When a good deal goes bad

...and it will

· Ask for rainchecks or substitutions if a store is out of an advertised or sale item. Sometimes this means you’ll spend more out of pocket at the time if you’re counting on it for a bigger deal.

· In general, be polite, but don’t be afraid to question a policy or stand up for your position if you know it’s right. Often, the employee simply isn’t informed on the actual policy.

· There will be some deals that don’t work out. There will be rude cashiers. Just keep at it – I promise the good outweigh the bad!

· Common misunderstanding: One per purchase vs one per transaction. Common understanding of couponing is that “one per purchase” means 1 coupon per item purchased. For example, if I have 10 Barilla coupons, I must buy 10 Barilla items to use all the coupons. “One per transaction” means that even if I bought 10 Barilla items, I could only use one coupon. Many cashiers are confused on this, but will agree if you present the logical reasoning. Some won’t. This makes me mad. I haven’t found a way around it yet.