For many, couponing is a way of life. Even when shopping at the commissary, which sells goods on average at a 30-percent cost savings, shoppers will show up for groceries armed with clipped coupons from the Sunday newspaper and manufacturers' coupons printed from the backs of packages.
"Couponing can be a hassle, but when it's that good of a deal, you can't not," said military spouse Crystal who keeps the blog ArmyWife 101 and often communicates with her readers about the secrets of saving within the Defense Commissary Agency (DeCA).
One under-the-radar trend revolves around overages, which is when the value of a coupon is worth more than the price of the item. For instance, a box of granola bars is sold for $1.85 at the commissary; however, the manufacturer's coupon for that item is for $2 off. Due to the commissary's cheaper-than-commercial prices, shoppers can receive the full value of the coupon and wind up with the overage, so the additional $.15 comes off the total grocery bill.
Overages occur because, in general, DeCA honors coupons at the full face value, although each coupon must be evaluated. For instance, if the manufacturer stipulates that there cannot be any cash back if the coupon exceeds the retail price, the coupon is good for just the selling price of that item. Likewise, if the coupon specifies that it is good up to a certain amount and leaves the amount blank, the customer will only receive the selling price of the item off.
Despite complaints in other states and reports of families using overages to take advantage of the commissaries, Nancy O'Nell, Public Affairs officer for DeCA - West, said that she was unaware of any such incidents at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Furthermore, DeCA's policies are universal, so individual commissaries do not have discretion when it comes to which coupons they will accept.
According to the DeCA coupon policy, commissaries will accept most types of coupons in accordance with the terms, conditions and expiration dates listed on the coupons. However, only one coupon can be redeemed per item and there is no doubling or tripling of any coupon. Commissaries also will not accept any "in-house" coupons issued by a commercial grocery store.
Savvy shoppers can also visit websites to help get the most out of a trip to the commissary. DeCA's www.commissaries.com site allows shoppers to view sales, including case lot events, in local commissaries as well as others in case shoppers are traveling to another installation. The site also shows product recalls, and users can view what items and brands are carried at any commissary in the system.
The site www.militarywivessaving.com has tips for shopping in the commissary, as well as links to coupons that can be printed off and also lists what items are on sale each week. Other popular sites for coupons that can be printed off include www.smartsource.com, www.redplum.com and www.afullcup.com. Commissaries will accept Internet or home-printed coupons provided they have a typical barcode and Product Identification Number.