OT: Any coupons experts out there?

[klfrech]

Here's my question: can you use two identical coupons to purchase one item? I recently watched a bit on our local news and a woman was actually able to buy $100 worth of groceries for about $13.00 by using lots of coupons. How is this possible?

 

[InstImpres]

1 coupon per item but it is possible. I did it last summer (when we had triple coupons). If you can find $.75 coupons and sale items, it works easily. I got 90% of my groceries free (peanut butter, dole fruit cups, rice a roni, taco shells, twister juice, cereal, pop tarts, tooth paste, shampoos and more). One week the store even mailed $10 off a $50 order or your entertainment book may have coupons like that in the back section.

Good luck

 

[J&D]

I've done it before as well. Here is a great site to show you how to save big using coupons.

www.couponmom.com

 

[Questlove]

I've done this as well ... saved alot of money by using coupons that double and triple at supermarkets. It definitely works out better when those items are on sale. Not sure if news report stated how this woman saved so much money but you can go to thegrocerygame.com and find out info on what stores in your area can help you. Ever since I joined them, I have saved so much money. Or you can just call around for supermarkets in your area to see if they do that. Good Luck.

 

[mom2dzb]

I've been spending about 35% of retail for groceries and health & beauty by "playing" the grocery game. (Meaning I pay an average of $35 for $100 worth of groceries.) I've occassionally walked out of the store with $100 worth of stuff for just pennies. Check out thegrocerygame.com!

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

you CAN use two coupons for one item if one is a store coupon and one is a manufacturer coupon. For example: use the Walgreen's coupon and use a regular coupon with it.

 

[funnygarcia]

There are lots of web sites with forums that can help you figure out the best way to use coupons.
Here are two that I like:
www.mycoupons.com
http://deals.families.com/index.php

I have been finding the best deals at Super Target and CVS lately.
I rarely pay for any of my HBA stuff (shampoo, toothpaste, body wash) thanks to CVS (using coupons, getting extra care bucks) and walgreen's (rebates and coupons).
I have tons of cereal, snack foods, apple juice, M&Ms and a freezer full of steak thanks to Super Target's printable coupons (used with internet printed coupons and coupons from sunday papers).

I have only one grocery store (Rainbow) that doubles (limit of 5 coupons doubled, $25 order before coupons) - and only on Wednesdays. Not the best deal but I get 5 half gallons of our favorite organic milk for $1.79 each after coupon and try to use coupons for free items to make up the rest of the $25 total needed.
However, we have Cub Foods that takes coupons 60 to 90 days past expiration. I trade coupons with other people thru Mycoupons.. getting their high value expired coupons that are good on meat, vegies, etc called wine tags. Cashiers are alwasy amazed when I come thru and save 75-90% !

I also do an occasional rebate offer, it's fun getting checks in the mail for buying things I would buy anyway.

YES! you can get groceries for pennies on the dollar.. but it takes time to learn the tricks of the trade, build a stockpile, and keep it all organized.
I think of it as an extra part time job .
My DH loves me and my "deal hunting" while my boys love having a houseful of food (teenager and preteen!)

Good luck and have fun ! It's very addicting to save money.

 

[Hockeymommy]

Can't wait to hear more!!!

 

[TnTWalter]

I use coupons but I usually save about $10 at most [if I'm lucky]...

I am a family of 5 and I can't seem to get groceries under $900 per month...
[includes drugstore related items like shampoo, toothpaste, etc.].

Would love to squeak monthly savings of $200ish and save it for DISNEY! :O)

I have bookmarked all of the websites listed and am currently digging through them.

Trish

 

[travelbug]

I'm also an avid coupon user and bargain hunter. Grocery stores around here double coupons with a face value up to $.50. I sit down with the sale flyers and my coupons, and make out my lists. I'm fortunate to have a number of grocery and drug stores between home and work, so I don't go out of my way to get the good deals. By coupling sale prices with coupons (some doubled), it definitely saves big bucks.

I also pick up numerous items for my sister and her family. My BIL teases me that some day the stores will be paying ME to "buy" their stuff. Well, it actually happened one day at Meijer. I didn't have a huge amount of stuff, maybe $30-40 worth. But I had great coupons and they had great sale prices. The cashier scanned all my coupons and it came up that she owed me $.01 at the end. That shouldn't happen because store computers usually prevent each coupon from exceeding the orig. value of each item. The poor cashier checked and rechecked the coupon entries, and couldn't figure out the problem. So finally she just gave me the penny and cheerfully congratulated me on leaving with bags of groceries and an extra penny in my pocket.

 

[travelbug]

I use coupons but I usually save about $10 at most [if I'm lucky]...

I am a family of 5 and I can't seem to get groceries under $900 per month...
[includes drugstore related items like shampoo, toothpaste, etc.].

Would love to squeak monthly savings of $200ish and save it for DISNEY! :O)

I have bookmarked all of the websites listed and am currently digging through them.

Trish

Hi Trish. You may enjoy going to the library to see if they have a book by Ellie Kay, nicknamed "The Coupon Queen." The book is called "Shop, Save, and Share", and it's a wonderful how-to book on maximizing coupon shopping. It's a fun, easy to understand book. She's written other books too. Another good one is called something like "Saving Money Every Day."

A key factor to maximizing coupon savings is being willing to "shop ahead" and stockpile. For example, when dishwasher soap comes up on a great price and you have coupons to go with that brand, go ahead and buy it and store it rather than waiting until you're almost out of dishwasher soap when there may not be a good deal for it.

Produce can get very expensive, so I usually buy the loss leaders for the week and switch around what kind of produce I get according to the sales. For example, last week grapes were on sale for $.88 lb. and this week peaches are on sale for $.59 lb. Meat is the same way. There are different meats every week that are advertised as the store's loss leaders. When boneless, skinless chicken breasts came up for $1.39 lb. a month ago, I stocked my freezer. If I waited to buy chicken until I crave it or until I need it for a recipe, it might not be on such a good sale then.

Do you get the Sunday paper? That's where I get coupon inserts almost every week, along with all the sale flyers for the week. The savings from the coupons cover the cost of the newspaper many times over.

Best of luck to you as you whittle down your grocery bill! You can do it!

 

[imheather]

My problem is finding coupons, it seems my Sunday paper gets less and less. And they are usually for new products or junk food.

WHere do you all get coupons besides the Sunday paper?
h

 

[JoiseyMom]

My problem is finding coupons, it seems my Sunday paper gets less and less. And they are usually for new products or junk food.

WHere do you all get coupons besides the Sunday paper?
h

Certain grocery stores have the red coupon machines from Smart Source (the same company that usually has them in the Sunday papers). I know my stores currently have about 20 coupon machines right now for differnt products. Yoplait yogurt, gogurt, homel entrees, heinz ketchup, huggies pull ups, lysol products, kleenix tissues, old english polish, kotex lightday pads, edwards key lime pie, purdue perfect portions, tyson canned chicken, boost, healthy choice frozen entrees, vlasic pickles, borden string cheese, cottonelle kid wipes and toilet paper, cottonelle wipes. That's all I can remember right now. These coupons are in the stores on a 4 week cycle. I know which stores they are in my area. I know there are some coupons machines in the drug stores by me also.

 

[Namsupak]

One of my favorite things is looking at my receipt at the end of grocery shopping and seeing how much I saved. Saving money does take a little extra time but I find it fun. Every Sunday I look at the ads and coupons. I always try to pair up sales with my coupons, that way you save the most. Another important thing is that you stockpile your coupons and possibly even join a coupon exchange. I know that there are lots of coupons I never use every week. Some great websites to check out are www.smartsource.com and www.boxtops4education.com I know our local newspaper has made an effort to help the environment by posting most coupons online instead of putting them in the paper. So definately check that out too. There's also customcoupon.com which lets you print out a bunch of coupons too.

HTH!

 

[Maybelle]

you CAN use two coupons for one item if one is a store coupon and one is a manufacturer coupon. For example: use the Walgreen's coupon and use a regular coupon with it.

This is at the store's discretion. I have done this at one Walgreen's near me, and another does not allow it. I always ask first to spare myself any embarassment!

You have to read the store coupon's fine print. Sometimes, like at BJ's, they stipulate that their coupon cannot be combined with any other.

It is possible to save a lot with coupons if you are savvy about it and really watc the sales, but it does take some dilligence, and quite a bit of time!

 

[bamamom]

I was in the grocery store one day a few years back and their was a lady that was known as the coupon queen in the grocery. Well I spoke with her and she showed me her system. She had bought a 3 ring binder (big one) and those clear slotted sleeves like baseball collectors use and she had dividers for each catergory. She had personalized the way she wanted. Like "frozen foods" "paper products" etc... so when she came to that isle in the store she just flipped to that section and seen if she had any coupons for the items that were on sale. You could easily see if you had a coupon without having to thumb through all your coupons. Buying them in conjuction with them being on sale and the coupon is the way you save the money. So I went and bought me a binder and some sleeves and that is how I do my coupons now. It was time consuming getting it all together but once that is done all I have to do is clip and file in the catergory Making time to get the coupons clipped is another story

 

[purplegirl247]

Alas, in my area, none of our stores do the double or triple coupon days. They do, however, have buy one, get one free items every week. I make sure I get the paper on Wednesdays (when the circulars come out for Publix and Albertson's, where I primarily shop) and make lists of the things THAT I USE that are buy one, get one free (it's not such a good deal if you just buy it "because it's on sale" but will never use it). As anther poster said, it's definitely a good thing to shop ahead. If you plan in advance, you can keep an eye on things and get them much cheaper.

For example, at one point we were running low on deoderant, so I started keeping an eye out for sales. Our brand is usually at least $3 each. It took 3 weeks of searching (and no, we didn't run out in the meantime, ha ha!), but I finally found them on sale at Walgreens for $1, and I had several twenty cent off coupons. I stocked up; such a deal!

It takes some getting used to, but if you're aware of what things you shop for regularly, you can really save a lot. My goal is usually to save just as much as I spend (i.e., I spend $20 but also save $20). Good luck!

 

[gdulaney]

In addition to the other great tips that have already been posted, here are a few of mine...

stock up - like others have posted, if it's on sale and you have coupons, get it

pay attention to the price per/quantity...sometimes the smaller sizes may be a better value - especially if you have multiple coupons

pick the items that you must be loyal to (for example, for me it's Coke products, Heinz catsup and a few other favorite brands) and for everything else, it's whatever I have a coupon for or whatever is on sale

shop the clearance sales at Target and use your coupons on those items

Good luck!
Ginny

 

[KristinU]

Another Grocery Game player here, like mom2dzb. We're a family of three and I average about $60 a week for groceries, toiletries, and cleaning supplies. The Grocery Game is a web site that you subscribe to (trial is $1 and after that it is about $5 a month - well worth it for me). They publish a list and it gives you the sale items matched up with recent coupons. I started by using a binder like the "Coupon Queen" mentioned above. But I decided that just filing the inserts by date works best for me. The GG list tells me the date and insert that the coupon I need was in. I know it can be done on your own without paying for someone to make me a list, but I just don't have the organization skills or time to figure it all out. I subscribe to two papers on Sunday and supplement the items I know I'll need to stock up on by paying for someone to clip them for me on eBay (notice I didn't say buy them on eBay, because that's not legal - you pay someone for their time to find and clip the coupons). Like others have said, if you're brand loyal it is much, much tougher to save with coupons; and you have to be willing to stockpile and essentially have your own "store" at home - pantry and freezer. I rarely buy stuff that "makes sense" as far as ingredients for meals! Oh, and yes, there are a lot of coupons for "junk food" but there are also a lot of coupons for good stuff as well.

Good luck - it is a lot of fun to save $$$ using coupons (at least I think so!)

 

[hambirg]

I'm a Grocery Gamer too. I know I could do it myself for free, but with 3 kids it feels so time consuming, plus I don't miss anything this way. I especially like the health and beauty deals at Walgreens. I spend about $75/wk. for our family of 5 on groceries, some weeks it can be as low as $30. You do have to stockpile though. This week I'm actually having a garage sale to sell off some of my stockpile.
HTH