Next time you’re about to toss that fast food receipt in the trash, take a second look. You might be throwing away a valuable deal.

In a recent post I described how supermarkets print coupons on the back of their receipts. These so called Catalina coupons offer valuable grocery savings.

Now it seems that fast food restaurants are getting into the game by providing offers on the back of their receipts as well. The great thing is that you don’t have to buy any newspapers or clip coupons to enjoy them. The deals are essentially handed right to you.

Now the value of the deals vary. I’ve received savings ranging from a single dollar to six dollars. As an example, here are some of the offers I’ve come across recently.

My recent Boston Market receipt featured a buy one lunch meal, get one lunch meal free. This is about a $6-$7 savings. Not bad and again no coupon clipping needed!

A Burger King receipt I received contained a toll free number. Call the toll free number, complete a quick phone survey about your visit and receive a free Whooper sandwich with the purchase of fries and a drink.

I made the call and a few minutes later, after finishing the survey, I received a code which I wrote on the receipt to use as a “coupon” for my free Whopper.

A Dunkin’ Donuts receipt offered a free donut with the purchase of a medium beverage. To get my free donut I simply visited the Dunkin Donut website and filled out a customer survey about my visit.

As with the Burger King offer I received a code at the end of the survey which I wrote on the receipt serving as my “coupon” for the free donut. It took me about three minutes to complete the online survey.

The next time you eat out, take a second to look at the receipt. It just might contain a valuable money saving coupon.

Coupons can really go a long way in helping you to reduce your grocery bills. Yet, there simple ways you supercharge your savings by getting even more mileage out your coupons.

The Raincheck Deal – Don’t Get Mad, Get Even

We all hate running in the store to purchase an advertised special only to discover that the store has run out of the item. Don’t get mad. Use this situation to your advantage. Simply claim a rain check. In the future you can now combine your rain check with any manufacturer’s coupon you have for the same item to realize extra savings!

The Shelf Dispenser Trick

Coupon dispensers located right on the store shelves are one of my favorite sources of coupons. The key, however, is to be patient. Stores will rarely display coupon dispensers with items that are on sale. Simply place the coupon in your pocketbook and combine the coupon with a future store sale for double savings.

Buy One, Get One Free Savings

Buy One, Get One Free or BOGO sales are a great way to supersize your coupon savings. Some grocery stores charge you full price for the first item and the second item rings up for free.

Many supermarkets, however, treat BOGO sales as a half price sale – essentially each item scans at half its regular price. What this allows you to do is to combine a manufacturer’s coupon with each item in a BOGO sale, instantly supercharging your savings.

Let’s say for instance that you notice $3 spaghetti sauce on sale buy one, get one free. If your grocery store is one where the spaghetti sauce rings up at $1.50 each, you can now use a manufacturer’s coupon on each can of spaghetti sauce to save even more, especially if your store is one that doubles manufacturer’s coupons. Check with your supermarket service desk to see how they ring up BOGO sales.

The Overlooked Catalina

Catalina coupons are those printed coupons that appear on the back of your grocery store receipt. They are named after the company, Catalina Marketing, that made the coupons popular.

Catalina coupons are one of the most overlooked sources of great coupons. This is especially true since the coupon is often related to a purchase you’ve just made and are therefore likely to make in the future. Purchase a half gallon of ice cream, for instance, and you may receive a coupon for a discount on a competing brand of ice cream. As long as your not wedded to a particular brand Catalina coupons are a great way to save money.

Yet you can save even more. Since they are frequently classified as manufacturer’s coupons, you can use Catalina coupons with a future store sale to maximize your savings.

Coupons are a valuable part of any savvy shoppers money saving arsenal. Yet, when you know the secrets to maximize your coupon value the savings can be truly impressive. What are some of your coupon tricks that save you money? Help others by leaving a comment below.

I’m always looking for new sources of coupons. My favorite sources are the store shelf coupon dispensers.

These small boxes, attached to the supermarket shelf, allow you to take a manufacturer’s coupon for a nearby product – no need to go through the trouble of clipping coupons from the newspaper. The coupon is right there waiting for you.

During a trip to a local supermarket I noticed a coupon dispenser for Quaker Oats chewy granola bars. These are one of my favorite on the go snacks. Instinctively, I pulled the coupon from the dispenser and picked up my box of Quaker Oats granola bars.

Yet,  I just committed the very same mistake that almost all shoppers make with these convenient coupon dispensers.

You see the grocery store and food manufacturer are both betting that you’ll immediately use your new found coupon.

What’s wrong with that? - Well nothing, but the simple fact is that you’ll save even more money simply by waiting to use your coupon. Instead of instinctively using the coupon from the coupon dispenser, just place it in your wallet or purse for later.

Supermarkets and manufacturers rarely offer more than one promotion on any given product at a time. So you’ll never see a coupon dispenser offering a coupon for a product that’s already on sale.

By waiting to use the coupon you get from the coupon dispenser you can combine the coupon with savings from a future sale on the very same item.

Remembering this, I put the granola bars back on the shelf and the coupon in my wallet. Sure enough two week later the same granola bars were on sale allowing me to use my coupon with the sales price for an incredible deal.  - And of course during this sale the coupon dispenser had long been removed.

Lesson: Coupon dispensers located on store shelves can be a great source of valuable coupons. Yet don’t fall into the trap of thinking you have to use such a coupon right away. Instead, resist the temptation and place the coupon in your purse so that you can combine it with a future sale for even bigger savings.

Supermarkets policies can vary widely. Knowing the differences in store policies can save you large sums of money.

Below we list 3 money saving questions you should ask of your grocery store. A simple stop at your store’s customer service desk will provide you with all the answers you need.

Does Your Store Offer a Money-Back Guarantee on Store Brand Products ?

In the distant past generics or store brand products were usually cheap knock-offs of their name brand cousins. How things have changed. Now store brand products frequently meet or exceed their name brand counterparts. The financial benefits of purchasing store brands can be huge as they generally cost 15 to 25% less than name brands. Unfortunately, many shoppers equate store brands with the cheap products of the past.

To help overcome this negative history and promote new faith in their store brands, many grocery stores offer money back guarantees on their store brand products. If you don’t like the store brand, just return the unused portion for a full refund.

Ask your supermarket if it has such a policy. If so, this makes trying store brands nearly risk free. If you don’t like your store brand product, simply return it for a refund. If you do like it you’ve now found a cheaper alternative that will save you money week after week!

How Does Your Store Ring up Buy One, Get One Free Deals ?

You see these deals all the time – “Buy One, Get One Free” or “2 for the price of 1″.  You assume that you have to actually buy two products in order to get the deal. In many stores, however, you only need to buy one product for which you’ll pay half price.

Simply ask your store how it handles such transactions. If your store does allow you to purchase one item at half price, combine this deal with a manufacturers’ coupon to rack up huge savings.

Does Your Store Double Manufacturers’ Coupons ?

Doubling of manufacturers’ coupons is a great money saver. Say you notice a can of frozen Tropicana orange juice on sale for $2.09. A $1 manufacturers’ coupon brings the price down to $1.09, while a doubled manufacturers’ coupon makes the product virtually free!

While many stores have discontinued this practice, some still provide the benefit. Other stores double manufacturers’ coupons only on certain days. Check out About.com’s coupon page for a state by state list of stores that double manufacturers’ coupons.  You can also visit the customer service desk at your favorite supermarket to see if they double coupons.

There’s nothing more frustrating than checking a flyer to see your favorite product on sale, only to find that it’s not in stock when you arrive at the store.

More often than not this occurs when you miss the first three days of a sale. Some stores are great and re-stock sale items on a regular basis.

Other stores, however, reserve only limited quantities of sale items, waiting until the sale is over before they re-stock. Realize that their only purpose of having a sale in the first place is to draw you into the store where you’ll spend 40-60% of your shopping dollars on impulse buys.  Once you’re actually in the store there may be little incentive to keep sale items properly stocked.

Many people just walk away. But in this situation is important not to let your grocery store off the hook. First check with the manager. The store may actually have the sale item but simply not have had enough time to re-stock the shelves.  In most cases, they’ll either bring one of the sale items to you or re-stock the shelf while you’re in the store.

If the supermarket is out of the product, its time to get a rain check. Generally, stores are required to provide a rain check unless the store advertisement specifically states that “quantities are limited.”

The advantage of a rain check is that you can use it at your convenience – an instant sale whenever you want it.  When you come across a manufacturers’ coupon for the same product combine your rain check with the manufacturers’ coupon for huge savings!

Just remember to keep track of your rain check’s expiration date and make sure the rain check includes the number of products you are allowed to buy at the sale price.