"Extreme Couponing" or Ho"arders- Grocery Edition"

[EMHDad]

Ppl say the the FP system is going to ruin Disney because everyone uses it. However, we know that everyone does not use it, or use it to peak effectiveness. To think this is going to shut down/seriously limit coupon use is wrong, I believe. This is a tiny, tiny population in the country. For instance, the texas store policies were set in motion long before the show and not a result of the show.

 

[maggiew]

I just went through my mail this morning and there was a coupon pamphlet from my grocery store (Jewel) that included $3 off any purchase of meat or seafood and also a $8 off $80 purchase coupon. Those are the coupons that can be used to buy meat and veggies, etc.

Maggie

 

[daughtersrus]

I just went through my mail this morning and there was a coupon pamphlet from my grocery store (Jewel) that included $3 off any purchase of meat or seafood and also a $8 off $80 purchase coupon. Those are the coupons that can be used to buy meat and veggies, etc.

Maggie

We got the same pamphlet last week. I gave it to my neighbor because even with the "deals", Jewel is much higher priced than Meijer for just about everything and I get most of my meat at Sam's Club early in the morning when they have the markdowns.

If we get them in the future, I'd be happy to send you mine.

edited to add...

I went to Dominicks twice this week. Once for 8 packs of Coke (B2G2F) plus 2 free boxes of crackers with each purchase. There was no limit so I got 8 12-packs and 4 boxes of Nabisco crackers. I paid just over $5.00 because I used 4 of the free 12pack coupons I got from Coke rewards a few weeks ago. The max value on the coupon was $4.99 and their price was $5.99 each plus the tax.

I went back yesterday and got 4 more 12 packs and 2 boxes of crackers (my DD loves the Wheat Thin cinnamon sticks) for just over $2.00

Both times, the clerk looked at me like I was trying to steal from them. The first one questioned being able to use the coupons with their sale and the manager told corrected him and told him that it was fine.

 

[threecrazykids]

She said she's saved $40,000 since beginning couponing. Not in a year.

I saved myself over $6,000 last year. I kept all my receipts and figured it all out at the end of the year. It can be a full time job depending how much you get into it. A lot of bloggers make a ton of money doing this stuff.

According to the article/interview on The Krazy Coupon Lady she's only been tracking this for 2 years...and if she's claiming to have saved 40k one would assume her grocery budget was over 20k a year?

Come on now.

 

[maggiew]

I don't have a Meijers near me. Its either Jewel or Dominicks or Sunset or Whole Foods. I often see the ads for Meijers but could never find one!

We usually shop at Jewel since Dominicks is more expensive.

Maggie

 

[mhsjax]

I see that you are from Jacksonville; Publix will let you stack a manufacturer coupon with a Publix coupon. When you combine this with BOGO sales (or 50% off Birds Eye sales) you can get some great deals. A few weeks ago Birds Eye Steamfresh were 50% off and there was a $1.00 off 2 coupon in the Publix Yellow flyer AND a $1.00 off 3 manufacturer coupon in the Sunday paper, so you could get delicious frozen veggies for as low as $.37 per bag. That same week Voskos Greek Yogurt (which is so good!) was on sale for $1.00 and there were $.75 off coupons on the internet, in the paper, and at the coupon blinkie machine, so you could get it for $.25 each! Both of these a delicious and healthy items.

Also every few weeks the Sunday paper coupons will have a $1.50 off one package of Springer Mountain Farms chicken (http://www.springermountainfarms.com/). Now it's expensive (I think $6.99/lb) but it's antibiotic free and a bunch of other good things. I have also seen coupons for $1.00 off Dole bagged salad.

But you are right; there are generally far fewer coupons for meat and produce. What I do is save money on the health & beauty and non-perishables and this allows me to spend more on meat and produce.

I stay FAR away from Winn Dixie because they are NOT coupon friendly. I have had nothing but bad experiences with them and their everyday prices are higher than anyone else…$4.39 for a regular size box of Triscuits???

Thanks for the info on Publix. I will try and stack coupons, just need to get better organized.

Also timely advice on Winn Dixie, I was going to try it out, but now I can feel good about sticking with my beloved Publix.

 

[DizneyDogs]

I took interest in the lady from Idaho since I live about 15 miles away from where she does (I don't know her) and she also shopped at Albertson's which I avoid as they have the highest prices. Anyway she has setup a website with tips and she does donate as well which wasn't mentioned on the show.

http://www.livingonacoupon.com/

Also I just read Albertson's coupon policy. They only allow 3 consecutive transactions. So she had to get permission from corporate to do the 18 transactions for the tv show.

 

[Free4Life11]

Thanks for the info on Publix. I will try and stack coupons, just need to get better organized.

Also timely advice on Winn Dixie, I was going to try it out, but now I can feel good about sticking with my beloved Publix.

Publix is the best. Make sure you grab the Yellow and Green flyers in the front of the store, they have good coupons in them. I go to the following link each week and they review the weekly and do coupon match-ups:

http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/publix/

I find Winn Dixie to be a little "trashy" and their deals just aren't that good IMO.

 

[Ephany]

Publix is the best. Make sure you grab the Yellow and Green flyers in the front of the store, they have good coupons in them. I go to the following link each week and they review the weekly and do coupon match-ups:

http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/publix/

I find Winn Dixie to be a little "trashy" and their deals just aren't that good IMO.

Southernsavers.com is good too. I like how she has a clickable link for Publix right now the front page so I don't have to wade through the other store's info if I'm not in the mood.

 

[Free4Life11]

Southernsavers.com is good too. I like how she has a clickable link for Publix right now the front page so I don't have to wade through the other store's info if I'm not in the mood.

Thanks for the tip. Did not know about that site!

 

[Jen_in_NH]

The thing that annoyed me the most was the gal who said something along the lines of "I've saved us almost 40 thousand dollars in a year so far, I look at that as a full time job!"



How can you possibly believe you've SAVED 40k? Who the heck spends 40k a year in groceries a year to begin with? NO ONE that's who!

I feel the only way someone will convince me they "saved" money is to ask them one question:

Were you planning on buying 675 packages of (insert item) WITHOUT a coupon this month? NO? Then it doesn't count as savings in my book. I don't care if you got it for free...it's not SAVING you anything so you can't count it as savings!

And honestly...I may get some flames for this one, but realistically...be serious people...if the manufacturer is going to PAY YOU to take it out of the store is that something you really want or need? Things that come free in this world (from a business) are probably worth what you're paying. Just my opinion.

I think they figure the savings a bit differently than the rest of us. I do a lot of couponing, and like reading some of the couponing sites. It took me a while to understand how some people calculate their savings.

It looks like some people calculate their savings off of the shelf price of the item, not the sale price for the week. So if the regular retail was $4, but it was on sale for $3, and they used a $1 coupon, they count the savings as $2. I personally would think of it as saving $1, since I probably wouldn't have bought it if it wasn't on sale. If I figured the shelf price of everything I bought during the year, I could probably make it look pretty impressive too.

 

[deezeealum]

I watched last nigth and then bought French's mustard today. It was on sale for .99 and I had a .30 coupon that was doubled, but I only bought one!!! Those people really are food addictive hoarders. I do but on sale and with coupons, but my store has a limit on how many sale items you can buy at one time!

 

[LovableGluttons]

The stockpiling they do on that show really is disturbing. I use my garage for a garage. Seeing that one couponer with the wooden shelving and thousands of items there for just him and his wife was bizarre.

I like to minimize the cost of my groceries with coupons and rebates. I do not want to have huge stockpiles of items that will simply spoil because we just don't use them in time.

I tried to donate for a few years, but noticed that was making MUCH more work for ME. I had to jump through so many hoops to get rid of the stuff. If my neighbors and family can't use the extras, and no social service agency will make it easier for me to donate it, then what do I do with it?

 

[Magical JenK]

I just gotta say, I don't think it was a coincidence at all that Hoarders was on right after Extreme Couponing & wouldn't be surprised if next week was then followed by Intervention!

Seriously, I love a good bargin, use coupons when I can, but these people have issues in their noggins. They have an obsession with shopping, I mean they showed their stockpiles, but then then kept shopping...why? You had a tub of deoderant, but yet went & got even more because it's free?? No, that's a problem. They're saying it's saving money. Which the receipts show...but really?

I agree w/so many of you...I wish they would use their extreme couponing for goods of food shelves & other organizations that need supplies vs their own stores they have in their garage/basement/throughout the house --that one really bothered me...if you have 1400 rolls of TP under your son's BED...you're a hoarder.

As a packrat myself, I understand not knowing when you're going to need something...however, bottles of mustard?? Maybe she likes potato salad....a lot.

ETA: Did that one mom keep calling her kids "the litter"??? Or was I hearing things?

 

[JENOS]

I did not watch the show but coupons IMO do not work 90% of the time. You end up buying things you don’t need just because they are on sale.
The best advice I got was to throw out fliers that come in mail with discount inserts (Kohl’s, Carson’s, Macys) you don’t have to go out and spend money just because Kohl’s sends you a 30% off coupon. I stay home and save 100% (how that for extreme couponing)

 

[charming23]

I just gotta say, I don't think it was a coincidence at all that Hoarders was on right after Extreme Couponing & wouldn't be surprised if next week was then followed by Intervention!

Seriously, I love a good bargin, use coupons when I can, but these people have issues in their noggins. They have an obsession with shopping, I mean they showed their stockpiles, but then then kept shopping...why? You had a tub of deoderant, but yet went & got even more because it's free?? No, that's a problem. They're saying it's saving money. Which the receipts show...but really?

I agree w/so many of you...I wish they would use their extreme couponing for goods of food shelves & other organizations that need supplies vs their own stores they have in their garage/basement/throughout the house --that one really bothered me...if you have 1400 rolls of TP under your son's BED...you're a hoarder.

As a packrat myself, I understand not knowing when you're going to need something...however, bottles of mustard?? Maybe she likes potato salad....a lot.

ETA: Did that one mom keep calling her kids "the litter"??? Or was I hearing things?

You are not hearing things, she did call her kids "the litter". I had to rewind it to make sure I heard it right.

As I said before I like a good deal as much as the next person and last month I saved over $50 by usng coupons. Most were for health and beauty items/household items but nothing extravagant. Just because I got a 12 pack of toilet paper last week almost for free does not mean I needed to go out and buy enough to last until my great great grandchildren are grown up.

Although I will admit I got a tad excited on Sunday when we got two copies of the coupons in the paper and I have double of a few that I will use to get a few things we need.

 

[Nayan]

I did not watch the show but coupons IMO do not work 90% of the time. You end up buying things you don’t need just because they are on sale.
The best advice I got was to throw out fliers that come in mail with discount inserts (Kohl’s, Carson’s, Macys) you don’t have to go out and spend money just because Kohl’s sends you a 30% off coupon. I stay home and save 100% (how that for extreme couponing)

ITA

 

[deezeealum]

I did not watch the show but coupons IMO do not work 90% of the time. You end up buying things you don’t need just because they are on sale.
The best advice I got was to throw out fliers that come in mail with discount inserts (Kohl’s, Carson’s, Macys) you don’t have to go out and spend money just because Kohl’s sends you a 30% off coupon. I stay home and save 100% (how that for extreme couponing)

I couldn't disagree more. I cut coupons out of the paper we get delivered everyday adn only cut out coupons on things I normally buy, nothing more, therefore not buying things just because I have a coupon. How would I be saving any money if I clipped coupons and purchased things I won't use??? If you are smart about matching your coupons up with your weekly sales circular, you can do very well. I did our weekly shopping today and between my coupons (they are doubled here), my customer loyalty card and the weekly sales I saved $39.49 and spent $85.05. We are currently clearing out our freezer and I only bought things that we actually needed and used. It is all about discipline with any types of coupons, but they do work and save bundles if you do it right.

 

[JENOS]

I couldn't disagree more. I cut coupons out of the paper we get delivered everyday adn only cut out coupons on things I normally buy, nothing more, therefore not buying things just because I have a coupon. How would I be saving any money if I clipped coupons and purchased things I won't use??? If you are smart about matching your coupons up with your weekly sales circular, you can do very well. I did our weekly shopping today and between my coupons (they are doubled here), my customer loyalty card and the weekly sales I saved $39.49 and spent $85.05. We are currently clearing out our freezer and I only bought things that we actually needed and used. It is all about discipline with any types of coupons, but they do work and save bundles if you do it right.

Why couldn’t you disagree more? If it works for you then you are part of the 10%

But if you’re clearing out your freezer to make room for more stuff than you just threw away your previous savings

 

[deezeealum]

Why couldn’t you disagree more? If it works for you then you are part of the 10%

But if you’re clearing out your freezer to make room for more stuff than you just threw away your previous savings

to clarify, we are currently clearing out our freezer by using what we have, not throwing things away so our weekly budget was less then what we normally spend. I don't buy things that we don't use or keep things in the house that we won't use in a timely manner, that's why couponing does work for us.
I think many people on here are trying to stretch their hard earned money and couponing is one of the ways they are doing that. To say "coupons IMO do not work 90% of the time", maybe they don't work for you, but for many it helps with our budgets!