Which comes first? Coupon edition

Much like the question of which came first, the chicken or the egg. Yes, there is an order to how you should distribute your coupons to the cashier when your ready to complete your purchase in order to maximize your savings. In this tutorial, I will use Walgreens & Winn Dixie as my examples. Now that you've crossed everything off your list and your coupons are organized, let's get them in order. Below is the best & proven method I have found to maximizing my stacked coupon savings. 

Here is the order in which I provide my coupons at Walgreens.

A. Manufacturer Coupons (MFG Q's)

B. In Ad Coupons (Wags In Ad)

C. Register Rewards (RR)

Why this method? If I were to hand my In Ad coupon first, I will only get the store discount on that item, the manufacturer coupon will then take the remaining small balance off after the In Ad coupon is deducted. However, if I provide the MFG coupon first, then the In Ad coupon, this will ensure I get the full value of both and perhaps get an overage to use toward my total purchase. The point is to get my OOP expense on my total purchase to zero, not just on that item that is on sale. Lastly, if you have a remaining balance, hand in your RR's so that it can be applied to your total. You may want to write the order down and store it in your coupon pouch as a quick reference guide.

Now, when it comes to stacking coupons at your local grocery store, there is a similar school of thought. Most grocers offer a loyalty card, and often times the Catalina machine will provide me with a $5 off $50 purchase coupon, plus I would have my MFG coupons. Here is how I stack my grocery coupons for the best value.

A. Loyalty Card (grocers often require this first in order to use $5 off coupon)

B. $5 off coupon 

C. MFG coupons

Why this method? By scanning your loyalty card first, this will show you what the remaining balance is after the store savings have been applied. Next by providing the $5 off $50 coupon, this will ensure that they have to give you that money off, and finally the MFG coupons. Here is why this order is so important as reflected in the example below.

My total purchase is $77.05, after my loyalty card is scanned my balance falls to $56.22, after my MFG coupons are applied my balance falls to $48.09. Which means I CAN NOT use the $5 off coupon because my total has fallen below the required threshold of $50 in order to use the $5 off coupon thus making you lose out on savings. However, by scanning your loyalty card first, then using the $5 off coupon, and finally your MFG coupons, this allows you to maximize your savings by getting all potential discounts. This proven method has allowed me to get more bang for my coupon buck. I hope this tutorial has helped to shed some light on how to stack your Q's for the best savings.