What kind of difference does couponing make with your grocery bill?

[canadianmom2three]

My husband is a pretty competetive couponer....we live right on the border, so we drive across to Kroger. Yesterday he saved 42% with his coupons and Kroger card - I think $25 was in coupons, and about $60 in card savings...we got the free toothpaste, and the .25 canned veggies like the pp
He generally saves between 30-40%, so he was pretty happy with the 42%! We only buy things that we would normally use, and NO JUNK FOOD!!!

 

[humboldthny]

We're lucky in that we have many stores here that run double coupons (up to $.99) everyday and occasionally run super doubles or triples.

If I'm making an effort to watch sales and use coupons I can save anywhere from 50%-75% on any one shopping trip - the higher savings come during super doubles and triples. When I was tracking all my savings I usually saved $1500-3000/year.

The way I look at it is any couponing is worth it - even if it's just a dollar or two, wouldn't you still rather have that in your bank account?

We also save a lot on dining by signing up for emails, watching what comes in the snail mail and purchasing from Groupon, Living Social and Twongo.

 

[Catira]

Hi I am trying to get as informed as possible to do some couponing. Any info that more experienced people would like to share would be much appreciated. Please PM your suggestions if you prefer. I'm looking to see if there are any specific bloggers or forums you all recommend.

Many thanks in advance

 

[njmom47]

One word: Shoprite. I would say between buying what's on sale and using coupons (manufacturer's and SR Price Plus card, linking coupons from Cellfire to my PP card, buying what's on sale), I save at least 25 to 40% on my order every week. Today's shopping trip was much more (my total was 158.85)!

# of items sold: 100
Total on sale savings: $65.33
PP and Mfr Cpns: $24.70
Multipled cpns: $1.00
PPc & Str Cpns: $5.15
Total savings today is: $96.18.
Oh yeah, don't forget I qualified for my free turkey and used my canvas bags (.05 per bag) as well as Family points and Baby Bucks and Onepass Miles.
Shoprite!

Also, I think knowing the sale cycles helps. It seems just as you run out of something it goes on sale again.

 

[tasha99]

I save about 45% by shopping Carrs (Safeway) sales and stocking up on whatever their loss leaders are, so depending on whether it's a big shopping week or a little one, I save 30-50 dollars. The checkout person is often surprised at how low my total comes to. I have to be super flexible with what we're eating and I have to stock up a bit, but it works better for me than clipping manufacturer's coupons. I do clip the Carrs ad coupons, but I'm very careful about not buying prepared foods I normally wouldn't want.

 

[Piecey]

Tonight, a ton. It was not a typical trip, though.

I saved a little over $80 tonight with coupons, I spent $54.93 including tax. Thats including bakery bread, deli cheese, milk, fresh raspberries/blackberries/grapes/cherry tomatoes, ground beef and yogurt.

 

[daisy1i]

I don't think ive ever used a coupon in my life... I guess I should start

 

[mrseace711]

Motivating! I have all my coupons cut out I just need to organize them

 

[puffkin]

Typically, I save about $25-$30 a week with coupons. I put some effort into it, but not a ton. I just don't have the time like I used to when I was really into CVS/Rite Aid etc.

Except for milk and eggs, I pretty much won't buy it if it isn't at least on sale. I try to plan my meals around the weekly flier for the produce/meat sales. I keep my pantry well stocked but not ridiculously so. Usually once a month to 6 weeks I skip shopping (except for produce and dairy) and we just eat out of the pantry/freezer that week.

The TLC show is not realistic in any sense of the word. I don't know a single store that would have that kind of stock or allow a couponer to walk in off the street to do that (because of store policies, limits, etc). Plus they are not factoring in how much the people are paying for their coupons from clipping services.