Can You Use A Coupon The Day It Expires?

For many people, couponing is the way of life. Whether you shop for groceries, tires, or clothes, you want to get the best deal each time. While you’re doing all that searching, you are sure to find a coupon that is on the verge of expiration, which leads me to an important question.

Is it possible to use the coupon on the expiration date? Yes, it is possible to use that coupon on the date printed on it. In-store coupons are always valid through the company’s close of business day on the expiration date listed. Online coupons generally expire at the end of – or 11:59 p.m. your time on – the calendar day shown.

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In short, the coupon becomes invalid the day after the expiration date. If your coupon expires 10/10/2020, you can use it on 10/10/20, but you can’t use it on 10/11/20.

I’m not saying that you have to rush out and purchase something because your coupon is set to expire that day. It’s important to think about the product and the deal you can get.

Do you really need the item right now? Could you wait until a new coupon is issued? This applies to any coupon, whether it’s set to expire soon or not.

What else should you know about couponing? I’m going to talk about my favorite places to get coupons, both in-person and online plus tips to get the most from your couponing endeavors.

Where Can You Find Coupons?

There are tons of in-store and online retailers, so it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and be disorganized when couponing. You need a system to help you achieve your goals, save money, and save time.

In the past, you only had the Sunday paper and a few magazines to give you coupons. Currently, you have many deals and coupon opportunities. They’re designed to make it easier, and here are my favorites:

1. In The Mail

Getting coupons sent to your mailbox is still a thing and offers some of the best offers. It’s also a way to get some of the highest-saving coupons directly from the manufacturer. Learn how to go about signing up for coupons by postal mail in this guide.

It barely takes any time to sign up and you’ll start getting coupons from the brands you already love an use. Nothing like saving money on items you were going to buy anyway.

2. Rakuten (Ebates)

This isn’t a coupon website, but Rakuten (formerly Ebates) is top of the list because you can get deals online. You can often pair the deal with a coupon, giving you a double win for the day. This network has thousands of different retailers, so as you’re shopping online, you’re sure to get cashback.

If you use a computer to find deals, download the Rakuten Chrome extension when you sign up. That way, you can use the site to get the best deals on anything you buy. It’s an excellent tool and is easy to use.

3. Cash Back Apps

Nowadays, there’s an app for everything, including earning money on your purchases. You can often earn a percentage cash back for scanning your receipt from a store. Other times, there are additional coupons offered only for users of the app.

Some of my favorite cash back apps are:

Ibotta
Shopkick
Steady
Drop
Rakuten

4. Browser Extensions

Browser extensions are add-ons you download to your browser of choice, usually Chrome or Safari. When activated, these extensions can track what you’re looking to purchase and search the web for a better deal and available coupons.

Here are the best coupon browser extensions:

Honey
Smarty

5. Rebate Sites

Rebates are a great way to get items at a discounted rate or even completely free. If you purchase a lot of items off Amazon, check out Rebaid. With Rebaid, sellers of Amazon products put a limited number of discounts on a certain product per day. While the items you wanted to buy may not be listed, similar goods may be.

What’s Coupon Stacking and Why You Should Do It?

While you might not want to be an extreme couponing pro, you can use coupon stacking. It’s the process where you utilize more than one coupon on a particular item. You pair the store coupon with the manufacturer’s coupons. This allows you to combine the deals and use them both at once, though some stores have rules against this.

You can’t do it every time, but take advantage of it when everything lines up that way. It’s only possible to combine a single store coupon with a single manufacturer’s coupon. This means you can’t use two coupons from the manufacturer on one item. Retailers don’t allow that.

Store coupons can only be used at that particular retailer or location, but a manufacturer’s coupon can be used anywhere that sells those products. Check to see if the store allows you to use manufacturer coupons online for additional savings.

Can I Use Coupons With Cashback Apps?

Yes, you can use cashback apps with coupon stacking. For example, you can use a manufacturer’s and a store coupon on an item and get cash back from Rakuten or Ibotta.

With some websites, you can get points for taking a picture of the receipt to earn gift cards later. It may seem like too much work, but once you get it all set-up, it only takes a few seconds after each purchase.

Plus, you get tons of savings opportunities. You can even use the same receipt for multiple of these apps to get the maximum amount of savings.

What To Do If Your Coupon Has Expired?

There’s bound to be a time where you present a coupon to the cashier to find that it’s expired. Don’t be embarrassed; it happens to everyone, including myself. Just apologize and say you didn’t know.

Be bold enough to ask about other deals that might apply to the item. Chances are, the cashier can find a non-expired coupon, which could be better than the original one.

Can You Use Groupon Coupons the Day They Expire?

Groupon helps you save money on various things you buy, but these coupons have expiration dates. It’s similar to my original question, and the answer is the same. Vouchers from Groupon are valid on the day of expiration, too. While Groupon isn’t the same as a coupon, it is a great way to save money, and many people wonder about this.

My Top Couponing Tip

Those who use coupons regularly often plan their meals in advance. If you’re a couponing veteran, you may already use this tip. Those who are new to coupons should pay close attention!

To up the ante a bit, consider reversing your normal process of looking for coupons after planning your meals. Find the best coupons that run at the local grocery store and create the meals based on them. You can cut your weekly grocery bill by half.