Coupons saved her $600.00 on 1 shopping trip. WOW!

[annie3001]

my sil bought 19 boxes of cinnamon toast crunch cereal for like 5.00 with coupons.
oh yeah, it works if you have the time etc. i asked my brother why that brand. its there favorite! general mills makes other kinds. ha ha

 

[Fallen Leaf Farm]

I use coupons, but not as much as I used to, and I am far from those people shown on extreme couponing. I think the best I ever did was about 50%. Four kids (three of which are homeschooled) kind of takes up the time that I used to use to organize the coupons and shopping trips. That said, I only pay pennies for toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, soap or deodorant. When there's a good coupon (usually for a new product) I will find extra coupons (ebay is actually a great place to get multiples of ones you want) and stock up. Yes, I guess I'm a bit of a hoarder in that department, but when the checkbook is on empty, I don't have to worry about being clean or hungry. We rotate our food storage and shop the deals. Recently I bought 2 cases of chili that we like for 79 cents a can. This week it's on the shelf for $2.49. That's a lot of savings ($40) on food that we will eat within the year (remember, family of 6!).
I would encourage everyone to try to have at least a month's supply of food put away. Think of natural disasters and all of the people running to the market to clear the already empty shelves. Really, you've already started on being prepared by having your chickens that supply you with yummy eggs. If you're worried about how do you pay for storing an extra month's supply of food, just add a little bit each week to your grocery cart. If something you like is on sale, add a few extra cans and store it.

 

[Southernbelle]

I'm not a coupon shopper. None of our grocery stores will do double or triple couponing. Kroger will double coupons that are $0.40 or less, so even with that whopping discount (heavy sarcasm), the generic brand is still cheaper. Also, the coupons are often for overpriced and overproccessed convenience foods that I refuse to buy.

 

[AllTheseCreatures]

Quote:
THIS. I look over coupons and store ads every week. More than half of the stuff on sale and most of the coupons are for processed/packaged foods, gimmicky cleaning supplies and personal products. So I don't use many coupons. I would say I save an average of $10 a week with coupons.

I was pretty surprised to find a coupon for organic butternut squash soup last week. Made it very affordable. Wish we got more coupons for healthy food.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Quote:
THIS. I look over coupons and store ads every week. More than half of the stuff on sale and most of the coupons are for processed/packaged foods, gimmicky cleaning supplies and personal products. So I don't use many coupons. I would say I save an average of $10 a week with coupons.

I was pretty surprised to find a coupon for organic butternut squash soup last week. Made it very affordable. Wish we got more coupons for healthy food.

Yes, I actually have TRIED to find something to buy when I look through the coupons. Ugh. We just don't buy anything they offer coupons for most of the time!

Even Costco's coupons! Same thing! Very rarely I'll find something that we buy in there.

I would LOVE organic milk coupons
and canned organic soup coupons.

 

[redhen]

What makes it hard for me is..when they say Save $1.00 on 3 bottles of shampoo...
I cant afford to buy 3 bottles at once... (well i can..but you get my point.)...plus buy all my other needed groceries..
Soo..not sure how folks really do this..PLUS get all the groceries they need.. meat... etc..

 

[Rozzie]

I used to do quite well with coupons. That was at a different time in my life in a different situation , though.

Back then, I could get practically all the free coupon inserts I wanted -- didn't have to even invest in a newspaper to get them. (Lots of customers where I worked would buy papers from the boxes outside the door & toss the coupons. A lot of regulars gave me theirs once they knew I used them.) I had time at that job most weeks that I could clip & sort them without interfering in my job. (We were allowed to read the paper at work, but not a book...clipping coupons didn't bother them, so long as I only kept one coupon insert out at any time and kept things tidy.) I also had two or three local stores that doubled coupons up to a buck back then. We had one store that would triple small coupons (under 50 cents) one day a week. However, they were a pricier store so it was only worth bothering on their sale items. Two of the stores were on my way home to and from work depending on what route I took. So, I didn't typically even spend on gas to get to them...

I got loads of free things that way, and lots of other really inexpensive stuff.

Today though? No stores I know of double or triple coupons around here. I don't have time right now for any of this. I'm lucky to get through the basics of life right now...

 

[Rozzie]

Quote:
You develop different tactics.

One week you might buy a year's worth of shampoo & deodorant, while it is available for a lower price. The next week, you might buy a year's supply of canned tomatoes, or a year's worth of shredded cheese (which you then freeze for use on homemade pizzas, etc.)

You'll still have some things you need each week, but as you continue through this way, your average weekly bill is lowered.

Example:
Last week, flour was 99 cents for Gold Medal, five pound bags. I bought ten bags. That will last a while...though not a year.

 

[sheila3935]

Im not much of a coupon shopper but when I find a good deal if it is non perishable I stock up. For instance, Dollar General was discontinuing bar soap of a certain scent had them for .25 a bar. I bought all they had which was about 100 bars. Gave some to my kids and havent had to buy bar soap for over a year and still have some. The other day Walmart had conditioner for .50 a bottle I bought all 7 that they had. Now I have hair conditioner for quite awhile since only 2 of us use it.

 

[mom'sfolly]

I don't do this. I use coupons and I cook from scratch. I find that most coupons are for processed foods and toiletries and cleaners. I like certain brands of detergent and household cleaners, so I use coupons for those.

I neither have the storage, the time nor the inclination to coupon shop the way these people do. I don't need 10 bottles of shampoo in storage when we use perhaps four a year. I don't need the discount on $1.00 on three refrigerated cresent rolls, because I don't use refrigerated rolls. I use cereal coupons because we eat that.

I use coupons for things I buy regularly. I like to get 5-10% on my grocery bill. No place here does double or triple coupons. My favorite grocery story does "meal deals" where you buy something at regular price and get a bunch of stuff free. I buy these when it is something I would normally purchase.

I think by shopping sales, knowing your grocery store and paying attention to when things you normally use are on sale, then using a coupon, you save a fair amount of money.

I always wonder if these people end up using the toothbrushes, skin cremes, shampoos etc that they have bought so cheaply. I have a sneaking hunch that a much of this end up in the land fill or donated to charity when it becomes unusable.