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I’ve got a great guest post this week on couponing (one of my favorite topics!) from Cathy of Chief Family Officer, a blog she updates daily with helpful posts on family finances, parenting, cooking and more. You can follow her on Twitter at @CFOblog.

One year ago, I was a novice coupon user. I had clipped coupons for years, but used them only on products I was going to buy anyway. Since I began playing The Drugstore Game though, and discovered sites like Coupon Cravings, I realized that I can make money with coupons.

Now I use coupons more than ever, and sadly have discovered that some cashiers can be extremely unpleasant when they see you’ve got coupons. Plus I’ve read loads of nightmare stories on forums like A Full Cup and Hot Coupon World.

So to help everyone have a smoother coupon experience, I’ve come up with the five strategies below to ensure coupon success.

1) Know the Rules. And there are a lot of them. For one, you can usually use one manufacturers coupon and one store coupon per item. Meanwhile, some stores double coupons, but only up to a certain amount. Each store seems to have its own “register logic” (check out this great post on the register logic at Walgreens).

2) Always Play by the Rules. Mistakes happen, like when you inadvertently pick up a bottle that is too small and does not meet the size requirement stated on the coupon. The register may beep or it may not. Innocent mistakes are one thing, but deliberate misuse of a coupon is far different and hurts everyone. Always do your best to use coupons only on the proper items and never use a coupon you suspect is fraudulent.

3) Buy Reasonable Quantities. Don’t buy 30 bottles of $.97 trial-size shampoo and use 30 $1/1 coupons. The register will beep because the price is less than the coupon value. Next thing you know, a manager is called over to adjust the coupons and you’re holding up the line. Some shoppers may think free shampoo is worth the trouble. Personally, I’d rather get fewer bottles and have an uneventful transaction.

4) Carry a Copy of the Store Coupon Policy. More often that not, you will be better informed about a store’s coupon policy than its own employees. You can usually obtain one by emailing customer service and requesting it. I’ve never actually done this myself, but from what I’ve read on various coupon forums, it is often helpful to have on hand when a cashier is unsure whether to accept your coupon.

5) Be Nice. A couple of weeks ago, I had a cashier say, “It says one per purchase.” Experienced coupon users know that this means one coupon per item, which is different than one coupon per transaction. I tried to explain the difference to the cashier, but was unsuccessful. So I paid for one bottle of Purex and used one coupon, and took my other coupon to the guest services desk.

It took the guest services clerks a few minutes of poring over the coupon, but eventually they agreed with me and allowed me to buy another bottle of Purex with that coupon. I politely asked them to inform the cashier of her error so that she wouldn’t make the same mistake with another customer. Hopefully that made a difference for someone else.

I hope you enjoyed these five strategies for success. Following them every time you coupon will hopefully ensure enjoyable future coupon experiences for everyone.

I’ve got a great guest post this week on couponing (one of my favorite topics!) from Cathy of Chief Family Officer, a blog she updates daily with helpful posts on family finances, parenting, cooking and more. You can follow her on Twitter at @CFOblog.

One year ago, I was a novice coupon user. I had clipped coupons for years, but used them only on products I was going to buy anyway. Since I began playing The Drugstore Game though, and discovered sites like Coupon Cravings, I realized that I can make money with coupons.

Now I use coupons more than ever, and sadly have discovered that some cashiers can be extremely unpleasant when they see you’ve got coupons. Plus I’ve read loads of nightmare stories on forums like A Full Cup and Hot Coupon World.

So to help everyone have a smoother coupon experience, I’ve come up with the five strategies below to ensure coupon success.

1) Know the Rules. And there are a lot of them. For one, you can usually use one manufacturers coupon and one store coupon per item. Meanwhile, some stores double coupons, but only up to a certain amount. Each store seems to have its own “register logic” (check out this great post on the register logic at Walgreens).

2) Always Play by the Rules. Mistakes happen, like when you inadvertently pick up a bottle that is too small and does not meet the size requirement stated on the coupon. The register may beep or it may not. Innocent mistakes are one thing, but deliberate misuse of a coupon is far different and hurts everyone. Always do your best to use coupons only on the proper items and never use a coupon you suspect is fraudulent.

3) Buy Reasonable Quantities. Don’t buy 30 bottles of $.97 trial-size shampoo and use 30 $1/1 coupons. The register will beep because the price is less than the coupon value. Next thing you know, a manager is called over to adjust the coupons and you’re holding up the line. Some shoppers may think free shampoo is worth the trouble. Personally, I’d rather get fewer bottles and have an uneventful transaction.

4) Carry a Copy of the Store Coupon Policy. More often that not, you will be better informed about a store’s coupon policy than its own employees. You can usually obtain one by emailing customer service and requesting it. I’ve never actually done this myself, but from what I’ve read on various coupon forums, it is often helpful to have on hand when a cashier is unsure whether to accept your coupon.

5) Be Nice. A couple of weeks ago, I had a cashier say, “It says one per purchase.” Experienced coupon users know that this means one coupon per item, which is different than one coupon per transaction. I tried to explain the difference to the cashier, but was unsuccessful. So I paid for one bottle of Purex and used one coupon, and took my other coupon to the guest services desk.

It took the guest services clerks a few minutes of poring over the coupon, but eventually they agreed with me and allowed me to buy another bottle of Purex with that coupon. I politely asked them to inform the cashier of her error so that she wouldn’t make the same mistake with another customer. Hopefully that made a difference for someone else.

I hope you enjoyed these five strategies for success. Following them every time you coupon will hopefully ensure enjoyable future coupon experiences for everyone.