Coupons in Sunday Paper vs. Generic Brand

[sounderella]

So I was thinking about starting to get the Sunday paper after I read about how much some of y'all save with the coupons. I've gotta re-budget my shopping since now my baby is eatting table food (He eats A LOT!). Seems like even if I buy a lot, I can't get it to stretch longer than 2 weeks and for 3 people it can range anywhere from $400-$500 a month and just sounds like a lot here in GA. I did look at the post regarding family budget in that area.

My question is: Overall, do you save more with the coupons buying name brands than you do without a coupon buying store brand/generic. Just curious because I don't use coupons but I most always buy store brand.

Oh yeah and does the good ol' Walmart take coupons?

Thanks for y'alls help!

[Marcymox]

my walmart does take coupons, but they don't double them- so I only use the 1.00 off ones there. and they are meticulous about thier coupons, all the cashier read them VERrrry carfully for some reason- while all the other stores I go to , just scan em quickly.

coupons- well we live in a town ( phoenix) where there is EVERY major grocery store within a 5 mile radius of my house. We have Bashas, who, is a bit pricier but do offer lots of 10 for 10 itmes. You can get things like ketchup, soup, chips, ect for 1.00 They also do double coupons all the time, and triple coupons every once in a while.

We have Frys which is my favorite. Losts of 10/10 offers each week, cheaper than most other stores, double coupons all the time, triple coupons sometimes. Once in a while quadruple coupons. ( maybe once a year) senior day, military day, ect.

We also have albertsons which does not double thier coupons, but has lots of 10/10 deals each week and a good deli and bakery with cheap items. I like to go there once in awhile and chase thier ads. I never use coupons there.

we have safeway which is the highest priced, but sometimes they have good deals. The bakery and deli are good. I go there as a last resort and only to pick up a loss leader in the ad. I don't think they double thier coupons either.

We also have sprouts, trader joes, supertarget and dollar stores and bread thrift stores that all sell food- none except supertarget take coupons. and ST won't double them.

So, I do get the sunday paper coupons. I cut them each week. I might save 10 bucks at wal-mart. This is usually on cereal, cleaning supplies, pet supplies and shampoo anbd soap and all of those things.

I usually save about 20 bucks at the grocery store, if I can get all my coupons doubled to ( or tripled) to 1.00. I usually get about 5 free things with a coupon- seems like it's been canned cat food and dog food lately.

I'm sure I could save much more if I did coupon trains, trade with friends, hoarded coupons from the recycling bins- I just don't have the time. chasing the ads, getting all the 10/10 items, and using the coupons i have now pretty much wear me out each week.

confession time- lately, I've only been going to 3 stores, instead of all of them. and sometimes, I just buy loss leaders and things on sale or generic, and I don't use ANY coupons. Gasp- the horror. I know, it's liberating sometimes to slide through the stores, toss some things in the basket and check out.

coupons are WORK- you have to really like them, and like chasing the deals at each store to really save some major money. I have a friend that does it for "fun" ---she's home all day and seeing how many containers of free deoderant she can get is fun for her. Bleh.

[snafu]

coupons are also available on-line. Can you ask neighbor or co-worker if they use Sunday paper coupons? I'm not sure you would save enough on coupons to pay for the newspaper.

[Aleta]

Sometimes the name brands can be cheaper than the generic ones. Many of the supermarkets have buy one get one free and if you have a coupon, that one item you buy is less. Say that you have to buy 1 item at $1.99 and you get one free; you could have a coupon for $1.00 and both of the items end up only costing you $.99.

In the newspaper coupons there are constant free products also.

[mom-from-missouri]

Walmart not only takes coupons, but if you take in another stores ad, they will sometimes match the price. AND, then you can combine the matched sale price with coupons. That can bring your name brand item below generic price.
Some stores double coupons. That can bring it below generic price.
I do a combination of ALDI and couponing.
To coupon effectivly, I keep them till an item comes on sale, then I bulk buy it (if it is nonperishable) and stock up.
For example, we recently had cake mixes on sale for 69 cents. I had some 50 cent off coupons, so I bought a bunch. I can't make a cake from scratch for that and its also cheaper than a generic at ALDI.
I also did the same with salad dressing last week. I got 10 of them for 25 cent each.
Dollar General also takes coupons (most-that is-the one in my hometown was a private owned one that did not). I get most my shampoo free there. The regular price is 75 cents for sauve or white rain. when I get 75 cent of coupons, I stock up. I only have to pay the tax.
However, be sure to bear in mind that with todays gas prices, it can cost you more than you save if you are running all over town.
I live in the middle of nowhere. On Sundays (which I hate, as its our church day) we go to the nearest town with stores for church. After church, or of an evening before youth group I go (to save on fuel) and get my shopping done at ALDI, Walgreen and Dollar General. They are all along my route to get to church. If I get the paper on the way home from church, I can study the ads in the early afternoon and plan my shopping trip back. No extra gas.
I also buy items by the case at ALDI. But, with coupons I can sometimes beat that price with name brand.
Lastly, it is sometimes cheaper to buy items in the large sizes--like veg, peaches, applesauce, soup, peanut butter, pickles....It is cheaper to buy 1 gallon of relish than it is to buy 2 small jars. Same with peanut butter. So, for scout and 4H events, I always take a large container, then can take home the leftovers back home. You can use coupons on the larger sizes as well (I am talking the instutional sizes)

[cicy33]

As said above couponing is work! but I love it. I live for the great deals. I get coupons from ebay as well as other places online. I stock up where I can. Lipton ice tea I used to get for free but since it went up I pay about .09 a box of 16 bags. still cheap. I get other items for free as well. The key is not getting everything on sale or super cheap with coupons but to get the things you can and that helps you get the other things. Tuna recently put out a great coupon. $1 off Starkist gourmet tuna can. and there was one for $.50 or 1 off the pouch. I got the pouches for free and the cans at walmart were .04 each. We love tuna so this was a good deal for me. I got about 20 pouches and 20 cans. By doing this sale I get an item for free or close to it and can afford my other groceries. I could list different items that I have stockpiled but you would probably get bored! But I could just buy milk and bread and probably not need groceries for about 2 months. Get the paper, read over the sales and don't forget about target, walmart, walgreens or cvs ads. Walmart will admatch as will some other stores. My IGA will admatch and double coupons. Very good combination! Be sure you have plenty of room to stock pile. My dh just shakes his head when I come home. Though after I bought about 20 boxes of cereal he did say that he thought that was enough. But I got them for less than $1 a box!!!!! With four kids that doesn't last long. Coupons also do a cycle thing. You will some for awhile and the others and so on. Haven't seen bread coupons in a while. Other areas of the country get different coupons. Google coupon forums or coupon posts and you can see what people are offering. Some areas get tear pads we don't get here. Matter of fact where I live the coupons kinda suck. I rarely use my own areas. If you decide to get into couponing seriously get a binder or something that makes it easy to sort your coupons into. Otherwise you have no idea what coupon you have, thus you can't use it. You also have to be willing to go to the store more often. The sales pop up when they want to. I try to go on my way home and stuff from work. I don't like making extra trips that are unnecessary and costly with fuel.

[herm4]

I have two friends that use coupons and the three of us rotate our coupons from the Sunday paper. First we clip out the ones we want from our own coupon circular and then we pass the "leftovers" to the next and so on. Because we each have our own type of coupons that we are looking for, this works out well.

[ncbuckeye]

The benefits of coupons really depend on the type of product you are using them for as well as how good of a coupon it is. For example, a 30 cent off coupon for an item that you don't really need isn't actually saving you any money since you are purchasing an item that you wouldn't normally buy. If this new purchase doesn't replace a normal purchase, then you're loosing money on the deal.

For food shopping the only coupons I look for are really just the adds that come out on Wednesdays (usually) with each individual store's sale items. There you can make a killing looking for items that are buy one, get one- which lets you really rack up some savings.

Finally, store brands are just as good as their name brand counterparts the majority of the time. I've grown to the point where I will only accept Kroger (our local grocery store of choice) brand Raisin Bran, tuna, oatmeal, and crackers. Of course I won't compromise on switching to knock-off brand Diet Coke

[GoodBuyGirl]

Sometimes stores will have offers where if you buy product X you get product Y free.
You can use coupons on both product Xand Y.
Many people overlook the fact that manufacture coupons can be combined with store coupons or offers.

If you have a store with a loyalty card and they have a buy one get one sale for an item that you also have a buy one get one coupon. Make sure they scan your coupons before your loyalty card. If they scan the card 1st you will have to pay half the cost of one. But if they scan the coupons 1st both items are free.
A lot of times cashiers will ask for the card. In these cases I hand over my coupons and fidgit in my purse like I'm searching for my card until they have finished my coupons.

[rob62521]

coupons are also available on-line. Can you ask neighbor or co-worker if they use Sunday paper coupons? I'm not sure you would save enough on coupons to pay for the newspaper.

Before you do the on-line coupons, make sure the store or stores you frequent will accept them. None of the local stores will accept on-line coupons.

Another suggestion might be joining a coupon train group if you are buying a paper anyway. You can trade coupons you don't use for ones you would.

[mike8822]

I am a big fan of using coupons for food shopping. I believe just this last week we saved about $10.00 in shopping by coupons.

If you were able to save that amount each week, you would save over $500per year or over $5,000 after 10 years!

It really is amazing how much it adds up over time. Nobody bothers to do the math so they see $10.00 and it sounds like not much, but over time it is amazing how much you save.

[thkgranny]

Wonderful guidance here! My only addition to all this is to start a PRICE BOOK. Takes a little time toget started, but it will really open your eyes on what is the best price at what store! There is a thread on this forum somewhere about how to get it started.
I also try to combine rebates with my coupon shopping to get even more savings when I can. I DO NOT do rebates for items I can't/won't use unless it can be given as a gift. Example would be toys, body wash (I use bar soap), etc.

[Maismom]

I'm for coupon

I use coupon a lot, and don't buy much of generic brand unless they are cheaper. For example, I bought Del Monte canned vegetable for 25 cents each utilizing sale price (45 cents) and a coupon (20 cents off).

Cleaning & toiletry items are really easy to get for free after rebate and coupons. I have shampoo, conditioner, and body wash enough to last next 3 years, and I got all these for free.

[Saving in So Cal]

I still use coupons, but have cut back considerably in the last year. I found myself buying items because they were so cheap and not because we necessarily liked them or couple fit them into our meal preparation lifestyle. Also, it seems like the bulk of coupons are for convenience foods or for snack foods. For health reasons, I have been trying to limit our consumption of these items and/or switch to organic versions.

Lately, I have been buying very little prepackaged food (pretty much just the basics such as cereal, rice, pasta, pasta sauce), so my coupon use has gone way down. When I do use coupons, I use them as has been recommended here -- in connection with a store sale and preferably in a store that doubles them. Sometimes that means waiting several weeks for the right opportunity.

To combat the lower coupon savings, I have been trying to be more efficient/less wasteful in my meal planning. I am currently experimenting with freezer meals, where I prep a meal in advance and put it in the freezer until I want to cook and serve it. I picked out a few dozen recipes from a couple of books I got from the library. When a main ingredient goes on sale (such as ground beef or chicken breasts), I make a few recipes using that ingredient and freeze them. In a short time, I already have a nice line-up of pre-assembled meals.

Not only does this help me be able to serve a hot dinner during the workweek, but it really focuses my shopping. I am buying some more expensive items than I have in the past (primarily organics), but my weekly shopping bill is still within the same range it was when I was couponing more actively (approximately $50-$85 for 3 people -- 2 of whom are not big eaters)

Lastly, I have several chain markets within a short distance from my home. They all run great specials, but I stopped trying to keep up with them. I selected the three I find to be the most reliable in terms of low prices and quality and only read their sales ads. If a store has multiple deals on items I need/use, then I'll go to that store that week. If it only has one or two items, I won't go unless I desperately need the item or the store is giving it away.

[cicy33]

Exactly as said above, if you are using coupons for things just because they are cheap that is not a good reason! I rarely ever buy snacks. I can say that I have not bought one of the little debbie things in over a year, potato chips are only bought if we have bday party or something like that. I did buy popcorn the other day at kroger. They had the boxes 2 for $3. I had a coupon for .40 off. Doubled to .80 off paid .70 per box for Orville Redinbacher. Not bad. Now one thing I do buy are hot pockets if they are cheap as I have a husband who loves to eat at the weirdest hours and I am not cooking at 11 at night! Kroger had them this past week 3 for $5. I have .50 off 1. Double to a $1 so I got them 3 for $2. There are two in a box. .66 per box. Very cheap! I also got some of the lean pockets for me to take for lunch. Kroger also has a deal this week if you buy 9 items on their game list you get $6 off your order. Good deal in itself if you need the items. I personally got a bunch of cheese. I had $1/2 for the kraft cheese. So, I saved a total of $10 of the 9 items. and cheese freezes well so it is not like we have to eat it today. The key is having the right coupons at the right time. Oh, and the cheese was on sale 2/$4.