BIGLOTs for non-coupon savings on groceries etc.

[cicy33]

We do not have either of those stores. Here is a break down of what we have.

I live in a town that is surrounded by 3 towns. and one more that a bit away. My town: Johnston City. Surrounding towns: Marion, Herrin, West Frankfort and Carbondale.

Our stores:

Herrin:
Kroger - fairly small store, not a great amount of variety, double to .50 there is not limit on the number of coupons you can use. Sometimes not too bad of deals.

Mad Pricer - very small store, became as expensive as kroger since redone and they do not double except once in a while as a special. Meat is good to buy there. otherwise not worth it.

Wal-mart: Not much food here, very basic small store

Marion:

Kroger - much bigger store, again double to .50, no limit on # of coupons. Kroger has not done a super double or a triple in over 3 years.

IGA - small home town store, double to .50, very expensive, rarely worth it. They do however do triples regularly but they don't restock and you only get what they have at the time. If you don't have a really good stash of coupons don't bother.

CVS and Walgreens: I watch their ads and they are never very good deals for me. I use the pharmacy in my home town so those offers don't work for me. Not to mention I only have to have one filled so rarely it isn't worth it anyway. My dh has blood pressure med but it is only 16 a month. Not to say that you can't use these stores but I don't have good luck with them. The soaps are cheaper at walmart.

Wal-mart: Right now, limited food but a super center is due to open in the fall. normal wal-mart deals. cashiers have no idea what to do with coupons.

West Frankfort: Mad pricer - if you can stand the dirt, shop there

Carbondale: This town is 30 - 45 minutes for me. 30 minutes to Kroger and 45 to Schnucks.

Kroger - large store, great selection. double to .50, no limit

Schnucks - large store, high prices, only worth it if good sale. double to .50. hasn't done a triple or anything in over 3 years. But they do sometimes have good sales

Walmart - super center, good food selection, not bad prices, no doubling, cashiers don't know what to do with winetags AT ALL. serious cashier cops.

As a matter of fact I don't usually use winetags in this area cuz they are hard to get them to accept them. IGA above won't even accept them. for anything. so what is the point?

That is pretty much it. aren't we lucky?! There is Mt Vernon above me about 45 minutes min away so I don't know what is there. So that is why you hear me say that our couponing here sucks! And the paper! if it wasn't for my dh wanting it I wouldn't really bother. but he must have it. I hope this helps. I am at the southern tip of Illinois. Where are you moving to?

[Amorphous02]

Fabulous info: no one has described things in detail.
I see only one way out of this: Take matters into your hands.
1) call companies for coupons, MIRs
2) Call NewsAmerica and Valasiss nd let then know whats going on
3) call merchandising/demo companies/grocery stores about the lack of peelies
4) get on a train
I might move to Chicago. everything is in a flux.
Your store might double upto $0.50.
If you have a coupon worth a dollar, they will still add $0.50
I have been shopping at Pick'nSave which has sooo many restrictions. I still amanged to save.
They double upto 5 coupons in wednesdays WYB $25.00 of groceries before taxes, after discounts.
I managed to save $20.00 on an average.
I hope things get better.

FYI, I got yelled at when i shopped while on a vacation because the store had a good supply of wine tags. No one tries as hard as I do: who else would shop during a vacation ?

[cicy33]

Actually when we went on vacation I picked up some coupons at kroger too! I have tried calling stores and they will send 1 coupon. I don't honestly have the time to call 50 different companies. and I sent a really nice email to a company recently about a product I truly liked. They emailed back and said that they were sending a coupon and they did but it was not a free coupon just a regular one that I can get in the paper. the only one that I have had good luck with is fast fixin's. they send decent coupons if you complain or compliment but you can only do it so many times. I really believe that the good coupons we used to see are dwindling. Like I said I focus on what I can get and go from there. I have to rely on ebay and my coupons to find anything of any interest. I would love to find a really good coupon site the does coupons. Sounds like your stores have a few bonus options. that is nice. wish ours did.

[Amorphous02]

Hi cicy33
Hows life been treating you?
Here is a link you might want to check out.
I was wondering if Kroger has a membership card with rewards/points?

[Amorphous02]

http://www.couponpros.com/html/1_who...icplanning.htm
If you feel that your area has a poor circulation of coupons, these pros may be able to help!

[cicy33]

Everything here has been fine. nothing new unfortunately in the coupon area. I did go to kroger the other day and my total before coupons was 92 and after was 60.xx. I thought that was great! Probably some people would do better but for here that is good savings. Kroger does have a store card which I have. but they no longer do any rewards with it. They used to give you a credit for gas if you spent so much but now they have a Kroger credit card. I don't want a credit card to use to buy groceries. I hate it!

[Amorphous02]

cicy33,
I thought that your area might also have a Meijer.

This link may interest you, it certainly inspired me.
http://www.momsaves.com/couponsearch.html

[cicy33]

nope, no meijer here. not sure where the closest would be. I looked at the link. cute but I already do all that. This area is just not a good couponing place. But I figure the things that I am able to get for free like franks red hot, mustard, lipton sides helps me to afford the other stuff. no matter what I do I will never get a shopping trip like some with $300 for $10. just won't happen here unless I get that really rare triple or double.

[Amorphous02]

My take on getting $300 worth groceries for less:
1) Even super saver Dr.F got things for $27.00, not $10.00
2) I got savings like that because of my Catalina coupons, which were BOGOs
3) I combined 1 coupon from the entertainment coupon book once that took off $5.00 off ofn a $50 purchase ( a gift from a friend)

[cicy33]

Keep in mind the groceries for $10 was just an example not a fact. I would love just once to go shopping somewhere they triple every day and double up to a $1. just dreaming though!

[cicy33]

I have also tried looking at those entertainment books and they don't work in our area. It is like we are somewhere they the businesses dont' want all these great deals to come to us. I believe I have tried every possible way to save more. for the most part though ebay and my coupons is still my best spot.

[geojen]

I've never shopped at Big Lots, but now I am going to check it out! So far I haven't been able to puchase much for free with coupons, but getting cheap groceries at Big Lots might help! Thanks everyone,
Jen

[geojen]

Originally Posted by cicy33

Actually I never said that you told half truths, I actually meant the person that wrote that article was not wholly accurate. I believe what I was getting at was that the article has good info but like most things we read are not correct for all areas. I have personally tried trains and have not had good luck. My family does not buy much junk food, i.e. chips, cookies, ice cream, etc. Probably 2 bags of oreos in the past 6 months and that was because of the free milk. About the only chip we buy are tostidos (sometimes kroger brand, they are good), so my personal experience has not been good with trains which is what I said. I don't recall saying that everyone should or should not coupon. I think that is a personal choice. I coupon out of necessity. But I rarely find a large amount of coupons for what I use. I do ebay alot! that is because sometimes I don't want a variety of just 100 coupons. I prefer potlucks of about 300 or more if I am going to trade and I have in the past been able to use about 1/3 of those. By no means did myself or I am sure anyone mean to offend you in any way. All I said was that some areas suck! mine does. Our papers have horrible coupons. lately they have been mostly advertisements. I do subscribe to the paper. I tried the trains. I do ebay and mycoupons and other places but when I do find a really good winetag they go for so much it is no longer any use. I wish every area got these. We never do. I also think that coupons in general are getting worse. I haven't seen a barilla pasta (just the regular kind) in a LOOOOONG time, just to name one. I used to get cheap or free pasta that way. So for me I just focus on the coupons I can get that I use and save that way.

I have to agree about the living in a sucky coupon area. I have my grandma send me coupons from Wisconsin (I am living in MI) and the coupons from smartsource she sends me are worth way more than the ones I get. Case in point: Last Sunday, smartsource had a coupon for 35 cents off Milwaukee pickles. My grandma sent me a coupon for 1.00 off Milwaukee pickles!! Michigan kinda stinks...unless other michiganders have had good luck, then I would love your advice!!
Jen

[Amorphous02]

I do have an idea. You can do the following
Join couponpros.com and make them change what is happening. Subscribe to Chicago tribune: Fabulous coupons!
will cost a little more, but it will be compensated by the coupons.
Join a train. Write to Valassis and Newsamerica about this geographical bias in coupon distribution.
Where in Michigan do you live, geojen?

[cicy33]

I recently as I have in the past sent an email to a company regarding their product and asking if coupons would be available. I sent an email to Campbell's regarding V8 juice. My kids love it but there are no coupons for it right now, there is some for V8 Fusion but we don't like it. They are not the first company to send me one similar to this. Here is a copy of part of the email. I emailed them back and told them that they did not have any coupons of this type out currently. We will see what they say.

Each week, Campbell distributes millions of coupons through newspapers,
Sunday supplements, magazines, product labels and your local grocery
store. Most of these sources should be available in your area.
Although we cannot honor your request for coupons, thank you for the
compliment you pay us by using our products.

[LuxLiving]

On Big-Lots you HAVE to know your prices. Somethings might seem like a good deal, but unless you are aware of regular retail prices you can easily overpay.

[cicy33]

Originally Posted by Amorphous02

I do have an idea. You can do the following
Join couponpros.com and make them change what is happening. Subscribe to Chicago tribune: Fabulous coupons!
will cost a little more, but it will be compensated by the coupons.
Join a train. Write to Valassis and Newsamerica about this geographical bias in coupon distribution.
Where in Michigan do you live, geojen?

I thought about the chicago tribune, we actually get it in our area. But, they insert section is in a sealed bag and I can't look at the coupons. The paper is $2! I don't want to buy it if it the coupons suck! Anybody live in that area that gets the paper there?

[Amorphous02]

Dear cicy33,
Yes, the Chicago tribune puts the inserts in sealed plastic bag. It wants to ensure that there is no theft. this is true for all dealers and distributers od Chicago tribune.
Trust me, you will kae it back. I am thinking of getting the detroit sun/free press etc.
I truly appreciate all your feed back. Please call Schwann foods in NJ for good coupons. I have called 54 companies and have gotten $150 worth coupons, for Entertainment, formula, clothing , Rental cars, Green bay packers etc. !0-15 told me pointblank to get lost. You need to CALL, not e-mail. If you give me your address, I will try to have some companies mail you freebies,m coupons regularly. Thanks again. Vive La Flash!