Here’s a timeline of how I take advantage of the best sales at Giant Eagle.
Step 1: Find next week’s ad. Usually Sunday or Monday, the ads for Thursday become available. You can do a quick Google search to find the ad by typing in, “Giant Eagle Ad 5/29” (or whatever date your sale begins). Lady Savings also posts the ad to her website, Giant Eagle Ad. This is specifically for the upcoming GE ad, which I love.
Step 2: Scan the ad for what’s on sale. Take a peek through the ad. See what catches your eye. Lots of deals are “Buy 1 Get 1 Free,” “2 for $4,” 4 for $8 WYB 4,” etc. If you would like some extra help, check out some fantastic sites such as Lady Savings, Krazy Coupon Lady, or Sisters Shopping on a Shoestring. They will all have fantastic GE deals for you to browse!
Step 3: Look at your coupons and match them to what is on sale in the ad. This is key. This is what the bloggers to do create “match ups.” They’re matching up what’s on sale with the coupons that they have. You may or may not have that coupon. If you do not have that coupon, you can do a coupon database search. My favorite coupon database is Money Saving Mom Coupon Database. There, you can just type in a phrase like “Cheerios” and it will return the coupons available. It's super easy to print out a coupon and have it handy. Also, double check Coupons.com. Although you may have printed some already, more may be available that are either new, or you haven’t printed yet.
What coupons will double? Coupons will double at Giant Eagle up to 99 cents. If a coupon is for $1 off or more, it does not double. Be careful, as some coupons state “do not double” right on them, even if they are less than $1. Giant Eagle's registers automatically double the coupons.
Step 4: Check out your apps and the GE Checkout Rewards to see if any other discounts are available! Apps for your phone such as Ibotta, Checkout 51, Savingstar, and Shopmium offer shoppers additional discounts for certain products. These can be used in addition to a coupon discount, so you are able to double your savings. Scan through the discounts available on your apps, and decide which ones are right for you. Once you purchase these items, you can take a picture of your receipt to submit for the reimbursement from the app. Some people find these worthwhile, others do not. Also, scan the Checkout Rewards section of Giant Eagle’s website to see if any are available for products you plan to purchase.
Step 5: Sunday/Monday - Print or order more coupons if needed. If something is a really great deal, I will purchase more coupons online. You can purchase whole inserts, or a bulk amount of clipped coupons. Inserts are anywhere from $2-3 apiece. For me, it makes more sense to order 10-20 coupons of an item I know I’ll be buying, because there are only 2 of us and we won’t use every single item in the coupon inserts. You can order your coupons through many websites. My favorites are: Kuntry Klippers and Bargain Coupon Clippers. We try to order these at least 3 days in advance (by Monday) so that we have our coupons in time for Thursday! You can generally get 10 of one coupon for $1, sometimes more or less depending on the value of the coupon. Shipping is usually $1, so just make sure you know what you want before you buy it so you aren't placing 2-3 orders and spending a lot of money on shipping. Remember, you can use up to 12 like clipped coupons in one transaction at Giant Eagle. You can use 2 like printed coupons per transaction. If you find that you need a printable coupon, print them from www.coupons.com before its too late.
Step 6: Tuesday/Wednesday - Plan out your trip! I like to know exactly what my total should be before I even check out. I write down my items on a notepad with what coupons I should be using. For example, we’ll buy Cheerios:
CHEERIOS: 4 FOR $8, MUST BUY 4.
4 boxes = $8
Use: (2) .75/1 Cheerios, doubles to $1.50, x 2 coupons = $3
Use: (1) $1/1 General Mills cereal = $1
TOTAL = $4 for 4 boxes.
I do this for each item I plan to buy One of the worst things, in my opinion, is getting there and forgetting what you came for. Also, I like to be organized so I don’t forget anything once I’m there. I gather all of my coupons and put them in either a little plastic baggie or in an envelope. I like to paper clip like coupons so they all stick together. This, along with my list, will make for a smooth shopping trip. Keep in mind that you don’t need to buy something just because it’s on sale. Prioritize what deals are most important to you and go from there. We oftentimes get sidetracked and get excited because something is cheap. Decide for you what is worth it and what isn’t. You’re here to save money, after all. Why waste it on something you may not use?
Step 7: Go shopping! Armed with your coupons and your list, you’re ready to go! On Thursday, or whichever day you choose, head to GE to save. The first thing I can suggest is to have your list out and ready. I almost always get a buggy so that I can rest my purse in the children’s seat up front and put my list right on top. I go from aisle to aisle and check things off my list. Don’t be afraid to add something that you weren’t expecting – but you may have to do some digging through your coupons first. After picking up all of your items, go through your list and make sure you have everything. Go through your coupons and make sure they are all there and you aren't missing any. Put back any items or coupons you won't be using.
Oh no! My store only had 2 of the items I wanted. I had intended to purchase 6. What do I do now? Giant Eagle is great with rain checks. Unless otherwise noted, they should honor the price of the item that you are purchasing. I usually check back once or twice within the sale period, but if they don’t have the item, I’ll grab a rain check. Keep in mind that if you want to purchase something, you can only use 12 clipped coupons at once. However, if you get a rain check for say, 30 items, you must purchase them all at once, even if you don’t buy 30. So if you go back in 2 weeks with a rain check for 30 items, and they only have 10, you can only use your rain check one time. In this case, I usually group my rain checks in 4 or 6. So if I want 12 items, I’ll either get 3 rain checks for 4, or 2 rain checks for 6. This way, if you come back next week and they have some, you can use both rain checks, or one if they don’t have what you need!
Step 8: Checkout Time. Now comes the fun part – the saving. Take all of your items to the front desk for check out. It is twice as hard to use the self checkout unless you have just a few items, and they don't work well with paper coupons. First, have the cashier scan your advantage card. Then they’ll scan all of your items. Don’t be alarmed if the total is high! Next, hand the cashier your coupons, and watch the total go down.
What do I do if people behind me are mad that I’m taking forever? I usually politely let the person behind me know that I may be awhile. If you’re polite, you shouldn’t run into any issues. Sometimes, they love to watch you save just as much as you do, so they’ll want to stick around.
What do I do if the employee is rude and tells me I can’t use a coupon? Carry a copy of the store’s coupon policy with you. Giant Eagle is almost always great about coupon usage, but you should know the rules and follow them. If your coupon is in question, show the employee the item you are purchasing and the fine print. If you still have a discrepancy, you can ask to speak to a manager.
Can I use an expired coupon, or can I photocopy my printed coupons? Don't copy your printed coupons and try to use them. Only use the two per computer that you are allowed. If you have more than one computer, you can print more than two, but never make a photocopy of them. This is considered coupon fraud!
At this point, your items have been scanned as well as your coupons. You most likely owe Giant Eagle at least a little bit of money! Pay for your purchase and check your receipt – you may have some Fuelperks too.
Step 9: Check your receipt to make sure everything went okay and snap pictures of your receipt for your Shopmium, Ibotta, and Checkout 51 rewards. I try to do quick check of my receipt before I walk out of the store, or once I get to the car. Once, we purchased toothpaste on sale for $2.19. We had a $2 off coupon, making the toothpaste just 19 cents. We purchased 20 of these, so it was a lot to keep track of. It turns out 3 or 4 of the toothpastes we had purchased rang up $3.38. This isn’t a huge problem, but it was a $4 or $5 difference. In this case, we had picked up a box marked “30% larger!” that was $3.38. We went inside, and we were able to exchange our toothpaste and get a refund at Guest Services. Giant Eagle’s guest services are great – they are always willing to assist you and talk you through it. If you have any questions, just ask them! Also double check to see that a checkout reward printed if it was supposed to. Once your receipt is taken care of, if needed, you can snap pictures of your check for your Checkout 51, Shopmium, or Ibotta rebates. These generally link to a PayPal account. It will sometimes take a day or two for those to register, but they will add up over time.
Step 10: Bask in your glory. You had your first successful shopping trip. Pat yourself on the back and have a glass of wine (that’s what I do anyways). Put your feet up and enjoy it! Until the next few days roll around and you have to plan your next trip.
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