Coupon Queens - Hook Me Up!

[LJSDesigns]

So I recently read the post on how much people spend on groceries and after reading what most of you said, I felt like the worst shopper ever. I know I spend too much each week and I need to change that, so I am going to start trying to reduce the budget through coupons. Could you all please hook me up to your favorite coupon sites? I need to know where to get them and the best places to use them. Thanks a lot for the help!

[rach3975]

Before you look into coupon sites, check with the stores you shop at. The grocery stores around here don't accept online/printed coupons.

[LJSDesigns]

Originally Posted by rach3975

Before you look into coupon sites, check with the stores you shop at. The grocery stores around here don't accept online/printed coupons.

Really? Why ever not?

I will look but I am planning on Walmart and Mejiers mostly, I think.

[Darcy Baldwin]

http://www.stockpilingmoms.com/

http://hip2save.com/

http://moneysavingmom.com/

These are the ones I use most often. It's not all about printing them, but also about alerts when products you love go on sale and there's a corresponding coupon out that you can attach with it (yes, you can do that! That's what helps. You can even use 2 coupons in some instances like shopping at Target - say Pampers has a coupon out on wipes, and Target has a Target-specific coupon on their website, you can use both of those on 1 product).

My biggest savings comes in price matching with coupons - you can even find a store-specific blog that alerts you to sales -

I ♥ Kroger
I ♥ The Mart
Totally Target

etc.

[rach3975]

Originally Posted by Loriebug66

Really? Why ever not?

There was too much fraud, or at least that's the reason the 2 big chains gave publicly when they stopped accepting them. Now they only take the kind you cut out of newspaper circulars.

[julifish]

Lorie -
I think Darcy hit the nail on the head. It's not all about using the coupons. It's also about when you use the coupons in the sales cycle as well as watching prices. About 10 years ago I was really in to couponing and I found a site (no longer there) that explained it all. I highly recommend reading as much as you can if you really want to save some $$$. You have to know what your best price is for the things you buy most and then only buy when the price is at or below that price. Yeah...it's a science but once you get it down it will stick with you forever!!! My husband always asks me when we are shopping what our best price is for something before he buys it. Good luck!

[MamaBee]

Yup - second Rachel... even here Walmart will only take like 5 - depending on the cashier... others will take more, but if it doesn't scan the first time, they reject it...

Also second Darcy... I use coupon sites for deals - and search for coupon sites in your "region" or state. Also sign up companies that you buy from like kraft, general mills, betty crocker for coupons.

[navaja77]

I started off couponing with help from Krazy Coupon Lady. I shop primarily at Fry's, Safeway, Walgreens and CVS. Safeway and Fry's both double their coupons. So between the in-store sales and coupons (both instore & paper), I usually save about 50% on my grocery bill. The deal comes from making sure you combine the sales with the coupons. It's overwhelming at first but eventually, you get the hang of it.

And if you have a Dollar Tree store nearby, you can get the Sunday paper for $1.

[LJSDesigns]

Thanks Ladies. I figured there would be a learning curve but I don't mind do the work if it will help me save some money. I appreciate the start you all have provided.

[Darcy Baldwin]

Originally Posted by navaja77

And if you have a Dollar Tree store nearby, you can get the Sunday paper for $1.

Not all of them, unfortunately.

Lorie - and I'll stay - stick with what you eat/use. Don't start buying stuff just because it's cheap. You're not saving money that way. We don't buy much in the way of processed foods, but I can save a ton on things like cat food/litter (something we already buy), paper products (stuff we already buy), toothpaste/toothbrushes, etc. I don't buy any cleaning supplies except for bleach and vinegar and baking soda, etc., so buying cheap cleaning supplies doesn't really save me any $$.

[Arual]

Lori, you are not alone. I spend a huge fortune monthly for our groceries. I never use coupons - I am much too lazy to do so! However, I have vowed to ATTEMPT to be better about all this. I plan to sit down and plan out meals and shop with a LIST. Whoa, a LIST?! People use those when they shop?! LOL! I NEVER use a list. Okay wait, I do... I have a list SOMETIMES of "things NOT to forget, or else!"

Good luck to ya in your new adventure :-)

[SmallMoments]

I'm with you, Lorie! For the three of us, I budget $165/week. And most of the time that gets spent. It doesn't include our eating out budget either. LOL I'm too lazy and don't have enough time to do couponing. Although I do do Meijer mPerks, but I forget what coupons I "clip" and never use them. LOL I'm hopeless.

[Sherri Tierney]

Darcy listed most of my faves

Definitely check your store policies. Our local grocery store will NOT take internet coupons. They will, however, take circular, home mailer and magazine coupons, etc. Our Walmart and Walgreens will take internet printables. I have an awesome Walmart when it comes to coupon shopping. They don't bat an eye at printables and if they don't scan they enter them as a vendor coupon. I've heard they don't do this for everyone though. The cashiers I use know me and know I am completely upfront about my coupon use and wouldn't try to put something past them. I handed some coupons to the lady in front of me today because she was buying a ton of school supplies and I had coupons that would work for her. Well, they weren't scanning right. The cashier knew I had given them to her and she looked back at me. I told her they were legit so she punched them in. The lady was excited to save $4 which cracked me up considering she was spending $140 on school supplies. Still though, every little bit of savings adds up, I guess. That would pay for a gallon of milk or something down the line.

One thing to be careful of is buying things you don't need or want just because there is a good deal. I got sucked in to that in the beginning. Some of those things proved useful over the years but others were eventually tossed out. Now I am more particular with what I buy, coupon or not. I WILL buy stuff not on my list or stuff I won't use if the item is a money maker. I gave my mom a bunch of hair dye that I got paid to take out of the building. She was happy and I was happy.

Different types of product sales/promotions go through cycles so it's good to stock up when you find a great deal on something. Toiletries, however, you can usually find a good deal on most any time. New products are something to watch for too. There are often high dollar coupons that come out when new products are released and with store sales/promotions you can typically get stuff free, or nearly free.

I go in spurts with couponing. I don't do it all the time. I watch my stockpile and when I start getting low on something then I make a note to myself to watch for deals. For example, hubby needed deodorant so I started to stock back up after running my stockpile pretty low. We have enough body wash to last about 5 years though. When my son was starting to potty train I got in on a deal for those flushable kid wipes. I stocked up on quite a bit while there were good deals because I knew I'd use them for a good long time. After a couple of months there weren't any great prices on them so I stopped looking. We just used our last pack up a couple of months ago, 4.5 years later! Shortly before I moved in to this house I stocked up on ketchup (got it free) and we just finished our last bottle last month. I went 3 years without buying ketchup! Right now I am replenishing my stockpile of school supplies while they are cheap. I am also buying stuff to fill the freezer we got a few weeks ago. I just ordered a bunch of coupons for Butterball turkey bacon. My store has it for $1 a pack and the coupons are for 55 cents off so that means each package of bacon will be 45 cents. We love that stuff and go through a lot so I'm excited to stock up.

[scrap2day]

I would also suggest making from scratch when you can.

I get ideas and recipes at LittleHouseLiving.

I also suggest making your own mixes ahead of time. For instance if you have a bread mix you like measure out all of the dry ingredients (keep the yeast separate) into a mason jar or freezer bag. Make up a few of these ahead of time and it will make it so much easier next time you want to make bread (or whatever mix you want).

Just last week the lady at the site above gave a recipe for making a "hamburger helper" type mix.

This is another good site for recipes from scratch: LivingOnADime.

[LJSDesigns]

Believe me I don't plan to buy what I won't use. Now that we are eating healthier I don't buy much in the way of processed foods so I wont be saving there but I can save on staples we do use like ketchup. Toiletries and pet supplies are other areas of potential savings.

Kristin I'm glad to know you budget the same for three that I do and use it all. Since we live in the same place it makes me feel less of a failure! I spent $163.00 this week and didn't feel like I was buying anything we didn't need or wouldn't use but I was still disappointed in my shopping skills. I'd like to bring that down by about $20 -$30 a week at least.

[kelley]

I tired couponing for a while and got really obsessed with it - to the point that I was sitting at the computer for hours looking for coupons/sales and trying to make a plan of where I was going to buy which list of things. It got to be too much for me, and I decided it wasn't worth the time and the extra grocery trips. I like to make 1 trip a week with a budget. I spend a lot, but I have 7 people in my house. The biggest money savers for me have just been buying store brands, shopping at Aldi (discount grocery store), and cutting out soda, sugary drinks, chips, candy. I know sometimes you gotta have them, but for the most part, we try to focus on fresh products. I know that couponing can work, and I agree with those that said combining the coupons with the sales- I just am not willing to spend the time now to figure out the plan - maybe just not bright enough, LOL!!

[LJSDesigns]

Hopefully I will find a good balance!

[navaja77]

Originally Posted by kelley

I tired couponing for a while and got really obsessed with it - to the point that I was sitting at the computer for hours looking for coupons/sales and trying to make a plan of where I was going to buy which list of things. It got to be too much for me, and I decided it wasn't worth the time and the extra grocery trips.

I have almost zero time to do this so I usually just do a quick check. Most of the time, I have a list and work off of that combined with sales and coupons. I still am able to buy brands rather than store brands (but if its on clearance I'll grab it lol).

[scrap2day]

I also like CouponingToDisney. She matches up the ads and tells you which newspaper insert might have a coupon. I also like using her coupon database. For instance, if I need to pick up dishwashing detergent I can type the brand name into the database and it will tell me which inserts might have a coupon.

[Trista]

Oh boy is this ever a hot topic.
A lot of my favorite sites have been mentioned here.
I started out at the grocery game... b/c there was a free trial and the work is done for you. The deals have already been tracked down per stores and there is a breakdown of where each coupon can be found. I eventually ventured out on my own and really only seek out specific coupons on the internet if I do not have on hand a coupon for that specific item (imperial sugar is an example - didn't have any in my stash, went to their site and printed two for my trip yesterday).

I personally am annoyed by the extreme couponing show b/c it is unrealistic. You cannot live off of 100 packages of free tic tacs and 100 bottles of free vitamin water. It is also not realistic to spend 40 hours a week prepping for a coupon haul nor another ten hours in the grocery store. 50 transactions per visit is just too much to even fathom. :giggle: The abuse of the coupons has made some manufacturers and stores change their policies. Some stores here do not allow the printed coupons b/c of fraud. There was a huge scam her over dr. pepper recently. There was a fake coupon for $4 off of a 12 pack of dp - making them free. The store literally gave away thousands of cases not knowing until it was time to redeem with the manufacturer. It's sad really how people ruin a good thing.
I have noticed on most of my recent coupons that you cannot purchase more than 4 of any like item per transaction. /soapbox

[navaja77]

Originally Posted by Trista

I personally am annoyed by the extreme couponing show b/c it is unrealistic. You cannot live off of 100 packages of free tic tacs and 100 bottles of free vitamin water. It is also not realistic to spend 40 hours a week prepping for a coupon haul nor another ten hours in the grocery store. 50 transactions per visit is just too much to even fathom. :giggle: The abuse of the coupons has made some manufacturers and stores change their policies. Some stores here do not allow the printed coupons b/c of fraud. There was a huge scam her over dr. pepper recently. There was a fake coupon for $4 off of a 12 pack of dp - making them free. The store literally gave away thousands of cases not knowing until it was time to redeem with the manufacturer. It's sad really how people ruin a good thing.
I have noticed on most of my recent coupons that you cannot purchase more than 4 of any like item per transaction. /soapbox

It's purely entertainment and unfortunately, people believe it. It ruins it for everyone because people believe that they can shop that way and it's realistically NOT possible. There are TONS of blogs linking to info that the store featured in the show will put aside the store policies for the publicity. I personally don't know of anything going on here but I do know they broke up a huge counterfeit coupon ring down in Phoenix area!

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articl...couponing.html

I coupon but I don't spend hours on it every week, I don't clear shelves, I buy what I need, I stockpile only what I use all the time (detergent, diapers) but not YEARS supply (I don't have space! ). Seriously though, anyone can coupon and it just takes a little bit of time and keeping to your list (don't go overboard just cause you can get it really cheap). Basically what Darcy said earlier

[Sherri Tierney]

Ooh, don't get me started on that stupid Extreme Couponing show. That pretty much ruined couponing for me for quite some time. Suddenly everyone in town thought they could shop like that. Let me tell you, it does NOT work in my area. Heck, it shouldn't work anyway because a lot of the coupons they used on that show they used fraudulently. Like Ophelia said, it is all for entertainment and people don't seem to realize that. I hate that show.

I don't spend very long couponing. I buy what I need and I don't clear shelves either. I do, sometimes (though not too often) stockpile YEARS worth of something but that is typically when I'm getting something free, or for pennies on the dollar. I don't clear shelves, I shop in several visits always making sure to leave plenty in stock. I also share the deal with others and even share coupons. I went overboard in the beginning because it was like "WOW! I can get XX and YY for FREE??" LOL Now I do shop more conservatively. Sure, sometimes I still pick up 10 packages of something but I don't pick up 50, you know? I have my weaknesses. School supplies is one of those. There are really only good deals once a year so I make sure to stock up then. I also send supplies to school at Christmas time to help replenish what is used up (not just send for my kids but send a big bag of supplies for each of my kids' classroom).

In reality, I would like to have ONE year's supply of all of the non-perishable items we use. Having a good stockpile gives me peace of mind. If DH were to lose his job we wouldn't go hungry and we wouldn't stink.