Are you an Extreme Couponer? Talk to me....

[karenbaco]

I am looking for help on couponing and saving money. Anyone care to tell me the big secret? I need to cut back but I don't want to have to spend money unneccesarily in order to get a good deal.

Thanks

 

[DisneyHardin]

I'm not really an extreme couponer, but I do coupon pretty seriously. There is no real secret. When I find a great deal on something I stock up, so that I don't have to buy it when it isn't on sale. I have a shelving unit and deep freeze in my basement for storage. For example, we eat tons of hamburger, so when a local grocery puts it $1.99 for 85% lean, I buy 10 or 12 lbs and put in the deep freeze. I live in a large city with tons of stores near me, so I am able to go to different stores for their deals. I just get one paper, so I don't have 50 coupons for the same thing, but do print lots from the Internet. If there is a coupon for a great deal of something we use a lot, I will use the website couponfleamarket.com to buy multiples.

 

[ElliePixie]

Some people are really obsessed wth couponing, clearing shelves and stuff. I do coupon but just for what I need. I have a couple of newspaper subscriptions for coupons, but you can also get tons of coupons online.
The easiest thing to save is to use the coupon websites that list what are the better deals each week for the stores you go to or you have close by. The do a great part of the couponing work by telling you how to combine a sale for an item with coupons. You get the best deals when you combine a sale with manufacturer coupons, plus stacking store coupons. At stores like target, there's the app Cartwheel and gift card promotions too.
Just start simple but combining a sale with a coupons and then once you start getting the concept you can start adding more things.
It is not complicated but there are a lot of resources to combine to a sale that makes I look complicated but it's' just too much information you don't know about.
Believe me, start simple, and you'll see how you can save tons as you learn the ins and outs of the system.
Websites like www.hip2save.com and www.livingrichwithcoupons.com are great
Good luck!

 

[danygirl]

Weusecoupons dot com to get your coupons matched to sales

Build a stockpile so you are only buying staples at their lowest price. Your stockpile does not need to be crazy!

 

[pryncess527]

The secret is that extreme couponing is a waste of time.

Regular couponing can be great, but the stories of extreme couponing are largely overblown

 

[Vernie822]

I have couponed for awhile. I stopped recently because I'm busy with work and coaching HS cheer, but I have enough that I haven't had to buy any toilet paper or paper towels in months.. lol.

Anyway, it's not all that difficult if you have the time to put in to it. A lot of people assume they can put 10 minutes a week into making a list. It can take you 2 hours a week, 2 hours a day, etc. What you put into it you will get out of it!

I mainly shop at Giant Eagle (Northeast) for groceries, I follow a great blogger who posts the "match ups" around Monday/Tuesday for sales starting Thursday. I assemble the list of things I plan to get and clip/purchase online the necessary coupons. I really like TotallyTargetdotcom for Target deals. CVS is really fun to coupon at too, because of their Extra Bucks program.

My advice would be to start small with a grocery store. Scour the internet for coupon blogs (Google "coupon matchups giant eagle" or whatever your store is). Start by printing some coupons from couponsdotcom and clipping/saving the ones from your paper and mail. You can also look for Facebook groups for various stores - those are helpful because people will post their deals, but they can be VERY dramatic. I personally am a member of a few groups but I hide them from my newsfeed and only look at the page when I am looking for deals.

I never coupon without a list - I hate being disorganized when I walk in the door, it really throws me off!!

 

[Vernie822]

And I agree... really extreme couponing is likely a waste of time. I don't have the time to purchase and clip 800 inserts a week, nor do I have the use for a majority of the items.

If you keep a rule of only buying things your family will use (or maybe your extended family if it's free and you have the coupons), that may be a good place to start. I went a little nuts over the summer on some free shampoo, but it will all be donated and I had the coupons, so it's a win-win.


Some people end up with 3 years worth of cereal, or granola bars, or anything, that their family will just never use. Some families may, but ultimately do what is best for yours!

 

[jewjubean]

I coupon but I would coupon for things that won't go bad so toilet paper laundry detergent shampoo conditioner soap's stuff like that. I have enough laundry detergent that I won't have to buy it for at least another 6 to 8 months. Same with toliet paper. Pretty sure I didn't pay more than maybe 20 bucks on it at the most.

 

[eyor44]

I agree with purchasing only what you can use before it goes bad and what you have space to store.

I try to purchase paper goods and cleaning supplies only when it is on sale and I have a coupon for it. Then I try to purchase extra to get me through to the next sale. Same for shampoo, toothpast and items like that. I live in a small town that the stores never do double/triple coupons. But if you live in a city with multiple groceries, look and see if any do.

If you have Target, I get great deals there. On the Target web site are coupons you can print. You can use these, match a manufacturer coupon and even use a Cartwheel if one is available. If the item is on sale, even better. Cartwheel is a Target app that gives you an extra % off certain items. The trick with the app is the more you use it, the more discounts are available to you to use. You select the deals you want and when you check out the cashier scans your phone and you get extra off. And if you get the Target Red Card (debit or credit) you can an additional 5% off your total.

My Target is about 25 minutes away but so worth the drive. I get all of my paper goods, dog/cat food and cleaning/laundry there. Also, Target has lots of clearance spots around the stores. You can even use coupons on clearance items. I recently got a great deal on some clothes. The clothes were on a clearance rack and I had a coupon that was $5 off of $25 women's clothing. For $20 I really racked up. Plus I got 5% off of that.

 

[bettymae1121]

Couponing has it's place, but what I've found is that it pays to know your prices and be willing to shop around. I shop at 4 stores, one weekly and the other three either monthly or every other month. I keep a price list of all my regular items for each store and update it a couple times a year. I know who has the lowest regular price on all that I buy, it also helps me figure out what is a good sale price (if an item is usually $2.04 and it's on sale for 2 for $4, I know right away it's not "stock up" worthy. But 10 for $10...heck yeah!).

Also start paying attention to sales cycles. For instance near the major holidays (T-day, Xmas, Easter) baking supplies and whole poultry/roasts hit yearly lows (plus coupons abound). Chicken in your area may hit "rock bottom" every six weeks or so. Stuff like that. This is also where price lists come in handy, it helps you spot the trends. Get to know when particular types of produce are in season too. Right now it's apples, for example. Over the summer it's berries, but Jan/Feb can be good for berries too as they are in-season in South American and are imported. Bananas are stable year-round.

Look into if your usual store(s) have digital savings program. My "main" store Meijer has a program that has digital coupons (store and manufacture) plus a rewards program that gives me $X off my next purchase if I spend $Y in certain categories each month. I've saved $240 just on the rewards program since the beginning of the year. As for the digital coupons, they allow me to stack store digital coupons with paper manufacture coupons, if I hit a sale price (I call that a trifecta) then I save a bundle (plus it counts towards my rewards total!).

Then there are the paper coupons that print when you check out. Those are "catalinas" (after the company that invented the machine that prints them) and are also very helpful. Often stores and/or manufacturers will run specials where you buy $X and get $Y off your next order. Sometimes these are advertised in the sales flyer for the store, other times you only know about them if you stumble across it or read about it on one of the couponing websites/forums (I like afullcup.com).

There are online coupons that you print. First make sure your local store(s) accept them, not all do. If they do, just watch what you print, cost of paper and ink can eat into your savings. Coupons.com, Smartsource.com, and Redplum.com are good places to start. Also check the websites of your favorite brands, they sometimes list coupons on their sites. The coupons sites often limit the number you can print of a certain deal, but if you have access to multiple computers you can get around that.

And then there are the good old fashioned Sunday coupon inserts. I have a subscription to my local paper (Sunday only). I clip what I like and try to keep track to make sure I'm at least saving the value of my newspaper subscription. I don't bother getting multiple copies (although I might if I found a killer coupon or two, but that's pretty rare these days).

Also, think outside the box a bit. I only feed my family pasture raised meats. Finding them at local stores is difficult and expensive when found. I did a bit of research and found a (somewhat) local farm, and I order from them 2x a year (helps to have a big freezer). I'd save even more if I wasn't picky about pasture raised and was willing to buy a 1/4 or 1/2 cow. CSA's are a good way to get tons of produce in the summer months, but require a significant investment in late winter/early spring, also you never know what you'll get so meal planning can get interesting. Alternately you can start your own garden at home, even a few tomato plants on your patio can shave a few bucks off your grocery bill (and taste better anyway!). Ditch paper towels and use washable cloths, and clean with vinegar/water solution and baking soda. I get the wash cloths, baking soda, and vinegar in bulk at Costco (a $20 bulk pack of wash cloths has lasted me 5 years now. a 10 pound bag of baking soda lasts a good year, including adding it to the laundry). Anything that you use that is disposable, see if you can figure out a way to substitute it with something reusable (this is also much better for the environment).

Watch waste. The most expensive thing you buy is the thing you throw away because it went bad before you used it (this goes for health/beauty items with exp. dates too). Monitor what gets tossed in your house and adjust the amount you purchase if needed. Also watch portions (especially meats and cheese). If your toddler isn't eating even half of what they are served, start serving them less. If you buy 3 pounds of strawberries but toss half away because they rot, it doesn't matter they were $1 a pound, you just threw a $1.50 in the trash. Try to use less cleaning products too. Laundry soap, I've found, easily gets my clothing clean when only using half the amount listed on the cap. Dry sheets can be torn in half (better yet, invest in dryer balls).

 

[Vernie822]

Love all of these tips!! I keep thinking of more to add!!

Sales cycles are huge. I swear Target cycles their sales every 2-3 months. So while you think that $1 shampoo is a huge bargain.. if the deal happened once, it will likely happen again!!

Target is one of my favorite places to coupon. To keep my OOP (out of pocket) low, I "roll" my gift cards. Often Target will do a gift card deal of Buy 3, get a $5 gift card. I'll pay with a $5 gift card from a previous sale, and get a $5 gift card back. That way, I'm not spending more just to get a $5 gift card back. Target also has their own coupons online that you can print and stack with manufacturer coupons. Target coupons are STORE coupons, manufacturer coupons can be used anywhere. So you can use both of those, with Cartwheel, at Target!

 

[Disneefun]

The very first thing you have to do is get and understand the coupon policies from the stores where you shop. They are all different. Some double. Some don't. Some allow printed/internet coupons. Some don't. Some allow multiples of the same coupons. Some don't. Some put limits on the number of coupons you can use per day, or the number of coupons above a certain $$ you can use per day (or per household). Some allow you to combine a mfr. with a store coupon. Some don't. And there are all kinds of rules for electronic coupons, too.

The rules vary greatly from store to store and will greatly affect what you're able to accomplish with your couponing (and these have been getting tighter and tighter thanks to the abuses highlighted on the TV show). Before going crazy getting coupons, make sure you can use them when and when you need to. Make sure you can save the kind of money that will make it worth your time. If you live in an area where all of the stores have unfriendly coupon policies, it may not be worth it.

 

[Jack&Ryan'smom]

Coupons.com should be a place to visit regularly. If you have a CVS by you start couponing there! I haven't paid for toothpaste or deodorant in years! I follow Iheartcvs.com to help me match up deals there. Follow all the great couponing sites on Facebook because they update great deals all day!

 

[squirrel]

I'm up in Canada and we don't get that many good coupons.

My rule for print at home coupons is the coupon better be a high amount of savings as printing those off cost a lot. I also make sure to use them if I print them.

Things I buy and use regularly seem to go on sale approx. every 3 months so if it won't go bad in that time I stock up on those items. I try and use as many coupons as I can but I won't buy everything just because I have a coupon. I have left many coupons on products as it's about to expire but I'm not willing to pay the price of it even with the coupon.

 

[Chrelaine]

One of the most important things is to know your prices so that you can recognize a good or great deal. I keep track of the prices for things that we use often so I can take advantage of sales when they pop up. I clip coupons for what we use or may use but not things we have no intention of ever buying.
If you have a BJs Wholesale club nearby, they issue club coupons which can be stacked with manufacturer's coupons. What I really like is that if I'm buying a three pack of shave gel, for instance, I can use a club coupon as well as three $1 off/1 coupons. The packaged items must be things that could be sold individually, this wouldn't work for the big boxes of cereal, because there are just two bags with no UPCs inside the box. You really need to know your prices here, though. Many things are not a better deal than buying on sale at the grocery store with coupons.
I also find that menu planning saves me a great deal on groceries. I sit down on Saturdays and come up with a plan and create my list. This keeps me from picking up too many extras at the store. I try to choose things that share ingredients to add to the savings.

 

[lvillotta1]

I do not coupon. I shop mostly at Aldi's so there is no need for coupons. I have a list of rock bottom prices I use to stock pile my pantry. This week I stockpiled Progresso light soup for 88cents. My DD takes it to school most day in her thermos and I bought 3 cases of it. It again will be on sale over the next months as we get into fall/winter season and then I will not see it at that price for 6more mos. Bacon was also ad matched at Wal Mart this week for $2.79 so I bought 5. I ad match at Wal mart all the time. I stockpile eggs,milk,cheese and my freezer is full. You can freeze milk. My local Kroger had it for $! for 1/2 gal about a month ago. I bought 20 and froze them. For the sharp rise in grocery prices I get some great deals. My grocery bill is around $400/month.

 

[ecgsmama]

Thekrazycouponlady.com

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