September is national coupon month. That's great in theory...until you try to use some coupons you found on the internet, and the store rejects them!
These days, how do you know if a coupon is valid or not?
Great Coupon for Free Dinner...or...Several viewers recently forwarded to me some awesome new coupons for TGI Fridays. The coupons offer a
free Friday's dinner entree.Only problem? They are
counterfeit coupons.
By comparison, several websites offer legitimate Friday's coupons. With most of them, you buy one entree, get one free.
What's the difference? The "free entree" coupons were too good to be true... just like similar bogus coupons circulating now for
Free Bertolli Olive Oil,
free Tide Detergent (a perennial favorite in emails) and one for $
4 off a $2 box of Quaker Oatmeal (is it so bad Quaker is giving away the Oatmeal free, then throwing in another two dollars?)
How to Avoid the FakesYou can usually avoid the bogus ones if you stick with official coupon websites and Mommy blogs (Two of my favorites locally are Little Miss Know it Alls and Mommy Snacks..click links).
Still unsure? Check with the Coupon Information Center (click link). It says warning signs of a phony coupon include:
- No expiration date.
- A free product (like Tide detergent) or free restaurant meal.
- The logo appears copied, shrunk, or doctored.
- The coupons are for an unusually high dollar amount, like $5 off
- The coupons were e-mailed to you.
- It seems like the company could go out of business if it honored thousands of these coupons
My advice To be safe, beware emailed coupons: Most legitimate grocery coupons cannot be e-mailed and printed. With most these days, you need to download a "coupon printer" program onto your computer, which prevents multiple printings of the same coupon.
Never photocopy, scan, or forward coupons to friends. The coupons may not work, and you may be breaking the law.
So stick with legitimate sources, so you don't waste your money. I'm John Matarese.
