How much do you save using grocery coupons? Update! I saved 72% last week!

[flamingglobessigmund]

I haven't had time to read the whole thread yet, but I had a question for all of you coupon pros - will a store take a black and white coupon??? I ask because sometimes while I'm at work for my lunch hour I would like to browse and print some off, and we don't have coloured ink at work. If not, I'll just make time at home, but I was just curious if anyone had done that!

A few years ago, when internet printed coupons were new, I printed some in black and white. The cashier made a noise, and gave me a look, but she took them.

Since then, I just print them in color, and cut them so the writing around the coupon is still there. I don't want anyone to think I've photocopied a coupon.

 

[deerhart]

I haven't had time to read the whole thread yet, but I had a question for all of you coupon pros - will a store take a black and white coupon??? I ask because sometimes while I'm at work for my lunch hour I would like to browse and print some off, and we don't have coloured ink at work. If not, I'll just make time at home, but I was just curious if anyone had done that!

I have never printed internet coupons in color. I have never had a store that accepts internet coupons decline to accept any of mine.

 

[hmack]

So thanks to this thread I have put a tentative toe in the couponing pool. I have signed up at both hotcouponworld and acupfull.

it's a bit like learning a new language.

 

[java]

Shopped again today with my Dad. Pre coupons/sales $39.87

After coupon's and sales!
$19.21!!

Oh it's addicting! And as examples of what I bought-
4 pillsbury dough products(pizza dough and biscuits)
Fantastic big spray bottle
Thomas's english muffins(whole wheat)
Herr's Tortilla Chips (Big Bag)
Yogurt(not on sale or coupon son wanted it and it was to keep him quiet= plus he'll eat it but $3.50 I could have saved)
Pepperidge Farm Milanos
Frozen Friday's skillet meal

 

[Ka' eo]

Shopped again today with my Dad. Pre coupons/sales $39.87

After coupon's and sales!
$19.21!!

Oh it's addicting! And as examples of what I bought-
4 pillsbury dough products(pizza dough and biscuits)
Fantastic big spray bottle
Thomas's english muffins(whole wheat)
Herr's Tortilla Chips (Big Bag)
Yogurt(not on sale or coupon son wanted it and it was to keep him quiet= plus he'll eat it but $3.50 I could have saved)
Pepperidge Farm Milanos
Frozen Friday's skillet meal

It is addicting! I am heading out this weekend for a massive supermarket sweep.

hmack, good luck! I used to dream about Disney, now I have dreams about the deals I got or coupons.

 

[ali2000]

It is truly a high like none other. Since we decided for me to stay home at just my husband work, I have done a LOT less shopping for myself and house than I ever have. Once I found the coupon lady that I use now in Atlanta and she taught me how to use them to maximize savings, when I save all the money from coupons, it satisfies the shopping craving. I told my hubby to be happy that I get my shopping high off of buying stuff that we already need vs. more clothes or stuff that will clutter the house.

 

[aggie778]

It is addicting! I am heading out this weekend for a massive supermarket sweep.

hmack, good luck! I used to dream about Disney, now I have dreams about the deals I got or coupons.

OMG! Me too! LOL, my hubby thinks I am out of my mind

The only time he "supports" my coupon habit is when there's something in it for him. Like last night, I drug him and my oyo to Target after work and scored some free Gillette men's body wash....then of course he's was all supportive. Lucky for me, most of my deals include something for him

Nicole

 

[java]

I am in coupon heaven. A new store opened near us and the competition is running GREAT coupon deals. They are all the same "brand" store- so the others are running spend $50 take $10 off each of the next 3 weeks. And then also a FREE ITEM every week (this week is a pound of butter! ) Their loyalty war is helping my pocket! WOOHOO!

 

[Ka' eo]

It is truly a high like none other. Since we decided for me to stay home at just my husband work, I have done a LOT less shopping for myself and house than I ever have. Once I found the coupon lady that I use now in Atlanta and she taught me how to use them to maximize savings, when I save all the money from coupons, it satisfies the shopping craving. I told my hubby to be happy that I get my shopping high off of buying stuff that we already need vs. more clothes or stuff that will clutter the house.[

YES! This is exactly how I feel! I wish I had found this earlier in life. I'm in my 40's. This is perfect for my obsessive little mind.

OMG! Me too! LOL, my hubby thinks I am out of my mind

The only time he "supports" my coupon habit is when there's something in it for him. Like last night, I drug him and my oyo to Target after work and scored some free Gillette men's body wash....then of course he's was all supportive. Lucky for me, most of my deals include something for him

My mother sent me an email all worried that I have developed a hoarding obsession. She has watched that show on hoarding, lol. She sort of gets it, but I think she forgets how much it takes to feed, clothe and clean for a family of 5.

I got the same bodywash for my DH. No more suave for him!

I am in coupon heaven. A new store opened near us and the competition is running GREAT coupon deals. They are all the same "brand" store- so the others are running spend $50 take $10 off each of the next 3 weeks. And then also a FREE ITEM every week (this week is a pound of butter! ) Their loyalty war is helping my pocket! WOOHOO!

Yes! We had a buy $25 worth of products from one big company and get $10 back. Another was $30 get $10 back. I went bananas! We are set for Tide, Downy, Cascade, Bounce bars and Iams for the next year. Literally! It was alot of work, but I saved 72%!!!!!!!!!!! They say it takes 3 months to build up a stockpile. I did it in a week. We have most everything we need now. I spent $500 (which is just over 2 weeks grocery budget IN THE PAST) and save $1,600!!!!!!!!! I cannot believe how much money I have wasted in my lifetime on food.

 

[java]

My mother sent me an email all worried that I have developed a hoarding obsession. She has watched that show on hoarding, lol. She sort of gets it, but I think she forgets how much it takes to feed, clothe and clean for a family of 5.

That is one of the funniest things I have read on here! I agree we are a family of 6 ourselves and my sil is always telling me how I just need to join Sam's Club to do my shopping. I told her I'm doing fine as is(and we belong to Costco for the bulk stuff anyway)

 

[Ka' eo]

That is one of the funniest things I have read on here! I agree we are a family of 6 ourselves and my sil is always telling me how I just need to join Sam's Club to do my shopping. I told her I'm doing fine as is(and we belong to Costco for the bulk stuff anyway)

My mom is a worry wart. And since I bought 30 bags of dog food, 20 cascade and 14 tide, downy and bounce, I did look frightening!

We belonged to Sam's Club for a year. THAT DID NOT SAVE US MONEY! LOL and we had these giant boxes of stuff that went stale, or got freezer burned. Plus we had to pay them to shop there.

If you can find a grocery that has catalina sales, you'll save more than costco or anywhere! I would do multiple transactions just to get to the $30 mark (it is based on retail sale price, not sale price), and use massive coupons I bought on ebay. I paid $6 for 100 oz Tide, 44 oz Downy, a 4 month Bounce Bar and an Oral b toothbrush. No one can equal that.

 

[java]

We actually belong to Costco for the Dog Food! We can get a 50 pound bag of highly rated food for $25!! And my dogs like it. That was costing us $50+ a bag before. The 2 dogs go through food. And when I saw that it was that much of a price difference and checked out the rating. We made the switch.
My Dad though put some stuff in my trunk and saw the 4 bags of dog food and got concerned too!

 

[Ka' eo]

We actually belong to Costco for the Dog Food! We can get a 50 pound bag of highly rated food for $25!! And my dogs like it. That was costing us $50+ a bag before. The 2 dogs go through food. And when I saw that it was that much of a price difference and checked out the rating. We made the switch.
My Dad though put some stuff in my trunk and saw the 4 bags of dog food and got concerned too!

That is so funny!

At my sale, I just got 17.5 lb Iams for our 2 Great Pyrenees for about $4-7 a bag PLUS a huge bottle of cascade complete and an easy mac, or PLUS an oral Btoothbrush and 2 boxes of Ritz or Oreos. So almost 40 lbs will end up costing less than $10!!!!!!!!! I bought coupons for $2 each on ebay that gave me $8 or 10 off the bag, plus when you spent 30 you got 10 onyo. So I'd keep rolling them, doing single transactions! I was regularly paying 30 for blue seal for them, so I am thrilled. We now have a whole closet of dog food. I will make sure I stack something in front of them (like a curtain and coats) if we have company stay!

I read shelf life of dogfood stored properly is 16 months.

 

[amylynne01]

As a policy, none of the stores around here take expired coupons. But sometimes if you get an inexperienced cashier you can still slip thru coupons with similar dates that expire in the same month, ie, coupon expires on 2/4 and shopping day is 2/24.

If the policy is not to accept expired coupons, then you should not try to "slip" an expired one in on an inexperienced cashier. Just because it scans doesn't make it right.


The savings I'm reading about makes me so happy. Nobody should pay full price ever!

 

[Ka' eo]

If the policy is not to accept expired coupons, then you should not try to "slip" an expired one in on an inexperienced cashier. Just because it scans doesn't make it right.


The savings I'm reading about makes me so happy. Nobody should pay full price ever!

Yes, I agree with this. There are so many legit coupons out there, and it really is fraud if you try to use them in a way that is unintended. I had to buy coupons on ebay, and Sunday papers, but I still saved 72% with those costs figured in. I went home after one shopping trip and had come back with more coupons than I should have and figured out the cashier had not taken one set. It was worth $7.50 to the store. The manager was really appreciative that I brought the coupons in the next day. And I know he'll remember a positive experience with a coupon customer, instead of a negative when they come up short. Stores lose the money on an expired coupon. That's not going to make them wanting to do business with us "couponers" if rampant cheating goes on. Plus it's just wrong.

 

[yourMaire83]

I know this thread has been dead for a few months, but I just started couponing about 2 months ago and I coupon like a champ! Where I live, we have a drugstore called Rite Aid, where you can score tons of free/almost free stuff! I use a site called www.iheartriteaid.com, and they also have sites for Walgreens (iheartwags) and CVS (iheartcvs). They get the ad scans about 3 weeks early and start posting all the awesome deals and coupon scenerios. I go shopping on Mondays at Rite Aid and usually get $50-80 worth of items for $5-10. I only get items we (DH and I) actually use and want to stock up on. Last week, at Rite Aid, I got Old Spice deodorants for 0.50 each! So, I bought 8 of them. They are over $4 each, even at Walmart! Now DH is good for about 6 months. I started my own blog to show photos and descriptions of what I bring home vs. what I paid. And it's open for anyone to "guest post" their own bragging photos. www.howmuchisaved.blogspot.com I also check GrocerySmarts for amazing deals. They have grocery, drug, and super stores for (I think) every state on there.