Trying Out Kmart's Coupon Policy

I'm new to couponing, so I have been trying out all different types of stores. Recently I saw an ad for Kmart saying that they will match manufacturer coupons up to $1. I was so excited when I saw this because I haven't found any store that has this kind of policy. After my experience, I will probably never go to Kmart again.

Here's the deal with Kmart's coupon policy:

• You must spend $25 (before coupons) on GROCERY and DRUGSTORE items before your coupons will double
• I thought it was $25 throughout the store and had to embarrassingly cancel my order as I went to fetch more food 
• They will only double 5 coupons
• They will only double up to $1 per coupon

Here's my deal:

At first, spending $25 didn't seem too bad, since it is the price before coupons. However, if you think about it, K-mart is only giving you $5 off your purchase. In order to take advantage of their offer, you have to walk in there every time and spend 15 bucks. For a deal hunter, this isn't easy to come to terms with. Let's say you had coupons for every item you bought. Yes, you could get you total knocked down quite a bit, but my other gripe about this store is that everything is so EXPENSIVE! Walmart and even my local grocery store doesn't have prices that high. I can use the same coupon at one of those places and get a way better deal simply because it costs less elsewhere. Plus, in my opinion, its a dumpy store.

In the end, I did get a few good deals, but I still ended up paying $20 in food and drugstore items because of their restrictions. 

Here's what I scored:

• Downy Infusions one of my better deals. It was on sale for 5.49 (not sure of the price at most places). I had a $1 off P&G coupon (12/30) and Kmart double it. Final price was 3.49
• Snackwells 100 Calorie Pack was the other awesome deal of the trip. Got a rare $1 off coupon from their facebook page: here. They were $2.50, but with my coupon and Kmart's match, they came out to 50 cents!
• Crest 3D White was on sale for $3.50. My 50 cent P&G coupon doubled to $1, making it $2.50
• Planters Peanuts were on sale for 2/$7 (although I saw them at CVS today for 2/$6). Found a $1 coupon on Coupons.com plus Kmart's match. Final price was $2.50 each.
• Special K Pastry Crisps were supposed to be 3/$8. I figured if I bought one, it would be 2.66, but I guess it doesn't work like that at Kmart since my receipt says $3.29. My coupon from Kelloggsfamilyrewards.com was for 70 cents off. With the double, they were $1.89. Oh well
• Snickers Mini's were found all alone on a random clearance shelf for 90 cents. Pretty good find

Now, after all these items, I didn't reach $25. I returned to groceries to grab more. 

• The Lay's chips were on sale as BOGO free. Without this deal, they would have been some pretty pricey chips! They came out to $2.14 each. Would I have gotten them if I didn't have to reach $25? No.
• 7-up and Dr. Pepper were on sale for $1 each. That price is hard to find so I'm not upset about it.
• SmartSense Tortilla Chips were free for members (and you have to be a member to double coupons) as long as you spent $25.

Found some pretty awesome deals while walking around the store; However, they were not grocery items, which threw me off the first time I went to the register. 

• Joe Boxer Thermals only $4
• Out-of-Packaged Underwear were on 50% clearance of an already cheap price. They ended up being $1.33 each. And after a good washin', that comes out to a good deal.

Yes, I did get some epic deals, like the Downy and Snackwells. But everything else, I could have found at another store with a sale and paid the same price without those coupons being doubled. All in all, it is a learning experience and only experience is the best teacher. I'm sure I did not shop as efficiently as I could have and there are people out there that can knock down that $15 you are obligated to spend to $5. I have just learned that Kmart isn't the place for me.