[mom-from-missouri]

Our stores here will only give you the item free if it is less than the coupon--they don't give you the difference back, and you don't have to buy paid items to get it. If the coupon is for a dollar, and the item is 75 cents, I don' t get the 25 cents back. But, in Missouri-you do pay tax on the full price of the item, so it would be 84 cents in my town. In some states you only pay tax on the amount you are paying for the item after the coupon, and it other states if you get the item free, you pay no tax. I have gone to our dollar store and used $1 off coupons for shampoo that is 75 cents a bottle, and walked out of the store with no money exchanged, as I bought no other items. Thats a good feeling.