Do you coupon?

[rob62521]

With all the coupons out there, do you coupon?

Kroger now has most of the ones that are in the paper online and you can load them to a loyalty card. I do that. I also use paper coupons at other places that take them. And if some business sends me a coupon to use I might use it if I had planned to make a purchase already.

We have a friend that anytime they get sent a coupon through email, they go immediately to use it, even if it wasn't a planned expenditure. One clothing store used to send him a coupon for a few dollars off and he would rush there and wind up spending way more money than the coupon. They are constantly driving to use their coupons because they are, after all, saving money. I think the businesses have figured out how to get them in the door.

[Smallsteps]

I used to work for a large retailer who loved the coupon game and that is what it is. Many people will buy a lot more with the idea they are saving when many times they are not.
Don't get me wrong, I look at coupons in flyers or ads but seldom end up using them unless it was something I wanted to buy anyway.
We actually had one episode of the extreme coupon show filmed at our store. I saw a printout copy of the stuff they bought and most was either junk or was in amounts that would run into expiration dates before being used or need to take up room to store 3 years worth of shampoo etc.
I laughed because they bought 3 big bottles of pain relievers and ten packages of frozen burritos ( guess it just depends on what coupons they have) most of my co-workers who thought they were going to get a glimpse of some super secret but instead walked away thinking it was ridiculous. I have heard that many of the extreme coupon players just resell all the items they get through this seems like a ton of work for the payoff.

[msomnipotent]

I think that show is disgusting. Those people clearly have an addiction, and they cause a ton of waste. None of it is actual food, unless you count pop and mustard as food. How are they even saving any money when they have to buy all of that shelving?

I used to use a lot more coupons than I do now. They stopped making coupons for most of what I buy. I like the Meijer M-perks coupons. Not only do you just type in your phone # and they are automatically added, but they mail out special coupons every so often that are really good like $5 off of meat or dairy.

Some of my family members waste money when they get the Kohls coupons. They will buy something they don't really need when they get the 30% off, and then spend more to use up the Kohls cash. My mom has more dish towels than the entire neighborhood now. I think Kohls cash was invented by a dark force.

[disneysteve]

If by "coupon" you only mean clipping out paper coupons from the Sunday paper insert, we do a little but not much. Most coupons are for national brands and even more so for brand new products to get you to try them. We buy a lot of store brands or old reliable products and there just aren't many coupons for those sorts of things.

If by "coupon" you also include newer things like Groupon and Living Social, then yes, we do use those services. We used 2 Groupon deals on vacation last week and we use them at home periodically, especially for dining out.

[rennigade]

Just used a $50 off $100 coupon combined with an amex offer of spend $200 get $50 back at sherwin williams. Bought 15 gallons of paint...after the 40% this weekend plus coupons...out the door at $400. Paint isnt cheap but at $26/gallon that is cheap!

[snafu]

I'm pretty selective, I like JiffyLube type discount coupon for oil change or two for one Groupon for new restaurants our friends want to visit. I like the rare bank offers, that aren't too complicated.

[Singuy]

Yup I generally look for coupons before making any purchases. Slickdeals.net is my friend. I look at it so often that black Friday every year seems meh because of all the daily deals I see with the use of coupon stacking.

Never pay full price for an item if you don't need to is my motto.

My wife get out of hand. She has these 60% Joann coupons she use almost daily sometimes (because 1 purchase per customer). She would walk into the store and purchase a letter for $1.2 and use the 60% off..then she would go in the next day and purchase the next letter she wants. I find that to be ridiculous..lol.

We never cut out coupons in the papers..mostly we just use online coupons. There were times when we purchased coupons off ebay for some additional stacking.

[disneysteve]

Yup I generally look for coupons before making any purchases. Slickdeals.net is my friend.

I forgot about online purchases. I always check Retailmenot before completing an online purchase. Actually, what I actually do is just Google the company name and coupon to see what pops up. I frequently find either a discount or free shipping code. I've saved plenty doing that.

[Jluke]

The extreme coupon people should use their talents for buying for food banks, etc.

I use coupons for the grocery store from the Sunday paper as well as the store circular and now the store app.

I’ll use coupons for car service. Ive used them for home improvement projects.

BJs coupons are good as well and we time our purchases accordingly.

The gas rewards at the grocery store are nice but I’m sure they entice people to spend more to save (not so much) on gas.

[disneysteve]

BJs coupons are good as well and we time our purchases accordingly.

Costco also has "coupons" except they are really just sale prices. You don't actually have to cut them out and hand them over. Everyone gets the "coupon" price.

My wife regularly uses the JoAnn's coupons and we would never go to Michael's or AC Moore without a coupon. The same for Bed, Bath, and Beyond. If you go there without a 20% off coupon you're just plain doing it wrong.

[ShineBoldly]

It really depends. If a discount type is really good I would surely go for this, and lots of coupons usually stack to make the deal even better.

[kork13]

I'm only a casual (a.k.a. "lazy") couponer. If there's a coupon sitting on the display, or if I happen to see a digital coupon (at Fred Meyers, a Kroger subsidiary), then I'll use it. So the way that Costco does their "coupons" is fantastic IMO. If I happen to have a coupon on-hand, I'll use it. Otherwise, I don't go searching for coupons in flyers, or drive around town/buy stuff simply because I've got a coupon. I'm very utilitarian -- I just shop for the lowest unit cost I can, which may or may not involve a coupon. But as mentioned by others, when I do see a decent sale on normal staples that we always keep on hand, I'll stock up with a smile.

[disneysteve]

Not exactly a coupon but there is an app called Cartwheel for when you are shopping at Target. You use your phone to scan the UPC on each item you are buying and it tells you if there is a discount available. Then at the register, you scan the code on your phone to get the discount. My wife saves a bunch of money doing this. And it isn't just national brands. It includes Target store brands.

[bjl584]

Not usually unless I am buying something online and there happens to be a coupon code.

I don't bother with clipping paper coupons.

[scfr]

I use coupons at the grocery store (HEB store coupons), typically 1 or 2 a week.

The one time I always use a coupon is when getting our annual state inspection for our cars. The base price is fixed by the government, so the only way to "shop around" is to see which authorized inspection site is offering the best coupon.

Often, a better deal can be had by not using a coupon. For example, we're going to see the new Star Wars movie in December - already have my tickets - yippee! We're going on $5 Tuesday. That's a better price than using a coupon or buying "discount" passes for a full-fare showing.