Grocery Shopping

We Really Wish These Retailers Offered a Military Discount

One perk of being part of the military community is getting a military discount. Sure it’s a small thing, but it goes a long way.

How many times have you asked for a military discount when you’ve been checking out at a retailer?

I love a great discount and I’m thankful that many establishments offer it. I don’t expect it and quite often I’m surprised by how many places do offer a military discount.

Michael’s use to only offer a military discount on Mondays, but in recent years this retailer has moved to offering it every day. Old Navy is now the same, offering a military discount every day of the week instead of just one. I would always end up there on the wrong day, so I am so glad they expanded the program.

We Really Wish These 20 Retailers Offered a Military Discount

Getting a military discount is wonderful, no matter where it is at.

There are plenty of retailers that offer a military discount, but there are many more that do not.

Here are 20 stores that we wish offered a military discount.

I did a bit of crowdsourcing and found that many military spouses said grocery stores. Everyone doesn’t live near a commissary so they don’t have the opportunity to save money that way. The closest commissary to me is 35 minutes away, which doesn’t seem far. It is however when you need to pop out for 1 or 2 things.

It would be nice if places such as Wegmans, Publix, Giant, Food Lion, Aldi and Winn-Dixie offered a military discount.

After grocery stores, the next most popular establishments military spouses wished offered a military discount were big box retailers such as Walmart and Target. Most of us spend plenty of time in these stores and spend countless dollars, whether on frivolous things or necessities. Imagine how much money we would save over the long run if a military discount was offered.

Along the same lines, many military families would benefit from a military discount at stores such as Costco, Sam’s Club and BJ’s. Now that’s where most of us leave our money behind. It would be nice if we left with more than just jumbo sized products. Having a military discount would allow us to go home with more money in our pockets too.

We would probably spend it on coffee though. You laugh, but it’s true. So many people stated that they wished Starbucks offered a military discount. I vote for that too.

I don’t want to know how much money I’ve spent on coffee. It was worth every penny though. Every move, every deployment, every time I’ve made friends with new military spouses coffee has been involved. It’s basically a lifeline.

Speaking of lifelines, Amazon is a real savior. How many times have you bought something on Amazon? Having Prime membership is worth the price, but it would be so much better with a military discount.

If students can get a discount and people on government assistance that have EBT cards can get a discount, then why can’t military families get one? It doesn’t seem like that should be out of the question. If they can extend a membership discount to certain groups, then they should consider extending it to the military community.

I suppose we can’t have it all, but we can dream. Some other retailers that were suggested to add a military discount include Best Buy, Walgreens, Hobby Lobby and Tractor Supply as well as many restaurants.

At some locations Best Buy offers a 10% military discount, but not all of the stores do. Walgreens is now a Tricare approved pharmacy so many military families will be visiting these stores. It would be great if they offered a military discount on products other than prescriptions.

While Best Buy and Walgreens are great, many families have taken to a more domestic approach to life, having chickens in particular, and would benefit from a discount at Tractor Supply. Tractor Supply offers a discount to farmers, but not to military families. They receive a lot of patronage from the military, so it would be nice to get something back.

It would also be fantastic if every restaurant offered a military discount. A lot of military spouses said they would really appreciate that. Restaurants such as Outback Steakhouse, Red Robin and some Hard Rock Cafes offer these discounts but it would be nice if all of them did.

Getting a military discount is wonderful, no matter where it is at. I never expect to get one and am always happy and surprised when one is offered. Some places only offer the discount to the active duty person so it’s really nice when it can be applied to all of us with a military ID card.

Did we miss your favorite retailer that you wished offered a military discount? Tell us in the comments section.

Don’t Fall for a Military Coupon Scam

By Michelle Volkmann

Commissary shoppers love to save money using military coupons. You can find military coupons at your commissary. I like to look for those free flyers just inside the front door or ask my commissary bagger to tuck one into my groceries, when she has them.

As we’ve said before the best military coupons are the ones that you don’t clip. There are plenty of military coupons online, ready for commissary shoppers.

But for every military coupon that you find online there may be a fake coupon looking to leer you in.

Fake coupons are on the rise. Smart commissary shoppers need to know how to spot a fake military coupon. Here are 3 things you need to know when trying to figure if your military coupon is real or fake.

No Expiration Date

Every coupon, digital or paper, will have an expiration date. There are no exceptions to this rule. If you e-clip a coupon that doesn’t have an expiration date, it’s a fake. Don’t try to use it at your commissary.

Pro-tip: Always look for an expiration date before printing out a coupon.

Photocopied Coupons

These fake military coupons are easy to spot. If a coupon has been photocopied, it is no longer valid. You can’t photocopy a coupon for your mother, sister and your five closest friends and expect them to be able to use it. Photocopying a coupon is against coupon rules.

Pro-tip: Only print military coupons from authorized coupon distributors like Coupons.com.

Too Good to Be True Coupons

Let’s say you’re scrolling on Facebook and you see a “too good to be true” military coupon in your newsfeed. Since you are tempted, you click on this coupon and it brings you to different website, one that requires that you put in your credit card information in order to receive this offer.

Don’t do it.

This website is a scam trying to steal your personal information. Never give you Social Security number, bank information or credit card number to redeem a coupon.

What’s an example of this type of fake coupon?

Late last year, the grocery store Kroger warned its shoppers about a fake coupon claiming to offer a “FREE $60 Kroger Coupon” with a $70 minimum purchase. It said the expiration date was 12/31/2016.

Kroger posted a photo of the fake coupon on its Facebook page with this message.

“Fake coupon alert! There’s currently an unauthorized ‘FREE $60 Kroger Coupon’ offer floating around. It’s not real! We don’t recommend engaging with the site(s) that offer links to the coupon, or providing them with any personal information. Our team is actively working with Facebook and domain service providers to address the concern.”

Similar fake coupons have been circulating for Kohl’s, Disneyland and Food Lion.

Here’s another scenario that has been happening a lot with fake online coupons. Again you see that “amazing deal” while scrolling on social media. But this time when you click on the link for more details or to redeem the offer, you download malware on your computer.

The Coupon Information Center has a database of fake coupons. You can search for a specific coupon on this website or review the list. I recommend reviewing this list if you’re an active digital coupon user.

Pro-tip: To test a coupon, do a Google search with the coupon’s offer and the word “scam” or “fraud” in the search bar.

You don’t have to worry about printing a fake military coupon when you use coupons from Coupons.com.

Not All Commissaries are Created Equal

By Kimber Green

I enjoy shopping at the commissary. Every fort and base I’ve lived near, as an Army brat and now as a Navy spouse, has had a good commissary and I’ve always shopped at them.

I am completely bummed that we are moving this summer to a location that does not have a commissary.

When we drove up for a short house-hunting trip, I made sure we drove to the next closest base to see what their commissary is like. A friend had told me it has a small commissary. How small? There were only 6 isles and 3 cashiers.

Not all commissaries are created equal is an understatement.

I was so disappointed. It was instantly obvious that I would not be able to do our weekly grocery shopping at the commissary. I really am bummed. I like my routine and the money we save by shopping there. When it snowed here recently and the bases were closed, I bought our groceries out in town and the bill was $75 more than my usual bill at the commissary. That was an eye-opener.

Every move has its challenges and ever military installation is different. Here in Virginia Beach I am within a 20-minute drive of 3 commissaries. They are each a bit different. The one on JEB Little Creek-Fort Story has a more open floor plan than the others and it is right next to the Exchange, which is very convenient. It is my preferred commissary to shop at, especially since it has more than 20 checkout lanes.

Cellphone reception for some reason seems to be universally poor at commissaries. I’m excited that NAS Oceana Commissary is the first one to test free Wi-Fi. That is so helpful with keeping up with the electronic coupons on my rewards card as I tend to forget to load them ahead of time.

I don’t use the deli, but I have had delicious birthday cakes made at the bakery. Some commissaries do not have a deli or bakery while others have really big and popular ones. Some embrace technology and have a kiosk for customers to order their deli and bakery items while others I’ve shopped at still only have the option to take a number and wait in line. NAS Oceana’s deli actually has its own Facebook page.

It will be strange not to have any of these options on our next assignment. The commissary’s slogan “it’s worth the drive” has always been something I agreed with. There is one more base just within driving distance so I might make a monthly trip there if it turns out to have a good commissary.

I’m sure I’m not alone in facing disappointment on the size difference of commissaries. Naval Base San Diego boasts DeCA’s largest commissary. Its 126,000-square-foot store offers 22,500 items; that’s 2,000 more than the store held before it was remodeled. Imagine if you came from a tiny commissary and walked into that one? You would probably be quite overwhelmed. Bigger isn’t always better to everyone.

I would like to try the coffee kiosks in one of the newer commissaries. You get to blend your own beverage. I haven’t been to one that has such a thing, nor have I been to one that has a health and wellness department. The commissary at Naval Base San Diego has both of those. Perhaps one day we’ll be stationed near a commissary that has one.

Stating that all commissaries are not created equal is truly an understatement. Where’s your favorite commissary? What does it offer that keeps you shopping there?