Am I missing something about couponing?? (discount, stores, best, coupons)
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Ok, we've all seen the woman who checks out at the store with a bulging cart and pays only .40 cents (on tv I may add, not in real life). But I don't get it.
The only coupons I have ever been privy to, sunday paper, mailer etc, are not for things I regularly buy. Just for the new stuff. Anyone have success with coupons??
Yup it definitely helps...you just won't know how much or what percentage unless you go through the work of actually creating a spreadsheet to see how much you saved per item.
For example I buy Dannon Activia yogurt like every week or so. It's $2.79 for a 4pack when not on sale at the Pathmark by me. However once or twice a month there will be a $1 off coupon for a 4 or 8pack. So this chops off over a third of the price. I know it may seem like nickeling and diming here and there but if I can save anything off the grocery bill then I'll use it. Money saved is money earned
They do save me money..anywhere from $10.00- $20.00 a week. the coupon mavens that walk out of the stores with $500.00 worth of groceries for $50.00 are buying on sale items with coupons and coupling coupons with specials for every item that offers a manufacturers discount coupon.
That means you would have to buy every bit of junk that the manufacturers offer in promotions. I can never save that much because I only buy specific preferred items every week.
Ok, we've all seen the woman who checks out at the store with a bulging cart and pays only .40 cents (on tv I may add, not in real life). But I don't get it.
The only coupons I have ever been privy to, sunday paper, mailer etc, are not for things I regularly buy. Just for the new stuff. Anyone have success with coupons??
Couponing can be tricky and the success of it really depends on where you shop and what you shop for. So many coupons are for national brands which are cheaper when you buy store brands. BUT....if you do have products you purchase regularly....there are a couple of things you can do to save money. (It may not be $100 a week....but you should save $10-15)
1. Go to the manufacturers website of the product you want. Most have coupons you can print from their site or they will mail you some.
2. Use a good coupon site like: (there are lots of good coupon sites) Coupons
3. Look up the websites of the stores you shop at. They have their sales posted and many times they will post store use only coupons.
Ok, we've all seen the woman who checks out at the store with a bulging cart and pays only .40 cents (on tv I may add, not in real life). But I don't get it.
The only coupons I have ever been privy to, sunday paper, mailer etc, are not for things I regularly buy. Just for the new stuff. Anyone have success with coupons??
Couponing can be tricky and the success of it really depends on where you shop and what you shop for. So many coupons are for national brands which are cheaper when you buy store brands. BUT....if you do have products you purchase regularly....there are a couple of things you can do to save money. (It may not be $100 a week....but you should save $10-15)
1. Go to the manufacturers website of the product you want. Most have coupons you can print from their site or they will mail you some. Join their "club" and they email monthly deals and coupons.
2. Use a good coupon site like: (there are lots of good coupon sites) Coupons
3. Look up the websites of the stores you shop at. They have their sales posted and many times they will post store use only coupons.
4. Check the Freebie Forum daily. The samples offered usually come with additional coupons that are good for a long time. PLUS, you can try the product before buying it.
I'm going to send you the name of a website I learned since listening to podcasts. I don't know if we are allowed to publish other peoples' websites so I will pm them.
I do exactly what you do; get the Sunday paper, read the Wednesday mailers, etc. But I also subscribe to Shortcuts.com and subscribe to my local market's online coupons, many of which are electronic and can be downloaded to my club card. This is also true of the Shortcuts coupons; they are electronic. I run a list about every two weeks of the coupons that have been activated on my club card. If I need those items, then I get them. If I don't need them and probably never will, then I pass.
I have friends who joined coupon clubs that can get a grocery basket full of stuff for not much, but they are buying things they wouldn't usually buy just because they are on sale. Using the electronic coupons and Sunday paper coupons, I save usually between $25-$60 per trip (with average totals after coupons at around $100). I usually do a big shop every two weeks.
I also don't have space to store stuff. I don't have a second freezer to stock up on meats and frozen foods and don't have racks in my garage to store canned goods, drinks, etc. So getting 800 PowerAids for $10 doesn't make much sense to me.
My grandma has always coupon shopped and would take her savings and put it in a pot and that was their vacation fund. Believe it or not, they got to take a family vacation about once per year with her savings.
Ok, we've all seen the woman who checks out at the store with a bulging cart and pays only .40 cents (on tv I may add, not in real life). But I don't get it.
The only coupons I have ever been privy to, sunday paper, mailer etc, are not for things I regularly buy. Just for the new stuff. Anyone have success with coupons??
Success....hard to quantify....I clip coupons for things that I buy but like you I do not buy most of the things that coupons are issued for. Most of what I buy is fresh fruit, fresh veggies, lean meat, some dairy, etc. However I do clip coupons for things like soap, shampoo, razors, toothpaste, toilet paper, etc. I then bring all coupons for those items to the store with me when I need those items and shop for the best deal. Sometimes the brand I have a coupon for is the best deal; sometimes it isn't. I have saved as much as 25% off a grocery bill using coupons and as little as 0%. I think it is worth it but I am not one of those professional couponers who can get a whole cart of food for next to nothing. I would not want to eat most of those things anyway!
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