Coupons an Embarassment?

[Kycha]

I get all those, too, but I figure the PP was referring to produce you buy by the pound (not bagged salad or canned/jarred fruit), "store brand" meat from the butchers case (not name brand) and store brand-type eggs and milk. That's what I usually take people to mean when they say they can't get produce, meat or egg coupons. They're not looking for national brands or bagged/canned, just the store brands or the stuff you buy by the pound. And those types of coupons are the tings that usually your store offers coupons for, not the sunday flyers.

"You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink"
I mentioned using store coupons for milk, eggs, produce and meats earlier in this thread. Honestly, I get frustrated when people say they can't find coupons for "healthy" foods. They are out there and you can tell some people over and over and they just refuse to believe it. Some people have a pre conceived notion that the only stuff you can buy with coupons is unhealthy, processed crap. When that is just not the case.

Oh, and I forgot I get coupons for bread as well...Stroehmann and Arnold are the 2 that I get most frequently.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I guess it is a regional thing. But, I regularly get manufacturers coupons for milk, eggs, produce and meats. Especially for organic. I get Eggland's Best q's, Soymilk q's, Kunzler meats q's, Dole salad and fruit q's, Swiss Premium Milk q's, Hatfield meat q's, etc. Plus, I get the in store q's. I got $1 off eggs instore q from my favorite store yesterday.

Maybe it is regional. You and I are both in PA, so maybe we get the same inserts in the paper.

"You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink"
I mentioned using store coupons for milk, eggs, produce and meats earlier in this thread. Honestly, I get frustrated when people say they can't find coupons for "healthy" foods. They are out there and you can tell some people over and over and they just refuse to believe it. Some people have a pre conceived notion that the only stuff you can buy with coupons is unhealthy, processed crap. When that is just not the case.

Oh, and I forgot I get coupons for bread as well...Stroehmann and Arnold are the 2 that I get most frequently.

I agree. I never understand when people say they can only find coupons for junky processed food.

 

[jodifla]

Maybe it is regional. You and I are both in PA, so maybe we get the same inserts in the paper.

I agree. I never understand when people say they can only find coupons for junky processed food.

We don't have much in the way of store coupons in the area that I live. We have discount shopper cards. So sure, I use them and shop store sales. I routinely whittle $20 to $70 off a shopping trip with those. Once a quarter, we do get coupons in the mail from our local store, and I use those.

But overall, actual coupons for stuff I buy are few and far between.

 

[newtodis]

OMG, this needs to be on the back of a t-shirt I can wear to the grocery store! Then everyone standing behind me in line can read it, laugh, and quietly move to a different line, lol! Confrontation averted!

I love it! I hope the OP doesn't mind that I borrowed it and put it on my facebook page - the family will love that!

It is a full time job though. I can understand why some people can't be bothered because they work. I stay at home and this is my job. I make more money staying home and cutting coupons then I would working full time and not having time to buy on sale or use them. I save thousands a year between cvs, coupons and buying strictly on sale or clearance.

Personally I think that's a load of bull that people "can't be bothered" if they're "working". Being a SAHP is just as much as a full time job IMHO. I work full time, am president of a volunteer organization that meets monthly and has monthly activities and are on call 24/7, have two young kids - one ready to start school and both are involved in activities, just to mention a few things. I coupon avidly! It's my "relaxation" honestly. It's one thing I'm really good at and it's something I'm proud of. It's my one hour a week to clip coupons and honestly, I know it saves me a lot of time in the store actually shopping. I'm much better about my list and only going down the aisles where I know I have things to get instead of just wandering every aisle and buying whatever looks good (raising the amount I'll spend). I think you can do anything (couponing, volunteering, whatever), if it's important enough to you to make the time. I kick myself daily for not being more of a "coupon freak" sooner.

Maybe it is regional. You and I are both in PA, so maybe we get the same inserts in the paper.

I agree. I never understand when people say they can only find coupons for junky processed food.

My Kroger sends me a lot of coupons for fruits, veggies, meats and cheeses. I've noticed quite a few from Target both printable and in the papers as well. Sign up for every website for the products you like that you can think of. If they don't offer coupons to be printed (if your stores take printables), send them a note about how much you love their products - they generally "reward" their customers with more coupons to keep using their products.

 

[jodifla]

I love it! I hope the OP doesn't mind that I borrowed it and put it on my facebook page - the family will love that!



Personally I think that's a load of bull that people "can't be bothered" if they're "working". Being a SAHP is just as much as a full time job IMHO. I work full time, am president of a volunteer organization that meets monthly and has monthly activities and are on call 24/7, have two young kids - one ready to start school and both are involved in activities, just to mention a few things. I coupon avidly! It's my "relaxation" honestly. It's one thing I'm really good at and it's something I'm proud of. It's my one hour a week to clip coupons and honestly, I know it saves me a lot of time in the store actually shopping. I'm much better about my list and only going down the aisles where I know I have things to get instead of just wandering every aisle and buying whatever looks good (raising the amount I'll spend). I think you can do anything (couponing, volunteering, whatever), if it's important enough to you to make the time. I kick myself daily for not being more of a "coupon freak" sooner.



My Kroger sends me a lot of coupons for fruits, veggies, meats and cheeses. I've noticed quite a few from Target both printable and in the papers as well. Sign up for every website for the products you like that you can think of. If they don't offer coupons to be printed (if your stores take printables), send them a note about how much you love their products - they generally "reward" their customers with more coupons to keep using their products.

This is a good tip about signing up for products that you like. Thanks!

But I got away from couponing overall about 10 years ago. I'd go with this big wad of coupons, and I'd find cheaper products that were store brands, or the coupon I had didn't match the products they had. So I did pretty much deem it not worth my time.

It's interesting to hear about the different strategies, though.

And those Kroger coupons are nice, but I only get them every 3 months or so.

 

[dopeyrunner]

Ok So I am probably a little young for this thread but I love coupons!!! My mom has always couponed. I remember many times spending over an hour in the grocery stores matching coupons with items and if there is a better deal. I think it taught me a great lesson and I coupon now, I enjoy seeing how much I save and how I can get more than my roommate spending the same amount of cash at the store.
I also don't care that my friends think I am crazy cause I travel with an entertainment book in my car. I love that book and the BOGO coupons, there is even coupon for the grocery stores in the area where you spend $50 you get another $5 off.
So to all the mom's the coupon hopefully your kids will pick up on your good habits.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Personally I think that's a load of bull that people "can't be bothered" if they're "working". Being a SAHP is just as much as a full time job IMHO. I work full time, am president of a volunteer organization that meets monthly and has monthly activities and are on call 24/7, have two young kids - one ready to start school and both are involved in activities, just to mention a few things. I coupon avidly! It's my "relaxation" honestly. It's one thing I'm really good at and it's something I'm proud of. It's my one hour a week to clip coupons and honestly, I know it saves me a lot of time in the store actually shopping. I'm much better about my list and only going down the aisles where I know I have things to get instead of just wandering every aisle and buying whatever looks good (raising the amount I'll spend). I think you can do anything (couponing, volunteering, whatever), if it's important enough to you to make the time. I kick myself daily for not being more of a "coupon freak" sooner.

I agree. I work. Coupons really only do take an hour or less for me to clip and sort. And then I can breeze through the store, knowing exactly what I'm getting.

 

[secretpantssam]

I don't understand how people can be anti-coupon. I get just not using them, but actually being against coupons is beyond me. They are essentially someone giving me money to buy something I was already going to buy. What is wrong with that. I think some people are just so worried that someone will think they're cheap if they don't pay full price for something. Personally I'd rather save money than impress someone I don't know at a grocery store by paying full price for everything.

 

[Ashley Kees]

I am a pretty serious couponer, I had to share a story. I was with my kids and DH at Target last summer, buying two packs of Huggies that were on sale. I had two Huggies coupons, each said "save $1 on any size Huggies" and they weren't scanning properly. The cashier, who was VERY rude and was actually fired pover this incident argued with me that the coupon was for a different size, regardless of what it said. She actually tried to tell me that the STORES made the rules about the coupons. The VERY rude man behind us took two dollars out of his wallet, slammed them down on the counter, and yelled that he was sick of [us] poor people using coupons holding him up (on a Sunday afternoon) and here was our lousy two bucks. DH lost his mind, wadded up the bills and threw them in his face while reading him the riot act. The whole store was silent until the (idiot) cashier started laughing, and DH started yelling at her. The store manager came over, has another line open for the very angry man, told our cashier to go wait for her in the office, and gave us a $50 gift card for our "suffering". The next week that cashier was no longer there and they had new registers, and I haven't had a single coupon not go through since.

I can't believe how rude some people are...to say something that inappropriate, and to my kids! That was an experience that still makes my stomach turn!

 

[cjnix29]

To me it is a game, to see how much I can NOT spend at the store. I am getting better at it, but no way would I ever get to the point of spending only 50 on a $145 bill like a PP has said. How do you do that?! I do my best matching up coupons with sale items, and if it isn't on sale, and I don't have a coupon, unless it is an essential, I don't buy it. Love these boards to hear how people do it!

 

[Falltime]

speaking of coupons can someone recommend a good coupon organizer to take with me to the store - or how do you organize them? right now I just throw them all in my purse then I am fishing for them when I get to the store (never in line though) wouldn't want that lady behind me making snotty comments!

 

[DarthKTrava]

I'd have made a side comment back "Must be nice to be able to afford to pay full price for stuff...." as I'm handing the coupons off to the cashier. Make sure they can hear it.

 

[Kycha]

Jackpot! Stonyfield Farms has just released a ton of new coupons. So, if you want q's for organic yogurt, smoothies, milk or ice cream check them out. You have to register on their site to print the coupons.

http://coupons.stonyfield.com/new_coupon3.cfm

 

[disneyfav4ever]

I am a pretty serious couponer, I had to share a story. I was with my kids and DH at Target last summer, buying two packs of Huggies that were on sale. I had two Huggies coupons, each said "save $1 on any size Huggies" and they weren't scanning properly. The cashier, who was VERY rude and was actually fired pover this incident argued with me that the coupon was for a different size, regardless of what it said. She actually tried to tell me that the STORES made the rules about the coupons. The VERY rude man behind us took two dollars out of his wallet, slammed them down on the counter, and yelled that he was sick of [us] poor people using coupons holding him up (on a Sunday afternoon) and here was our lousy two bucks. DH lost his mind, wadded up the bills and threw them in his face while reading him the riot act. The whole store was silent until the (idiot) cashier started laughing, and DH started yelling at her. The store manager came over, has another line open for the very angry man, told our cashier to go wait for her in the office, and gave us a $50 gift card for our "suffering". The next week that cashier was no longer there and they had new registers, and I haven't had a single coupon not go through since.

I can't believe how rude some people are...to say something that inappropriate, and to my kids! That was an experience that still makes my stomach turn!

I can't believe how rude some people can be.

speaking of coupons can someone recommend a good coupon organizer to take with me to the store - or how do you organize them? right now I just throw them all in my purse then I am fishing for them when I get to the store (never in line though) wouldn't want that lady behind me making snotty comments!

I just use a check organizer with twelve dividers, and organize the items by aisle.

 

[thebeesknees]

speaking of coupons can someone recommend a good coupon organizer to take with me to the store - or how do you organize them? right now I just throw them all in my purse then I am fishing for them when I get to the store (never in line though) wouldn't want that lady behind me making snotty comments!

I picked up an index card holder in the office supply section at Walmart. There are little dividers in it that I labeled for different grocery categories (Dairy, Frozen Foods, Baking, etc.) It holds quite a few coupons, but is still small enough to throw in my purse before I go into a store. Plus, everything is organized, so if I see something I think I might have a coupon for, it's really easy to find. I cut coupons for almost everything, even if I don't normally use that brand or item, because sometimes there are unadvertised sale items that come out to free or nearly free that I can pass onto the food pantry, etc.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

On another note, did my weekly grocery shopping today, spent $30-some, saved $80 some. And my purchases did include dairy and produce. Of course, if you add in the $10 I spent yesterday, I spent $40-some this week, and saved over $100, and then you can include meat in my savings as well. And bread, I bought bread too.

 

[disneyfav4ever]

Jackpot! Stonyfield Farms has just released a ton of new coupons. So, if you want q's for organic yogurt, smoothies, milk or ice cream check them out. You have to register on their site to print the coupons.

http://coupons.stonyfield.com/new_coupon3.cfm

Thanks for the link! I love Stonyfield, especially that Oikos Greek yogurt stuff.

 

[mommycrawford]

She'll probably be REALLY embarrassed when her house goes into forclosure and she has to change clothes in the mall toilets because she's so busy worrying about other people's coupon use instead of taking care of business!

...I had a friend in High School who used to brush his teeth durng the day....I thought it strange, and asked....He said that he was going to have to take care of his own dental bills in the near future, so wanted to take care of his teeth!

Forward thinking people, people with a plan, are not always "popular:" they are often progressive, ahead of their time, and smarter than those around them!

You take care of business, and anyone who doesn't respect that, especially in these times, is off their nut!

 

[figaromeetsmarie]

I hate when people huff and puff in line behind you. I always have my coupons out, ready, in order with them all going to same way to make it fast for the cashier to scan,etc.

I don't *have* to use coupons, but I love using the money for other things. I am stimulating the economy more with the money I am saving from coupons.

Like today, I bought Organic Milk, 10 Whole Wheat Ronzoni Pastas, Cherries, Bananas,and Wheat Bread, Total BC $30.86 w/tax...AC $6.17

 

[mskayjay]

I use coupons all the time and save well over 50% every week. I cannot remember the last time I spent more than that, seriously.

I am a member of weusecoupons.com, a free site where we all help each other find the best deals at our local stores as well as the national chains and I sincerely invite all of you to come over and check it out. It is much smaller than the big boys of couponing so you get to know people quickly and it makes shopping at your own local stores so much easier! For anyone who doesn't use coupons, good for you. Let me send you my address and you can mail me your inserts each week! To me its like money found!