any coupon addicts out there

[luv2nascar]

Just got done clipping my Sunday coupons
My hand actual hurts from so much cutting
Sunday ritual for me to clip the coupons and check all the store adds from the paper
I would really like to be in some sort of coupon exchange but I don't know of any
I love when something is on sale and you have a coupon
It just feels great to save

 

[Gail T AGAIN]

I wish I was. I cut the coupons out and then by the time I thing I should use them they expire. Guess you can say I am not the best shopper in the world

 

[Randi]

When I was a single parent of 2 teenage boys, who expected to eat often and lots, I found out about couponing and refunding from a magazine. I got into it big time. I subscribed to a monthly newsletter, Refunding Makes Cents, and traded forms & coupons with people all over the country. I saved all labels, had quite a filing system. I regularly saved $30 or more each week, plus often rec'd $50 to $100 a month in refunds. I deducted the cost of stamps & envelopes from my savings, but it still amounted to a nice way to feed the kids without spending all my money on food. It took some work and organizing at first, lots of suggestions were in the newsletter, but after a while a few hours a week and that was all I needed. Now that there is only my son & myself, I don't do as much, but I still can't pass up a coupon or form. It all comes out of the manufacturer's advertising budget, so we may as well take advantage. At one time the newsletter I mentioned did have a web site, I am not sure if it is still on or not.

 

[ellyn2000]

I love coupons and a couple of us at work often compare our weekly grocery savings to see who will be deemed "Coupon Queen" for the week. I take 2 different Sunday papers, so after I clip mine I pass them on to friends at work and they keep passing until there's nothing left. My mother in law saves hers up and then brings them to me in a big bundle to go through. It's like Christmas when I get that big bundle of coupons! I save a great deal and actually enjoy the clipping. Good to see there are others like me.

 

[Marla Hellwig]

me too - with doing the shopping for three households here each week - I use coupons whenever I can

 

[Debi]

Although I don't do as well as some other people as far as saving money with coupons, it is something I do and enjoy. I'm able to save $10-$20 per week with coupons, store savings, etc. That money goes directly in to my WDW savings fund, so every little bit helps!

 

[catsrule]

I always clip coupons, don't use half of em' though but I clip them anyway.

 

[austinsmommy]

Yes, I am also addicted to coupons!! I usually buy at least 4 Sunday papers every week and clip the coupons out right away..I then put them into organized envelopes and keep them in a photo storage box..I also check the grocery store sale ads every week..I save soooo much money doing this!!! I love using coupons!!!

Angie~

 

[Cindy B]

Yes, but I only cut what is useful to me and that I will actually use.

I wait until triple weeks (yes triple) at my store. That is usually once a month, and go to town.

The money I have saved is my WDW vacation.. over $1000 a yr.

I will only buy something at the store (with the exception of milk, and a few staple items) unless its on sale AND I have a coupon.

I need to do at least 20% of the total order everyweek for it to be a "good" week.

 

[Mskanga]

I am a coupon freak, I will admit !! But I am very lucky that I work at a convenience store and on sunday nights I clean all of the leftover newspapers coupons and then I cut out a lot of what I need and would buy that I use , and I also give a lot of them to a couple of my neighbors, who in term also pass it on to someone else after they get what they need. My ritual at home on sunday nights is to check all the store flyers to see what's on sale where ( they are all local for me ) and make my shopping list. Lately my savings between club cards and coupons have been @ $55 a week sometimes more, sometimes less.

 

[tiggerlover]

I love my coupons and living overseas we get to use them 6 months past the printed expiration date.

Am I the only one or have others noticed that the coupon selection isn't as good as it was a few years ago. Seems like the manufacturers are getting chintzy with them.

 

[6_Time_Momma]

Oh yea~!!!! I love the deals I get!!!

My two best deals this week was boxes of Banquet chicken tenders for .33 a box and a box of spaghetti, a big jar of Ragu, and a loaf of New York Texas Toast for .69 for all three items! Oh!! And the free Skittles!

 

[mrsapalm]

I wake up early every Sunday, and the first thing I do is clip my coupons and go through the ads to see if there are any good deals on things we need. For instance, a few weekends ago, Target had a combo printer/scanner/copier for $99.00. I was the first person in the store that morning and snatched mine up!
I have to go through the grocery store ads (who's doing double or triple coupons, what produce/meat do they have on sale) and that's how I plan where I'll go that week. For everything DH mentions at the store, I'll say, "Wait, I have a coupon for that..." then go through my coupon organizer and compare prices. I learned very early in life that you have to save wherever possible, so here I am... couponing away!
-MrsAPalm

 

[Cindy B]

Originally posted by tiggerlover
I love my coupons and living overseas we get to use them 6 months past the printed expiration date.

Am I the only one or have others noticed that the coupon selection isn't as good as it was a few years ago. Seems like the manufacturers are getting chintzy with them.

:

Yes, they are getting chitzy. Its not $1.00 of two or three instead of one. The expiration dates are quicker as well.

I don't count bonus/club card savings in the "savings" since most stores mark up the price for "specials".. Take a look next time you are in the grocery store. One week say cereal is $2.25 a box. I use my 75 cent coupon that is doubled making it 75 cents.

The next week the cereal is buy one get one free, but the price is doubled to $4.19 a box...

I get two at the regular price with coupons versus the B1G1 price.

 

[Meriweather]

I clip what I think I'll use.
Not as much as it used to be.

 

[browneyes]

I love coupons! I freak out if I leave my coupon organizer in the truck when I go buy groceries.

 

[SmileyJoyz]

A little known fact that many people do not know is that you can use expired coupons at many big chain stores! I live in Chicago and both Jewel and Dominick's will take expired coupons without thinking twice...I have recently used coupons as old as 1998!!! We usually save about 40% on our bill between the sale savings and coupons used. The reason this happens is because most big stores won't even end up turning in their coupons for reimbursement because it's too much of a hassle. They usually get kickbacks from vendors and so it all works out in the end for them anyways (I know this because my dad used to be salesman for a big vendor that works with grocery stores). They will still scan because they usually reuse the barcode. My boyfriend used to think I was a bit nutty for saving all these coupons, but now he himself has turned into a coupon nut!! We have three large boxes, all broken down by store department. I actually just had to throw a bunch of coupons away because we were running out of room.

Now the one big exception is Wal-mart...they require employees to circle and verify a coupon isn't expired before accepting it. I have gotten away with some expired coupons at Target, but generally only by a few days (definitely not a few years like the grocery stores!!!).

I hope this information helps some of you coupon gurus out there!

 

[Cindy B]

Most chain grocery stores around here won't accept expired.. apparently in the computer/register software will not allow it. They also won't accept mis cut ones when the date is cut off or ripped by accident. With stores that manually key in coupons, you may be able to get around it.. but I have gotten the "You know fraud can land you in jail " by some cashiers, and store management.

There are websites out there which will verify barcodes, but some will not take... and I don't have the time to code and verify thousands of coupons....

Walmart around here don't not even take coupons

 

[SmileyJoyz]

Originally posted by Cindy B
Most chain grocery stores around here won't accept expired.. apparently in the computer/register software will not allow it. They also won't accept mis cut ones when the date is cut off or ripped by accident. With stores that manually key in coupons, you may be able to get around it.. but I have gotten the "You know fraud can land you in jail " by some cashiers, and store management.

There are websites out there which will verify barcodes, but some will not take... and I don't have the time to code and verify thousands of coupons....

Walmart around here don't not even take coupons

Wow, it sounds like they are really strict over in PA!! I don't know about the software not accepting them thing... there are NOT an infinite number of bar codes to be passed out and so they have to be reused, which is why if they are scanned they will still go through. This is why Walmart stores around here strictly enforce the policy that cashiers check for the date; if they didn't and just scanned it, it would NOT come up expired (I know because my sister works at Walmart). Maybe that is just something they have employees tell you (or rather what they tell their employees)?? Either way, I'm glad it works in Chicago. I guess it just depends on how the grocery chain nearest you sets up their stores. I have never had anyone question this practice nor have I ever gotten a lecture. In fact, we're affectionately known as the coupon couple by a few of the cashiers who see us often. But Walmart not even taking coupons!! WOW! THAT'S surprising!!!!

 

[December99]

I am the runner of the Coupon Train here on the DIS that was organized a while ago. If you are interested in joining I can add you to the list and send you an email about how we do it. Just email me and put in the subject - COUPON TRAIN.