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

[Piecey]

I can't quote, and I realize it's been said, but There are healthy food coupons.

Kroger mails me $/$$ for produce or meat purchases all the time. I have a coupon for a FREE pack of carrots they mailed me. I think they also sent it with a .40c coupon, too.

Currently some cereal has coupons on it for $ off of produce when you buy the cereal. I bought Crispix and got a bunch of bananas free.

Driscolls had a printable for fresh berries and emailed me some more for my birthday. I bought fresh raspberries and froze them.

I have several coupons that are "save $x on beef or pork when you buy x" ...so you can use a coupon on the item you are required to buy and then that coupon on the meat.

Kroger.. Boneless skinless chicken, 1.99lb. $1.50 off fresh chicken coupons on them if you bought a Philadelphia cooking creme thing. So I bought 10 cooking creme for $5, and 10 packs of chicken at .50c a lb. Gave most of the cooking cremes away (I hate creamy stuff) but it made for some dirt cheap chicken

I just used coupons to get 12 4packs of the Dole Fruit in 100% juice for snacks in the diaper bag for $5.24. As good as fresh? No. But not crap either!

 

[JennyKS]

yep and thats per computer.

Jenny, Im like you but do try to do a small stockpile.. but with 6 of us in the house buying 4 to 8 of something doesnt last long. Dont let these other people get you down.

Here is one you can probably relate to.. I was printing out some for next weeks sales and ran out of black ink ahh hate when I lose a coupon like that.

Thank you for your kind words! I am VERY coupon fortunate. I get to print my coupons at work. Yes everyone, my boss knows, when it's a hot coupon (like the 2.00 off folgers) I used his computer to print extra. In fact I used 2 others computer and got 8 cans of coffee, 36 cents each. I didn't keep them all, I only kept 2. I gave the rest away. My retired parents, friends, coworkers.

I'm a single mom. I work 2 jobs to support my daughter. The money I save with coupons help pay her girl scouts, dance, field trips, etc.

I used candy coupons to fill her Easter basket. As well as tangled coupons to get her that movie. As well as the coupon I got from jcpenneys save 10 bucks off a ten dollar purchase to get her a new shirt and shorts.

Yes my time is important, my money is more important. Overtime at work is not an option as work is slow now.

I get coupons from couponnetwork, smartsource, redplum and coupons.com.

The sites I like are totallytarget, wildforwags, iheartthemart, krazycouponlady, couponingtodisney, and commonsensewithmoney. They do the research for me,

To the lady that asked about samples. Like the products you buy on Facebook. I've gotten travel size and full size bottles of secret deodorant. Things from tide, downy. Plus since some coupons don't have size limits you could be getting deodorant, lotion, bodywash free.

It doenst make sense for my small family to stockpile food. Household products you bet I do. Especially the ones I end up getting free, example the Pyrex crystals from target.

Clearly it's not for everyone. As I said before, it's s necessity for me. And very proud I do coupon.

 

[Piecey]

Just finished reading and it cracks me up that someone else said that kroger sends them carrot coupons. What's with the carrots? Lol.

Anyway, I found beer TEARPADS at Kroger for mail in rebates on shrimp, $5. 2lb bags of shrimp are on sale at Kroger for $5.99 or so. Shrimp @ $1.43 after I consider the cost of the stamp. Also found a tear pad for $5 rebate for any turkey or ham. I have a coupon for $1 a lb of deli meat, then one for $2 off cheese when I buy a lb of deli meat. Combine with that the Mail in Rebate and it's enough for a weeks worth of lunches for my husband for free.

It doesn't always work out that way though, I admit. I almost always make biweekly trips to SAMs for fresh berries, bananas, romaine hearts, sweet peppers, etc...

 

[canopynut66]

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

I also bought some processed stuff which I used coupons on as well! No, I'm not perfect, I try to eat well but I enjoy treats, I'm on WW so that affects my shopping as well.

All of these items were items I would've purchased anyway, all were name brand, but that's because I am able to get name brands for cheaper than many generics (I shop at a Military Commissary, which helps). I don't buy 62 bottles of mustard because they're on sale, but I will buy one or two spares for the pantry if it's on sale and I have a coupon--as long as the expiration date is far away--because I will eventually use it.

The point I am trying to make--everyone who doesn't coupon says all you can get is junk and it simply isn't true. If you don't have the time or don't want to dedicate the time to couponing, then don't! But don't automatically assume the rest of us eat all crap.

Sorry, I just needed to vent!

Until people see coupons as actual CASH value then they think coupons silly or they will say why cut them for thing's they would not buy? of course would not cut them if not using or donating the item. fresh foods and milk and produce coupons in my area are in the local flyers that come thru the mail or rebates or buy meat get free milk etc they out there

 

[DMRick]

I didn't see those posts , my apology.
Why do you have 2 accounts though that is both you right? It is the same post word for word

Looks like the second one was copied and pasted from the first response, without quotes, and then responded to. It would be the same post, if it's copied and pasted. No, I don't see where it would both be the same person.

 

[azdisneylover]

I apologize for not using the quotes, I was in a hurry to get an answer down. I am usually a lurker, but when I read through the coupon thread, I just had to respond. I was taught by the best to use coupons and make each penny stretch. I like to use the website hotcouponworld, slickdeals dot net, gottadeal, and all the grocery store own websites. There has be a lot of wonderful advice on how to find coupons, how to use them, and how to make your hard earned money go farther, whether or not you choose to use coupons.
I would suggest to people you know if they would like to exchange coupons, as your newspaper carrier what they do with the extras, do a little bit of research on the stores you shop and get on their lists. Same with your favorite products. (I would suggest creating a separate email for this). Stores usually put an item on the 'best sale price' every 12-13 weeks. If you keep a price book, or list of the items you regularly use, you will know when you should buy at the cheapest price. Use a calculator to figure out unit price, and serving price on products too.

 

[ShariVT]

Well I guess I must be lucky I live in a place where we get coupons for milk and meat and veggies some fresh some frozen. We also have 3 grocery stores the double $1 coupons. We have 2 stores the pay 5 cents for bringing your own bags. I match my coupons with the coupon that BJ's send me every month and save even more on the stuff I buy in bulk. So with the $ 75 I saved yesterday in my grocery budget with the coupons I was able to fill the gas tank in my car so yes I think they are worth it.

 

[mrodgers]

Here is A LINK for an ACTUAL coupon that does not require an additional purchase. (It's for $3 off an $8 meat purchase- any meat you want from the meat department)

http://www.foodlion.com/WebCoupons/...medium=Facebook&utm_campaign=Wall+Post-Promos

Again, area specific.

No Food Lion within 50 miles of me. There use to be, but I can't find it on google maps or on the link.

Kroger is mentioned all the time. The grocery store I worked at in 1988 use to be Kroger. Hasn't been a Kroger since before 1988. Closest Kroger is 95.5 miles. That's $35 in gas to get there.

I've visited all the coupon sites. They all have pretty much the same coupons. Out of 71 coupons on Smartsource right now, the cereal coupons didn't print so I couldn't get those (printed blank so the site thinks I printed) and the 2 other coupons are $0.50 off 2 and $0.35 off 3. Not exceptional savings. The other sites are the same coupons, so nothing else to print.

The other thing is, people state they save $50 this week, and $25 that week, yet mention they bought a whole quantity of stuff. That quantity of stuff isn't for the week, it is more for a long time. If you buy 1 of an item per month to use normally, but save $2 by buying 6 of those items, you haven't saved $2 that week. You saved $2 for 6 months, or $0.08 for that week.

Cereal is about the only coupon I ever see consistently. What happens is I go to all the coupon sites and print what I can. I hand them to my wife and tell her when it's on sale, buy a bunch. She shops, it's not on sale, and we throw the coupons away because they will be expired. Print more, when on sale, buy a bunch. They are not on sale, throw away. Print more, no sale, throw away... The cycle goes on forever. There are hardly anything on sale at Walmart and we don't know until we are there doing our shopping. We don't get the newspaper because of no coupons. We don't get flyers in the mail. Flyers only have a small portion of what is on sale anyways.

 

[mhsjax]

Again, area specific.

No Food Lion within 50 miles of me. There use to be, but I can't find it on google maps or on the link.

Kroger is mentioned all the time. The grocery store I worked at in 1988 use to be Kroger. Hasn't been a Kroger since before 1988. Closest Kroger is 95.5 miles. That's $35 in gas to get there.

I've visited all the coupon sites. They all have pretty much the same coupons. Out of 71 coupons on Smartsource right now, the cereal coupons didn't print so I couldn't get those (printed blank so the site thinks I printed) and the 2 other coupons are $0.50 off 2 and $0.35 off 3. Not exceptional savings. The other sites are the same coupons, so nothing else to print.

The other thing is, people state they save $50 this week, and $25 that week, yet mention they bought a whole quantity of stuff. That quantity of stuff isn't for the week, it is more for a long time. If you buy 1 of an item per month to use normally, but save $2 by buying 6 of those items, you haven't saved $2 that week. You saved $2 for 6 months, or $0.08 for that week.

Well frankly, I wouldn't worry about Food Lion. I know it can happen anywhere, but a few years ago I got 3 different things there that where bad. All within a 2 week time period. I just can't and won't buy anything there any more, their store here is dirty and disgusting and pretty much no one uses it.

 

[Nayan]

Again, area specific.

No Food Lion within 50 miles of me. There use to be, but I can't find it on google maps or on the link.

Kroger is mentioned all the time. The grocery store I worked at in 1988 use to be Kroger. Hasn't been a Kroger since before 1988. Closest Kroger is 95.5 miles. That's $35 in gas to get there.

I've visited all the coupon sites. They all have pretty much the same coupons. Out of 71 coupons on Smartsource right now, the cereal coupons didn't print so I couldn't get those (printed blank so the site thinks I printed) and the 2 other coupons are $0.50 off 2 and $0.35 off 3. Not exceptional savings. The other sites are the same coupons, so nothing else to print.

The other thing is, people state they save $50 this week, and $25 that week, yet mention they bought a whole quantity of stuff. That quantity of stuff isn't for the week, it is more for a long time. If you buy 1 of an item per month to use normally, but save $2 by buying 6 of those items, you haven't saved $2 that week. You saved $2 for 6 months, or $0.08 for that week.

Cereal is about the only coupon I ever see consistently. What happens is I go to all the coupon sites and print what I can. I hand them to my wife and tell her when it's on sale, buy a bunch. She shops, it's not on sale, and we throw the coupons away because they will be expired. Print more, when on sale, buy a bunch. They are not on sale, throw away. Print more, no sale, throw away... The cycle goes on forever. There are hardly anything on sale at Walmart and we don't know until we are there doing our shopping. We don't get the newspaper because of no coupons. We don't get flyers in the mail. Flyers only have a small portion of what is on sale anyways.

And that's just it, most of the good stuff is area-specific. My store will only take local competitor's coupons, so the Food Lion one does no good. Most of the others I've seen for certain brands would be great, if my store carried that brand. It's frustrating for sure to hear folks say they get great deals and coupons for non-junk when there's quite a few of us who can't partake in them.

 

[maxiesmom]

And that's just it, most of the good stuff is area-specific. My store will only take local competitor's coupons, so the Food Lion one does no good. Most of the others I've seen for certain brands would be great, if my store carried that brand. It's frustrating for sure to hear folks say they get great deals and coupons for non-junk when there's quite a few of us who can't partake in them.

We haven't had a Krogers in our area for at least 20 years. And never a Food Lion that I can recall. Doesn't anyone have tips on how to save money using coupons at Family Fare or D&W? Those are the 2 biggies in my area. Or how about Meijer??

The only mean coupons I get are for bacon and sausage. I'm not thinking either of those are healthy choices.

 

[threecrazykids]

Here is A LINK for an ACTUAL coupon that does not require an additional purchase. (It's for $3 off an $8 meat purchase- any meat you want from the meat department)

http://www.foodlion.com/WebCoupons/...medium=Facebook&utm_campaign=Wall+Post-Promos

Thanks for posting the link but we have no Food Lion stores anywhere near me. I don't doubt that specific store discounts are out there I was referring more to a manufacturer coupon that could be used in ANY store. These types of discounts are GREAT though for people who have stores near them that offer these.

 

[MEM]

We haven't had a Krogers in our area for at least 20 years. And never a Food Lion that I can recall. Doesn't anyone have tips on how to save money using coupons at Family Fare or D&W? Those are the 2 biggies in my area. Or how about Meijer??

The only mean coupons I get are for bacon and sausage. I'm not thinking either of those are healthy choices.

Have you tried going to coupon forums like afullcup and slickdeals and hotcouponworld and searching for the grocery stores in your area? You can search by state or by store name.

 

[bowne90]

I use coupons all the time and I love it. It is true that there aren't as many coupons for "healthier" items, but they are out there. I don't think I would be able to shop and buy the things that I do without all of those coupons. It would be nice if there were more coupons, but "healthier" items, but at least there are coupons out there for those who need them.

 

[jodifla]

I shop the store flier sales and skip most coupons. The amount of time it takes to clip and manage coupons isn't worth it for what I'd save.

But buying bulk throughout the store cycles, stocking up when they have their BOGO sales or things are 50 percent off or more, does. So I do that. Much less time, and I save 30 to 40 percent off my bill each week.

The only healthy coupons for milk and produce and meat I get are directly from my store.

 

[bettymae1121]

Around me I never see coupons for fresh produce (except for whole dole pinaple for some reason) or meats, and coupons for dairy (other than yogurt) are pretty rare too. I simply don't eat 99% of what I've seen coupons for. And trust me I've looked. My husband works for a newspaper so getting sales flyers/coupons is not an issue, and I've looked at the online coupon sites too. Nada, at least for the way we shop and eat.

I don't begrudge anyone that coupons, what you eat isn't my buisness, and I know in some areas you do find more coupons for healthier options than in mine. It just doesn't work my area for my family, so we save money in other areas. I'm also growing a much larger garden this year, so I'm hoping in the long run that will save us some money.

 

[JennyKS]

Hopefully we all know we are talking about manufacturer coupons. The store has to send these coupons back to the manufacturer to get the money back. I don't know what "brand" of beef my store sells. The only meat coupons that would not be specific to my store would be Farmland (do they sell that in the area you live). From their site I signed up for a newsletter and every 6 months they send me coupons off ham, sausage and porkchops. What about Tyson Chicken? Do they sell that in your store? They often offer coupons off their frozen diced chicken breasts, chicken strips, steak strips. Do you consider deli meat meat? Oscar Meyer and Hillshire Farms often offer lunch meat coupons. Two weeks ago I got Oscar Meyer deli fresh lunch meat for 28 cents a container. What about starkist tuna? They constantly have coupons.

As for as fresh vegtables, again Dole, Driscolls, cuties offer coupons. I like to buy my vegtables that are locally grown. I dont expect my local farmers to offer coupons.

Dairy products, do you have Roberts Diary in your area? They often offer coupons for their milk, cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream. Kraft often offers coupons for their cheese. As well as frigo.

Bread, I see all the time coupons for bread. Sara Lee, wonder bread. Do your stores sell those?

I don't feel the need to find specific coupons for your specific location. That would be YOUR job, not mine. They are out there if you want to find them, if you don't thats cool. Coupons do not work for everyone. As well as bulk stores don't work for everyone.

My store will offer 2.00 off beef, chicken or tuna if I buy (wait for it, the HORROR) hamburger helper. Oh yes, sometimes I feed my child hamburger helper.

But I think finding the coupons for 2.00 off any meat any store would be like finding a coupon for 10 cents of a gallon of gas anywhere. It just doesn't make sense that they would have those. Where would the stores send the coupons to get reimbursed?

 

[eliza61]

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

I also bought some processed stuff which I used coupons on as well! No, I'm not perfect, I try to eat well but I enjoy treats, I'm on WW so that affects my shopping as well.



The point I am trying to make--everyone who doesn't coupon says all you can get is junk and it simply isn't true. If you don't have the time or don't want to dedicate the time to couponing, then don't! But don't automatically assume the rest of us eat all crap.

Sorry, I just needed to vent!

Uhm, don't read them. see it's very easy. on the dis you can skip all the post you don't want to read.

In my area coupons generally are for junk. that's just the way it is. no biggie. Now I only go for the paper coupons. Yeah, they do have coupons for butter but it's always for the high priced butter so imo it's a useless coupon. Same with bread, yes you can find coupons for bread but in my area is always for the processed white bread.

The only vegetable coupons I've seen are for delmonte and dole CANNED vegetables, which once again are loaded with salt. I do not consider them fresh vegetables. Same with fruit, there is enough sodium and sugar added into canned fruit to make the resemblance to fresh fruit purely coincidental. I've never run across a coupon for a pound of fresh apples.

I stand by my assesment, the food coupons that are in the general sunday paper, 9/10 are for processed cereal and junk snack food. Sorry this irates you.

 

[maggiew]

Cereal is about the only coupon I ever see consistently. What happens is I go to all the coupon sites and print what I can. I hand them to my wife and tell her when it's on sale, buy a bunch. She shops, it's not on sale, and we throw the coupons away because they will be expired. Print more, when on sale, buy a bunch. They are not on sale, throw away. Print more, no sale, throw away... The cycle goes on forever. There are hardly anything on sale at Walmart and we don't know until we are there doing our shopping. We don't get the newspaper because of no coupons. We don't get flyers in the mail. Flyers only have a small portion of what is on sale anyways.

Why don't you look to see if cereal is on sale before you print the coupon? That just seems obvious to me. All stores seem to have their ads online. You don't need to get the paper to get the ads.

Maggie

 

[Poohforyou]

LisaNJ25 - thanks for posting those links. I'm in NJ as well and they're a real help especially combining store specials with coupons.

There are a few deals we'd use plus I can get things for coffee hour at church and the food pantry. Also, with summer coming I sometimes feel like I'm handing out snacks to the entire neighborhood so saving a bit here and there is always welcome.