Do you use coupons?

[disneysteve]

I would call myself a "casual couponer." If I happen to see a coupon for something I regularly purchase, I'll grab it and use it at the next opportunity.

Same here. We clip a lot more coupons than we use. Part of the problem is that my wife is usually the one who clips the coupons but I'm usually the one who does the grocery shopping, so there is a disconnect there. Also, I go to the store straight from work on Thursdays. It never occurs to me Wednesday night to sit down and see if I have any coupons.

I also find it annoying how now the companies, to save money, are switching to coupons only valid if you buy from 2-3 items, instead of just one.

I agree. Really, who buys 3 bottles of mustard at once? We might buy 2 bottles in a year.

We also buy a lot of store brand and lesser known brand items. The coupons are almost exclusively for the much more costly national brands. So even with a coupon, the item is typically still more expensive than the cheaper brand.

[khosta]

I don't use coupons... Although, I live on an island and I'm not sure they distribute them. When I lived in the states I didn't use them either. However, because of that new reality show on TLC, I think it is, couponing seems to be becoming more popular!!! When givent he chance, I will probably will try it out to save myself some dollar bills!!!

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

There are many "slow" things I do that save money, but methodical couponing is not one of them.

To me, looking for coupons is boring. There are so few out there for foods or products I want to buy. However, if I just happen to come across one for something I know I will be buying, sure, I'll use it. I have a hard time remembering to take a coupon with me, though. Lots of times it will sit in my desk drawer or wallet until it expires.

I would not discourage others from giving it a try, though. Some people really enjoy the hunt and save money. Just do it wisely, right? Don't buy stuff that you didn't want unless you have someone to give it to.

[mom-from-missouri]

I use them big time. I feed 7 for around $250 a month. But, I have learned that my best deals for cereal and bathroom items are at the dollar stores. Cereal (same brands) is 1/4 of the price at Dollar general, for the same size, as at Hy Vee, Price Chipper or High Klass (around here called High Dollar)......

[marvholly]

I have a pile I am going to use today. I will report back how I do.

[thymebug]

I'm a casual coupon person, and usually use the coupons that are provided in the store or that I get from sites like Upromise and MyPoints. My mother, on the other hand, is one of those extreme couponers who can get $200 worth of groceries for $30. It's way too much effort for me though.

[marvholly]

Coupon usage report as promised. I shopped at 5 stores on Thur: Walmart, Target, CVS and 2 independent groceries that do NOT take coupons but have consistently cheap prices. EVERY store I shopped at was on my way to visit my Dad. It would NOT have been economical to run all over town burning $4.15/gal gas to do this.

I bought 4 travel size items for a gift basket, a cantaloupe, 2 limes, 1 lb of zucchini, 1 lb of asparagus, 2/3 lb of green beans, 1 green pepper, 11/4 lb of deli lunch meat, 2/3 lb baby spinach, pkg of 6 english muffins, 1 lb rye bread, 2 bottles of name brand salad dressing and 2 pkg of dental flossers. I spent $9.96 out of pocket and 0.93 on an old Rx transfer gift card.

I used 7 coupons (6 mfg & 1 Target) w/a face value of $8 and got back 4 extra bucks at CVS. Without coupons my bill would have been $18.66, nearly TWICE as much. The only items I could have substituted generic or house brand on were the flossers at CVS and salad dressing at Target BUT those would have actually cost MORE (not on sale + no coupons) and NOT gotten me extra bucks.

This week I spent a total of $23.87. I am nearly $4 over my weekly budget but I will make up for it next week since nearly all my perishables are already bought. I do still need to pick up 1-2 items at Aldi, 1-2 items at my natl chain grocer and 1 at my home fruit/veg market but those are on next week’s budget. I will spend <$5 more. Granted there is no protein bought this week but I am WAAAY overstocked on that in my pantry (beans & lentils) and freezer (fish, beef, chicken, turkey & ground turkey).

[madisonlovestoshop]

Now I am using coupons every week. I bought an organizer and alphabetize them. I only shop now where they double my coupons and save a lot of money - because I buy things on sale with the coupons. I am also making food in bulk to save money for our trip - we need a vacation (going to Paris in 2013!!!)!!!!

[marvholly]

I was $4 over budget last week. I have repaid myself this week and still have 65% of my weekly grocery/household budget left. I knew the savings this week would happen so I allowed going over last week. Now I have a choice. I can save the $$$ or hit up Trader Joes for some items I would like & NOT feel guilty. Since I am NOT a big believer in all or nothing approaches I think I will just split it, spend half and save half for some fantastic, rock bottom sale.

Today is Ben & Jerry’s free cone day from noon to 8 pm. I just checked their web site for locations near me. The closest is about 10 mi each way = 20 mi rt = 1 gal of gas = $4.17. I can buy plenty of ice cream for that (Edy’s is B1G2 at a local natl chain grocer this week-wish I had freezer space).

Today is going to be a no gas, no spend day. I plan to do some chores in the house and if I finish early treat myself to homemade zucchini pancakes. I will probably walk to CVS and get another bottle of bubbles on my former work card (4 grand kids in 2 households). I will pay for it w/EB. With the EB I earn on that on Wed I will get another bottle of olive oil (3.99-1.00 mfg-2EB = 0.99 on gc). Since I can walk I will do my transactions on different days to earn green bag tags.

I started an experiment today. I am hanging out as much laundry as possible to dry vs. using my gas dryer. I want to see if the savings make a difference (do about 3-4 loads/month but more in the summer)and if stuff looks & feels ok. Everything today s/b ok but summer stuff is going to be questionable. It is NO savings if I have to spend the time & electricity to iron.

[Lindsey23]

I normally use coupons some of the time whenever I run across some
But since my life is too busy I cant find time to actually look through newspapers and look for coupons

[wifeytini]

I mostly use coupons on toiletries like soap, shampoo, TP, etc., because I am not at all brand-loyal. Coupons help me get this stuff at their absolute cheapest. FOOD, on the other hand, is a totally different story. Most coupons I find are for condiments or junk food (although it is lovely to see the occasional Del Monte or Glenn Muir coupons out there...), which my husband and I just don't eat. We use coupons for cereal and food that we would get anyway, but if it's not nutritious, then I don't bother buying it. So I use coupons a lot less for food than I would toothpaste or deoderant.

[Homebody]

I started after quitting my job. Before that I did not have enough time. Now I figure anything I save is better than nothing. However, I don't think $20-40 is reasonable at all for someone starting out. It really depends on how easy it is to find coupons and what kind of products you buy. I did a lot from December through March on personal care products and have enough to last at least for a year or so. It helps to have the CVS card and Safeway U program is pretty good I have found. Prices vary so much around the country, it is hard to compare in my humble opinion. Also here in Northern Coastal California there is no doubling.

[debtfreeme]

It is very rare that I can use a coupon because I don't buy a lot of the foods that coupons are good for. I try to eat cleanly and using lots of natural foods that does not inlude boxes.

I try and use the $x off a $xx purchase amount at CVS, or other stores like that or for paper goods. It is hard when there are not coupons for fruits and veggies.

[Frugal]

Mom from Missouri: Feeding seven people for $250 a month is excellent. I would be a little afraid to eat some products at the dollar stores, as I have heard in other threads the toothpaste, etc. can be a little bit dangerous if it is made in China. I have noticed some discount things like apple juice are being made in china more and more, and I personally don't feel safe eating or using any cosmetics made in China, due to the risk of chemicals and other bad things that can be in them when they are imported to the U.S.

That is just my opinion, though. I would be curious to know how you are able to save so much on groceries!

MarvHolly: I agree. Even if it is a good deal, sometimes I bypass buying junk food. If I have it in the house, I eat chocolates or candy like I am addicted to them! So the only way to lose weight is to avoid having them around altogether, for some people.

[mom-from-missouri]

Mom from Missouri: Feeding seven people for $250 a month is excellent. I would be a little afraid to eat some products at the dollar stores, as I have heard in other threads the toothpaste, etc. can be a little bit dangerous if it is made in China. I have noticed some discount things like apple juice are being made in china more and more, and I personally don't feel safe eating or using any cosmetics made in China, due to the risk of chemicals and other bad things that can be in them when they are imported to the U.S.

That is just my opinion, though. I would be curious to know how you are able to save so much on groceries!

Here are a few of my tricks...I don't tell these to just 'anyone' LOL.

Our $1 store sells name brand. So, its the same campbells soup, same toothpaste (usually I get crest or colgate). And, as the name suggest they are $1. So, I use my coupons there to get these items for free or near free. Last week I got 2 tubes of colgate and used 2 coupons--one was for $1 off a tube (leaving one tube free) and the other was for 75 cents off (so I paid a quarter). So, I got 2 large tubes of colgate for a quarter.
Ours also sells "bundles" of name brand jello-4 boxes for $1--more than half the store price, and less than half off the store brand. I also get deodorant this way, but have to watch, some weeks they have suave, next week they have degree--keeps you on your toes for couponing.

I ALWAYS carry my coupon book with me with ALL my coupons in it. That way if I find an unadvertised special, I have my coupons.

Look for the dent and smash shelf. Our HyVee has a row where smashed cereal boxes are for half off (then I use a coupon there as well). It really doesnt matter to me in the oatmeal box is round or smushed, as long as it is still intact. I transfer it to a tupperware keeper anyway to keep critters out and contents fresh.

I buy my flour, sugar, salt, rice, oatmeal, spices, yeast... in bulk-- at our local store, 5 lbs of wheat flour is $5. Yet, I get 50lbs at the amish bulk store for $20. In my garage I have my girlfriends deepfreeze that quit (she was going to throw it out). I rescued it (ok, made my husband rescue it as it was heavy). In it I keep all my bulk products. Since the gaskets are intact, everything stays fresh and bug free.

I cook from scratch. for $2.99 (on sale)I can buy 15 lbs of potatoes, or I could be wasteful and spend $4 on a box of instant potatoes that taste nasty and less only 2 meals.

I throw NOTHING away. Eat it or freeze it. Weird odds and ends often make good soup. I even freeze my grease from cooking meat. (mother in law thinks i am crazy --humm, i DID marry her son!) Frozen grease keeps several months and can be used to make gravy or a soup base later on. Beats buying canned gravy when you only want gravy for a baked potato, or if you smoke meat or use the turkey fryer where you get no grease.

I can make our bread for 24 cents a loaf, or buy it for $3.39 in town, or less at aldi.

Grow what you can. We garden each year. I freeze, can, dehydrate and eat food fresh that we grow. Never would I freeze it all, in case the power goes out for an extended time.

We have an orchard and grow apples, peaches, pears and hopefully maybe this year the cherry trees will start in. I have planted 3 of each tree. We also have grape vines and strawberries. I try to add just a couple of new things each year that will continue to grow and produce fruit yearly.

Our walnut trees are still little, so we have friends who hate the darn nuts in their yard. The kids and I have fun gathering them for winter baking each fall. We also collect mushrooms (morels), and wild blackberries & mulberries from the back of both our farms. Usually. we get several pies worth or more.

I coupon. Sometimes I double or triple dip here. #1, I use the coupon from the paper, or one I printed off line. #2, see if I can electronically add a coupon to my debit card or store loyalty card, #3 if i am lucky, combine that with a store sale #4 and store coupon AND #5, I do MyPoints (shoot me a note if you want an invite and give me your email address) with will also send me coupons that save money AND earn points, which I can then save up and convert into a gift card for my store. (earned points to give husband $55 worth of Lowe's gift cards for Christmas for a new smoker).

I almost always always cook from scratch.

If I can coupon and get something for free, I do, even if we don't need it yet--watch expiration dates. If we can't use it, I can donate it to the crisis center and get a tax receipt for it.

Take advantage of store loyalty cards, such as walgreen, cvs, country mart, price chopper.

We only eat out about once every one or two months. When we do, I take drink sticks and the kids mix it with water, and husband and I drink water.

When out and about I keep drink sticks in the car, and everyone has a bottle of water they refill. (wylers drink sticks are 8 - 12 for $1 at walgreen depending on the flavor) OR $3.99 for 12 at the grocery store. Often I have trailmix in the car too. If we are stuck somewhere and getting hungry, this prevents us hitting McDonalds.

Take advantage of company sponsored programs for your kids treats--such as Pizza Huts book it program, where they earn free pizza for reading. Other places, such as DQ and McD have similar programs.

If a product is very very good, or very very bad, email the company. I have gotten many free coupons this way--we had great service at Olive Garden for our wedding anniversary. I emailed Darden Foods and bragged on our server and they sent us a coupon to come eat again for free for telling them of our great service--and, we found out later the server got $25.

We try to grow our own eggs (coons are thinking they are their eggs right now...), chicken, beef and sometimes pork. We fish, usually on our own pond and eat that as well.

At least twice a week, we have a meatless meal.

Plan your meals to use leftovers in the next dish. Tacos tonight, taco salad next. Chili one night, chili dogs later.

Make your own french fires and onion rings at a fraction of the cost.

Rarely do I buy soda unless its for something special or upset stomach.

Get fun--make your own corndogs and Popsicles for huge savings.

I save leftover juice off of fruits or puree leftover fruit. Goes great in homemade icecream or to make popsicles with.

Pop your own popcorn the old fashion way on the stove--a 36 ounce bag of popcorn is 79 cents. That is a months worth of popcorn 3 nights a week for the entire family. Can't even get a single microwave bag for that.

Do you eat out because you are bored?? Kick up your meals--make a bonfire or cook on the grill, invite a friend over and tell them to bring a dish (with food in it)....

Homemade potato salad by the gallon ($2.20), store bought $7.

Take your lunch to work instead of eating out. Take your own snacks to avoid the vending machines.

Stock up at meat sales. Repackage it in portion sizes that your family needs then free it.

Bananas getting soft before you eat them?? Banana bread! Don't throw them out!

Take advantage of farmers markets.

Investigate butchering your own meat--you can buy a hog at the St Joseph sale barn, full grown for $20 on a good for you, bad for the farmer day. Spend 54 cents a pound hanging weight to have it butchered. End result is you paid 2/3 less than if you bought it all at the store. Find a high school farmer boy to haul the hog to the butcher for you for $20.

know your pantry, rotate it and keep it stocked so that you don't have to run out for one ingredient, because you know you will end up buying more than what you need. Countryside Life: Reorganized Basement Pantry

Countryside Life: My coupon book

Know your prices. It if is above your price range, don't buy it.

Don't waste money on stupid stuff, such as paper plates, cups and napkins. Just wash reusable ones.