LAST CALL for Those Classic Bed, Bath and Beyond Coupons

With a ridiculous amount of information to share, why in the world would I start with soon-to-be-defunct Bed, Bath and Beyond? Well, to be honest, I had a hunch this day was going to come. I actually wrote up something similar years ago as a personal guide so it was easier to do the coupon math, and had already planned to share all this now so these concepts didn't go to complete waste. It's also possible similar strategies may work at other stores with various coupon types as well. So, for the few hours remaining to use them, here it is...

Yep, all those are really ours.

If you ever had a Bed, Bath and Beyond store anywhere nearby, chances are you've received more than a few Big Blue coupons from them. Seriously, at one point we could literally drown in their mail adverts. More recently, they pushed sign ups by app and e-mail to receive coupons as well. For those moving toward minimalism, there was even a way to scan and store your old paper coupons in your app.

A poorly kept secret about these coupons was they never truly expired, so we hoarded them up for years and always had one (or, like, 20) at the ready. We kept a handful in the glove box just so we were never caught without in case we decide to pop in. Clearly one should never shop Bed, Bath & Beyond sans savings certificate, at least until the liquidation begins after April 25.

There were different types of BB&B coupons to be had. There's the standard 20% off, or you might find $5 off $15 or more. (We also hung on to a few old $10 off $30 and such, but won't deal with those in the example below.) You were allowed one coupon per item, and could use as many coupons you had at a time, breaking the buys up in different purchases.

There were a few tricks to getting the best deal with these coupons, and it was often best to mix these up a bit for the best savings overall, but here are the basics:

For an item up to $14.99 use the 20% off coupon or increase your purchase until it is over $15 so you can use a $5 coupon if you have one. However, only buy more if you really need and will use it. (Never just buy to buy. EVEN in liquidation.)

Example: I once went in to purchase an all-natural air freshener priced at $9.99. The 20% off coupon would give about $2 off that price. We use this product fairly regularly, so I picked up two bottles for a total of $19.98 and got $2.50 off per bottle, bringing the price per bottle to $7.59 before tax. Not too shabby, plus saving a future trip by stocking up.

For purchases between $15 and $25, use the $5 off coupon, if you have one. Up to $25 you are getting more than 25% off anyway, so maximize your savings.

For a single item purchase over $25, go back to the 20% off coupon. Now you are past $5 worth in savings.

And there you have it. Though it's sad to see this long time retailer go, hopefully all this should still provide a solid example of how just a little strategery can snag you the best rates and help you process using coupons for max savings at other retailers in future.

Got additional tips for couponing? Let us know with a comment below.