Using coupons

[LJC1861]

So, with my new financial plan....to get out of debt.....and my newly VERY tight budget, I have begun gathering and using coupons. I am having trouble though, as there are generally not coupons for things I generally purchase. We are trying to eat less processed foods and more fruits and veggies.

We do as much of our shopping in bulk as we can. We get all our meat from Sam's and freeze it. We purchase laundry detergent, toilet paper and paper towels in large quantities as well.

We have used coupons for those things.

So, my question is......

Do you plan meals around things you can purchase with coupons to save money, or do you use coupons for just the things you would purchase anyway.

I did hit the jackpot at Harris Teeter last night. They had Campbells tomato soup on sale for $ .50 per can...that is almost half price. Then they had the yogurt I eat every morning on sale for 10/4.00...and it is generally $ .60 per container. Then I had a coupon, and the store was offering triple coupons. In addition they had an instant coupon to use to get a free yogurt if you purchased 6! So, I got over $7 worth of yogurt for $2.20.

Care to share coupon ideas and strategies??

Linda

 

[dawson5]

there is cellfire which are coupons texted to your cell phone. We have a Kroger and I can load coupons onto my kroger shopper card. Our Krogers doubles up to .50 coupons and triples up to .30 I think. I can stack (if it's done right) the loadable and paper/cellfire coupons. I think I give them the kroger card, then before paying all the coupons.

There is also Upromise (credit toward college) on items you already purchase.
Shortcuts is the place for the loadable coupons, limited stores.

I know I've found coupons for campbell's soups for $1.00 on purchase of two.

I try not to use a lot of processed foods but sometimes the coupons, coupled with store specials, make it worthwhile to purchase--especially with school starting soon.

Personally I spend about an hour going through our three ads for groceries, make a list of what the best deals are for stores and then making a master list for the 3 stores, separating the coupons to go with the store and making a note if I have a loadable coupon on there. I am lucky to have all the stores within about 10 minutes of my home and near each other, if they were farther apart it would not be economical to do this at all. I do watch Sam's though, I usually end up with coupons for the TP and if I time it right with the sale and double/triple coupon, it is cheaper to buy at the grocery store. I know a few months ago it was cheaper at sams for the TP but they recently raised the price so it was not a deal for me anymore. Their meats are though. I can't touch chicken breast at that price anywhere else.

 

[minnie1928]

U promise started their "e-coupons" a few months ago. You go in once/month and select the coupons for items that you think you will buy during the month. Once they have confirmed your purchase at one of the participating stores, they credit your account.

 

[Ava]

I don't purchase things I'd never buy otherwise (unless I have a coupon for a FREE one!) but I will make brand choices based on coupons/sales. For example, last week Stop 'n Shop was giving a coupon for a free gallon of milk when you purchased 5 eligible Kellogs products. They also had a lot of the eligible items on sale - Kellogs cereals 2/$5 and Eggo waffles 2/$4. So even though I had a bunch of coupons for GM cereals, I went with the Kellogs since the free milk made it a better deal.

 

[StephMK]

I don't purchase things I'd never buy otherwise (unless I have a coupon for a FREE one!) but I will make brand choices based on coupons/sales. For example, last week Stop 'n Shop was giving a coupon for a free gallon of milk when you purchased 5 eligible Kellogs products. They also had a lot of the eligible items on sale - Kellogs cereals 2/$5 and Eggo waffles 2/$4. So even though I had a bunch of coupons for GM cereals, I went with the Kellogs since the free milk made it a better deal.

That's what I do. I don't coupon for things I won't use but not opposed to brand switches. I can't get the hang of coupons, between unadvertised store specials & keeping track of which coupons I have, I don't feel I'm working it very well. I do use Sam's, shop sales and use a few coupons when I can. I may try Grocery Game again just to see if that helps.

 

[mskayjay]

My average savings is now in excess of 60% of my grocery bill total. I buy only stuff we use, buy it on sale and with a coupon, and consider my couponing to be a part-time job that pays me about $35/hour (based on time spent and money saved). My last big trip was a whopper $387 and I paid only $132. We eat healthy, don't buy a ton of junk stuff, donate a lot, etc.

If you'd like to find out more and get an idea of what we do and how we do it, please come over and join us at weusecoupons.com. My handle there is the same as here. Find your stores, check out the sales/deals members have posted about, find out how to maximize coupons, other budgeting tips, etc.

 

[LJC1861]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I will check out all the websites later on today.

I CAN do this....I know I can, and yes, it DOES feel like a part time job.

Linda

 

[love2teach]

I've begun budgeting as well and I clip and use a lot of coupons. I try to go to our Kroger because the double the coupons. Also, we have a Food City and they send out coupons and sometimes stuff is free. I only cut coupons for stuff I know I will use. I don't plan meals around coupons. I have also started scouring our grocery ads for the best deals.

Kinda off topic, but I have found that, most times, the store brands are just about as good as the name brand. There are some things that aren't, but in general they are.

I also use Sam's for detergent, dog food, toilet paper, toothpaste, etc. It saves me from having to shop as often.

Hope this helps! Good luck budgeting!

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

I have found sometimes I do better buying smaller size packages at Target or WalMart (vs bulk at the price club) so I can use more than one coupon. For example yesterday I was buying Pampers Underjams, I had three $2 coupons. The price per underjam was better buying three smaller packs than the larger pack.

DH likes Splenda, when I get $1 coupons I buy the smallest pack possible at WalMart. So in the long-run I get five 100 packs at $1 off each, versus a large box at BJ's with only a $1 coupon.

Some other things I might do better on buying individually with coupons rather than at the price club are Tide, toothpaste, deodorant, toilet paper & shave gel.

 

[dawson5]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. I will check out all the websites later on today.

I CAN do this....I know I can, and yes, it DOES feel like a part time job.

Linda

yep you can and wait until you pay for your groceries and you see how much you save. I get all warm and fuzzy inside and my kids would shake their heads before and now the youngest gets excited when he sees what we can get with our coupons. He will also go along to all the self-scans and find the catalinas that people have left behind. He once found a $20 off $100 in groceries and a $20 GC when you fill a prescription.

I don't know if it's been mentioned yet but coupons.com has some great printable coupons. And a great place to help with your ads is budget101.com
On the side there is a "grocery guide," key in your zip code and then check off the stores that you shop. It will give you a list, separated by department (health & beauty, snacks, meats, veggies, etc) and you can see who has what on sale. Meijers isn't always updated, always double check with their ad.

 

[DisneyAndRedSox]

Also check out the website afullcup.

There are categories for every store, plus links to printable coupons.