How to Shop and Save at Harris Teeter

Finding good deals at the grocery store can be a challenge, especially when you live in an area with groceries more expensive than the national average. Luckily, almost every grocery chain out there has a way to give their customers a good deal to maintain customer loyalty. Harris Teeter really likes their loyal customers!!

Getting started:

• If you are a Harris Teeter shopper or, if you are not but you live near a Harris Teeter, the first thing you need to do is sign up for a VIC card. Using your VIC card can save you up to 50% on items that are just on sale. No VIC card means no sale price!
• Once you have your VIC card, log on to HarrisTeeter.com to set up your profile. Be sure to sign up for emails! 

Ways to save with your VIC card:

• Harris Teeter sends emails on Wednesdays and Fridays. The Wednesday email shows you what's on sale for the week. Check the bottom of the email because you could be their weekly winner! The Friday email shows you additional items on sale but these items are personalized. The Saturday only offer is the same for all VIC customers, but the rest of the sale items listed are for you only.
• On the Harris Teeter website, you can load digital E-VIC coupons to your VIC card. These coupons can be combined with manufacturer coupons. You do not have to print the E-VIC coupons, but it's good to note on your shopping list when you expect an E-VIC coupon amount to be deducted. If an E-VIC coupon should have been deducted from your total but wasn't, talk to customer service and they will look up your account and give you a refund or a gift card in the expected amount. 
• With your VIC card, you get all the sale prices, which is the same deal at every store with a loyalty card. At Harris Teeter though, if a sale price for an item is boy one get one free, you don't have to buy two items. You can just buy one and the item will be half price!
• Harris Teeter uses a special yellow label to indicate items on markdown. They use this on seasonal items which are normally found in marked carts near the registers. They also use this on meat and produce on their sell-by date. I love marked down meat! Seriously, it's still good. Just eat it that night or freeze it for later. If you have a coupon for an item that has been marked down, you can still use it!

Ways to save with coupons (see Harris Teeter's official coupon policy for more detail):

• Harris Teeter doubles 20 coupons per day per VIC card. On most days, this applies only to coupons up to 99 cents off. That means, on any given day, a coupon for 75 cents off is really $1.50 off. 
• Note: I love that they set limits on coupon use because it helps to prevent shelf clearing so more customers can take advantage of the deals. It also helps keep them from getting ripped off with fake or photocopied coupons which keeps prices reasonable.
• You can only use one manufacturer coupon per item, unless the coupon specifies an amount off of a specific quantity of items, then you must purchase that quantity. 
• You can combine one E-VIC coupon with one manufacturer coupon. This is called stacking! The E-VIC coupon does not double and does not count toward your limit of 20 doubled coupons.
• Harris Teeter accepts coupons from competing stores' ads and mailers. For example, if Giant has a coupon in their ad for $5 off a $40 purchase, you can use that coupon at Harris Teeter.
• They will only double three like coupons in one shopping trip -- the fourth will be accepted at face value. Example: if you have 5 newspaper coupons for 55 cents off mustard, the first three will be $1.10 off and the last two will be 55 cents off.
• They will only accept two like internet coupons in one shopping trip. Example: if you printed coupons on two computers and happen to have four printed coupons, they will only accept two (but you can use the remaining two if you go back the next day or later that week). If you have two printed coupons and also have a newspaper coupon, they will accept all three. 
• TRIPLES! Once in a while, Harris Teeter has coupon specials. When they do triples, coupons up 99 cents are TRIPLED instead of doubled, When that happens, a coupon for 55 cents off becomes $1.65 off. Like any other week, only 20 coupons per day per VIC card are tripled.
• SUPER DOUBLES! During super doubles, coupons up to $2 off are doubled. A $2 off coupon becomes $4 off! Like any other week, only 20 coupons per day per VIC card are super doubled.

How I prepare for a shopping trip at Harris Teeter:

• There aren't a lot of things I "need" to buy when I head to the grocery store. I try to plan and prepare most of our meals around what we already have in our stockpile. So, I start my list with things I "need"-- generally bananas and milk.
• I do write out a list and keep track of the items, where I can find the coupons, and the total number of coupons I plan to double in one trip. I gather all of the coupons I know I plan to use in an envelope so they are ready and accessible when I head to the store.
• Then, I get online and check my favorite blogs. These awesome women do all of the hard work for us. They match the weekly sales ad with coupons available in the newspaper and currently available online (these are called matchups). These are my favorite bloggers to follow for Harris Teeter:
• The Krazy Coupon Lady
• Southern Savers
• Moola Saving Mom
• Capitally Frugal DC (this one is based in Northern Virginia, so the prices are the most similar to what I pay, but she only posts when they do super doubles or triples, not every week like the three listed above)
• I check the ads of our local competing stores to see if they have any in-ad coupons I can use at Harris Teeter.
• Then, I check the ad to see if anything else matches with coupons I have in my coupon binder. I print coupons all the time, save peelies and blinkies from stores, and save coupons from the mail and inside products, so I may have coupons the bloggers would not have.
• If I plan on shopping on Saturday, I check my email on Friday for my weekend specials.
• I also take my binder to the store just in case I stumble across some awesome items on final sale and happen to have coupons that match. 
• Most of the time, I only shop once per week to limit myself to the best deals. Not every good deal is a great deal! During triples and super doubles, chances are there will be a lot of really great deals, so I'll shop over several days on those weeks. 

If you have any questions about shopping at Harris Teeter, please leave them in the comments. Otherwise, Happy Shopping and Happy Saving!!