couponing in florida...

[SarahMD]

So Florida doesn't double coupons (which I just found out )

Do any of ya'll (lol sorry hick slipped out), who live in Florida have any luck w/ couponnning??

Thanks!!!

[Darcy Baldwin]

It's possible, Sarah - maybe not as big of a savings as those places where double/triple is in play, but you can do it - get on a blog that promotes couponing in your area (southernsavers.com is one), and use them to help match coupons to sales - where you can do better than just couponing alone. There are forums you can go to, as well, to help collect info on the best way to do it in your area. WeUseCoupons.com, AFullCup.com and more.

We just lost the major doubler in our area, so I'm working at 're-learning' as well.

Also - use internet coupons! Those can really help. You don't want to print off any that are less than .50 (not worth it when they can't double with what you spent to print it), and often times, paired with a sale they can get you free items.


I use my savings on health/beauty items and paper products to help apply to whole foods to make healthier eating easier on the budget.

[SarahMD]

thanks darcy! ugh all this couponing has my head spinning... like i don't know where to begin... i want to do it, "right" you know? i don't want to buy things i don't always buy... i don't want to buy name brand w/ coupon if store brand is cheaper....

and florida is so ridiculous on coupon policies... just reading about it is making my head hurt...

[NeverendingJen]

Very rarely do any of my coupons double, but I use them on health and beauty products, toiletries, paper goods, and bulk shopping sales on canned goods, mostly.

I live just north of the florida border, and we get a lot of shoppers that come up to our area a few times a year to major coupon shop, lol

[SweetMelissa]

I live in Florida and I can usually save $20 to $70 in one trip when I match up coupons to sales. I've gotten the best deals at Winn-Dixie & Publix. I really love Winn-Dixie because of their Fuel Perks. I've saved over $140 alone in gas using their Fuel Perks. Publix has lots of Buy One Get One deals that pair with coupons to make it even cheaper.

SouthernSavers.com is a great website & I use it a lot.

[Darcy Baldwin]

Originally Posted by SarahMD

thanks darcy! ugh all this couponing has my head spinning... like i don't know where to begin... i want to do it, "right" you know? i don't want to buy things i don't always buy... i don't want to buy name brand w/ coupon if store brand is cheaper....

and florida is so ridiculous on coupon policies... just reading about it is making my head hurt...

Get a paper...look through the coupons and then compare them to the store ad for that week (or check southern savers for upcoming sales). If it doesn't match that week, save it and it may be on sale the next week when the coupon saves you even more. It takes a little while to get into it. It's not something that you jump on the first week and start saving tons.

If you go to Jenny's site (SouthernSavers) she has a bunch of really great videos on the 'how-to's of couponing for each store, and some great advice on how to get yourself started. Stockpiling Moms does, as well. I spent a lot of time just watching videos and reading forums when I thought I thought I wanted to start. It helped a lot. Within about 3 weeks, I had it down.

Today - we went to pick up only shampoo that was on sale and I had a B1G1free coupon..but of course, they had a ton of things on clearance so I stocked up on dairy and salsa that can freeze, and went over my budget, but it will help down the road on another week's budget when I don't have to buy those things because I got them so much cheaper.

I also have a list of my 'rock-bottom' prices. If I know something is at that price or just above, I stock up on what I'll need of that item to get me through a few months. So...let's say that my rock bottom price on Toilet Paper is .18/single roll (depending on the brand. I'm not too specific, but I refuse to buy Scott or a store version of it, no matter how cheap it is). Today, Walgreens has Cottonelle on sale for $5, then there is a coupon in their little savings book available at the door and a coupon in this week's paper. I can stack them all at Walgreen's, and I got toilet paper for .14/roll. I bought a few packages - as many as I had coupons for (I printed one off the Cottonelle website, too). So I paid my bottom price for TP that will last us a couple of months, and won't have to pay more when I run out, until the next time Walgreen's puts it on sale (or Kroger has a big sale, or Target).

Same goes for deodorant. I won't pay more than $1 per stick. We only buy deodorant (not anti-persperant), so finding it on sale is a little trickier. I prefer it free, but can't get it that way anymore the way I used to (Krogers stopped doubling, Walgreens/CVS has stopped running B1G1 free sales and manufacturers aren't putting out so many B1G1free coupons). So, I've had to increase the price of my deodorant. Usually, I wait til it's on sale for $1, and have a coupon for $.50. I grab what I can to stock us til the next sale.

I buy 2-3 papers, depending on how good the coupons are, and on occasion, when there is a coupon of something we use a lot, and I know there's going to be a sale, I will buy that particular coupon off ebay, never paying more than $1.50 for 20 coupons (depending on what it is). That way, I can stock up at the sale and have enough to get us through til the next sales cycle, etc.

Hope that makes sense. Be sure to ask more questions - there are quite a few of us here who coupon.