Any Coupon Clippers Out There?

natskedat

My family is growing. Translation: they eat a lot!

My food bill has been skyrocketing as my kids get older. It's recently become unsustainable, and I REFUSE to eat processed food. So, I started clipping coupons.

I clip only the food I will eat. Frozen pizza is always available, but if I don't have a coupon, I won't buy it. I just got a jar of Newman's Own Tomato and Basil sauce for $1, and I am familiar with every ingredient!

Anyway, I figure it'll go like this: If I can cut down the amount of money I spend on stuff like diapers, ziploc bags, all-purpose cleaner, and vitamins (Nature Made? Buy one, get one free last week, and I had a coupon! Boo Yah!), then I can continue to afford the only-slightly-more-expensive fresh produce, whole grain bread, yogurt without high fructose corn syrup, and high quality cheeses.

Does anybody else do this? Does anybody have any other suggestions for stretching my grocery dollar so I can continue my healthy-food habit?

poesch77

On a one income budget I am always trying to find ways to save!! Double coupon days, 10 for 10 days.....and shopping in the grocery part of the dollar stores!!

theresabell67

Are there any farmers markets near you, or city markets? We get alot of our produce and veggies from there. I will take the grocery store flyer with me and compare prices and only buy if it's cheaper than the store, which so far, it has always been. If you are able to grow a garden this summer, that will help. And if thats not possible, maybe a friend will do it and you can go in on halves for the cost and split the crop with them??? Hope these ideas will help you out.

theresnoeggs

I have a family of 5 and am a SAHM, with a husband who is currently laid off. You bet we clip coupons! :laugh:

Last we we saved exactly $100 in coupons and store sales, bringing our OOP (out of pocket) total from $250 to $150! And other than the produce, milk, and diapers that will last about 2 weeks. Normally $150 is enough for one week.

I ended up getting two wheels of laughing cow cheese for 75% of the price of one!

And the kids LOVE the trix yogurt and gogurts I ended up getting two packages for $2.50, normally $3.49 each! (On sale for 2/$4, had a $0.75/2 coupon that was doubled.) And got Blue Diamond almonds were buy 1 get 2 free (big y) and I had a $0.50/2 store coupon and a $1.00 off coupon. 11.97 knocked down to 3.99 per store sale, then 0.50 doubled to a dollar off, 2.99, then another 1 off, got me 3 containers for 1.99!!! LOVE coupon clipping!

BUT I only use them in combination with store sales, and ONLY on things we actually eat on a regular basis!

hgellings

I match coupons with deals and have cut our grocery spending in half! I started doing this about a year ago and before I started we were spending $750 on groceries a month, we are now down to about $300 a month with a TON more food to choose from. Before starting it seemed like we were always running out of stuff and now that I do this I have a stockpile downstairs and there is always food! I use to buy a lot of generic and now I buy all name brand... Kashi, Ragu, Kellogg's, General mill, etc. I feel that since I have been blessed to be a SAHM this is my way of contributing. It's always fun to meet new couponers!

bk2011

I want to be a super couponer! I love coupons, but it definitely takes a lot of planning and dedication! Also, for those that mentioned doubling coupons...what stores do this? Every single store I have contacted in my area does not allow this!

hgellings

I want to be a super couponer! I love coupons, but it definitely takes a lot of planning and dedication! Also, for those that mentioned doubling coupons...what stores do this? Every single store I have contacted in my area does not allow this!

The only store in my area that does it is PNS and only on Wed and Sat. All this month on Saturdays they are doing double double daze which is doubling 10 coupons up $1.00 instead of 5. I take advantage and do 2-3 transactions since there is no limit at my store. I usually end up spending around $40-$60 for $200+ in groceries. I LOVE double double daze!!!

mericksmom

I coupon like crazy but still sometimes it is hard to find the best deals for this or that product that you use regularly. I am now following a few blogs that basically give you coupon location (if printable) the ad price and then after the coupon price. It helps a bunch.

Frys food normally doubles up to a dollar. (kroger)

http://thekrazycouponlady.com/

http://www.thecentsableshoppin.com/ this is a lady from phx az who has 25 dollar food budget a week. (I her since she in my local area.)

both sites break it down and how to get started (without cheating) and still be able to save

midwesthiker

I don't buy boxed or frozen food, but I still manage to save a lot using coupons and sales. I also find CVS and Walgreens have sales where you get a coupon for $ off your next purchase. I shop the grocery store sales for veggies and fruits, normally don't get coupons for those but the sales can be pretty good. When the store has sale on meat I buy lots of extra, foodsave it, and freeze it.

If you have a Target near you they have coupons on their website you can print out plus they will take an in-store coupon and a manufacturer's coupon for the same item. If you can match that with a sale it is pretty good. And check on your grocery stores - mine doubles coupons on Wed and Sat.

I also make my own bread every week - saves $$ and can be frozen for later in the week. Plus tastes much better!

lunamare

You've got the right idea. I get 5-7 grocery ads a week plus there are two other stores I can view their ads online. I've gotten pretty good at knowing what a good price is and isn't for the things we use all the time. I'm not sure where you are, but in the North East we have a store called Ocean State Job Lot (started in RI) and often you can find typical grocery things (toothpaste, shampoo) for a fraction of what you'd spend at CVS. I try to go to the fruit stand (more like a small grocery that focuses on fruits, veggies and deli) to pick up my fruits and veggies. I'll see who has the best deals and best coupons on papergoods and cleaning supplies and try to use my coupons for those too. I love Trader Joes. There are definitely things I buy there that are a much better price than the grocery store. It takes a lot of work, but, it can be worth it.

margielewis

I watched a tv show the other day called Extreme Couponing - these guys are absolutely genius. They have stockpile bigger than some corner store shelves here and have paid little or nothing for every bit. It is worth a watch.

JoyousRen

I can never find coupons. We don't get them. I don't even get store ads.

bean6344

I'm single but I still cut coupons. I try to plan my meals and shopping around coupons and buy 1 get 1 free deals.

If you live in the South East, there is a website that I highly recommend

www.southernsavers.com

It lists all of the weekly ads from the local groceries and tells you what coupons go with their deals. They even link to printable coupons.

Some groceries allow you to use 2 coupons if they have a buy 1 get one free sale, so I usually get the paper with double the coupons. it only costs $.25 more than the regular paper and it can really pay off.


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ltlemermaid

I try to use coupons with store sales--that usually saves a lot of $$. unfortunately a lot of what we eat at home rarely has coupons and I refuse to eat more processed foods just because I have a coupon for it.

I usually wait till items-fruit/veggies are on sale and buy then, or buy frozen since they are cheaper too.

bbb84

bump