Extreme couponing

[dislvr74]

Color and bold are mine.

This is the one major thing that I am afraid of. I am going to sound ignorant, so if I do, please correct me (don't bash me):

We are VERY picky about the amount of sodium and artificial ingredients that we allow our family to consume. This makes it tough to just shop "normally" but when looking into coupons it was even worse. When looking through the paper we saw coupons that would have saved us money if they were on brands that we used. For example, my toddler drinks Cranberry juice (YEP.. I know.. cranberry juice) and she HATES all the others. So for coupons we have found different brands of cranberry juice but most of them have a lower concentration of juice and are higher in sugars and fructose..ICK!!!

We also do not buy grated cheese.. but I see a lot of coupons for that. We don't buy canned dinners, i.e the soups and chef boyardee because even the small ones contain 900 mg of sodium in ONE serving.. Shiver. But I see a lot of coupons for that as well. We don't buy too many boxed items, such as mac and cheese or prepared dinners. We also do not buy cakes or cookies that are packaged or boxed at the store I.e. Dunkin Hines or Keebler.

I have gotten so frustrated with the whole thing even before I start. I have even watched people use their coupons at the store but have also taken a mental note on the products in their carts and really, we do not buy those things, chips, soda, lunch meat (packaged) or Lunchables (the makers of those things should be hung up by their nostrils for pushing that stuff...)

Toothpast we need, toilet paper we need, things like that, but because we don't need TOO much it is almost more of a hassle to do it than to save.

Any suggestions that may be able to help?

I don't buy mac and cheese or prepared dinners either. I occasionally buy cookies, but not often. I prefer to buy cheese chunks instead of shredded because I don't think the shredded stuff melts very well. I use coupons on the chunks all the time. There was a great sale over the summer where we were getting Kraft cheese chunks for $.16 each.

It sounds like I do buy some things that you wouldn't. I don't buy pop or juice, but I do get juice boxes for my kids to include in their lunches. Right now I am stocked up on peanut butter, canned tomatoes, pasta sauce, pasta (the good stuff like Barilla plus or various brands of whole wheat pasta), tomato sauce, salsa, crackers, BBQ sauce, ketchup, Healthy Choice soup, cereal (I don't buy sugar "kids cereal"), juice boxes, frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts, ground beef, pork roasts, and chuck roasts.

You could save on some staples like pasta, flour, eggs, butter, peanut butter (even the natural varieties), no salt added tomatoes, etc. Even if you just stop paying full price for shampoo, toothpaste, and that stuff you can save a bundle. You don't need to have 50 tubes of toothpaste in a cabinet somewhere to do this. I can't remember the last time I paid for shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrushes, floss, tampons, or body wash. But, I don't keep more than a few extras around because I don't have a lot of space. If you shop at CVS or Walgreens, that stuff goes on sale pretty regularly and you don't need a big stockpile to get you through to the next sale.

 

[Mom of 3 Princesses]

I don't buy mac and cheese or prepared dinners either. I occasionally buy cookies, but not often. I prefer to buy cheese chunks instead of shredded because I don't think the shredded stuff melts very well.MEE TOO!!!

I use coupons on the chunks all the time. There was a great sale over the summer where we were getting Kraft cheese chunks for $.16 each. NO WAY!! WOW!! That's awesome! I would never have thought that!!

It sounds like I do buy some things that you wouldn't. I don't buy pop or juice, but I do get juice boxes for my kids to include in their lunches. Right now I am stocked up on peanut butter, canned tomatoes, pasta sauce, pasta (the good stuff like Barilla plus or various brands of whole wheat pasta), tomato sauce, salsa, crackers, BBQ sauce, ketchup, Healthy Choice soup, cereal (I don't buy sugar "kids cereal"), juice boxes, frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts, ground beef, pork roasts, and chuck roasts. These are staples at our house. We eat a lot of Oatmeal and Creme of Wheat too.

You could save on some staples like pasta, flour, eggs, butter, peanut butter (even the natural varieties), no salt added tomatoes, etc. Even if you just stop paying full price for shampoo, toothpaste, and that stuff you can save a bundle. You don't need to have 50 tubes of toothpaste in a cabinet somewhere to do this. I can't remember the last time I paid for shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrushes, floss, tampons, or body wash. But, I don't keep more than a few extras around because I don't have a lot of space. If you shop at CVS or Walgreens, that stuff goes on sale pretty regularly and you don't need a big stockpile to get you through to the next sale. Do you use coupons for those as well

We try to make and freeze as much tomato sauce as we can from our garden in the summer each year, but end up running out sometime around Feb. We are up to our ears in Pesto until about this time as well... Maybe a bigger garden would help.

Thanks for the information!
I might just have to start looking again.

 

[MEM]

I shop a lot like dislvr74. I use coupons for healthy staples like brown rice, Triscuits, no-salt added canned tomatoes, whole wheat pasta, herbal teas, yogurt, frozen vegetables, low-sodium chicken broth, etc. For those items for which no coupons appear to exist, I watch for sales and catalina deals and stock up. Don't fret over the coupons that you cannot use, look for the ones that you CAN use. Do your research, read the couponing forums with the same intensity that you read the DISboards.

 

[cseca]

I agree that it really does depend on your area. In our area the stores here has limits on how many we can buy on sale items and only double up to $0.50 coupon.
So unless you like to go back to the stores bazzillion times, there's no way to stockpile like those people on the show (thank goodness!).

I am amazed at how much they can save but I think my marriage would be in trouble if I ever create a "grocery store" in our house like those people...

And can you imagine how fast you have to use/eat those things before their expiry dates?
I stockpiled a cereal that I liked last year, thinking that I'll get through them no problem. Well, I still have some of them now. I have another month to go through 3 boxes...
Next time I'll show a little bit of restraint and not go crazy.

Although, I like the last guy when he said he'll donate the cereals. I think that's great.

 

[disneyofcourse]

Just don't go overboard and have a stash of 500+ mac n' cheese meals in your spare room because you could get them for free.

I'm happy when I use a $1 off in $70 worth of groceries so hopefully more will chime in with good websites for more info.

 

[dislvr74]

Mom of 3 Princesses - I use coupons at Walgreens and CVS constantly. I don't shop too much at Walgreens because I find their coupon rules a little difficult, but I must shop at CVS almost every week. It took a few weeks for me to really "get it" but now I'm at the point where I rarely spend actual cash for anything except sales tax. www.mycouponlady.com usually posts her CVS shopping plan on Fridays. They were really helpful when I was getting started.

As for things like cheese, you just have to be patient. We had that awesome cheese deal this summer, and now it has been awhile. I'm still not paying full price for cheese, but I'm not getting for close to free either. But, I haven't paid more than $.50 for a box of cereal lately, so it all evens out.

It takes time to build a good coupon stockpile. Remember, the most important thing is to wait to use your coupon until the item is also on sale. That's how you maximize your savings.

 

[diamondpixienc]

The OP said it all. There isn't a store in my area that would allow me to use more than 20 coupons at a time. I mean I could drive to 3 different locations of the same store but w/ gas rising to more than 3 bucks/ gal kinda make you want to rethink that

 

[Frannie115]

I had a friend that carried around a pretty large plastic box (like the ones that hold tools/nails, with compartments) with coupons in it. She kept it in her car and took it everywhere. We had gone to a drugstore once and she took the box inside and went through it at the register . Needless to say, when all was said and done, she got about $15 worth of stuff for about $2.

I got a $2.99 lip balm for $2.99 + tax.

 

[mhsjax]

I live in an area with only a few stores and none of them double or triple coupons. They do accept internet coupons and that helps quite a bit. I think most stores will accept internet coupons as long as they aren't for free items these days.

My new year's resolution was to keep track of my spending/savings on groceries and household items and it has been quite eye opening so far. In January, I purchased $1180 worth of goods for $422 using $368 in coupons and the rest of my savings was in store discounts/sales. I'm doing even better in February because I stocked up on so many basics in January and there was a really great sale two weeks ago. So far I have purchased $853 worth of goods for $146.

I do have a stockpile, but it's only what I know my family of four can consume in about 12 weeks because I know almost everything goes on sale again in 12 weeks. My grocery bill was $13 this week because I only needed to buy milk, eggs, yogurt, and fruit.

I too let the coupon bloggers do all the work of matching coupons to sales for me. I think I spend about 2-3 hours per week cutting/printing coupons, creating shopping lists, and actually shopping. That means I'm making roughly $60/hour couponing. I'm pretty happy with that kind of return on my investment of my time. I know I'm going to be really darn happy when I enjoy our Disney vacation next month that was completely paid for with coupon savings.

I get asked quite a lot what my family eats when I shop this way. I doubt it is much different from anyone else. Last night we had Mexican chicken casserole with frozen corn on the side. Tonight we are eating tinga tacos (tinga is a mexican pork dish) with refried beans and rice. Wednesday is pasta with garlic bread and green beans. Thursday is baked potatoes with toppings (chili, cheese, broccoli, etc) and salad. Friday is pizza night. Saturday is BBQ pork sandwiches that I make in the slow cooker with baked french fries and some sort of veggie. I think that we eat well balanced meals without a significant amount of processed food. In fact, I think we eat better now because I always have veggies in the freezer and I buy more fruit and yogurt. All of us bring our lunches to school/work, which also means we are eating healthier than before couponing.

I've posted these before, I'll post these once again. These are the sites I use when planning my shopping trips:
www.couponingtodisney.com
www.mypricesavings.com
www.savingmoneyinmissouri.com
www.iheartcvs.com
www.wildforwags.com
www.jillcataldo.com
www.mashupmom.com
www.mycouponlady.com

I order two sets of each insert each week because my local paper never contains all of the inserts. Two sets is just about right for my family of four. I get them from www.wholecouponinserts.com.

Your menu sounds yummy, but our Dr's have told us not to eat all that white carb stuff. Rice and buns and potatoes are a big no no around here.

Not only does the Dr not want us to eat them, if I ate that I would gain weight like crazy, but that is me. All people don't, like my kids. But for us, that menu isn't happening.

I agree with others that coupons are a big problem for me. It isn't easy to find coupons for fresh fruit, veggies, lean beef or chicken. Seems everything is for junk that I just won't buy. I have given up using the coupons. If I see something that I use on a regular basis I will clip it, otherwise I don't.

I tried Southern savers and they had a deal on cereal, our store had a BOGO and then there was a coupon from the cereal's web site, essentially making it free. Everyone was bragging about how they got cereal for free. OUr store wouldn't do it. They checked with the manager. My store just doesn't work that way. OH well. I will just stick to Costco, it is much cheaper on the stuff that I do use.

 

[Carlyzmom]

[Was that guy buying a bunch of deodorant? What makes him think it will even work by the time he gets to the bottom of the pile?

[/QUOTE]

NO KIDDING!!! And 300 toothbrushes???? For flippin real???? I can't even imagine. I think those people had a strange "obsession"!!

I am ALL for saving money and I have already saved $100 this month with coupons. But, I DO have a life and don't spend 8 hours a day searching for coupons!!

 

[SarahandPaul]

I am an avid coupoer and get sucked into reading these threads about the Extreme Couponing show each time I see them! I follow thekrazycouponlady (aka the dumpster diver!) and her website is great. After the airing of the show, she posted a great video of her donating most of her haul from the show to charity. She also had multiple posts discussing how her weekly shopping is nothing like this, but it was extreme for this TV show. I have saved a bundle on lots of foods and make an effort to get all the free items (store sale + coupons) at the grocery and drug stores if I am already stopping by. Then I donate the unwanted items to the charity table at church each Sunday. I don't care if everyone in the world coupons and I know that it surely isn't for everyone, but just wanted to put in a good word for thekrazycouponlady (even if I wouldn't be dumpster diving)! Thanks for letting me say my piece!

 

[akenneson]

When I take the newspapers to the recycling center I will look around to see if there are any inserts I can easily grab, but dumpster diving is taking it a little too far. I was a bit concerned to see that lady on the show with her kid in the dumpster. Looked to me like she had gloves on but he didn't. If he catches some sort of illness from all that garbage it's going to cost her a lot more in doctor bills than it was worth.

 

[AnninIowa]

No stores in my area double coupons. For me, I have found that I save the most money shopping at Sam's Club. What I can't find there, I try to get on sale at Fareway (a regional grocery store chain). I know a few staples are priced best at Wal-Mart...and for cleaning supplies and staples, I buy Target's store brands (Market Pantry and Up&Up).

I find that when I clip coupons, I spend MORE money as I feel the need to USE the coupons even if I don't really need the item.

We are picky and pretty simple about what we eat and stick to the same foods and meals.

However, if we had stores with rewards cards and that doubled/tripled coupons, I might be stockpiling with coupons like crazy!

 

[Carlyzmom]

Another thing I didn't get from the show, was how they didn't buy ANYTHING without a coupon. There are some things you just need! Maybe it was exaggeration for the show, but I have a few "deal breaker" items that I must have!

 

[AnninIowa]

Another thing I didn't get from the show, was how they didn't buy ANYTHING without a coupon. There are some things you just need! Maybe it was exaggeration for the show, but I have a few "deal breaker" items that I must have!

I think just for the show, they did shopping trips with just the coupons. The guy who was on last talked about going there some trips and not having coupons for things like produce and meat.

 

[bettymae1121]

Color and bold are mine.

This is the one major thing that I am afraid of. I am going to sound ignorant, so if I do, please correct me (don't bash me):

We are VERY picky about the amount of sodium and artificial ingredients that we allow our family to consume. This makes it tough to just shop "normally" but when looking into coupons it was even worse. When looking through the paper we saw coupons that would have saved us money if they were on brands that we used. For example, my toddler drinks Cranberry juice (YEP.. I know.. cranberry juice) and she HATES all the others. So for coupons we have found different brands of cranberry juice but most of them have a lower concentration of juice and are higher in sugars and fructose..ICK!!!

We also do not buy grated cheese.. but I see a lot of coupons for that. We don't buy canned dinners, i.e the soups and chef boyardee because even the small ones contain 900 mg of sodium in ONE serving.. Shiver. But I see a lot of coupons for that as well. We don't buy too many boxed items, such as mac and cheese or prepared dinners. We also do not buy cakes or cookies that are packaged or boxed at the store I.e. Dunkin Hines or Keebler.

I have gotten so frustrated with the whole thing even before I start. I have even watched people use their coupons at the store but have also taken a mental note on the products in their carts and really, we do not buy those things, chips, soda, lunch meat (packaged) or Lunchables (the makers of those things should be hung up by their nostrils for pushing that stuff...)

Toothpast we need, toilet paper we need, things like that, but because we don't need TOO much it is almost more of a hassle to do it than to save.

Any suggestions that may be able to help?

I've given up on the coupons too, for the same reasons. 99% of the coupons I can get in my area are for junk. I find that just buying the base ingrediants and cooking mostly from scratch is the way to go. Even paying shelf price for flour, eggs, sugar, etc. I still do pretty well with grocery costs. Yes I spend more on food for two people than most spend on four, but I know exactly what is in the food I'm eating because I'm the one that made it. When it comes to food I'm looking for quality rather than quantity. I'm not knocking those that do differently than me, people need to do what they need to do to get by in the world. But for me and my husband, this is what is right for us.

In any case, you can still eat healthy foods at a lower cost by buying in bulk. Costco has huge sacks of flour, sugar, and other base ingrediants at incredible discounts. You can also look for a butcher or farm in your area that sells half cows and/or pigs. It takes a lot of freezer space but the price per pound is way less than what you pay at the super market. You can also look for deals on veggies in the summer by shoping farmers markets or buying a crop share in a co-op (or of course, doing your own garden). DH and I don't do some of these things because with just the two of us, buying in bulk would mean throwing a lot of stuff away as we couldn't eat it before it went bad, but for a larger family it would work great. Of course it means more in the way of cooking from scratch but with a bit of planing and organization (and freezer space) that can be worked around. Also investments in things like a stand mixer, food processor, canning supplies, Food Saver system, and a few other handy kitchen appliances can make cooking from scratch much easier as well. It's a bit of an investment up front but if you really get into it, the savings the first year should pay back most of the kitchen gadget investments.