My "Extreme Coupon" Experience...

[kristenrice]

I saw a post on Facebook that said, "Get a Free Dog Toy" so I clicked it. It sent me to some printable coupons for PetSmart. It said that there is a $2 off any toy coupon and some of their toys are on clearance for $1.99 so with the coupon, it's free.

I had to go to PetSmart anyways because my dog happened to be there getting groomed so I printed all the coupons and headed over there. I checked out the clearance toy bin and all of the "cheap" toys (less than $5) were for dogs considerably smaller than my 100 pound malamutt. We also have a 50 pound mix of something (bassett/boxer/beagle/Aussie???) but he would have inhaled those little toys too.

I started glancing at the leashes and collars and found a very masculine nylon collar for our "little" guy. It was regularly $14 but is was on clearance for $5. I looked at my coupons and there was a coupon for $3 off any leash or collar. Score! I could get the little dude (who at the time was at the vet being neutered) a cute new collar. I brought it up and handed the cashier the coupon. My big dog was getting a little riled up so I was distracted while the cashier rang up the collar, but she had my attention when she said, "Your total is $0.18"!!! The collar had been further reduced to $3.07 so I had to pay the tax + $0.07. SO cool! So now the little dude is styling in his $0.18 collar. DH saw it and said, "You bought him ANOTHER new collar?" Then I told him how much it cost and he laughed out loud. "I guess at that price, it's hard to turn down".

 

[twinnersmama]

YAY ! I love couponing !!

 

[LMN]

Awesome! I love it when I run into deals like that! They don't happen often enough, let me tell you! Yea for you!

 

[wiigirl]

YAY ! I love couponing !!

Me too!

 

[BellePrincessBelle]

Awesome! I saw an extreme coupon family in Super Walmart the other day & their basket was loaded up with 10 plus of each item & it was all processed crap(velveta skillet, jimmy dean sausage sandwiches, frozen meatballs, cream of crap soups, powerade, & a bunch of other unhealthy stuff). Do people really eat all that? There was not a fresh item in any of the 3 carts.

 

[LockShockBarrel]

Well bulk buying doesn't really work with fresh foods. I mean maybe if a grocery store had coupons for say $1 off a pound of ground beef and you found it marked down, then you could do both and freeze it but generally the biggest coupons and deals seem to be on shelf stable and generally pretty bad foods. I've never understood people buying 100 bottles of salad dressing, I mean they still have use by dates and I just can't fathom anyone buying that much when logically they can't go through it.

 

[pfp258]

Extreme couponing is very strange to me. I am a middle class mother of two and have a college education. I just don't get buying things that cost so little whether or not you want or regularly use the items. Nothing is cheap if you didn't need it to begin with. I occasionally clip a coupon if it is on a product I need or regularly purchase. Most coupons do seem to be on toiletries, and processed food. I am always surprised at the number of people that fill their carts with crap just because it is on sale.

 

[NYCDiane]

Well bulk buying doesn't really work with fresh foods. I mean maybe if a grocery store had coupons for say $1 off a pound of ground beef and you found it marked down, then you could do both and freeze it but generally the biggest coupons and deals seem to be on shelf stable and generally pretty bad foods. I've never understood people buying 100 bottles of salad dressing, I mean they still have use by dates and I just can't fathom anyone buying that much when logically they can't go through it.

Sometimes people buy these and give them to other family members, neighbors, or food banks. There were a few people on the Extreme Couponing show who did that --- they would buy a huge amount of items and donate it all to the church, food pantry, or to the troops.

 

[allison443]

Extreme couponing is very strange to me. I am a middle class mother of two and have a college education. I just don't get buying things that cost so little whether or not you want or regularly use the items. Nothing is cheap if you didn't need it to begin with. I occasionally clip a coupon if it is on a product I need or regularly purchase. Most coupons do seem to be on toiletries, and processed food. I am always surprised at the number of people that fill their carts with crap just because it is on sale.

I so agree with the bolded!

(not referring to the OP!!)

 

[NYCDiane]

I love using coupons but I never go the the "extreme" and won't buy items "just because".

With that being said, I can tell you I've gotten many free or close to being free items with my coupons. I just have my coupons, check the store circular, compare sales with what I need and then compare that to the coupons I have. By doing that, I've saved a lot of money.

 

[NYCDiane]

Extreme couponing is very strange to me. I am a middle class mother of two and have a college education. I just don't get buying things that cost so little whether or not you want or regularly use the items. Nothing is cheap if you didn't need it to begin with. I occasionally clip a coupon if it is on a product I need or regularly purchase. Most coupons do seem to be on toiletries, and processed food. I am always surprised at the number of people that fill their carts with crap just because it is on sale.

Why not? If you want or regularly use the item, why wouldn't you buy it? Especially if it costs so little.


Not really... I've gotten coupons for salad, tomatos, nutrition drinks, milk, yogurt, produce, hot cereal, etc.

I don't judge what others' have in their cart. They're purchasing what they want and/or can afford.

 

[LadyBeBop]

Well bulk buying doesn't really work with fresh foods. I mean maybe if a grocery store had coupons for say $1 off a pound of ground beef and you found it marked down, then you could do both and freeze it...

I don't think coupons were involved; however last week, DD24 called me and boasted about her ground beef find. I can't remember the exact figures, but I think it was less than a dollar a pound. All I thought about was..I hope it's good beef, and you're not getting my granddaughter sick.

She bought it at Kroger's, so it should be good. However; ground beef is never marked down that low, unless it's for immediate consumption. And she was going to freeze most of it.

 

[mhsjax]

Why not? If you want or regularly use the item, why wouldn't you buy it? Especially if it costs so little.


Not really... I've gotten coupons for salad, tomatos, nutrition drinks, milk, yogurt, produce, hot cereal, etc.

I don't judge what others' have in their cart. They're purchasing what they want and/or can afford.

It all depends on where you live. In my area, you do not ever get coupons for tomatoes, salad, milk or healthy stuff. Sure you may get the occasional one for instant oatmeal, but I prefer old fashioned oatmeal. Most of the coupons in our papers are beauty products, pet supplies, and other stuff that they don't even sell in grocery stores. Almost every week there is stuff in there for "house dresses" you know, old fashioned house coats, and collectable dolls. total crap as far as I am concerned.

 

[tzeitel]

Nice score kristenrice. Our extreme coupon adventure did not even include a coupon.

A couple of days ago we went to Walmart and found the ink our printer takes on the clearance section - super convenient since just that morning I had told DH we needed ink! Anyway, we get a couple of twin pack for $7 - great price right? When we get to the register the girl hands us 2 $5 gift cards. The ink we got had a $5 gc rebate on top of them being on clearance for $7. We got each cartridge for $1, regularly they are around $25-30 Needless to say we went back and got the last 3 packs on the rack.

 

[DisneyFansInLINY]

I saw a post on Facebook that said, "Get a Free Dog Toy" so I clicked it. It sent me to some printable coupons for PetSmart. It said that there is a $2 off any toy coupon and some of their toys are on clearance for $1.99 so with the coupon, it's free.

I had to go to PetSmart anyways because my dog happened to be there getting groomed so I printed all the coupons and headed over there. I checked out the clearance toy bin and all of the "cheap" toys (less than $5) were for dogs considerably smaller than my 100 pound malamutt. We also have a 50 pound mix of something (bassett/boxer/beagle/Aussie???) but he would have inhaled those little toys too.

I started glancing at the leashes and collars and found a very masculine nylon collar for our "little" guy. It was regularly $14 but is was on clearance for $5. I looked at my coupons and there was a coupon for $3 off any leash or collar. Score! I could get the little dude (who at the time was at the vet being neutered) a cute new collar. I brought it up and handed the cashier the coupon. My big dog was getting a little riled up so I was distracted while the cashier rang up the collar, but she had my attention when she said, "Your total is $0.18"!!! The collar had been further reduced to $3.07 so I had to pay the tax + $0.07. SO cool! So now the little dude is styling in his $0.18 collar. DH saw it and said, "You bought him ANOTHER new collar?" Then I told him how much it cost and he laughed out loud. "I guess at that price, it's hard to turn down".

Nice score kristenrice. Our extreme coupon adventure did not even include a coupon.

A couple of days ago we went to Walmart and found the ink our printer takes on the clearance section - super convenient since just that morning I had told DH we needed ink! Anyway, we get a couple of twin pack for $7 - great price right? When we get to the register the girl hands us 2 $5 gift cards. The ink we got had a $5 gc rebate on top of them being on clearance for $7. We got each cartridge for $1, regularly they are around $25-30 Needless to say we went back and got the last 3 packs on the rack.

Awesome deals! Congrats!

 

[smiths02]

I don't think coupons were involved; however last week, DD24 called me and boasted about her ground beef find. I can't remember the exact figures, but I think it was less than a dollar a pound. All I thought about was..I hope it's good beef, and you're not getting my granddaughter sick.

She bought it at Kroger's, so it should be good. However; ground beef is never marked down that low, unless it's for immediate consumption. And she was going to freeze most of it.

Kroger regularly marks down products that are about to "expire." I thought if you froze it by the use by date, you were fine.

 

[benniecooper]

Why not? If you want or regularly use the item, why wouldn't you buy it? Especially if it costs so little.


Not really... I've gotten coupons for salad, tomatos, nutrition drinks, milk, yogurt, produce, hot cereal, etc.

I don't judge what others' have in their cart. They're purchasing what they want and/or can afford.

Exactly. 10 boxes of Poptarts and Mac & Cheese may make the difference in a kid going hungry. It is unfortunate that some families can only afford these things, but it is a reality.

 

[NYCDiane]

Exactly. 10 boxes of Poptarts and Mac & Cheese may make the difference in a kid going hungry. It is unfortunate that some families can only afford these things, but it is a reality.

Pop Tarts are kind of expensive so I'm not sure a family who has a small budget would buy them. However, if I didn't have much money and all I could afford was mac/cheese for 60 cents a box that's what I would buy.

I grew up very poor. All I ever remember eating was pasta and sauce. Occasionally, we would have chopped MEAT with it (as opposed to ground BEEF). I rarely remember having chicken or turkey. Steak? Never. Veggies? Once in a blue moon. Lunches were always pb&j with an apple. Not even something to drink. When we had our ONE drink a day, it was POWDERED MILK. Pretty disgusting menu. I can imagine what people said about my mother's grocery cart.

 

[ColoradoDisneyFreaks]

Kroger regularly marks down products that are about to "expire." I thought if you froze it by the use by date, you were fine.

You are, it's a use or freeze by date.

 

[eyor44]

Pop Tarts are kind of expensive so I'm not sure a family who has a small budget would buy them. However, if I didn't have much money and all I could afford was mac/cheese for 60 cents a box that's what I would buy.

I grew up very poor. All I ever remember eating was pasta and sauce. Occasionally, we would have chopped MEAT with it (as opposed to ground BEEF). I rarely remember having chicken or turkey. Steak? Never. Veggies? Once in a blue moon. Lunches were always pb&j with an apple. Not even something to drink. When we had our ONE drink a day, it was POWDERED MILK. Pretty disgusting menu. I can imagine what people said about my mother's grocery cart.

Exactly! I too remember those days of sandwiches and powder milk. My Dad was out of work and this was before food stamps. Some days all I had for lunch was a ketchup sandwich. Yes, seriously. and water. We didn't get soda or koolaid and milk was for cereal and cooking only. Veggies were only what came out of the garden.