for Mambo Sprouts

here – Mambo Sprouts Sign up

you will receive:

• Coupon books for natural & organic products mailed directly to your home (3 times a year).
• Mambo Messenger (an educational and informative printed newsletter) and free product samples sent occasionally.
• E-Coupon alerts, special offers and chances to win great products and prizes.
• Monthly E-Newsletter with healthy living tips and recipes

Coupons Booklets and Home Mailer Program:
The Mambo Sprouts Messenger coupon booklet is mailed three times a year to 385,000 health, natural, and organic product consumers in the metro and suburban areas of Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore/Washington, D.C., Chicago, Denver/Boulder, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. MORE LOCATIONS ARE BEING ADDED, so check on their website for delivery in your area.
 

Mambo Sprouts Printable Coupons:
Mambo Sprouts also provides online printable coupons, redeemable at any store carrying the product and accepting printable coupons.

Mambo Sprouts Printable Coupons

 
Mambo Sprouts Booklet Coupons In Stores:
The Mambo Sprouts program is also shipped directly to almost 1,000 retail locations three times a year. Additionally, the Mambo Mailer is sent to retail locations four times a year and a special Holiday booklet is also distributed in-store during the busy holiday season.

You can search for stores where they are available in your area

here

Stores that typically carry the booklets at the Customer Service desk (free of charge) include:

• Bigg’s
• Earth Fare
• Henry’s
• Lazy Acres
• Lowe’s Foods
• MOM’s
• Mrs. Green’s
• Mustard Seed
• Native sun
• PCC
• Ralph’s
• Shop Rite
• Sun Harvest
• Ukrop’s
• Wild Nature
• Whole Foods

If you store does not carry the Mambo Sprouts booklets, you can contact Mambo Sprouts

here

and they will contact the store to see if they would be interested in providing them.

Coupons at Whole Foods Market
Mambo Sprouts publishes the Whole Foods Whole Deal coupons and coupon booklets, which can only be used in Whole Foods Markets. You can find Mambo Sprouts coupons inside The Whole Deal in-store value guide available at your local Whole Foods Market. It’s chock-full of coupons, budget recipes, money saving tips and more! Visit www.wholefoodsmarket.com to find your closest store.

Go Mambo! Mobile Sampling Tour
Mambo Sprouts also provides a sampling program.

The Go Mambo! van will be traveling to four different regions this year with FREE samples and coupons just for you. We’ll be sampling at retailers and special events in Texas during April/May, California around June/July, New England around July/August and Mid-Atlantic around Sept/Oct.

Contests and Give aways
Mambo Sprouts Contests and Give aways

Join Mambo Track

Participating in MamboTrack surveys is your chance to give natural and organic product manufacturers, stores and retailers feedback about the kinds of healthy products and services you really want, not what they might think you want. Your opinion, combined with opinions from other natural, organic, and eco-minded consumers is important in shaping new health and natural products, improving current products, new product packaging designs and much more!

Receive free health, natural and organic food and product samples and valuable coupons as our way of saying “thanks” for your input! Each time you complete a survey we offer you the chance to receive healthy product samples, special natural and organic coupon offers or other giveaways from manufacturers.

Being a MamboTracker is quick, easy and confidential. You can take our surveys at your leisure when it’s most convenient for you – whether during the day or late at night. And, your individual information is kept strictly confidential (Read our Privacy Statement), so there’s no risk to you.

Innovative companies like General Mills, Kraft, and Kellogg’s/Kashi, Proctor and Gamble, Clorox… are but a few of the companies than have recently developed “consumer advisor” programs to allow consumers to purchase full size products at the store for free. Consumers then have the opportunity to give feedback to the companies on everything from taste to pricing, and of course to spread the word with coupons on products to friends and family.

We have recently researched and updated our guides to brand sampling programs, brand consumer advisor panels, and other coupon sources on our individual brand pages. Look through your favorite brands, and sign up for their panels. Many programs are “invitation only”, so if you don’t see a program listed, contact the company and ask if they have one, or sign up for their newsletter and be on the invite list when one is developed.

Here are two of my favorite free product programs:

General Mills Pssst advisory board. Pssst is the new consumer advisory board from General Mills. This program is similar to the Kraft First Taste program, sending out free product coupons, as well as samples and coupons to share, with members.

From the Pssst homepage

Pssst… also offers a behind-the-scenes look at General Mills and occasionally an opportunity to give your opinion about products and initiatives. Pssst… is fun and it’s free to Join.

Pssst…is all about some of the best known food and consumer brands in the country. If you would like to receive news about new products (and even samples and coupons from time to time), you can become a member.

To date, many of the coupon programs have been for ‘favorite’ existing products, like Pillsbury Pizza Dough, Progresso Soups, Yoplait Yogurt, as well as some of the new products. Typically members are provided one coupon for a FREE PRODUCT, by mail, along with 10 high value dollar off coupons to share with friends (such as $1.50 off one pizza dough, which typically is sale priced at $1 – $2). Other offers have included free product printable coupons, with links to share high value coupons with friends via email. There are also sweepstakes, games, recipes, and surveys.

Kraft First Taste community program. Kraft First Taste is a “redo” of their previous Food and Family consumer program. Since Kraft F&F sent out regular newsletter emails, the free sample promotions often got lost in inboxes. Under this new program, the invitations come out under a separate email address and the subjects lines are fairly clear that it’s time to try a new products.

From the Kraft First Taste home page:

Coupons are usually sent by postal mail, and include one free product coupon and up to 3 high value coupons. After you have tried a products and provided feedback, links are typically provided to invite friends to receive their own free product coupons, or high value coupons. You can invite up to ten friends at a time, and the second round coupons go quickly.

Free products from Kraft are always for new products. They are often fairly high value, such as full size DiGiorno pizzas, but also include Jell-O singles and Flat Bread melts. It all depends upon your profile, and the feedback you provide; the more feedback you give, the more likely you are to be invited to receive more free products and to be given choices as to the products you would like to try.

To find more about these and other brand consumer testing programs, as well as newsletters, coupons, and other current offers, start with our new brand resource guide page, click on the link for the brand you are interested in, and you’ll be taken to a new page of all current resources, advisory panels, newsletters, coupons, contacts, and other information for that brand.

If you know of a program not currently listed, just email us or post a comment, and we’ll get the appropriate links added in.

Return to Where to Find Coupons

Prescription Costs

The cost of health care is rising, and with it the cost of prescriptions and over-the-counter pharmacy items. At the same time, there have been major changes in most major insurance medical and prescription coverage plans, including Medicare, and in the availability of generic medications. The rules covering Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) have also been changing.

In the midst of this, pharmaceutical companies are stepping up the competition for your business, and your loyalty to their brand name medications. Coupons, rebates, and co-payment coverage are all available from most major manufacturers. Grocery store pharmacies are also competing for your business, with FSA promotions, coupon offers, and discount generic medications.

There are several ways to save significantly on prescription and over-the-counter pharmacy products:

Compare Prices

It may be obvious, but no matter what coupons, offers, or other promotions available to your, the bottom line to saving money on prescriptions is to compare prices at different stores. Why? First, for name brand prescriptions, the drug companies do invest in developing the drug, and need to recover the costs from selling the drug. So while the medication itself may not cost much to manufacturer, a portion of the cost of research and development are passed on to the consumer. When a drug goes generic, other companies produce the drug without the R&D costs, and the price can be fairly low. But…store pharmacies have their own costs to recover. Grocery stores typically have small pharmacies, with few customers, yet must recover the same costs of employing pharmacists, technicians, keeping fresh medications on shelves, and so on, as the large pharmacies and warehouses. A grocery store may fill 10 prescriptions a day while a warehouse pharmacy fills 1000, yet the overhead costs of staff and keeping shelves stocked are comparable. The grocery store ‘tacks on’ a mark up to the prescription price to cover their costs, and in this example it would add 100 times more to the cost of a prescription than at the warehouse.

While most grocery stores have given in to the competition for low price generics (see our list of stores that offer $4 generic medications HERE), the mark-ups lost on generic medications simply get added on to the name brand medications. A 30 day supply of Lamictal, an epilepsy drug, is typically priced at $100 at Costco, and $500 at Giant. Do a bit of research, and you might be surprised.

Tip: While Costco itself is a membership warehouse, the Costco Pharmacy is not. You do not need to be a Costco member to purchase your medications at Costco.

Prescription Coupons, Rebates, and Co-payment Reduction Savings Programs

Manufacturers regularly offer printable coupons for dollar-off discounts, free trials, and co-payment reductions on many brand-name medications. There are also money-back mail-in rebates and savings. While these offers were previously limited to introducing consumers to new medications, economic changes have led companies to provide additional and regular savings on many medications.

You can find current offers, listed by medication, on our Rx prescription coupon page.

You may also find these offers in magazines, at the pharmacy counter, and at your doctor’s office.

Insurance information is typically not required to fill a sample or trial offer prescription. A doctor’s written prescription is required, however, to be submitted with the coupon or voucher.

Once you redeem a trial or other prescription coupon, the manufacturer will generally provide another coupon or rebate voucher by mail. Each time you redeem one, another is provided. With many competing prescription products on the markets, brand loyalty can (and should) be well rewarded.

Even if you are already taking a particular medication, manufacturer offers may be available. Regular “card holder” discounts, manufacturer coupons (also referred to as pharmacy checks), and rebates are increasingly common for brand name prescriptions when a generic alternative is not available but similar, competing, medications are.

Several manufacturers also have “Rewards Programs”, allowing you to submit your receipts for rebates and free gifts. $40 – $200 a year in cash back, as well as free samples and gifts, can add up quickly to reduce or offset prescription costs.

Tips for using these offers:

• As with most coupons, before you print, make sure your printer is turned on and has adequate ink and paper before printing your offer. Allow for pop-ups from the manufacturer’s page. Check that the offer has printed correctly before closing the page. Do not make copies of the printed coupon, as each print is usually coded with a unique number that can only be used once.
• Present prescription coupons to the pharmacist BEFORE you fill your prescription. While most pharmacists are familiar with prescription coupons, they may not be aware of a particular offer, or the requirements for redeeming a particular offer. Allow time in your schedule for the pharmacist to review the coupon or voucher, check for special requirements, and confirm that he or she is able to process it. If the pharmacy cannot process your offer, don’t be shy about taking the coupon, and your business, to another store.
• Read the terms of each offer carefully. Some coupons can only be used towards co-pays, while others can be used to reduce all out-of-pocket expenses. The coupon or rebate can never exceed your out-of-pocket expenses, so do not expect cash-back, no matter the coupon value.
• Read rebate forms carefully, complete the information and submit all required materials, including receipts, together as instructed on the rebate.

Store coupons and gift card offers

Most grocery store pharmacies are now offering enticements to keep and bring in new business. Alert shoppers can clip coupons from weekly store sales circulars offering store gift cards of $10 – $50 when you fill a new or transferred prescription. Simply present the coupon before filling a new or transferred prescription; the clerk or pharmacist will tell you exactly how to redeem their stores offer (usually honored when you pick up the filled prescription).

Most stores also accept “competitor’s coupons” for prescription offers. For example, if you have a coupon to receive a $25 gift card at Rite Aid when you transfer a prescription to a Rite Aid pharmacy, you can present that coupon at your local grocery store pharmacy prior to filling your prescription at your grocery store. If your store accepts competitor coupons, they will give you either a gift card, credit, or cash back equivalent to the coupon offer at the other store once you have filled your prescription.

Since these are store coupons, customers are allowed to “profit” from them, receiving the full value of the gift card offered, whether or not the out-of-pocket cost of the medication exceeded the value of the gift card. For example, you can fill a $4 generic prescription, or a free antibiotic prescription, at a participating grocery store and receive back the $25 gift card offered. There may be restrictions on the coupon, or the number of offers you may receive, so read the terms carefully and check with your pharmacist.

$4/30 day and $10/90 day Generics

Grocery store pharmacies have been known for having high prices on generic medications. These pharmacies are typically small, and their overhead costs can be high for stocking a large variety of medications and staffing the store with pharmacists and technicians. Now, however, these same pharmacies find themselves competing for consumers in an increasingly aggressive market. After Walmart and Target introduced bargain prices on generic prescriptions, most grocery store pharmacies followed suit.

Most grocery stores now offer discount generic prescription pricing, typically $4 for a 30 day supply, and $10 for a 90 day supply. Eligible generic medications vary between stores, but most grocery stores list between 300 and 500 qualifying prescription drugs. A list of grocery stores which offer $4/30 and $10/90 generic prescriptions is provided here.

Flexible Spending Accounts

A Healthcare Flexible Spending Account, or FSA, is a reimbursement account available through many employers. It allows you to set aside money from your paycheck for health care costs each year before taxes are taken out. The money is then used to reimburse healthcare expenses not paid for by your health insurance plan during that calendar year. At the end of the year, any unspent funds remaining in your FSA are lost, so careful planning and attention are required to ensure that your funds are fully put to good use before they expire.

Healthcare FSA funds can be used for prescription co-payments and many over-the-counter (OTC) medications and products. Your employer can provide you with a list of the specific items covered by your employers plan; the following OTC items are usually included:

• Allergy Prevention and Treatment
• Analgesics/Antipyretics
• Antacids and Acid Reducers
• Anti-arthritics
• Antibiotics
• Anticandial
• Antidiarrheal and Laxatives
• Antifungal
• Antihistamines
• Anti-itch Lotions and Creams
• Antiseptics
• Asthma Medicines
• Bandages
• Blood Pressure Monitor
• Bug Bite Medication
• Carpal Tunnel Support
• Cold and Flu Remedies
• Cold Sore/Fever Blister
• Contact Lens Solution
• Contraceptive Products
• Cough Suppressants or Expectorants
• Decongestants
• Dehydration
• Denture Adhesives
• Diabetic Supplies
• Diaper Rash
• Diuretics and Water Pills
• Ear Care
• Eye Care
• Eye Drops
• First Aid Supplies
• Head Lice Treatment
• Hearing Aid Batteries
• Hemorrhoidal Preparations
• Lactose Intolerance
• Migraine Relief
• Motion Sickness
• Muscle/Joint Pain
• Nausea/Vomiting Remedies
• NSAIDS
• Ophthalmic Preparations
• Pain Relievers/Fever Reducers
• Pediculicide
• Personal Test Kits
• Pinworm Treatment
• Poison Treatment
• Pregnancy Tests
• Prenatal Vitamins (Medically Necessary)
• Reading Glasses
• Respiratory Stimulant Ammonia
• Sinus Products
• Sleeping Aids (to Treat Insomnia)
• Smoking Cessation
• Teething/Toothaches/Mouth Pain
• Throat Pain Medications
• Topical Steroids
• Wart Removal
• Weight Loss Products (Medically Necessary)
• Wound Care (e.g., Gauze)

Photo Source: Fallsroad

Here are a few things you should know, and resources where you can find more information or receive updates on the recalls.

What is a Voluntary Recall?
A product recall is issued when a product is either defective or potentially harmful.

Product recalls typically involve products that may be unsafe, contaminated, mislabeled, do not conform to manufacturer’s specifications, or are missing allergen or other hazard warnings. Very rarely, recalls are issued for products that have been adulterated or tampered with in some way.

Almost all product recalls are voluntary actions, and are issued by the company responsible for manufacturing or producing the product. Their goals in recalling a product are:

• to locate the defective products
• to get unsafe and/or defective products out of consumer hands as quickly as possible, and
• to communicate information about the problems and remedies quickly and effectively.

The manufacturer decides the exact response based on the danger, where and how the product was marketed, who uses it, the estimated shelf life, etc. The specific recall actions also take into account the regulatory requirements, financial restraints, and manufacturer’s specific policies.

If the company does not initiate a recall, the government may request that the company do so. The government has limited authority, however. If a company refuses to recall a product, the government agencies have legal authority to:

• seize available (unsold) product
• stop operations
• and initiate a court request for a product recall.

The government itself cannot recall a product or require customers be reimbursed.

Why does a company voluntarily recall a product?
Recalling the product allows the company to destroy, replace, and/or alter the problem product. In addition to protecting consumer health, the company must demonstrate they have corrected the problem and are complying with existing rules and regulations. The company also needs to minimize the cost of the recall, while regaining and improving the company’s reputation for future sales and business.

What should I do if I have a food or drug product that has been recalled?
If you have a recalled medical product, talk to your health professional about the best course of action. For other products, take it back to the place of purchase and ask for a refund. Stores generally have a return and refund policy when a company has announced a recall of its products.  You can also contact the company for specific directions and information; you can find contact information and website for most name-brand products here.

Who pays for the Recall?
The manufacturer/company is responsible for all of the costs involved in this process. Most companies carry product recall insurance to assist with the costs of the recall.

Can I get my money back?
All recalls are voluntary, and the terms are determined by each company when a recall is announced. Each company evaluates the costs of removing products, replacing products or reimbursing customers, and of future “corrective” marketing (restoring the public’s trust in purchasing their products), as well as the amount of recall insurance they have purchased, to determine what they can afford and how to proceed.

In general, a company will refund the suggested retail value of the recalled item(s). The company may choose how to reimburse customers, including:

• cash or check covering the suggested retail price, or
• product exchange (damaged product is replaced with a new product without charge), or
• voucher (coupon for a free product that replaces the damaged product).

Are receipts required for a refund?
Recalls are based on returning a defective product to the manufacturer, and not the actual purchase. Receipts are generally not accepted, unless returns are made directly to the store at which it was purchased.

Manufacturers generally require the actual product to be returned (and tested or destroyed by their facility). Receipts are not generally required, since the manufacturer’s goal is not to prove that you paid for the product, but that you have it.  To prove that you have the product, they often require the entire product be returned, including any unused portion. This also allows the company to test returned product, and confirm which products, lot numbers, production lines, etc., have problems, and that any hazard has been removed and destroyed…and also helps the company protect against fraudulent claims.

How many can I return?
In general, all items recalled may be returned for full refund or exchange.

However, since all recalls are voluntary, the company issuing the recall may choose to evaluate “unusual” returns on a case by case basis, according to the actual distribution of the product, “resonableness”, and their own financial constraints.

Why the does Company/Manufacturer Need all that Information?
The goal of any product recall is to retrieve, repair, or replace products already purchased or on the shelves. Maintaining accurate records about each product is essential for a company to conduct an effective, economical product recall.

Generally, the following records are key both to identifying product defects and conducting recalls:

• Records of complaints, warranty returns, insurance claims, and lawsuits.
• Production records: lot numbers and product codes associated with each run, the volume of units manufactured, component parts or substitutes use, and other pertinent information which will help the company identify defective products or components quickly.
• Distribution records: location of each product by product line, production run, quantity shipped or sold, dates of delivery, and destinations.
• Quality control records.
• Product registration cards.

Role of Government Agencies
The FDA monitors the progress of a recall and perform audit checks at wholesale or retail customers to verify the recall’s effectiveness. You can learn more from the FDA FAQs page.

Is there an FDA food safety hotline?
For general food safety questions, call the FDA Food Safety Hotline at 1-888-723-3366. If the situation is critical, phone FDA’s emergency number, 301-443-1240, which is staffed 24 hours a day. If your questions involve meat or poultry products, call the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s hotline at 800-535-4555. More on food safety can be found at www.foodsafety.gov.

Is there an official site for updates on recalls?

The main point of information is at recalls.gov

Home pages for federal regulatory agencies participating in recalls.gov include:

Consumer products
Foods, Medicines, and Cosmetics
Meat and Poultry
Motor Vehicles
Child Safety Seats
Tires
Vehicle Emissions
Environmental Products
Boats and Boating Safety

The following pages provide specific information for buying and storing fresh vegetables and extending the shelf lives by freezing, canning, or drying, including

• when to buy/ when it’s in season
• what qualities, colors, and aromas to look for
• what the major difference is in organic growing
• pesticide contamination concerns
• how to store
• how to freeze
• basic shelf lives

Artichokes
Arugula
Asparagus
Beans, dry
Beans, green beans, wax beans, and snap beans
Beans, lima, butter, and pinto beans
Beets
Bell Peppers
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Butter Beans
Cabbage, Red Cabbage, Chinese Cabbage
Carrots
Cauliflower
Celery
Celery Root or Celeriac
Chicory, Endive, Radicchio, Escarole, and Frisee
Chile Peppers
Collard Greens
Corn
Cucumbers
Eggplant
Endive, Belgian
Fennel
Garlic
Green Beans
Kale
Kohlrabi
Leeks
Lettuces
Lima Beans
Mushrooms
Okra
Onions
Parsnips
Peas
Peppers, Bell and Sweet
Peppers, Hot
Potatoes, Sweet
Potatoes, White
Pumpkin
Radishes
Rhubarb
Rutabaga
Snap Beans
Spinach
Squash, summer (soft-skinned, including Italian marrow, yellow straightneck, pattypan, zucchini)
Squash, winter (hard-skinned, such as acorn, banana, butternut, Des Moines, green and golden delicious, green and blue Hubbard)
Swiss Chard
Tomatillos
Tomatoes
Turnips
Wax beans
Yams
Zucchini
Photo Source: imageMD

Return to Buying and Storage Guides Main Page

It’s the first of the month, which means it’s time to look for this month’s prescription coupons good at local grocery stores. Rite Aid, CVS, Target, to name a few, regularly print coupon offers redeemable for $10 – $50 gift cards at their stores when you fill or transfer a prescription at their pharmacy. Offers can be found online, in sales flyers, in stores, or in store magazines and brochures. These promotions are generally limited to one prescription offer every six months, and the drug store prices on the medications you need may be higher than at some other large chain pharmacies. But you might be surprised to find they open the door to even better savings at your local grocery stores.

Grocery store pharmacies have been known for having some of the highest prescription prices. These pharmacies are typically small, and their overhead costs can be high for stocking a large variety of medications and staffing the store with pharmacists and technicians. All of these factors have resulted in higher prescription prices for the consumer in the past. Now, however, these same pharmacies find themselves competing for consumers in an increasingly aggressive market. After Walmart and Target introduced bargain prices on generic prescriptions, most grocery store pharmacies followed suit.

Most grocery stores now offer discount generic prescription pricing, typically $4 for a 30 day supply, and $10 for a 90 day supply. Eligible generic medications vary between stores, but most grocery stores list between 300 and 500 qualifying prescription drugs.

A few grocery stores also offer gift card promotions or other store discounts when new prescriptions are transferred or filled. These offers, usually found in local weekly circulars, are fairly rare. However, almost all grocery stores, and even drug stores, all will honor the competing drug store coupons for these offers. Savvy consumers may just find that transferring their prescription from their usual drug store to a local grocery store with a generic savings program not only saves them up to $100 a month on the medicine, but earns them up to $50 credit at the grocery store for use on other purchases.

To find out more on generic programs or updates on these programs, check the store’s website. Listed below are links to a number of grocery stores that currently offer generic discount programs. If you are aware of others, please Email Us so we can add it to our list.

A&P
The Live Better! Plan covers up to a 90 day supply of over 400 generic medications for $9.99.
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list.

Baker’s
30-day supply on hundreds of prescriptions for only $4, or get a 90-day supply for only $10
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list.

Bashas Market
The discount program, offered at more than 65 Bashas’ and Food City pharmacy locations statewide, allows customers to fill their prescriptions for more than 300 generic drugs for only $3.99.
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list.

Big Y
Big Y Prescription Savings Club

http://www.bigy.com/market/phar/pharm_save_club.php

Only $9.99 for a 90 day supply on over 300 generic prescriptions
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list.

Brookshire Brothers
$4 for 30 prescription of generic brands, or $10 for 90 days.
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list.

Buehler’s
$4 for 30 prescription of generic brands, or $10 for 90 days
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

City Market
30-day supply on hundreds of prescriptions for only $4, or get a 90-day supply for only $10
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list.

D&W Food Centers
$4 for 30 day supply of generic medications
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list.

Dierbergs
30-day supply on hundreds of prescriptions for only $4, or get a 90-day supply for only $10
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list.

Dillons
30-day supply on hundreds of prescriptions for only $4, or get a 90-day supply for only $10
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

Econo Foods
100 day supply of generics, $10.88
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

Food Basics
The Live Better! Plan covers up to a 90 day supply of over 400 generic medications for $9.99.
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list.

Fry’s Food and Drug
30-day supply on hundreds of prescriptions for only $4, or get a 90-day supply for only $10
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

Gerbes
30-day supply on hundreds of prescriptions for only $4, or get a 90-day supply for only $10
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

Giant / SuperG
$9.99 for up to a 90-day supply of 350 of the most commonly prescribed generic medications.
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

Giant Eagle
$4 30 day, or $10 90 day supply of generic medications
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

Hy-Vee
$4 for 30 day and $10 for 90 day generics
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

Jay C
30-day supply on hundreds of prescriptions for only $4, or get a 90-day supply for only $10.
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

King Soopers
30-day supply on hundreds of prescriptions for only $4, or get a 90-day supply for only $10.
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

K-Mart
$5 generics and $10 90 day generics
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

Kroger
30-day supply on hundreds of prescriptions for only $4, or get a 90-day supply for only $10.
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

Marcs
400 generic medications for $3.99 for 30 days
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

Pathmark
The Live Better! Plan covers up to a 90 day supply of over 400 generic medications for $9.99.
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list.

Price Chopper
Generics, $10 for 90 days
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

Quality Food Centers
30-day supply on hundreds of prescriptions for only $4, or get a 90-day supply for only $10.
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

Ralphs
30-day supply on hundreds of prescriptions for only $4, or get a 90-day supply for only $10.
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

Sams Club
$4 for 30 day, $10 for 90 day
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

Schnucks
$4 30 day, $10 90 day, and free antibiotics
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

Shop Rite
90 day for $9.99
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

Smith’s Food and Drug
30-day supply on hundreds of prescriptions for only $4, or get a 90-day supply for only $10.
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

Stater Brothers
$4 generic
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

Stop & Shop
90 day generics for $9.99
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

Super 1 Foods
90 day for $9.99
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

SuperFresh
The Live Better! Plan covers up to a 90 day supply of over 400 generic medications for $9.99.
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list.

SweetBay Supermarket
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

Target
$4 for 30 days, $10 for 90 days
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

The Food Emporium
The Live Better! Plan covers up to a 90 day supply of over 400 generic medications for $9.99.
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list.

Waldbaums
The Live Better! Plan covers up to a 90 day supply of over 400 generic medications for $9.99.
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list.

Walmart
$4 for 30 day, $10 for 90 day generics
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

Wegmans
$4 for 30 days, $10 for 90 days, free antibiotics
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

Weis
90 days, $9.99
Click here to download the qualifying generic drug list

Photo Source: P.J.M.

It would be wonderful if everyone had access to great coupons. It would be even better if we all had the time and patience to clip them from papers, organize them, and compare them against sales prices at various local stores. It would be icing on the cake if the stores had all the items in stock, we could match the right coupon to the exact time, remember to had them to the cashier, and the coupons all scanned. What an amazing day that would be!

In real life, we all don’t have the time, patience or even the best coupons to get great savings at grocery stores. Even so, there are some “clip-free” alternatives that provide reasonably good savings:

PGeSavers. Proctor & Gamble has initiated a program, PGeSavers, that allows consumers to load coupons for their P&G products directly onto a store’s shopper/discount checkout card. Once applied to the card, the savings are typically valid for up to three months. You can opt to receive email reminders when the coupons are about to expire and/or new coupons are available. Items with coupon savings can also be added directly to your electronic shopping list. When the product is purchased using the store card, the coupon savings are automatically deducted at the register. If other family members use the card when shopping, they receive the same coupon savings. Additionally, family members can assist elderly parents or disabled relatives by going online and loading the appropriate savings onto their store shopping card, thereby eliminating the need for these relatives to haul around and handle paper coupons.

PGeSaver also provides exclusive access to a monthly email newsletter, free samples, sweepstakes, coupons, and product updates.

Shortcuts.com AOL has introduced a paper-free service, shortcuts.com, which allows shoppers to load manufacturer’s coupons directly onto store shopping cards. Simply click through the list of coupons online to select those you want to use, and they will be automatically redeemed at checkout when you use your shopping card.

Stores currently participating in this new program include:

• Baker’s
• City Market
• Dillon’s
• Fry’s
• Fry’s Marketplace
• Gerbes
• Hilander
• JayC
• King Soopers
• Kroger
• Kroger Marketplace
• Owen’s
• Pay Less
• QFC
• Ralph’s
• Randalls
• Smith’s
• Smith’s Marketplace
• Tom Thumb

New stores are being added regularly, so even if your local store isn’t currently using this service, you can review a list of stores that are considering this service here, and request an email notifying you if they sign up to participate.

CellFire.com Another clipfree source is CellFire.com, a free service allowing members to access and use grocery coupons from a PC or mobile phone. Coupons can be selected and loaded directly onto your store card. Stores currently featured include

• Safeway
• Kroger
• Ralphs
• Vons
• King Soopers
• Fry’s
• Baker’s
• Dillons
• City Market
• QFC
• JayC
• Smith’s

upromise ecoupons. Upromise has also added a new feature of clipfree coupons, upromise ecoupons, which are added directly from your computer to your grocery card, and redeemed when your grocery card is scanned. Over 22,000 stores participate in this service, which also allows members to earn college savings with your everyday spending — when you buy groceries, fill the gas tank, shop online, book travel, eat out, you name it. You’ll automatically get a percentage of your purchases back as college savings.

You can redeem up to $30 in upromise ecoupons each month! Stores currently participating include:

• A&P, A&P Super Foodmart, ACME Markets, Albertsons’s
• Balls Food, Bakers, Bashas, Bel Air, bigg’s, Big Y, BiLo, Brookshire, Buehler’s
• Cala’Bell, Carrs, City Market, Copps, Country Mart, CVS/pharmacy
• D&W Foods, Dicks, Dillons, Dominick’s, Dorothy Lane
• Family Fare, Farm Fresh, Festival Foods, Food City, Food Emporium, Food Lion, Food Town, Food 4 Less, Fry’s
• Genuardi’s, Gerbes, Gerland’s Food Fair, Glen’s Markets, Giant Eagle Giant (PA), GIANT
• Hannaford, Harris Teeter, Harter House, Hilander, Homeland, Hy-Vee
• Ingle’s
• Jewel-Osco
• Kash ‘n Karry. Key Foods. Kennies. King Kullen. Kings Super Markets. King Soopers. Kroger
• Lofino’s, Lowe’s
• Marsh, Martin’s Food Markets, Meijer, Metro Food Market
• Nob Hill Foods
• O’Malia, Owens
• P&C Foods, Pathmark, Pavillions, Payless, Pick n Save, Park n Save, Piggly Wiggly, Price Chopper, Publix
• QFC, Quality Markets
• Raley’s, Ralph’s, Randalls, Redner’s Warehouse Markets, Riverside Markets, Roche Bros.
• Safeway, Sav-a-Center, Savon, Scots, Shaw’s, Shoppers Food & Pharmacy, ShopRite, Shurfine, Shursave, Smith’s, Star Market, Stater Bros., Stop & Shop, Super Fresh, Super G, SuperValu Foods, Sweetbay
• Thriftway/Shop N Bag, Tom’s, Tom Thumb, Tops Markets
• Ukrop’s
• Village Market, Von’s
• Waldbaums, Wegmans, Weis Markets, Winn-Dixie

Zavers.com. Zavers.com, a leader in providing paperless coupons, has recently launched a clip-free grocery coupon service. The Zavers program allows you to link coupons directly from your PC and/or your mobile phone on to your grocery store shopping card; however, unlike some paperless coupon sites, Zavers does not require you to sign up for both services (internet and text/mobile). Zavers.com also uniquely provides store coupons, in addition to the manufacturer coupons.

To access and use the coupons, you simply sign up for Zavers with your store card, and click through the list of coupons online to select those you want to use. Once the coupons have been linked to your store shopping card, the discounts will be automatically redeemed at checkout when you use your shopping card.

You can store and use up to 40 clipfree coupons through Zavers. Paperless coupons are not doubled or tripled. Some manufacturers allow the use of a paperless coupon and a paper coupon for the same item, while others do not.
Stores currently participating in this new program include:

• A&P
• Waldbaum’s
• Superfresh
• The Food Emporium
• Pathmark

Online shopping with Sunday newspaper inserts. Several internet shopping sites, like Drugstore.com and Riteaidonline.com, have the same Sunday insert coupons available for your online shopping items, and these can be combined with sales prices, rebates and special offers to achieve convenient savings. Coupons are typically high value, such as the $7 off Claritin coupon from a recent Sunday newspaper. You must remember to click through the coupon offer when adding the item to your cart. Only one coupon per item can be applied per order, i.e. one Claritin coupon, one Natural Instincts coupon, one Swiffer coupon, etc. One other factor to keep track of is the minimum order value required to get free shipping.

Personalized Shopper Card Savings. Most major stores provide “clip-free coupons” or additional savings for customers who routinely use their Store shopping checkout card. While some savings are advertised, many are not. There is a new trend for stores to provide frequent shoppers additional unadvertised discounts on items they personally use the most, including food, household cleaning products, beauty and hygiene products, etc. Check you receipts to see if there are “bonus savings” identified.

Return to Where to Find Coupons

Often these events take place due to the products being seasonal. For example, it’s best not to buy fresh fruit and produce out of season. The price of a cup of fresh blueberries or a pound of asparagus is generally 3 – 5 times more expensive out of season than it is during its season. A better cost saving approach is to find fresh produce on sale and freeze, can, or otherwise preserve a “stockpile” of it for the off season months.

Holidays are another even where it is common to find specials on food and products. Turkey and ham are typically loss leaders at grocery stores for holiday shoppers, and those after Christmas clothing sales give great savings for gifts at other times of the year.

There are even other savings which may be a lot less obvious. For example, manufacturers purchase shelf space in your local grocery store. If they decide to offer a new product, they have two choices – either purchase more shelf space or reduce their product line in that store. Since self space is expensive, it more typical for manufacturers to sell out old items to make room for their new ones.

Here is a typical example of what happens. Ice-cream goes on sale at the end of winter to make space for new flavors and products which will be arriving for the warmer weather. Soup goes on sale at the end of summer, when again, the shelves need to be cleared for the fresh harvest and new products. If you take the time to consider these cycles and mark them down in your price book, you can take advantage of some great opportunities.

Does this sound complicated? Here’s a recent example and how you could have taken advantage of this:

Breyer’s, a popular U.S. ice-cream manufacturer, will be introducing new flavors and products this summer. In January/February, they introduced “in store” coupons (blinkies) of $1 on any one item. The retail price at the time they offered the coupons was $6 which meant a “fair” savings on the ice-cream. This might be were most people stop, but if you were aware of why this event was taking place, you would have noticed the following further savings.

Grocery stores that didn’t carry the $1 coupon had sales to compete with the stores that did have the coupon, with the price continuing to drop over a few weeks. At first it was 2/$9, then dropped further to 2/$7. The manufacturer’s coupon from the first store could be taken and used at the store having the sale price. A better savings than above, but you could still do better.

Once the coupon stock had been depleted, sale prices for the ice-cream decreased even more. Buy One Get One Free (BOGO) offers appeared. Any shopper who had held on to the coupons waiting for a better deal found it. But the prices didn’t stop falling at this point. It dropped even further to $1.50 a package making it only $0.50 with the coupon if it had been saved!

After the coupons expired, the price dropped further. The ice-cream eventually reached $10/10. While this is a good price without a coupon, it’s still double the price that could have been gotten with the coupon. Even so, the stores’ supplies were quickly exhausted at this price.

Why the huge discount? Breyer’s is redoing their packaging. Consumers don’t buy ice-cream in old packaging when new ice-cream in new packaging is clearly visible. New flavors and novelties also need shelf space. So those shelves had to be cleaned out of old product and to do so they needed to dramatically lower the prices.

The saving opportunities were not over for those who thought ahead. Once the product was out of stock, the sale price could be captured on a rain check! Why? Rain checks are basically a coupon for the sale price of a product advertised, but has run out. Rain checks typically don’t expire for one year. That 10/$10 pricing on a rain check will still be in effect when the new packages come out, along with new coupons introducing the new line!

The price of the new product will return to $6, or slightly higher! While everyone else is spending a fortune for the newest flavors, with the rain check you would only spend $1 each minus whatever coupons were available.

How can you find these savings in the future? Take the time to ask yourself why certain items are on sale. Pay attention to trends. Look for a reason that something has been discounted or promoted. Watch for the changes, and you can capture significant savings.

To learn more about specific sales cycles, by month, check our the Guide to Sales Cycles for Rock Bottom Prices

• Double Your Savings with Rebates
• Extending Sales using Rain Checks
• Understanding Seasonal Sales
• Guide to Sales Cycles for Rock Bottom Prices
• Coupon, But No Product: what to do when you have a coupon you want to use, but your grocery store doesn’t carry the product.
• The Gift Card Appraoch Grocery Budgeting
• Men Don’t Buy Tampons and Other Budget Busters