FC Community
Discussion Boards => Off-Topic => Topic started by: prissygirl1 on October 19, 2011, 12:37:07 pm
-
how do you use your coupons to get over 600 dollars worth of grocreys and other items for under 100 dollars. i have been watching it on tv but i am more confused than ever when i try to do it in store?
-
yep, I've watched the same show. It's inspiring, but they don't teach you specifics and sounds like it is hugely time-consuming. Also, most of those grocery stores double coupons it seems. The stores in our state do not double. (Bummer!!!)
-
I've read that those grocery stores double the coupons just for the show. Their normal policy is only 5 or less double-coupons at a time. I also get confused and would love to hear how people track their coupons against the store sales. It seems like a tricky process, but once someone gets a routine going, I think it can be very rewarding.
I'm curious how others that use coupons, manage it....do share....
-
I've just about given up getting coupons... my printer will not print our the computer generated ones...
-
I looked into the coupon doubling too. Our state only has 2 stores that double and they aren't around here. I am a coupon user and love a sale with a coupon, but unfortunately can't come anywhere near what they do in the show. I've heard so many say they spend 30 some hours a week cutting, searching, organizing coupons to get ready for the shopping trips. It's a full time job to save that big, worth it if you can figure it out and have the time!
-
It can be done but normal people don't have the time or effort to put into it. There is actually a woman in my area that teaches couponing and everyone that has taken her class always save 30-50%
-
It just makes for good TV and keeps you watching, it isn't real, if it were the entire population would be doing it! These big companies are not going to loose money by giving away there goods for just pennies or pay you to take them. I think the majority of it is :bs:.. Just saying.
-
My state does not do double couponing, except for one chain and they only do 5 coupons. I rarely go there. I have been keeping a worksheet of my couponing and have averaged about 40% for the year, so far (I started keeping track in March). The extreme couponers buy many newspapers or coupons. They don't list that in their savings. Some of them also seem to cheat. They figure out the similar bar codes on products and use a big coupon to buy cheaper items.
I take two daily newspapers so get two coupon inserts on the weekend. I cut out what I want and give the rest to one of my daughters. I go to some coupon sites online and print off coupons I want to use. When my Sunday paper comes out, I cut out the coupons I want to use at my grocery store and also cut out other of their specials and then see if I can match store coupons or specials to manufacturers coupons. I also try to take advantage of buy one get one free. At my store, you can use two coupons for the product, even though one is free.
To me, the extreme couponers on t.v. are not realistic. A few of them give to charity, but most of them have a garage or house full of items that will go bad before they can use them or have so many they can never use them up. I have a small stockpile so I don't have to buy most things until they goon sale again.
My primary grocery store also takes coupons that are up to three months expired.
-
I found this site the other day (http://www.livingwellspendingless.com/2011/04/06/extreme-couponing-101/ (http://www.livingwellspendingless.com/2011/04/06/extreme-couponing-101/)) that basically teaches the beginning steps to "extreme coupon" yourself. Note that the lady that writes this blog lives in FL which doesn't allow double-coupons, yet she says she still saves 70%+ on her grocery bills. I think the key is having a different mindset than how most people use coupons, as well as the patience and hard work to make the most of the coupons.
In her lessons, she talks about the mindset that most of the general public has when it comes to shopping: They make a grocery list of what they want to use for the week, look through coupons that match any items on that list, and then go shopping. However for extreme couponers, the key seems to be to look through the sales going on that week at the stores, match sale items with coupons, make a list of anything that saves you 60%+ (and is something that you can use), and then go shopping trying to purchase as many of those items as possible. Then after the shopping trip, store all of those items in your stock pile. When it comes to thinking of meal plans for the week, you then use what you have stored in your stockpile rather than going to the store.
She does admit that some people won't save as much as she does... For some people, they are much more concerned with what they eat (ie they are Vegan, eat only organic foods, or have religious food policies (eg Kosher foods)) and as such won't have coupons for most of the food they purchase. However, even for those people, they may still be able to save money on non-food items. Many health and beauty products have great coupons and specials, as well as paper products, cleaning / freshening products, and pet foods. Even if you only focus on those items, she claims you can still reduce your grocery bills over time.
There are several good web-sites that have databases that list the weekly specials going on at different stores around the country along with coupons to use to get the best deals: CouponMom.com, the above blogger's sister site Saving Well Spending Less, etc. This definitely helps cut down on the time it takes to search for specials and getting the best bargains. I also like how the 101 guides talks about storing coupons; instead of spending tons of time clipping and organizing coupons, she just takes all of the Sunday inserts for that week and put them in a folder. Then when you go out to the database sites, they will tell you which insert from which week has the coupon you need to clip. You can then go to that week's folder and clip the correct coupon.
Although double couponing is great, many stores nowadays don't offer that. Yet even still, there are other ways to "stack" the savings to reach that high level of savings. Usually you are able to use both a manufacturer's coupon as well as a store coupon together on the same item. Also some stores will price match so that if the store doesn't currently have a special going on, they may price-match a different store's sale price. There are also loyalty cards at some stores as well as cards like UPromise and SavingStar that don't take off any money from the receipt, but rather put money into an account that you can then cash-out at a later time. Finally there may be mail-in rebates which will also give you money back after the purchase is made.
I'm just starting to try out this 101 guide, but I know I probably won't be saving as much as she does... I tend to purchase more fresh produce and make my food from scratch, so again most of my savings will be through heath / beauty, paper products, etc. Also, no stores double coupons in my area and the main grocery store is more of a smaller regional store than the Krogers, WinDixies, etc. that most of the databases are geared for.
Still, I did go on a first shopping trip and saved over 70%! Ok, so I only bought one item, but I figured out the best way to match up all of the different savings, so I was successful in my technique which was the main goal of that trip. I bought a box of Aleve 40 count gel-caps. Normal price at the grocery store was $7.79 for the box; the store did not have a sale going on that day. However a neighboring Walgreens had a sale for them at $5.99 which the grocery store price-matched $1.50 in savings (so just 30-cents shy of a true price-match). I then used a $2-off manufacturer's coupon, printable through InboxDollars (which gives you an additional 10-cents in your InboxDollars' account each time you print and redeem a coupon). And I also used the store's SavingStar card for another $2 in that account. So altogether, I spent only $2.19 saving $5.60 or about 71.9% in savings (had I received the additional 30-cents in a true price-match (which was my expectation) my savings would've been over 75% :o ). It also didn't take that much time planning for the trip; from the database I found that Walgreens had the sale price and to use the $2 coupon from Coupons.com and the $2 from SavingStar. However, as I signed up for SavingStar, I realized that Walgreens was not a member, but that the grocery store in my area was. And that the grocery store usually price-matches, which was why I had to go to that store instead.
I'm looking forward to see how well I do in the future. I know that my saving won't be huge, esp. at first. Then again, I didn't think I'd make much money on FC, yet as most experienced members will confirm, an extra $25+ bucks every few months is better than nothing.
-
I have no clue but whenever I have watched the show the people have bought like 200 boxes of pasta, 200 cans of tuna, or 100 boxes of toothpaste????????? To me thats right along with the HOARDING show!!! I want to be able to use coupons for things I need now to feed my family...not 6 months from now!
-
I just cant sem to find any coupons out there that are worth using
-
One site I have found that helps people save big with coupons is The Krazy Coupon Lady. It is set up kind of like a cross between a website and a blog, with weekly posting about how to make the most of all the major sales going on that week, using coupons in the current circulars. They also have a huge database of printable coupons, and a lot of helpful tips for begginners starting out in extreme couponing.
-
i don't have enough room for all that stuff, but my store doubles and i can get about 220$ worth of items for 60 to 75...and i don't know how they do it either, in my mind its hoarding too.
-
I use coupons and on a food shopping spree I can usually save between $10 to $20 dollars, but that is about the highest. That is also combining some store specials with the coupons.
-
I just cant sem to find any coupons out there that are worth using
i agree! i get a sunday paper, which has approximately
atleast 50 coupons in it, but i can only find a few to
clip because a lot of the time, you have to buy *2*
of something just to get $1 off... lol.
maybe i just haven't gotten the hang of it yet.
-
With the continuing recession across the nation, using coupons is a great way to save $$$$$ on things we buy.
-
Dont Get Discouraged.. COUPONS are great. The tv shows about extreme couponing are great if one, you want 50 candy bars or cans of tomato or hot sauce. yes al ot of the items are great deals but some that they show are just a waste. the other part is a lot of people do not live where they double coupons...
You can still save money even if they do not double coupons. Watch adds for specials on products. what i have noticed is that a lot of items do not go on sale when the coupon comes out. checkthe next week.
always compare the prices - sometimes the smaller package will give the better deal. also watch for store brands ...
-
I love using coupons but my printer is down right now I don't have enough money to buy the ink rght now. But when I used coupons and worked at walmart and got my discount I did really good deal sometimes the item ended up being free.
-
I am just now starting to try to save money like they do on television. I can tell you as of now, it is so time consuming that I am starting to wonder if it is even possible to save that much money in one trip. Is what you see on television real? It is a headache, but if I can save a bunch a money it will be worth it. We will see!
-
why would u use coupons when u cam go to mpbtoday and learn how to get free food!
-
typically using coupons, I save about half on my bill. I am in Florida so they do not double coupons. when they show on tv they double the coupons.
my last bill for the month was 378.00 I paid 155.00 I wish they doubled, in that case i would have been closer to 40 or 50 dollars... When i go I try and make sure that i have a oupon for everything i buy,, also look for store coupons when you walk in.. check on the sales.. for instance when its buy one get on free, a our local store- can only use 1 coupon. but if they have the two for 4 - can use 2 coupons so if its a 50cen coupon would be 2 for 3.. I have some dollar off cereal coupons i am using this week our store has the cereal on sale for buy 2 get one free with the cereal discounted to 2.50 a box with my coupons will get 3 boxes for 3 dollars.. mainly take your time when i go to the grocery store for monthly trip i plan on takng 2 to 3 hours but is well worth the time..
-
lvstephanie....Thank you for all your information. Your post was very informative. I appreciate everyone's information. We also have a woman in our area that teaches classes. She claims it doesn't need to take 30 hours a week to do this. I plan on attending one or two of her classes in the near future.