I am so tired of people who say all coupons are for junk!

[maxiesmom]

Oh and I have often gotten $2 off any beef, or chicken or fish or turkey (these are all different coupon) or $2 off produce or $2 off at the deli, $2 off cheese.

Don't say that these coupon arent around. They are maybe you just have never seen it or looked hard enough.

It must depend on where you live. I do use coupons and it is very rare indeed to get one for meat or milk our of my local paper. Count yourself lucky, because some of us do look for those coupons. We just don't get them.

What your store accepts or discounts may not be what happens in someone else's neighborhood. I can tell you no store here gives a discount for brining in your own bags. I do have my own bags, because I hate using plastic. But no store gives discounts for them around here. And a lot of stores will not accept on-line coupons. And forget about double coupon days. They don't exist. But I do what I can with what I have to work with.

Geeze. People need to chill.

 

[tlbwriter]

Are MOST coupons for processed and junk foods or not? Yes, they are. Sure, there may be some coupons out there for some healthier options but they are few and far between. And coupons for fresh veggies, produce, fish, chicken, meat, etc are even harder to find. That is my point. No need to get all *****y with me. Geeze.

Okay, I see you've changed your stance. That's good. Because your earlier post is the attitude that the OP was complaining about:

THe point is that there are no coupons for GOOD HEALTHY foods:

Get it now?

But now that you're admitting that this isn't actually the case, hopefully you'll avoid saying that in the future. And I believe that's all the OP was asking for. (Also, if you're going to complain about anyone getting "all *****y" with you, you might note that the last line of your earlier post was rather snarky, doncha think?)

 

[wvjules]

Okay, I see you've changed your stance. That's good. Because your earlier post is the attitude that the OP was complaining about:



But now that you're admitting that this isn't actually the case, hopefully you'll avoid saying that in the future. And I believe that's all the OP was asking for. (Also, if you're going to complain about anyone getting "all *****y" with you, you might note that the last line of your earlier post was rather snarky, doncha think?)

No. It wasn't meant that way and I don't think it sounds that way either.

 

[Marionnette]

Are MOST coupons for processed and junk foods or not? Yes, they are. Sure, there may be some coupons out there for some healthier options but they are few and far between. And coupons for fresh veggies, produce, fish, chicken, meat, etc are even harder to find. That is my point. No need to get all *****y with me. Geeze.

I think that what you might be missing is that in order to get some of those fresh produce, meats or dairy coupons you have to buy some of those processed foods. Now it helps if you can get those processed foods for next to nothing and then you can donate them to a charity.

(And please, I don't want to hear about how the poor don't need my cast-off processed foods! The church is glad to have them since a lot of the volunteers in the kitchen aren't exactly Julia Child wannabees.)

I once bought a lot of brownie and cookie mixes just so that I could get the Catalinas they generated. I had no need for them. I bake from scratch. But I had really good coupons that brought the cost down to a few cents per package. The Catalinas were worth 10X what I spend out of pocket. The soup kitchen got a nice donation of desserts for the homeless and poor. And I got to buy fresh veggies the next week for the few cents I spent to buy the brownie mixes the previous week.

No, it doesn't always work out that way. Looking at next week's shopping, I have $1 coupons for Minute Maid OJ and it's on sale 2/$5. A gallon of juice is going to cost me $3. Not bad. I have a coupon for a free gallon of milk from buying cereal this week (3 boxes for $5 minus 2 $1 off coupons). I also have a coupon from the store that came in my mail for $2 off of any produce purchase. I could walk in and buy just those items and spend $3 for it all. And none of it is junk food.

 

[threecrazykids]

And I maintain it depends where you live is what kind of coupons you get. Where I live we get junk, plain and simple. Know what my coupons were last week in my paper? All Pillsbury products. Biscuits, rolls, cinnamon buns, cookies and bread. That was it. That's all I got. I don't eat that junk, so they were worthless to me. I do get coupons for detergents, but I also have a family with allergies and $.35 off Tide really saves me a whole lot there . I can save a whole dollar off Eggland's Best eggs with a coupon, but at my store they are $4, while store brand eggs are just under $2.

Sounds like we get the same coupons. I rarely find one that I will use. Although I will use the Eggland's Best ones. I have never gotten a coupon for milk or fresh (not bagged salad) produce except from the store itself. I also do so much of my shopping at Trader Joe's and there are no coupons there.

I will clip if it is one I would use but out of the regular weekend coupons, it would be rare for me to get more than 3 each week.

We all must have the same exact coupons in our area. I could have quoted this word for word.

Also...not to be a Debbie Downer, but if you read the coupon fine print most of them say if it was bought, sold, traded, etc it is void...so TECHNICALLY you aren't suppose to use coupons you got off of Ebay or a coupon train. I know, I know I could care less what people do but if you only stuck to the coupons in your local paper would you be able to say you have that great of coupons for your area? I am all for printing off the internet coupons from the manufacturer etc if they are out there, but I simply can't find coupons for milk (and even other items) that WITH the coupon make it cheaper than Aldi's or Walmart's store brand.

 

[GinnyEmma]

Now don't fuss about technicalities! Tjose must just be guidelines.

 

[cinabug]

I'll admit that I've said it, but the point is well taken. I think it is easy to get that perception when you watch the extreme coupon shows. You see a family with a stockpile of candy bars, sugary cereal, and Gatorade and it's easy to make a generalization. On the show I watched, the family spent hours at the supermarket to get this deal. They didn't look to be in the best of health, and it was kind of disturbing to see them with that pile of junk. I'm sure many people use coupons more wisely, but you have to understand why the perception exists.

I honestly feel like I could not take advantage of anything but minimal coupon usage. I live quite rurally, with only a very basic and expensive local grocery store. About every two weeks I go to town for larger purchases and stock up at Costco and the bigger supermarkets on the stuff I know I like. I buy too much produce, so my chickens eat pretty well on the scraps. It's what works for me in my location. I know there are people who laugh at the time I waste raising chickens and cows and gardening. I'll try to be more fair and less judgmental about people who spend their time on coupon clipping and strategic shopping trips.

 

[JennyKS]

These coupons are free. Thank you for paying for my time to gather, sort and mail them.

 

[usnuzuloose]

I usually do a grocery shop about every 6 weeks. I am on a coupon train and I get alot of coupons that I use. I do not buy processed foods. I think alot of the stock piling for these extreme couponing are buying things that are not needed just to save. One person I heard bought enough tooth paste for five yrs. Some of these things have experation dates.

I also do a stock up from things at costco. Paper towels, Tp, cascade. things like that. I feel I do well. There are some people who love the coupons and some who dont. Couponing is not for everyone and I will respect that. I am thankful for the coupons I do get and for what I can save.

 

[wvjules]

I usually do a grocery shop about every 6 weeks. I am on a coupon train and I get alot of coupons that I use. I do not buy processed foods. I think alot of the stock piling for these extreme couponing are buying things that are not needed just to save. One person I heard bought enough tooth paste for five yrs. Some of these things have experation dates.

I also do a stock up from things at costco. Paper towels, Tp, cascade. things like that. I feel I do well. There are some people who love the coupons and some who dont. Couponing is not for everyone and I will respect that. I am thankful for the coupons I do get and for what I can save.

How do you get fresh foods to last 6 weeks?

 

[Poohforyou]

OP, I don't get why you care what people say about coupons? My opinion is that they are for processed foods which I avoid. I rarely even clip a coupon any more since there is never one for something I buy. However, if they work for you more power to you.

 

[IMALOVNDISNEY]

This is a never ending debate. I know, I have had these conversations with many people. Always the same as this discussion.

After watching the Extreme shows last night on TLC I told my DH that show was going to give " us couponers" an even worse name.
I coupon, I have a stockpile. (Nothing like on the show) I can't compare my coupons with other regions. Just know that what we get here are not all junk. And as long as I can save as much as I do, I will continue to clip.

To the person that said bleach is cheaper at Aldi's. Can you get it cheaper than .39cents. Because that is what I paid the other day with my coupons.

I coupon...you don't....let's agree to disagree.

 

[GinnyEmma]

How do you get fresh foods to last 6 weeks?

No kidding. In the summer I am at the farmers market twice a week. Local fresh produce eggs, meat and milk. winter shopping is once a week with a run for fresh stuff midway.

Lol, I paid a whole $.67 the last time I bought bleach. But my time is worth a bit more. Our newspaper isn't worth buying for a $.30 coupon.

 

[FLAngie]

And I maintain it depends where you live is what kind of coupons you get. Where I live we get junk, plain and simple. Know what my coupons were last week in my paper? All Pillsbury products. Biscuits, rolls, cinnamon buns, cookies and bread. That was it. That's all I got. I don't eat that junk, so they were worthless to me. I do get coupons for detergents, but I also have a family with allergies and $.35 off Tide really saves me a whole lot there . I can save a whole dollar off Eggland's Best eggs with a coupon, but at my store they are $4, while store brand eggs are just under $2.

You must get the Florida Today. That is just about all that was in it unless you wanted figurines, coupon holders or underwear.

 

[Diegosmom]

And I maintain it depends where you live is what kind of coupons you get. Where I live we get junk, plain and simple. Know what my coupons were last week in my paper? All Pillsbury products. Biscuits, rolls, cinnamon buns, cookies and bread. That was it. That's all I got. I don't eat that junk, so they were worthless to me. I do get coupons for detergents, but I also have a family with allergies and $.35 off Tide really saves me a whole lot there . I can save a whole dollar off Eggland's Best eggs with a coupon, but at my store they are $4, while store brand eggs are just under $2.

Yes egglands best are $4 but if you watch the sales they go B1G1 (so $2 each) and I got them when Harris teeter was doing super doubles so that $1 coupon doubled to $2 and yup I got them for FREE...would I even normally think I would buy egglands...nope but I cut the coupon anyway and look what it did. I actually had a few of those coupons and ended up with like 6 dozen eggs. So I did a ton of baking and cooking with eggs.

Also alot of you are saying you only get junk coupons well that is not true. MAybe your paper has junk. I agree one of my local papers is like that. But you obviously have access to the internet (since you are on here). and recently I have gotten coupons by liking facebook pages, free coffee creamer (yes I know probably junk but my guilty pleasure) and sites like coupons.com have had decent coupons. I have also recently gotten B1G1 free coupons for eggs (and yes you can buy the store brand) or even milk although I think I had to buy 1/2 gallon of chocolate milk and I got a free gallon of regular milk (even if i threw out the chocolate made the gallon cheaper).

Some weeks the paper will have junk but I usually find at least 1 good coupon every week (usually more like 5) and every penny helps the budget.

 

[Diegosmom]

BTW
The owner of a coupon site I belong to is going to be on the show on April 27th. Now I don't know the details of what she bought but she is a normal couponer. So I am looking forward to seeing someone do the deals without going overboard. (At least I hope the show didnt put a spin on it).

 

[clutter]

I am so tired of people who say all coupons are for junk!

Really, there are plenty that ARE. But, just this week I've used coupons for:

milk
eggs
bread
cheese
Greek yogurt
butter
olive oil
flour
sugar
peanut butter
razor blades
Zyrtec
Advil
Ziploc bags
foil
deodorant
shampoo
toothpaste
cat food
litter
bleach
cereal

Well we're not the norm, since we're a family of 2 (mom and dd14).

I only buy milk by the half gallon. Love some egg coupons, but I've never seen the only brand offered sold at my most used store. We only buy one type of bread, white bread with extra fiber, never seen coupons for it. Butter I can find store brands on sale for 1.99/lb. Only buy cheese from the deli. Don't buy olive oil frequently (maybe 2x/year), and can find it on sale at my grocery for $$ off, so it's not worth keeping a coupon for. Same with flour and sugar. Peanut butter, razor blades, zyrtec (generic), advil (generic), and ziplock bags all come from Costco. I had a $2 off coupon for Venus Embrace refills, but after sale price plus coupon at CVS, it was still less expensive to buy at Costco. Don't have a cat, and my dog has to eat an alternative protein (that would be the flavor of the brand that is always excluded from sales at the pet store ). Foil. Hmmm, I think I buy that maybe once or twice a year. (We moved last May, and I'm pretty sure I'm still on the roll that I moved.) Deoderant - well, there are coupons, but generally for $.25 off. Shampoo and toothpaste, we're pretty picky, but still only purchase very infrequently. And we don't eat much cereal.

I think that most of the benefit from coupons comes from having a large family. You can try different brands because someone will probably eat it/use it. When there are only two of you, why would I buy something I don't know if we're going to eat it or not? I find it easier to stick with products that we have a history with. We're just not major consumers. Not just of food, but also of cleaning products, health/beauty stuff, etc.

I think it's great that people can save a lot of money by couponing. But that means that they're buying a lot. Sure, they probably need it. But like someone said here, 35cents off Tide when I only buy it twice a year isn't enough to rock my socks. And if I'm only buying bleach once or twice a year, it's just not that important to me whether I pay $.39 or $1.59.

 

[Pigeon]

I disagree. I often get coupons for Dole salad bags which I use a lot and just last week I had several coupons for $1 off produce when buy two boxes of kellogg's cereal - I bought raison bran. I also had coupons for free gallon of milk when buy two boxes. So for about $5, I got two boxes of raison bran, a gallon of milk and two pounds of apples.

I do coupon. Once is a while I find a coupon that isn't for highly processed food, but it's rare. And I live in a place where nobody doubles coupons, so even with the coupon, generally speaking, the house brand is cheaper. I tend to use coupons more for cleaning stuff.

Raisin bran is delicious and I love it. But most brands are junk, absolutely packed with sugar.

I very rarely find coupons for things like eggs or butter. If I do, they are for brand names, that even with the coupons are more expensive than the store brand. The coupons for meat are generally for very highly processed meats, like hot dogs or pre-marinated, high sodium pork.

If couponing works for you, great. But for some people, it really is just not that useful.

 

[Tinker'n'Fun]

Once in a blue moon you get coupons for veggies, etc. IF AND ONLY IF you buy the dip that is laden in fat, or cereals filled with sugar to get the milk.

Bottom line, in my area, and many area where I have friends, there is no way to "super coupon" and eat healthy consistantly. I think that is the problem. Yes, you may get a .30cent off apples, but at $5.00 for the apples your final bill will NOT be anywhere near free or a huge amount off.

Don't get me wrong, I coupon, and well I don't consider razors to be a food group, so that to me should not even be considered when people are thinking junk food. I might get $10 dollars off my bill. If I changed over and bought processed food, I could very easily get my bill down to penny items. For some people it's just not worth it. Even our food banks are in the process of eliminating the highly processed foods and giving out fresh fruits/veggies, and cooking guides that also show how to freeze fresh food properly.

Most people "never" eat a treat or sugar cereal, but I wouldn't want my cart filled with 20 boxes of it just because I can get it free.

Some foods should be eaten in moderation. The general train of thought in "my area" is if it's on a coupon, eat it in moderation.

 

[Nayan]

You must get the Florida Today. That is just about all that was in it unless you wanted figurines, coupon holders or underwear.

Oh now don't knock the underwear! . Yes, that's my local fish wrapper and you nailed it. Orlando Sentinel isn't much better either coupon-wise.