Don’t Forget the Free Easter Ham

Easter is approaching fast, which means those grocery store offers for a free ham when you spend a certain amount on groceries will be coming up. I like to start planning for my free ham as soon as the offers come out. Here are a few tips for those of you who want to try to earn one this year:

• Check the different offers to see which one offers the nicest ham for the least amount of money.
• Think about prices at the store you chose. If they are higher overall and the store is one you rarely frequent, you may want to go with the second best offer.
• Make a “test purchase” on the first day of the event to see how much is credited to your free ham total. Some stores credit the amount spent before coupons. Others credit the actual amount you spent.
• Plan your purchases for the next few weeks. If you won’t quite earn enough, consider stocking up on something you’ll use. Last year, I bought an extra bag of dog food during the week it was on sale.
• Remember to redeem your free ham coupon before it expires. Also, keep a close eye on your receipts to be sure you don’t get rid of something important. One year, a store gave us weekly tickets at the bottom of receipts and we had to save them all and turn them in to get our hams. Another year, a coupon printed at the bottom of receipts and people who lost the coupon or didn’t see it were out of luck. Because I looked closely at my receipts, I was fine, but I heard some very irate complaints from other shoppers.

Photo by Neil Gould