Walmart Shopping Secrets

What to Do When Your Walmart Stops Ad Matching!

August 5, 2016 by Aarn Farmer 3 Comments

With Walmart ending price matching, first at 500 stores, then at an additional 300 stores, it’s time we all prepared for the worst. I wasn’t worried when the initial 500 stores stopped but once they expanded the test to another 300, I think that means they like what they saw with the first 500 and wanted to expand it. There are all kinds of rumors flying around that Walmart will end price matching company wide by the end of the year but so far those are just rumors.

So perhaps you don’t have ad matching anymore or maybe you found this post in the future when price matching has ended company-wide and are looking for some pointers on what to do next. Hopefully you will find some helpful advice here.

It’s worth noting before we start that the reason Walmart is ending ad matching is to be able to focus on undercutting their competitors on price directly without having to use ad matching and from what I’ve seen so far, they are actually doing that. If they continue on this path, we may not end up missing as matching at all.

Don’t be Afraid to Shop Around

I’ll be honest, 90+% of my shopping will continue to be at Walmart but if the Kroger has a great deal on pork chops one week, I’m going there. I wouldn’t stop flipping through the ads every week and taking advantage of any loss-leaders at competing stores.

Keep Using Coupons

This probably goes without saying if you are a regular reader of this blog but those coupons are going to be even more important moving forward. Don’t stop getting your Sunday papers and printing those coupons.

Use Walmart Savings Catcher

It looks like even if price matching ends, the Savings Catcher program will continue. If you don’t know what it is, it is built into the Walmart app or you can access it through a browser here. All you do is once you check out at the register, you scan the QR code at the bottom of your receipt with the Walmart app and Savings Catcher will compare what you bought with the sales of the local competitors. If someone has something on sale for less than what you paid at Walmart, you get the difference back in a Walmart eGiftcard.

If this is really the end of ad matching, I know I’ll miss it but there will always be ways to find great deals and the Grocery Shop for FREE team will be here to share them with you!

The 21 Day Grocery Budget Bootcamp ebook is here! Now you can learn how to save money on your groceries quickly and easily. Click here to get your copy!

To get all the best deals, steals, and FREE Printable Coupons for Walmart, follow me on FaceBook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, Pinterest, RSS, or email.

Walmart Shopping Secrets: Common Ad Matching Mistakes

September 6, 2015 by Aarn Farmer 2 Comments

I am a member of a lot of different FaceBook groups where couponers get together to post deals and hauls and ask questions. Some of these groups are more helpful than others and I see several couponers doing deals that don’t follow Walmart’s written policies and they don’t always get the best advice from the other couponers in the room. So in addition to my regular FaceBook page, the group page where Dian and I both share deals and the group for people that have gone through our classes, we have decided to open a new room just for Walmart Couponing and Ad Matching.

Sometimes Walmart Ad Matching can be a little tricky just because it can be confusing as to what exactly you can match so I thought we could just take a beat here and run through a few common issues and how to handle them. Please note that everything in this post is according to the written policy. If the management at your particular store has decided to do things a little different and be a little more lenient in some cases, great! Just know that this is what the policies say and is all your Walmart is required to do.

The first thing you should do before Ad Matching is to read Walmart’s Official Ad Matching Policy. It’s always nice to know the basics. So first up is a deal like the one above where you’ve got a card price of $4.99 then a $1 coupon from online or in store subtracted for a final price of $3.99.

The first thing we need to know is that Walmart will gladly ad match “Preferred shopping card prices for specific items that are in a printed ad” so the $4.99 price can be matched but what about the coupon? Well, if you have the coupon (and it’s a manufacturers coupon, and not a store coupon. Here’s the difference) you can use it to get that $3.99 price but you can’t match the $3.99 price directly. You will need a coupon to get the price to $3.99 at this store so you will need a coupon to get it to that price at Walmart.

What about the final price after Register Rewards, ECB’s, Balance Reward Points or giftcards? The policy states that Walmart will not Ad Match “Items that require a purchase to get a competitors’ gift card” and that’s basically what each of those items listed are, just by different names. They don’t allow you to take money off your purchase but give you a kind of “store credit” to use on the next purchase and Walmart’s policy specifically forbids this type of match. So if you see something like this and you have visions of walking into your local Walmart and clearing the shelves and not paying anything, just think again.

BOGO (Buy 1 Get 1) deals are a little tricky if there is no final price listed. In 49 states in the Union, Walmart won’t match this deal because no final price is listed. The policy says they will not match “Buy one, get one free (BOGO) ads with no actual price given” but there is a loophole if you happen to live in Florida. And by “Loophole”, I mean you have an entirely different policy. I go into more detail here, but if you are in Florida and there is a BOGO deal without a price listed, Walmart will match it at the Walmart price. So in the example above, if the Purex is $2.99 on the Walmart shelf and you try to match this ad, you will get 2 Purexes for $2.99.

This is the kind of deal that following the Walmart policy is designed to prevent. I know that there are people that will see this deal, try to ad match the final price listed of $.99, then use a $1 coupon on top of that and get FREE Crest Rinse with a little overage to boot but you shouldn’t be able to do it. You can match the $4.49 price but the $2.50 RR can’t be matched, then you can use the $1.00 coupon on the $4.49 price making it $3.49. There is no way to make this free if you are following policies at either Walmart or the store the ad is from.

Now here is an example of a deal you CAN do. This is from a Kroger Mega Sale where when you buy 6 items, you get an additional $.50 off each item. Since we have to match the ad exactly, some Walmarts will require you to buy all 6 items to get the discount, however most won’t because that discount is basically a loyalty card discount that they will match. Just know that if for whatever reason your cashier asks you to buy all 6 items, that’s their prerogative.

The rule of thumb you always need to keep in mind is that if you can walk out the door of another store paying a certain amount for an item (not including other forms of payment like coupons, RR, etc) then you can usually match that price at Walmart. Now usually when something like this is written, I get push back of “Well MY Walmart will match anything on the ad” and all I can say is that if you asked your store manager and they said that they want to do that in their store, more power to ya. That’s awesome and stock up. However, if you are just telling them that a store has something on sale for a price after a discount or something, then your store’s management didn’t really OK it, you just got away with something.

I really believe we have an ethical responsibility to coupon within the boundaries given to us, whether those boundaries are found in the online policies for a store or in the fine print on a coupon. I know it feels like that mindset is in the minority in our couponing world at times but I’ve talked with enough of you to know that it really isn’t. It’s just that the couponers who do things right generally don’t make as much noise. So if you would like to hang out with other couponers that are looking for great deals done right, come join our brand new FaceBook group for sharing Walmart deals and ad matching scenarios. Hope to see you there!

To get all the best deals, steals, and FREE Printable Coupons for Walmart, follow me on FaceBook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, Pinterest, RSS, or email.

Walmart Shopping Secrets: How To Save Money at The Meat Counter

September 6, 2015 by Aarn Farmer 2 Comments

Walmart Shopping Secrets: How To Save Money at The Meat Counter

After the awesome discussion we had on our podcast yesterday abut how to save on meat, we put together this short video to break down some of the best money saving tips on meat. Enjoy!

Meat is expensive. Unfortunately, no matter how much price matching you do, meat is always going to be one of the biggest portions of your grocery budget. Now that I’ve cut out all sugar and don’t eat many grains either, meat is probably where 50% of my total grocery spending goes.

The tips I put together on how to save on produce help to reduce my spending there but I knew I needed some strategies for the meat counter. It took a while to do the research and a few very helpful interviews with the butcher at my local Walmart but these tips are awesome and they work like a charm.

I hope you enjoy these tips on how to save money at the meat counter.

Buy a Large Piece of Meat and Cut it Down

Most butchers will gladly take any piece of meat and cut it any way you want. For instance, my butcher said that he has taken a whole chuck roast and cut it into stew cubes or turn a flank strip into stir-fry strips. You can get a big roast and remove the bone for soup, run half through a grinder for hamburger and cut the remaining portion into a pot roast. This will usually save you up to 30%.

Want to save on sandwich meat? Buy a large ham or cooked turkey breast and have them slice it deli-thin for you. This can save you up to 50% over the packaged tubs of meat or anything from the deli counter. (Just as a personal aside, I picked up a ham last year on clearance after Christmas and had it in my freezer for what seemed like forever because apparently no one in my family wants ham unless it’s a holiday. I finally thawed it out, had my butcher slice it for me for FREE. Then I went home and vacuum sealed it using my FreshSaver and we’ve had an almost endless supply of ham sandwiches for lunch.)

There is another benefit to this as well. Typically when we buy hamburger meat, it contains meat from many different cows. In the rare instance when one cow has an infection or disease, it can taint a lot of packages of hamburger meat. If you have a single piece of meat ground up, you know all that meat came from one animal, reducing any risk of disease.

Find Out When Your Butcher Marks Down Meat

Most meat counters will discount their older meat at the same time everyday, usually in the morning. Ask your butcher when they do it and try to do your shopping around that time to get the best deals.

Know the Grade of your Meat

The words on a package of meat can be a little confusing so it’s difficult to gauge how much bang for your buck you are getting on each piece of meat you want to buy. Just because it says Angus or anything else doesn’t necessarily mean that you are getting a tasty steak. What you need to look for are the USDA meat grades that will usually be on the packaging somewhere.

USDA Prime is the best quality of beef and has been USDA certified to come from young, well-fed beef cattle with abundant marbling.

The next step down is USDA Choice which is still high-quality but has less marbling.

The last step is USDA select. It is usually the cheapest, has less marbling and isn’t as tender.

Below that are Standard and Commercial grades of beef and are frequently sold as ungraded or as store brand meat. Utility, Cutter, and Canner grades of beef are seldom, if ever, sold at retail but are used instead to make ground beef and processed products.

Another thing to look for are words like grass-fed or grass-finished. These cuts of meat will usually be more expensive but are supposed to far healthier to eat. I’m not an expert in this area but I’m learning and it is fascinating.

Buy a Filet Mignon and a New York Strip with Every T-Bone

So I think I saved the best tip for last, or at least it’s the tip I had never heard of and was a little blown away by. In fact, I may never buy a NY strip steak again and that was always my “go-to” cut.

Every time you buy a T-Bone, there is a filet mignon on one side of the bone and NY Strip on the other. Cut those pieces off the bone, wrap the filet in bacon and enjoy 2 steaks for the price of one. My butcher recommended getting the thickest T-Bone you can find so the filet is nice and juicy and he showed me how that would save my $3-$5 a pound. Wow!

Check out my other Walmart Shopping Secrets here!

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Walmart Shopping Secrets: 5 Money Saving Apps I Use Every Week at Walmart!

September 6, 2015 by Aarn Farmer 95 Comments

The mission of Grocery Shop for FREE at The Mart is to help you spend as little as possible on the things you need at Walmart. While this blog focuses mainly on couponing, there are many other ways to save and to get the maximum amount for the money you spend. To that end, we are starting a new series that will cover some of the non-coupon related things that will help you on your shopping trips. I hope you enjoy these Walmart Shopping Secrets.

5 Money Saving Apps I Use Every Week at Walmart

When I first started couponing, smart phones didn’t exist. You just clipped your coupons and headed to the store but technology has really changed the landscape. Here are 5 “Must Have” apps that make my life easier and save me money. Just click the link to get yours.

Ibotta – This was the first “Take a Picture of Your Receipt” app I ever saw. Ibotta has rebates available for different items. If you bought a qualifying item, you will be asked to do something to “earn” the rebate. It’s usually something like watching a short video commercial or answering a short survey. In return you will get a rebate refunded to you through PayPal, Venmo or on a giftcard when you hit $20. You can see a list of possible Ibotta matchups here.

Checkout 51 – Read the description above and everywhere it says “Ibotta”, replace it with the words “Checkout 51”. The rebates are usually for different products (Although sometimes there is overlap) so you can save on a wider variety of products. (I do a full matchup of Checkout 51 deals every week)

Shopmium – Shopmium is a new player in the “Take a Picture of Your Receipt” game. The most important thing to know about them is that in order to unlock all the deals, you need a referral code. Mine is GMKACYRC, use it to unlock a FREE Lindt Candy Bar this week. The other cool thing about it is once you connect it to your PayPal account you don’t have to wait to accumulate a certain amount to get paid. Once a rebate is verified, you get it immediately.

Receipt Hog – This one is unique in that there are no set rebates for specific products. You take a pic of every receipt you get, in return you get to spin a roulette wheel for chances to win money and prizes. You don’t win very much but anything is better than nothing.

Favado – This is probably the app I use the least because of how I shop but I can certainly see how it would be useful. It has all the ads of all your local store matched up to coupons. My wife is a data contributor for this app so I know a lot of time and care go into it.

Flipp – Flipp is one of the cooler apps I use. Every weekly ad in your area is scanned and searchable. Makes price matching a snap.

Walmart App – Upload every receipt into the Savings Catcher app. Here’s a few reasons why you should be using Savings Catcher

Bonus: SavingStar – This app just added the ability to take a pic of Walmart receipts like Ibotta and Checkout 51. Exciting stuff!

Double Bonus: There is a new app called Snap by Groupon. You can do most of their rebates multiple times so you can really save big! UPDATE: Snap became the first of these apps to fall. Now it’s basically just a Groupon Lite app with almost no grocery deals. I’d skip it.

At this point, is it really a bonus?: Mobisave – This is another new one. Take a look and see what it can do!

To get all the best deals, steals, and FREE Printable Coupons for Walmart, follow me on FaceBook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, Pinterest, RSS, or email.

Walmart VS Amazon: It’s Getting Personal!

July 14, 2015 by Aarn Farmer Leave a Comment

First, Amazon announced their Amazon Prime Day. Not to be out done, Walmart announced their Dare to Compare event. But they didn’t just announce it, they had to take a not-to-subtle swipe at Amazon.

Their blog included the quote, ““We’ve heard some retailers are charging $100 to get access to a sale, but the idea of asking customers to pay extra in order to save money just doesn’t add up for us. We’re standing up for our customers and everyone else who sees no rhyme or reason for paying a premium to save.”

Well, la-di-dah!

Not to be out done, Amazon came back today with this little doozy.

“We’ve heard some retailers are charging higher prices for items in their physical stores than they do for the same items online. The idea of charging your in-store customers more than your online customers doesn’t add up for us, but it’s a good reminder that you’re usually better off shopping online.”

Yikes! Although he’s got a point, Walmart shouldn’t have different prices online and in-store, especially now that they price match their own online prices anyway.

Honestly, I can’t until tomorrow to see all the deals unfold. It’s gonna be awesome! be sure you come back here all day Wednesday to see the best deals!

Click here to get our e-book explaining how to save money at Walmart!

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Walmart Announces New Program to Take On Amazon Prime!

May 25, 2015 by Aarn Farmer Leave a Comment

Walmart Announces New Program to Take On Amazon Prime!

UPDATE: It’s now open to whoever wants to join!

Walmart has announced a new program to take on Amazon Prime! The new program, codenamed “Tahoe” because apparently all the cool names were taken, will offer its members unlimited FREE shipping on any Walmart product within 3 days.

The new Walmart program will cost $50, about half the cost of Amazon Prime’s $99. However, Walmart is only offering 3 day shipping where Prime will get you 2 day shipping on most Amazon products.

Walmart spokesperson Ravi Jariwala says this is the latest in Walmart’s moves to become an online shopping powerhouse as more consumers turn to the Web and smartphones to complete everyday tasks. Jariwala continued with “We’ve heard from customers that they want shipping that’s predictable and they want it to be affordable”

As of right now, this is an invitation only program so most of us won’t have access to it but we if successful, we could see this program being rolled before Christmas.

It also looks like the Walmart program will not include any online video or streaming music like Prime has but with Walmart’s Vudu program, I am pretty sure this will have to be included in some way to compete with Prime.

We have more info about Amazon Prime here.

Thanks to USA Today and NBC News for the details.

Click here to get our e-book explaining how to save money at Walmart!

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Sensodyne Says You Can’t Use this Coupon! (If you are Over 65 or a Government Beneficiary)

May 14, 2015 by Aarn Farmer 6 Comments

Sensodyne Says You Can’t Use this Coupon! (If you are Over 65 or a Government Beneficiary)

Every couponer has at some point complained about the fine print on a coupon. It is always filled with restrictions keeping us from using the coupon on trial or travel, or restricting the number of coupons we can use, or any other wording that keeps us from using the coupon in different ways.

But on April 12th, Sensodyne put out a $1.00/1 coupon for their toothpaste in the Red Plum flyer that has the all time strangest fine print I’ve ever seen in my couponing life. I’m going to post a closer pic and type it all out so you can read it for yourself. Keep in mind that this is not some doctored pic from some weird FaceBook page, this is my coupon from my personal stash and my personal picture of it

“Redeemable at food, drug, and mass merchandise stores. Consumer: Limit 1 coupon per purchase of indicated product(s). You pay any sales tax. You are NOT eligible to use this coupon if you are a government beneficiary. You are a government beneficiary if you are enrolled in any federal healthcare program, including Medicaid, Medicare (Part D or otherwise), or any similar federal or state programs, including any state pharmaceutical assistance program. Further, you CANNOT use this coupon if you are Medicare eligible. For coupon eligibility purposes, all those 65 or older will be considered Medicare eligible. RETAILER: GSK will reimburse you the face value of this coupon plus $.12 Handling Fee if submitted in compliance with our Redemption Policy. Copy available upon request. Cash Value 1/100 of $.01. Coupon is void if altered, transferred, exchanged, sold or auctioned, copied or if prohibited by law. Good only in USA and at APOs, FPOs. Send Coupons to:GSK Consumer Healthcare, PO Box 880658, El Paso, Texas 88588-0658 2015 GSK. Read and follow label directions.” Italics are mine and added for emphasis.

What it Means

So basically if you are on any government healthcare program like Medicare or Medicaid or you are OVER 65(!), you cannot use this coupon. I reached out to the GSK helpline to try and figure out what is going on here and they said there is an interesting reason why this change was made and why we will continue to see language like this on Sensodyne coupons and possibly more coupons in the future.

Why People on MediCare or MediCaid Can’t Use the Sensodyne Coupon

They said that if you are on a federal healthcare program, you are already eligible for some kind of discount on Sensodyne products so you can’t stack discounts because it is considered an OTC drug in the new healthcare guidelines. But Sensodyne isn’t sold behind a pharmacy counter so how are you supposed to get a Medicare discount on it when you buy it at Walmart? Does Medicare allow for some kind of reimbursement program where you can get paid back from the government if you buy Sensodyne? I don’t use Medicare or Medicaid so I’m really not sure how this works, and the helpline wasn’t real clear on this point.

Government Regulations Cause a Strange Ripple Effect

I guess the important takeaway is this didn’t happen as a result of some crazy anti-Obamacare conspiracy at GSK. Whoever the head of GSK is, he isn’t sitting in his office behind a Confederate flag looking for ways to stick it to those useless leaches on the government dole. (You think I’m being funny. This was the general consensus on the internet where I first saw this.) This is just a company doing its best to comply with the new rules put in place by our revamped healthcare system.

Be Sure to Read Your Coupons

I guess the takeaway here is that we will have to start being a little more diligent in reading that fineprint on our coupons moving forward. And be sure to subscribe to our daily email to never miss an important story like this.

UPDATE: Coupons in the News did a story giving a bit more information and revealing this language also appeared on Tums and Flonase coupons.

Click here to get our e-book explaining how to save money at Walmart!

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Keurig Admits Defeat; Ends DRM Locks on K-Cups!

May 12, 2015 by Aarn Farmer 2 Comments

Keurig Admits Defeat; Ends DRM Locks on K-Cups!

Do you remember the article I wrote about how Keurig was putting DRM style locks on its new 2.0 brewers? Or the article detailing how it was an abject failure? Well, it turns out that Keurig is finally admitting its mistake and allowing you to use after-market K-Cups in its brewers.

Keurig’s sales of brewers and accessories was down 23% last quarter but sales of the actual cups rose 14%. Translation? People still love their K-Cups but were staying away from their new pots that forced them to use only name brand K-Cups.

Two awesome bits of news you need to know.

#1 Keurig was rushing to incorporate formerly unlicensed pod brands so that the coffee makers would work with “more than 500 varieties across more than 70 brands” rather than just Keurig Green Mountain coffee. That means moving forward any K-Cup can work with any Keurig coffee maker.

#2 Keurig is bringing back the “My K-Cup”. This is the reusable basket that you can fill with your own coffee. This is important because it was really the only thing that made making coffee with a Keurig anywhere close to frugal. K-Cups are crazy expensive, putting a scoop of coffee in a little basket is sooooooo much cheaper.

I’m so happy Keurig realized their mistake and brought this horrible chapter in their history to a close. I’m also glad that in the future my morning cup of joe won’t cost as much as a cup from Starbucks.

If you would like to see Keurig Deals at Walmart, click here.

Click here to get our e-book explaining how to save money at Walmart!

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Walmart Tweaks Their Ad Match Policy Again!

April 13, 2015 by Aarn Farmer 5 Comments

Walmart Tweaks Their Ad Match Policy Again!

Walmart has added a few lines to the Walmart Ad Match Policy. Here is the new section.

The following are guidelines and limitations:

We will match any local competitor’s advertised price.
We do not require customers to have the ad with them to honor a competitor’s ad; but we do require the store to verify the ad if there is a difference in price greater than 25% from the competitor.
The system will prompt for supervisor verification at a 50% reduction in price or greater.
Items purchased must be identical to the ad (size, quantity, brand, flavor, color, etc.). No substitutions
In all situations Walmart reserves the right to limit BOGO quantities to one per customer or household

The big change here is that if you ask for an ad match that drops the price more than 25%, the associate will have to check the price and not just take your word for it. If you ask for a greater than 50%, a supervisor will have to ok the transaction for you to complete it.

Hopefully this will stop associates from asking to see the ad when you are asking for a $.20 reduction in a can of pork and beans.

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Important Change to Walmart’s Online Price Matching Policy

March 7, 2015 by Aarn Farmer 6 Comments

Important Change to Walmart’s Online Price Matching Policy

Walmart made a small tweak to their Online Price Matching policy some time in the last few weeks. Here is the line that was added.

We will limit quantities to one-per-customer, per item, per day**

That’s right, you can only price match an online deal once per day, per item, per customer. I assume that means that if you want to match 2 different items, you could but you can’t PM 2 of the same item.

So longer can you buy 30 canisters of Clorox wipes or do any of the other multiple quantity deals I’ve seen over the last few weeks.

It appears that this change was either not broadly announced or it was put in to give managers an “out” if someone was buying a large quantity of a price matched deal because most store managers aren’t really enforcing tis rule. I’ve already seen several deals since this change was implemented that makes me think managers are enforcing it on a case by case basis.

There is one caveat. You see the double asterisks at the end of the line, here’s where those lead.

**Quantities are not limited in New Mexico except when purchases are made for the purpose of reselling merchandise

So I guess if you live in NM, this change doesn’t really apply to you.

So what do you think? Will this change the way you shop? let me know in the comments!

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UPDATE:Walmart Announces BIG Changes to Savings Catcher!

February 16, 2015 by Aarn Farmer 14 Comments

Walmart Announces BIG Changes to Savings Catcher!

Walmart just announced some BIG changes to their Savings Catcher program! Starting tomorrow, February 14th, 2015, Walmart will no longer catch prices or items that generally do not have a like for like match at other retailers like bakery items or produce.

In addition, Walmart will no longer include drug stores as stores they will “catch”.

Now it should be made perfectly clear that you can still Ad Match these items at the register, they will just no longer be automatically “caught” by Savings Catcher.

We haven’t heard yet what prompted these changes. I know I have really enjoyed getting money back on my produce as it seems I miss those deals more often than not. Perhaps it’s just a labor thing, they time and energy it takes to enter in all those different ads must be a huge cost.

If anyone from the Walmart Newsroom team sees this, I think we would love to have a few questions answered for us.

Why were these changes made?
Can we expect more changes in the future?
So far, every change to Savings Catcher has been to expand its scope and make it capable of catching more and more, this is the first time it has gone in the other direction. Can we expect more restrictions?
Can we expect future changes to the the Ad Matching policy to bring it in line with these new changes?
The new restriction on produce is the one that jumped out at me the most because they are like for like matches. Produce has the same PLU code across all stores. Does this change affect certain types of produce or is all produce off the table for Savings Catcher moving forward.
And on a slightly unrelated note, when are we just going to be able to type our phone number in at the register and have our receipts entered automatically into Savings Catcher so we don’t have to scan anything anymore?

UPDATE: I spoke to Danit Marquardt who is a spokesperson for Walmart and asked her the above questions. Here is what she gave me to share with you readers.

· We are known for offering low prices that help our customers save money every day. It’s a reputation we’re proud of.
· We’ve updated Savings Catcher to focus on grocery and consumable items that make up a significant portion of our customers’ weekly stock up trips, including pantry staples, dairy products like yogurt, cleaning supplies, health and beauty items, and over-the-counter medications.
· Savings Catcher will no longer match departments consisting mostly of items that do not have a like to like match at other retailers such as produce and bakery items.
· Additionally, we are limiting our comparisons to offers of other mass market retailers, grocery and dollars stores – where we know consumers often shop for stock up trips. We are removing comparisons with drug stores.

Sooo…essentially no new information was added to the conversation. The one thing she said that I tried to push back on was she kept saying that produce didn’t have like-to-like UPC matches across different retailers. I pointed out that produce didn’t use UPCs at all unless it was prepackaged, (like salad mix or 5lb bags of carrots) produce uses the 4 digit PLU codes that are identical across all supermarkets. For instance, the PLU code for bananas is 4011 regardless of where you shop. For whatever reason, she didn’t seem to have an answer for that.

The other thing I just could not get a clear answer on was why drug stores were dropped. I got the sense that they were removed because people generally don’t buy their groceries at a drug store but the list of what they wanted to focus on includes “health and beauty items, and over-the-counter medications” which are exactly what people go to drug stores to buy.

I guess, the big takeaway here is that as soon as February 28th rolls around and our Savings Catcher money won’t get doubled by Bluebird anymore, we should probably get back to using Savings Catcher as a “safety net” for our weekly grocery shopping. W do all our own Ad and Price Matching at the registers and use Savings Catcher just in case it happens to find something we missed.

What do you think?

Here are a few other posts that might interest you.

To get all the best deals, steals, and FREE Printable Coupons for Walmart, follow me on FaceBook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, Pinterest, RSS, or email.

It’s Official: Keurig’s Decision to DRM Their Coffee Pots Totally Backfired

February 6, 2015 by Aarn Farmer 4 Comments

UPDATE: Keurig admitted defeat and ended the DRM locks in May 201 5

Do you remember the article I wrote before Christmas warning everyone about the DRM on the new Keurig 2.0 coffee pots? Essentially, Keurig put a lock on their new pots that forced you to get their name-brand K-Cups or the new pot wouldn’t brew your coffee. As you can imagine, this filled consumers with unbridled rage. The average Amazon rating for a Keurig 2.0 pot is about 2 stars.

Well, guess what? It was an abject failure and consumers responded to these new “updates” by staying away from the new coffee pots in droves. The Verge is reporting that Keurig sales dropped a precipitous 12 percent last quarter, the first full quarter the pots were on sale. Not only did people not buy, the people that actually did buy one took to the internet to complain. Most complained how terrible it was that a corporation was dictating how they could use their own coffee pot and many others pointed out how much extra waste was produced by keeping people from using their refillable cups. In fact, when you Google “Keurig 2.0” the first autofill suggestion is “hack” .

I think Keurig last sight of what made their coffee pots so successful, the fact that they are incredibly easy and fun to use. You make your consumer base start worrying about what can or can’t be used in it and you lose your competitive edge. we might as well use the old $10 Mr. Coffee drip with the paper filters.

The really crazy thing is there is no sign that Keurig has learned their lesson. There are currently no plane to disable the existing DRM or remove it from future coffee pots. Keurig, if you are listening, you’ve got an opportunity here to make back some good will by apologizing and fixing this issue. Otherwise, all you’ve got is a generation of customers cursing your name every time the go to use the $200 coffee pot they wish they had never bought.

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Get Your Tax Refund Back IN CASH at Walmart!

January 22, 2015 by Aarn Farmer Leave a Comment

Walmart just announced that starting today, you can pick your tax refund up at Walmart in cold hard cash!

Here is what you need to know.

As Americans begin to file their tax returns, Walmart announced the launch of a first-of-its-kind service that allows consumers to “skip the check” and pick up their tax refunds in cash. Walmart Direct2Cash is available nationwide starting today and will help customers save time and money when compared to traditional tax refund options.

Walmart is working with Tax Products Group (TPG), a Green Dot Company, and Republic Bank & Trust Company, member FDIC, two leading providers of tax-related financial products and services, to provide Walmart Direct2Cash as an option to millions of customers. The more than 25,000 tax preparation locations using software with the Walmart Direct2Cash option may provide this service for no additional fee or charge a maximum of $7 at the time of filing. Walmart does not charge customers a fee when refunds are claimed in a store.

“We know tax refunds can be one of the largest financial payouts of the year for many of our customers, and the last thing they want is to wait for their refund check to arrive and then spend money on unnecessary fees – in many cases upwards of $70 – to cash it,” said Daniel Eckert, senior vice president of services for Walmart U.S. “By skipping the check and choosing this new service, customers will not only save time, but also keep some extra cash in their pockets – two things Americans can always use more of.”

Saving People Time and Money
Walmart Direct2Cash offers customers a convenient and secure way to receive their refund amounts when compared to checks. Too often, government issued tax refund checks are subject to theft, fraud and mishandling, which can create weeks or even months of delay before customers can receive their funds. Walmart Direct2Cash is a secure, one-stop cash pickup transaction that reduces the potential for a variety of check-related problems.

Americans who choose the new Walmart Direct2Cash option can also save on fees when compared to traditional check-cashing options. For example, a consumer who has the average federal tax refund of $2,900 and chooses a check-cashing provider who charges a 2 percent fee would spend $58 to cash the check. This could also be in addition to a $20 processing fee to issue a paper refund check.

Convenient for Customers and Tax Preparers
When customers choose Walmart Direct2Cash, they will receive a confirmation code for their federal and/or state tax return through an email from TPG or Republic Bank as soon as their refund is ready to be picked up. Customers will then go to the Walmart MoneyCenter or customer service desk at their local Walmart store, show their confirmation code, confirm their identity, and then receive their refund in cash.

“Walmart Direct2Cash is a groundbreaking new service that reduces the cost and complexity of the refund process for taxpayers and tax preparers,” said Bill Maher, chief executive officer of Tax Products Group, LLC. “The response from tax preparers has already been incredibly positive. They believe this will not only simplify the tax refund process but provide a great benefit to taxpayers.”

“I want to personally thank tax preparers for participating in this program and for providing our customers with this cash option,” added Eckert.

Filing Tax Returns is Easy at Walmart
Walmart is also working with other businesses to help customers better manage their finances at tax time and every day throughout the year. This year, Jackson Hewitt tax preparers will be in more than 3,000 Walmart stores nationwide. Jackson Hewitt is offering its eligible clients a $50 Walmart eGift Card when they e-file through a Jackson Hewitt tax preparer. The Walmart eGift Card, available instantly upon filing, can be used on anything from groceries to tires, in stores or online.

As an added benefit to Walmart customers, each Jackson Hewitt tax filing consultation at a participating Walmart store will include free tax assistance identifying eligible health care options under the Affordable Care Act. This assistance complements Walmart’s Healthcare Begins Here program, which is designed to educate customers on health insurance options.

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Walmart Shopping Secrets: Walmart Will Now Buy and Sell Used Video Games!

October 29, 2014 by Aarn Farmer 2 Comments

Walmart is Now Buying and Selling Used Video Games!

When my kids were growing up, I can remember taking MANY trips down to the local GameStop to pick up a cheap used game for the kids. It was a great way to save money and we could get rid of the games we were no longer playing.

Now you can do that at your local Walmart or at Walmart.com! You can go to the Walmart.com Exchange page, type in the game you want to trade in and it will tell you how much you can get for your games. You can do it all online and they will send you a Walmart Giftcard for that amount, or take it to your local store and get your giftcard immediately. Walmart will also start selling used games in select stores.

There are also ways to trade in other electronics like phones, tablets, MP3s and more. You can see more info on that here.

Now here is the really awesome news to get you to use this service. You can get Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare a day early exclusively at Walmart. The “Day Zero Edition” will be available starting at 12:01 a.m. local time on Monday, Nov. 3 in more than 3,600 stores.

Walmart will also offer a 50% bonus on trade-ins for customers who purchase the game so make sure you take every used game you have in to the store with you to maximize your savings!

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Walmart Shopping Secrets: Don’t Buy in Bulk on the Produce Aisle

March 18, 2014 by Aarn Farmer Leave a Comment

The mission of Grocery Shop for FREE at The Mart is to help you spend as little as possible on the things you need at Walmart. While this blog focuses mainly oncouponing, there are many other ways to save and to get the maximum amount for the money you spend. To that end, we are starting a new series that will cover some of the non-coupon related things that will help you on your shopping trips. I hope you enjoy these Walmart Shopping Secrets.

Don’t Buy in Bulk on the Produce Aisle

As consumers we are programmed that deals are better when we buy in bulk. You can get on tube of toothpaste for $2 or get 2 for $3.50. It’s pretty clear what the better deal is there, right?

Not on the Produce Aisle

For reasons I can’t begin to understand, these tried and true laws get thrown out the window when we get to the produce area of the store. On a recent trip to the store one avocado was $.58 but a 10pk was $6. 1 green bell pepper was $.68 but a 3pk was $3. There were a few exceptions, buying onions and potatoes in bulk was a little cheaper than buying singles, but don’t take it for granted that just because you are buying something in bulk the price is cheaper. Take a second to do the math and you might be surprised!

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Walmart Shopping Secrets: My Interview With the Walmart Savings Catcher Launch Team

March 11, 2014 by Aarn Farmer 11 Comments

Walmart Savings Catcher

I posted about this a few days ago but it’s such a cool thing that I thought it merited another post. A member of the Savings Catcher launch team reached out us to this weekend and was nice enough to answer some of my questions. Let’s review exactly what the Savings Catcher program is before we get to that.

UPDATE: I got my first Walmart Savings Catcher Rebate

What is Walmart Savings Catcher

It’s really hard to overstate how incredible this program is. If you are in one of the selected beta test markets (Atlanta GA, Charlotte NC, Dallas TX, Huntsville AL, Lexington KY, or San Diego CA) you can upload your Walmart receipts and they will check them against your local sales ads. If you paid more at Walmart than what your local stores have them on sale for, they will refund you the difference on an eGiftCard. Wow. You can see the program for yourself here.

My Interview with a Member of the Savings Catcher Launch Team

1. Where are you getting your ad information from? I assume there isn’t a master database of all weekly ads, have you contracted a company to enter the info in a database? I would love a LOT more info on exactly this process is.

The ad information is provided through an industry leader in gathering data from ads. Working with our Global eCommerce team, we have developed a system for matching the ads to items customers have purchased. We welcome feedback to help us make it better.

2. How did this idea begin? It’s absolutely brilliant but seems incredibly data intensive. Who thought of it? How was it implemented?

The idea for Savings Catcher came from our continued efforts to help our customers save money. It was a team effort to bring it to life and is an example of the way Walmart is bringing physical and digital even closer together.

3. What are you plans to increase the testing areas? I love that DFW was included in the initial list but it would seem like the goal would be for this to be nationwide.

As you’ve noted from our FAQs, we are testing Savings Catcher in several markets. This is actually something that Walmart does all the time. We frequently test new ideas in markets to learn and improve.

4. Is this scalable? Again, it just seems like a massive undertaking, data-wise. (I do price match lists for my area every week. I know how difficult it is.)

It is indeed a complex project. We will continue to test and evaluate.

5. What is your role in the project?

I’m on the marketing team that helps drive the project strategy and communication to customers. It’s really exciting to be working on something like this that brings Walmart’s mission to life: saving people money so they can live better. We focus on that every day and (hopefully) this is a great example of that commitment.

6. What does the future hold for this project specifically or Walmart in general?

We are going to win at the intersection of digital and physical, and Savings Catcher is just one example of that – this tool could lead to things like eCoupons, automated shopping list and more. We are well-positioned to innovate and lead in the tech space, and you’ll see more of this.

7. How automated is this process? Is this a computer program going over our receipts or is this an actual person comparing our receipts to the ads?

The comparison is automated.

8. Will your program also catch deals on produce and meat?

Currently it excludes store brand items, deli, bakery and weighed items like produce and meat.

Conclusion

First I want to thank Walmart for reaching out. I had a lot of questions rolling around in my head and he cleared up some of the confusion I had. Here’s a couple things to keep in mind.

Not every store is checked

Here’s a list of the stores they are checking in my area. (DFW) Albertsons, Aldi, Brookshires, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, HEB, Kroger, Target and Tom Thumb. While that is an incredible list, it leaves out some of the smaller stores in my area like El Rancho, Elrods, El Ahorro, Fiesta, and a few others I can think of. I’ll still need to be sure to price match those at the store.

Price Matching Produce and Meat is Tricky

Although I forgot to ask about this specifically, price matching produce and meat is always tricky. I’ll be curious to see how accurate Savings Catcher will be on these items.

UPDATE: He got back to me and I added question 8 above. As I suspected, we will still need to manually price match produce, meat, deli, and bakery items.

It’s in Beta

They are still working out the kinks so I don’t know how much faith I’d put in it yet. Don’t get me wrong, every single receipt I get from Walmart from now on will be uploaded. Heck, I might upload receipts I find blowing around in the parking lot. But I think I’ll still do my own price matching at the register until I feel comfortable with how it’s going.

Bottom line, everyone in the test markets needs to do this every time they shop. For those of you that don’t already price match on a regular basis, this will be a great way to save more money with almost no effort being put forth.

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