Why do you coupon?

[Nik's Mom]

I only use coupons for items that I would normally buy. I will not waste money buying food that none of us would eat just because I have a coupon. There are weeks when I happen to have a lot of coupons to use and I save a lot. There are other weeks where the items I need do not have a coupon. If I can buy generic on those weeks, I do.

Coupon Mom is a great site because it will tell you which items are on sale and have coupons available. There are times when I will buy toiletries that are not needed right now, but because there is a good sale and coupon, I will buy now and use it later. For example, CVS recently had a buy one, get one free on Right Guard deodorant. This is the only brand of deodorant that dh will use. He didn't need any, but I had a buy one, get one free coupon, so I stacked it with the sale and did not have to pay for those deodorants.

I always read about Sobe deals and wondered what the heck it was. Now I know. That is a lot of sugar!

 

[Virgderon]

I coupon because it is the only hobby I have ever had that doesn't cost money, it saves money. I actually save more on the BOGOs and sales at the grocery store, but I don't think couponing takes that much time. I cut them while I am watching tv.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

My own inner hunter gatherer is fulfilled with the hunt for the good deal. Lookinf thru ads, matching coupons, reading blogs, and websites before I go on the prowl. The thrill of success when I walk out with a full shopping cart and a not so empty pocket.

My couponing allows my family to live on a small income. Plus I can help others by giving away my extras. Call it good karma, I strongly believe to give is to gain much more in return. I give when I can, chances are that when things are bleak.. something eases and life is good again for my family.

Exactly! It's the thrill of the hunt, and seeing the amount I saved at the bottom of the receipt is such a good feeling! I don't get to give away much though, I haven't reached that level of couponing yet.

 

[beansmom]

you can get extra coupons on ebay and www.couponsthingbydede.com and www.thecouponmaster.com and several other sites.

I use coupons so I CAN try new things for a fraction. I recently discovered Nature Valley Granola Thins and I love them. Sale price combined with manufacturer coupon combined with catalina rebate took my price from the usual $3.19 a box to a profit of 10 cents a box. I have tons of free shampoo, body wash, GOOD $12 razors and refills, deodorant, toothpaste, brushes, and floss...electric dishwasher tabs for $1 a box rather than the usual $4.50+. THOSE are all things i would normally buy. Stayfree pads for $1 a box...yeah, I'm buying those no matter what. I haven't had to buy new ones in over 2 years since stocking up at $1 a box.

And some things I do normally buy...Thai Kitchen products for example...don't have a generic version. And the day i opened generic spinach in a can and found a big, fat juicy grasshopper was the last day I bought generic. And Kraft mac and cheese is MILES above generic or store brand m/c in my book.

Yes, manufacturers are making money..but MOST people never use a coupon or only use one. Most are not 'coupon queens'...but I'll take free Bisquick and soup and tomatoes, etc, etc, etc, any day.

To each his own, but I don't like paying more than I have to.

 

[dislvr74]

I got 10 packages of Kraft cheese last night for $1.67 thanks to coupons. I think I'll keep at it and I will be happy that some people think you can only save money on processed foods or that store brands are always cheaper. Those people are happy with their choice and I'm happy with mine.

 

[rumrunnergirl]

.

 

[onelilspark]

Good for you! Yes you need a local Sunday paper, thats where the grocery coupons are.

Coupons come out in Sunday papers, some people buy more than one. There won't be coupons this weekend though because of labor day holiday.

Thank you both

 

[sydneysmom]

a couple of great coupon "avenue's " I've found are www.coupons.com and www.redplum.com they're coupons you can print off your computer. It's fantastic. Also, you can register your grocery card to www.cellfire.com . when there's coupons on that website, you choose what you want and they auto load to your shopper card.

Now, there's also 3 websites that I subscribe to that I can't live without anymore...
www.dealseekingmom.com
www.thekrazycouponlady.com
www.hip2save.com

those three websites will give you email updates of sales and freebies everyday plus do the matchups for coupons to sales at grocery stores, Wal-Mart and CVS / Walgreens / Rite Aid. they also will give you codes (when they're out) for Old Navy and that kind of thing. I'm telling you, it's a bounty of info.....

 

[Nik's Mom]

It's a myth that you will only save with coupons when buying processed foods. Most of the coupons I use are for toiletries and cleaning supplies.

 

[hambirg]

I coupon because I have to to save my budget. Plus, like many others have said, I just really like getting the deal. For those that think you can only get junky food with coupons, that's just not the case anymore. Cascadia Farms, Horizon Milk, Gardenburger, Annie's Organic, etc all put out coupons fairly regularly. I also like trying new things that come out. I will pick up things that are free or close to it, as occasional treats for my kids. We tried the new Pillsbury Sweet Moments for free. It's not something I would normally buy. . .and certainly not at full price. But the kids liked them and they were a special treat.

One of the stores (Albertson's) had doublers last week. My budget has been really tight with all the extra back to school spending. So I normally would have tried to skip groceries this week. But with doublers . . .

1st trip. . .
4 packages of the Oscar Mayer Angus hot dogs (no nitrites!)
1 Kraft Ranch salad dressing
$.06 OOP plus it printed out a coupon for $5 off your next purchase, so I basically made $4.94

2nd trip. . .
5 boxes of Life cereal
8 Kens salad dressings
2 Hormel Natural Choice lunch meats. . .1 ham, 1 turkey
1 Albertsons sliced cheese
2 Vitamin Zero waters
2 Oscar Meyer Angus hot dogs
3 Kraft salad dressings and
1 Always Pads
$5.68. . .paid with the $5 off coupon. . .so $.68 OOP and it gave me another $5 off your next order coupon. Which I plan to go get some chicken breast with now that it's on sale.

Yeah, that's why I coupon.

 

[disneyofcourse]

I use razor, shaving cream and tampon coupons. I just used B1G1 or more than half off coupons on all three of these items last week. Plus $1 off detergent and $3 off cat food. Meaning I bought a few magazines and kept more money in checking.

 

[richmond282]

That all sounds great but it makes you wonder how companies like Sobe, Gillette, CVS, etc. manage to stay in business with all of these people filling their cupboards with free products. The answer is not only do they stay in business they make tons of money and give out more and more coupons each year. This tends to make me believe that while your scenario sounds good the profits rolling in make a very strong case that the savings are more of an illusion than a reality. Of course you're probably the exception who has the wherewithal and discipline to make couponing an actual savings process but for every one of you there have to be thousands of people spending money they had no intention of spending if it wasn't for a coupon sucking them in.

Just as an aside:


20 Worst Drinks in America 2010

19. Worst Bottled Tea
SoBe Green Tea (1 bottle, 20 fl oz)

240 calories
0 g fat
61 g sugars

Sugar Equivalent: 4 slices Sara Lee Cherry Pie

Leave it to SoBe to take an otherwise healthy bottle of tea and inject it with enough sugar to turn it into dessert. The Pepsi-owned company’s flagship line, composed of 11 flavors with names like “Nirvana” and “Cranberry Grapefruit Elixir,” is marketed to give consumers the impression that it can cleanse the body, mind, and spirit. Don’t be fooled. Just like this bottle of green tea, all of these beverages are made with two primary ingredients: water and sugar.

Thanks for the info. I bought WATER not tea though.

 

[Purseval]

Thanks for the info. I bought WATER not tea though.

I would check the label. If you read it again they say all of SoBe's products are loaded with sugar. If you want to see the rest of the list just do a search for Drink This Not That. I like the way they give you a food to compare it to, one of the items on their food list was the equivalent of eating 67 pieces of bacon in one sitting

 

[beansmom]

and, yes, i WOULD by cat food even tho I don't have a cat IF my coupons made it significantly cheaper (like half off or more) then I'd just re-sell it to my gf who does have a cat for what I paid for it. I'm like that.

Purseval, no offense, dude, but sometimes yer like a big old wet blanket. If somebody wants to drink 5000gms of sugar in their 'life water', that's their business. I do appreciate you sharing the info but most of us prolly know how to read if we're on the disboards. That Sobe stuff is no worse than the sugared pop, cereal and crap we grew up on and most of us are still addicted to.

I mean, *I* turned out okay, right???

 

[Purseval]

That Sobe stuff is no worse than the sugared pop, cereal and crap we grew up on and most of us are still addicted to.

You mean like this?

16. Worst Soda

Sunkist (1 bottle, 20 fl oz)
320 calories
0 g fat
84 g sugars
Sugar Equivalent: 6 Breyers Oreo Ice Cream Sandwiches

Wait . . . but aren’t all sodas equally terrible? It’s true they all earn 100 percent of their calories from sugar, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t still varying levels of atrocity. Despite the perception of healthfulness, fruity sodas tend to carry more sugar than their cola counterparts, and none make that more apparent than the tooth-achingly sweet Sunkist. But what seals the orange soda’s fate on our list of worsts is its reliance on the artificial colors yellow 6 and red 40—two chemicals that may be linked to behavioral and concentration problems in children.


Personally my drink of choice is good old cold tap water: low calorie, filling and no need to hunt for a coupon. It's especially good for wetting blankets, no sticky residue like that sugary stuff

 

[abmitch01]

I coupon mostly on health and beauty items because I don't have a food store that doubles. I coupon to get items we use for as close to free as possible, I stock up when possible. I also have had 3 stockpile garage sales and I use the money raised to fund a Roth IRA that I plan to use the principal towards college costs. I aslo do it to have extra goodies to give out to co-workers and friends or to donate to the shelter.

I go in spurts where I don't do it much. Except for eating out, I can't eat out without a coupon, lol.

 

[abmitch01]

forgive me if this has already been posted, but some city papers have the coupons in a special Sat edition that is only $1 around here. Also, I ask people at work and friends if they have coupons htey don't want to please send them my way.

 

[JayT]

I coupon because it's fun I can't remember the last time I actually really paid for shampoo, soap, contact lens solutions, laundry detergent, tampons, body wash, razors etc. I don't really eat a lot of processed foods, but you can still find great coupons for fresh dairy, meats, frozen vegetables, and even organics now. For more expensive stuff (I LOVE Bobs Red Mill) I get them off Amazon for free using Gift Cards I've earned from Swagbucks.

I just got five packages of Butterball Turkey Bacon for free (On sale $1.50, had five .75 coupons that doubled) Even got a $1.00 off your next order Catalina, so I actually got paid $1.00 to take home five packages of bacon (which are in my freezer) Or the new $5/5 Kraft coupon - Philly Cream Cheese on sale for $1.25, by 5 = $6.25 - $5 Coupon = $1.25 OOP for five bars of cream cheese. (also in freezer)

Couponing is fun! Nothing beats the feeling of making the most out of the money I work so hard for.

 

[kydisneyfans]

I got 10 packages of Kraft cheese last night for $1.67 thanks to coupons. I think I'll keep at it and I will be happy that some people think you can only save money on processed foods or that store brands are always cheaper. Those people are happy with their choice and I'm happy with mine.

I am exactly like you, I save about $30-50 per trip to the store, and it takes 1-2 hours per week to match ads and coupon. I make about $20 an hour a work, so the time it takes me to cut some coupons on things I use anyway is worth the time for me.

Coupon items popular here:
toothpaste and brushes
deodorant
soap/shower gel/bodywash
laundry soap
dish soap
coffee
cereals
toilet paper
kleenex
paper towels
yogurt
trash bags/baggies
cheese
bread


For fresh items, I go the beer rebating route. I currently have over $200 in rebates outstanding from produce and fresh meat purchases. The $30 check from buying $50 in beef is nice, and the $5 back from $15 in produce also goes into the vacation fund.

 

[hambirg]

I would check the label. If you read it again they say all of SoBe's products are loaded with sugar. If you want to see the rest of the list just do a search for Drink This Not That. I like the way they give you a food to compare it to, one of the items on their food list was the equivalent of eating 67 pieces of bacon in one sitting

Ok,. . I have to ask. . .do you remember what it was? I clicked around on that sight. . .ewww! Found the dessert that was equivalent to 17 Twinkies, but couldn't find the bacon one. I was pretty happy to learn that most of my fast food choices were on the "eat this" side of the page. . .except my taco Bell Ranchero Chicken Soft Taco. Who knew?


ETA

For fresh items, I go the beer rebating route. I currently have over $200 in rebates outstanding from produce and fresh meat purchases. The $30 check from buying $50 in beef is nice, and the $5 back from $15 in produce also goes into the vacation fund.

Can I ask which one this was and is it still current? I need to stock up on meat, and I'm going to buy beer anyway.