Walmart is the go-to shopping destination for millions of Americans, but most of its customers don’t realize how much more money they could be saving just by using a few simple techniques.
We’ve scoured the coupon blogosphere and discovered the 10 best savings hacks for shopping at Walmart. Check them out below and be amazed as your monthly expenses begin to shrink.
Shop Early in the Morning
This might not seem like much of a big deal, but according to Passionate Penny Pincher blogger Laurie, “it. is. so. important.” One of the main reasons going early is so crucial is because there are fewer people and the overall experience is likely to be better. From a saving pespective, the shelves are usually freshly stocked overnight, so the odds of them being sold out of a heavily discounted product is much smaller. You’ll have the pick of the litter, so to speak.
Keep Your Eye Out for Clearance Items
If you are in a rush, then this might not be possible, but if you have a few minutes to spare, then it’s worth the time to search through the store and try to spot the clearance sections for each department. The Penny Hoarder contributor Ami Spencer Youngs notes that, “Sale items are often placed in the back of a department or on end caps to force you past the full-priced merchandise in that section of the store.”
Bring Other Store Ads With You
In case you didn’t know, Walmart has a famously accommodating ad match guarantee. You can read more about it in our in-depth review of the policy here, but suffice it to say that it’s very advantageous for the customer. The best way to make sure you don’t miss out on any price matching opportunities is by bringing the competitor sales flyers with you to the store. Just make sure to remember this tip from I Heart The Mart: “Don’t cut them up, they will need to verify the dates on them because you can only use a current ad price.”
Get Free Samples from Walmart.com
Not too many people realize this, but Walmart offers daily freebies on its website. While you won’t always necessarily be interested in what’s available, odds are you’ll find something you like at some point, so the page is worth bookmarking and checking regularly. Queen of Free blogger Cherie Lowe also points out, “these samples often arrive with coupons in the packaging,” so you can score even more savings.
Always Use Coupons
Walmart not only accepts manufacturer coupons, but also has its own printable coupons available on its website. In addition to the manufacturer coupons and its own online printables, Walmart also takes soft drink container cap coupons and catalinas. Though Walmart doesn’t permit stacking, they make up for that by allowing some competitors coupons.
The best part of it all is that Walmart is one of the very few stores that actually permits overages. An overage is when the value of the coupons are greater than the value of the product being purchased. In those instances, Walmart will actually give the customer cash back. Just be very careful to abide by their coupon policy, so you don’t run into any issues at the register.
