I love getting free items in the mail. In any particular issue of Refundle Bundle magazine I have about 50-100 different freebie offers.

I’m able to accumulate this amount of freebies for a few reasons. First, some of my most loyal readers such as Virginia Ann Senyk, Lilly Petronka, Ben Salkin and Maureen Slovaki send them along to me.

I also check a group of my favorite sites from time to time to see what’s available. Kraft has been giving away lots of goodies, but it’s important to have the correct url address to access the freebie.

E-newsletters will sometimes have a freebie listed along with coupons.

Recently I’ve received Granola bars, a sample of Kashi, a Debbie coupon, and a free wonder cloth.

If you come across any free things, please post them on the discussion board for all to share.

Love that product you’re using? Found a bone inside your tuna fish can? Have you let the company know?

Getting in touch with a manufacturer for whatever reason is as easy as can be.

For example, my son’s favorite apple juice changed the shape of the bottle. I could actually get my hand around the container without balancing it with my other hand. I had to call the company and let them know. I looked on the back of the bottle, and sure enough I located the toll free number. A quick call and I got lots of thank ‘yous’ from the operator. She was thrilled to hear good news.

But when my sandwich bags kept ripping I thought it was time to contact the company. This time, I was sitting at the computer. I put in the company name, and looked for the ‘contact us’ link. I was able to send an email and received a very nice response for the problem.

Snail mail still works too if you don’t have a computer, most of the time the address is on the product package.

So take your issue directly to the manufacturer, you’ll always get a responses.

Competition among supermarkets has increased in this economic climate. This is all to our benefit.

Supermarkets are now accepting competitor coupons of similar types of stores. For example at my A&P I was recently able to use coupons from Pathmark and Shop Rite.

Pathmark had the 24 count Poland Spring Water for $2.99. What a deal. And from Shop Rite I gleaned a Brawny 6 pack coupon for $3.99.

While they will not match an advertised special they will honor a coupon printed in the flyer.

But the competition is limited to other supermarkets. When I found the Pantene hair care on sale at CVS for 2/$6 with the attached coupon, the A&P considered this a different category of store and turned down my request.

Once again, be specific with the manager, and determine in advance which competitor coupons are accepted at the checkout.

Just yesterday I shopped at Publix Supermarket in Nashville, TN. Since we have no Publix in New York, this was an interesting experience for me.

I had always heard about Publix BOGOF offers but I was able to fully enjoy the experience by pairing up the BOGOF with some great coupons of my own.

Here are a couple of my coups:

• Hellmann’s Mayonnaise: BOGOF combined with my own free coupon, I got both and saved $12.
• Del Monte Vegetagles: BOGOF combined with my $.50 Del Monte coupon doubled to $1, I got 6 cans free for a $9 savings.

Maximizing coupon use really makes sense in this case. If the coupon has a long enough expiration, use it when there are specials such as this.

The manager also mentioned that the BOGOF offers ring up as ½ price each that’s why you can use 2 coupons on these deals.

Check with your local store for their policies so you won’t be disappointed at the checkout.

Checkout out at the supermarket has become much easier. You can now self check-out and still use your coupons. This is great especially if the supermarket is busy, and there is always a checker to help the process at the self check-out lanes.

But have you ever noticed errors on your cash register receipt? Even with all the new and innovative systems, mistakes do occur. Most often, it’s because the special price has not been correctly entered into the main computer. So how much do-diligence should you exercise?

I found that if I checked my receipt upon my return home, I almost never returned to the store for the correction.

As a result, lately, I check the receipt before I leave and if and when I find an error I can get it fixed immediately. Recently Edy’s churned ice cream, Steve’s favorite, was on sale 2/$5. They rang up at the full price of $5.98. I got $6.98 credited back to my card.

But then I made a mistake, and the store let me correct it. The sale for Mott’s Apple Juice stated: Buy 1, $ 3.99 each, Buy 2 $2.99 each, Buy 3 $1.99 each. I only saw the $1.99 and took 2. My receipt showed each at $2.99 or $6 for the 2 instead of for 3. They gave me a paid sticker and the third apple juice gratis.

Mistakes go both ways. My store is willing to accept theirs and mine, and make good.

Be careful, check before leaving the store for a quick correction.

The Supermarket is an excellent source of coupons. There are at least 6 types of in-store varieties.

1. The first type is the on product coupon. Even here there are 2 different types. The hang tag generally found around the neck of the item. Next is the stick on type that you can peel off before you get to the register. Both types are used on your current purchase.

2. Then there are the coupons found inside a box. Sometimes there is a message indicating the coupon. Sometimes you’re surprised when opening the package. These are used on your next purchase.

3. As part of a package, some coupons are printed on the product and are used for the next purchase. Most common are on cereal boxes.

4. Blinking lights indicate a coupon dispenser, usually found right near the item, these are for a current purchase.

5. Aisle displays prepared by the manufacturer often have coupons as part of the promotion. On a recent display, I found a $2.00 Sara Lee coupon good on Sara Lee Deli meat.
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6. And last are the coupons that are generated at the time of checkout by the register. Some of these are for similar but competitive brands of products. If you buy Charmin the register coupon might be for Scott toilet tissue.

Check these out at your local market.

Getting an extra product for free is always fun and some stores use this savings technique from time to time.

There are a few tips to consider when shopping what is called a BOGOF. If you have a free coupon for the same item that is a BOGOF that’s the time to use it. About 2 months ago, Acme Supermarket in Philadelphia (I happened to be there), had a real special deal on Gain detergent. It was a Buy One Get 2 Free. The single price was $6.99 or about $2.33 per 50 oz. bottle. However, I had a ‘free coupon’ for Gain giving me all three for free, for an actual savings of almost $21.00. I also used 2-$1 Gain coupons on 2 more of these specials. For the 9 bottles the cost was about $12, $1.50 per bottle for a total savings of $51.00. I’m still using the detergent.

Next is the coupon that offers BOGOF. Not long ago Pantene had such an offer. In addition, in the same flyer, Pantene had a $2 coupon. With my 2 flyers, I had 2 sets of coupons. The Pantene was on sale for $3.33 each. For $2.66 I got 4 Pantene. I saved about $11 on the sale price or about $17.50 on the regular price.

And last is the manufacturer’s package of BOGOF. Often to promote a product, a manufacturer will package 2 items for the price of one. This happens quite often. I always check for Zoya’s favorite Pupperoni at Petco. The health and beauty sections are a famous for this too as is the household cleaning products.

So keep a sharp eye out for these bonus deals.

The store flyer is really a wealth of information, savings, and tips. I prefer the hard copy, but lately I have used the online versions as well. The flyer helps me determine my weekly purchases. So I use it before I ever enter the store.

First and most important is the organization of the flyer. It’s divided into the same categories as the supermarket so planning is made easier. Next special coupons and promotions are printed throughout.

The front page usually has all the best sales, sometimes called loss leaders. That means that items are sometimes sold at cost to attract shoppers. On the front page of the Tom Thumb flyer in Dallas, TX, a gallon of milk was selling for $1.49, baby carrots $1 for a pack, a head of lettuce $.77, and $.99 for Quaker granola bars. All fantastic deals.

The inside pages include frozen, beverage, snack, dairy, meat, deli, health and beauty aid specials among others. These are all legitimate sales. But as always some sales are better than others. Take the Quaker granola bars. The regular price is $2.99 each. Some sales are 2 for $4. At $.99 the savings is 66%. Now that’s a great sale and the time to buy.

So knowing the prices for the items you generally buy will help you decide the value of the sale and the reason to make a purchases.

Way back in June I shopped at a Sweetbay Supermarket for a TV show in Tampa, FL. Sweetbay offering varied types of community programs thought a coupon seminar would be another great outreach program for their shoppers. So here I am in Florida visiting 8 Sweebay markets.

We completed 3 seminars so far, but we have 5 more scheduled so I thought I’d list them here and hopefully some of you can find time to attend. Sweetbay is also giving out a $5 gift card for their store to all those in attendance.

• Monday, October 19, 4 PM: Bonita Springs Store: 8951 Bonita Springs Rd. & US 41, Bonita Springs
• Tuesday, October 20, 11 AM: Golden Gate Store: 4995 Golden Gate Parkway, Naples
• Wednesday, October 21, 5 PM: Santa Barbara Store: 4015 Santa Barbara Blvd., Naples
• Thursday, October 22, 2 PM: Estero Store, 10026 Coconut Rd, Estero
• Friday, October 23, 10 AM: Punta Gorda Store, 10175 Tamiami Trail, Punta Gorda

At the seminars I’ve seen some great coupon organizers and picked up lots of tips about couponing policies here in Florida. If you get a chance I’d love to see some of you too. Come over and say hello.

Slash your grocery bill in half