An important part of learning to stockpile and purchase items at their rock-bottom price is learning how to use a rain check. A rain check is a store coupon to purchase a sale ad item that is out of stock. For example, say your grocery is selling milk at the rock-bottom price of $1 per gallon. When you get to the store, they are all out of skim. You can go to the customer service desk and ask for a rain check to use the next time you are in the store. That means that the next time you shop, no matter what the price of milk, you may use your rain check to get it at the sale price of $1 per gallon. Many stores will even substitute a similar item in lieu of having to get a rain check. Check out my tips below for using rain checks.
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Check expiration dates. Be sure to check to see if there is an expiration date on your rain check. You’ll want to be sure you use it before it expires. If there is no expiration date, the store must honor it whenever you decide to use it.
Check on purchasing limits. See if the item for which you are requesting a rain check has a limit on the number you can purchase. Many stores will limit the amount of that purchase on really good deals.
Handing over rain checks at checkout. When I am checking out, I try to hold out my items that have rain checks until the very end. Then I hand over the rain check right before the checker scans the item. If he scans the item before he knows I have a rain check for it, he will have to “price override” the item. By giving him the rain check first, this just saves him the hassle.
Match your rain checks with expiring coupons. A few times I have had a coupon set to expire the day I am at the store, and if the store is out of the item, I am out of luck. Many stores will honor a coupon even if it is expired when they don’t have the product stocked at that time. I have found that they will typically just staple the expired coupons to the rain check and let you come back the next week.
Want to learn more about stockpiling?
- How Do I Start Stockpiling?
- Maximize Savings During Store Sales Events
- How to Flash Freeze (To Stockpile Produce)
