2013 Columns Archive Stories

Dear Jill: In one of your recent columns, you featured a letter from a reader who stated that she spent $45.81 and saved $47.36 with coupons. I have read numerous articles over the years where people say they get their order for free or for a very low cost. These articles never show what was bought and the coupons used. I

Readers continue to weigh in on the pitfalls of mail-in rebates. The anti-rebate emails I receive far outnumber those singing their praises. Here's a sampling. Dear Jill: I feel like companies make rebate rules hard to follow so fewer people try to redeem them. I recently learned that they can change the rules on the fly, too.

DEAR JILL: You recently wrote about stores getting reimbursed by the manufacturer. As a long-time couponer, it's interesting to learn about couponing from the store and manufacturer's ends. Do the stores hire people to submit coupons to each manufacturer? How many people do this per store? How often do they submit? Consumers never see this be

Has this happened to you? You're walking down an aisle at the supermarket and you pick up a product you've purchased many times before. Dish detergent, deodorant, a cake mix — it looks the same as it always has, but something just isn't right. Look closer. The item you know and love has changed a bit. The package may appear to be t

Are senior discounts a right or a privilege? This week, readers share their concerns about shrinking, changing and vanishing discounts. Also, a creative reader offers her save-smart tip for cheaper meats. Take a peek inside my email inbox. Dear Jill: This is a question about senior discounts. I went to the donut shop yesterday and req

DEAR JILL: I do not have a clue what you mean by "load-to-card e-coupons." What card, where do you get the card and how do you load them? How do you load e-coupons via the Internet? — Jean T. JEAN: I'd be happy to review the ins and outs of e-coupons. While I've discussed them in detail in previous columns, it never h

DEAR JILL: I can barely stand to read the letters from rabid — excuse me, avid — couponers. In one of your recent columns, we heard from a shopper who was unhappy because she wasn't able to cheat the store on sales tax and she wants to have a law about it. Another, Laura, griped that being charged less than the adv

DEAR JILL: I really enjoy your column. I work in a grocery store and we are experiencing problems with coupons. When we feature displays with coupon pads, if we do not remove the tear pad of coupons some customers will take all of them. This means that no one else can use the coupons. It would not be such a big deal if those who took all the

One of the questions I hear most often is, How do I know I'm getting the best price? Here's my standard. Whether buy a bottle of barbecue sauce or a winter coat, my goal is always to cut the price by half or more. While I love to get "crazy" deals (such as matching a $1 coupon to that barbecue sauce when it goes on sale for $1!) my usual goal is

DEAR JILL: A big toy store is also big on tricks. It was running a sale: buy two video games and get one game free. I selected three games and put them in no particular order on the counter when I bought them. As it turned out, I needed to exchange one game because the kids already had it. As it happened, this game was the third one scanned a

Recently, we heard from readers who feel it's unfair that manufacturers and retailers use electronic coupons. They argue that consumers without computers or smartphones are unfairly excluded from these discounts. This week, readers continue to weigh in on so-called coupon entitlement. DEAR JILL: I just found out that different newspap