15 Days of Couponing Day 8: Don’t Get Mad, Get a Rain Check

Day 1: We all have to shop! Why not save money while doing it?
Day 2: The Language of Couponers – Translated!
Day 3: Where Art Thou Coupons?
Day 4: Know Thy Coupon (What does that fine print mean?)
Day 5: When to Use Your Coupons
Day 6: Buy Groceries, Pay for College with Upromise eCoupons
Day 7: eCoupons the Alternate to Clipping
Day 8: Don’t Get Mad, Get a Rain Check
Day 9: Advance Your Couponing Skills with Rebates
Day 10: Stockpiling
Day 11: Organize Your Coupon Stash
Day 12: Surviving the Checkout Lane

Worst Case Scenario: It’s last day of the sale. You have your coupons clipped. You are ready to go. You get to your favorite store and they are OUT of the rock bottom sale price items. Frustrating. What is a couponer to do? Don’t get mad, Get a  “Rain Check.” Rainchecks are usually available for advertised specials unless it states “While Supplies Last”, “Quantities Limited”, or simple “No Rain Checks.”

Raincheck

A seller’s commitment to sell an out-of-stock item at the advertised price as soon as it becomes available.

Each store has its own rules on Rain Checks so you will want to check your store for their policy. For example, Marsh Rain Checks expire in 14 days. So usually they are completely pointless for me to get because sometimes even in 14 days, the item is still not in stock or by then my coupon has expired without a new one . Other stores like Walgreens Rain Checks never expire.

Your mileage may vary on Rain Checks for Extra Care Buck or Register Reward generating products. This policy varies by location, store, manager, mood of cashier. One way you can maximize a Rain Check at Walgreen’s is if an Easy Saver Product is on sale this week and it is out of stock, you can get a Rain Check for the sale price and use the next week and you will still earn your Easy Saver Rebate. I’m pretty certain they will not issue a Rain Check for Register Reward items but they will for sale items and weekly store coupon items.

How to Use Rain Checks to Your Advantage

I say don’t get mad because Rain Checks can be used to your advantage. If it is a rocking deal, get a Rain Check for the maximum number of items allowed. It will allow you to have more time to gather additional coupons or wait until new coupons out if there are no current coupons available.

I’ve only actually done the Rain Check thing a couple of times because there usually isn’t much that I absolutely have to have anymore because our stockpile is so great. One hint is to make sure to give your cashier your raincheck as they are ringing up the item as they usually have to manually adjust the price. So if you purchasing a whole cartload of stuff, it takes them extra time to find it in the receipt.

What’s Your Experience With Rainchecks? Any additional hints or tips?

The 15 Days of Couponing will guide you through the art of couponing. It is a skill that you can learn and maximize to the full potential to help your family and help others. So if you are interested in cutting your grocery budget in half or more, read yesterday’s edition and stay tuned for tommorrow’s edition – How to Advance Your Couponing Skills with Rebates!