 Re: What is an overage????
I would start by reading as many threads here in the Commissary section as possible.
I shop almost exclusively at the Commissary. I get multiples of the coupons I want/need either by trading here or by getting them on eBay. You have to be willing to buy things you DON'T need (things that will give you overages if you use coupons on them) in order to pay for things you DO need (with those overages).
One of the best examples for Commissary shopping is buying the 2 oz tube of KY Jelly. It costs $1.84 at the Commissary. There are $3 off ANY KY product (KY, Uristat, e.p.t., Soothing Care and Tucks are the brands listed on this coupon). Use that $3 off 1 coupon on the KY that costs $1.84 and you will automatically have $1.16 to spend on other groceries. Now multiply that times many, many tubes of KY and coupons for those KY and you can potentially have hundreds of dollars to spend on your groceries FREE.
Sure, with buying the KY, there is the embarrassment factor at first, but honestly, to save as much money as many of us have been doing, it's well worth it. Besides the embarrassment fades as you do it more times.
The Commissary is OBLIGATED to give you overage when the coupon your present for the item is more than the price of the the item. Their own directive (company policy) says so. So they may try to tell you that you cannot get the full $3 off of a tube of KY that only costs $1.84, BUT they are WRONG--you absolutely CAN and SHOULD get that extra $1.16. Now, the only place I know of that MUST give you overage is the Commissary. Other stores *may* do it, but it is at their own discretion.
Reading up on doing this is what is really going to point you in the right direction.
It's really easy to do once you get the general idea and once you get comfortable with buying things you don't need to pay for the things you do. As for what to do with all that KY (or any of the other items that give overage after coupons), well...I donate it to a couple of local organizations that can use it (and that redistribute it to those organizations or people who CAN use it, if they cannot).
Stockpiling comes as a by-product of shopping with overages and combining coupons and sales at other stores. Getting the hang of overages would take priority, in my opinion, over starting a stockpile.
Here's a scenario that my DH and I recently did at our Commissary:
We special ordered a case of KY Jelly (those 2 oz tubes I mentioned earlier). A case contains 72 of those buggers. I made sure I had 72 of the $3 off ANY KY coupon to use on these.
We went in and got our case of KY and started the rest of our grocery shopping. We bought our usual needs like milk, eggs, bread, yogurt, cheese, fresh meat, produce, paper goods, etc. When we got to the register, we had everything scanned and our total before coupons was in the range of $300. We had coupons for all 72 of the KY, which took $216 off the bill right off the bat. The KY only cost us $132.48 before coupons, but we got the extra $83.52 off of our other groceries even before presenting the manufacturer's coupons we had for them. After handing over the coupons we had for our eggs, bread, yogurt, etc., our total came down to just over $8, including surcharge. We walked out paying only $8 and change for more than $300 in groceries (which did include 72 tubes of KY Jelly, but still).
And one last suggestion...I would go to the thread in this section titled "DECA Coupon Policy - Link Inside" and print the portion of the directive that refers to overage to carry with you so that when you go to correct the cashiers at the AFB Commissary, you have backup. They should know the policy, but sadly this portion of training seems to fall by the wayside from time to time. Ask for the manager on duty or the store director if you encounter issues with your cashier. Don't be afraid to stand up for your right to overage and don't take NO for an answer on it.
__________________ 
Couponing, rebating, stockpiling mama to 1 sweet girlie and wife of a Navy man! 
Last edited by EmmysMum; 05-20-2008 at 09:22:48 AM..
Reason: for clarity and spelling.
| 
Linear Mode
