Help for a new coupon-er

alecta337
alecta337 Posts: 622 Member
edited October 1 in Food and Nutrition
Hi everyone!

I want to start using coupons to save money on groceries. I have signed up on Savingstar.com and shortcuts.com already

I usually shop at kroger and publix, but there is also a walmart near by, but that place depresses me and they don't have good fresh produce.

What suggestions do you have for me?

Thanks!!
You're all awesome

Replies

  • Queen_JessieA
    Queen_JessieA Posts: 1,059 Member
    I do reallllly, realllly well at Publix :) Kroger, not so much. I buy ALL organic produce through a local lady who runs a co op. She has a ton of variety, too!! I go in with other people to buy organic beef. I do buy most of my other meats at Kroger, though. I guess that may be why I don't do well. I have 3 kids (5, 8 and 11) and there is my husband and myself...we have 2 small dogs and my grocery and household budget weekly is $100. It is very attainable :)

    -Publix takes Kroger coupons (and other near by grocery stores). Kroger doesn't take other store coupons.

    -Publix will take a store coupon (again, their own or a competitor) as well as a manufacturor coupon. Kroger will take their own store and manufacturor. It is a legal form of stacking :)

    -Make sure you are all organized!! Get a expandable file or a 3 ring binder w/ photo sheets (there are more, but those are my faves)

    - Sign up at Publix for freebie coupons and magazines. I get $5 off coupons every week for my Publix and there are often coupons in the magazines that they send out :)

    -www.southernsavers.com does ALL the coupon matching work for you!!! They will tell you where a coupon is located and the date from the paper it was in and/or give you a link to a printable one :) They will tell you what you can stack where, too!! LOVE that site!!
  • sarah44254
    sarah44254 Posts: 3,078 Member
    Walmarts near me have shabby produce, too. There are no publix near me but we do have many Frys (Krogers of the west, I suppose)

    Frys usually has shabby produce, as well, but suddenly the Fry's closest to my house (3 miles) has like, a whole new produce corner and it is filled with goodies!

    I never seem to find coupons on produce, though.

    Produce tips: buying IN season will reduce the cost
    also check and see if there are farmers guilds or markets available. I know in my town you can sign up with a farmer guild and pay them 15 dollars on mondays, then on saturday they will bring you a basket filled with goodies. and when I say filled, whoa is it filled. We have to give goodies away to family because we can't eat them fast enough. And this is a weekly thing! A very cool thing to look into.

    As for the coupons, I have started really looking at them, too. This week I spend $150 on groceries (had to totally restock since we moved) and only found THREE coupons to use! ... eggs... V8 juice... and lunchmeat! the coupon on eggs didnt even help because I usually just go for cheapo eggs (99cents a carton) and this coupon was for like.. land o lakes omega super cage free or something.. 2.99 a carton (1.99 with coupon) but still more expensive.

    suggestions? buy in season and just be wary of price mark ups or other brands at lower costs for same item :)
  • missfittin_missy
    missfittin_missy Posts: 184 Member
    you can go on krazycouponlady.com and print coupons also.... she even has em in a-z order for you!
  • jmec
    jmec Posts: 8 Member
    I just moved from TN and miss my Publix soooo much. Southern Savers is nice but I feel it gets packed with a lot of stuff and can be overload. If you just want an easy to follow blog iheartpublix (dot) com was always my favorite. The same gal also has an iheartkroger too.
  • sunrize_sc
    sunrize_sc Posts: 157 Member
    I use southernsavers.com. I've been satisfied with it so far.
  • heidi1028
    heidi1028 Posts: 4
    Follow the coupon bloggers on Facebook and they will let you know how/when to combine sales and coupons for the best deals.
    These are some of my favorites
    Money Saving Mom
    Wild for Wags
    Simply CVS
    Totally Target
    Couponing to Disney
    Krazy Coupon Lady
  • corbansmom
    corbansmom Posts: 71
    Couponmom.com lists a lot of good deals and links to coupons (as well as thatkrazycouponlady.com which was already noted)
    Coupons.com
    Redplum.com
    Smartsource.com

    It's keep trying to do the extreme couponing, but we just don't have very good deals in my area...seems to take way more time and cause way more stress than it's worth. I hope you have better luck than I do with the coupons...every cent does help though!
  • EmilyQC
    EmilyQC Posts: 69 Member
    www.smartsource.com
    www.coupons.com
    www.couponbug.com
    www.swagbucks.com
  • jesilva80
    jesilva80 Posts: 287 Member
    On Dr. Oz today there was a segment about saving money, i know 2 of the sites listed were busymomstips.com and couponcabin.com, i'm just dabbling in coupons for now i haven't went all out in them yet.
  • lmarshel
    lmarshel Posts: 674 Member
    Not sure where you are located, but here in NV we get sale flyers from all the local grocery stores in the mail each week. I peruse those and try to buy the fresh meats and produce that is on sale. When they have non-perishable items on sale, I stock up on the things we normally use. I have a big freezer and pantry, so I can sack away a lot. I also use redplum.com and shortcuts.com to print coupons or use their online coupons in conjunction with my store saver cards. Generally, they will have mfg coupons available for things currently on sale in the store or about to go on sale in the store, so look for those items.

    I save at least $30-50 per month in coupons. It can make a huge difference. Best of luck to you! :)
  • maygs
    maygs Posts: 63 Member
    I usualy just buy the sunday paper which ends up saving me more than the $2 it costs. Plus our walmart here wont allow printed coupons :( and it has horrible produce. I shop at HEB (texas) and it has great produce and I liek their meats.
  • jesilva80
    jesilva80 Posts: 287 Member
    Oh and All you magazine, has lots of coupons in it each month, it is not a very expensive magazine to buy at the store, like a few dollars. I get it from my sons fundraiser at school each year for 10$ for the whole year, and school season is coming up so you could help the kid and school out too
  • maeadair
    maeadair Posts: 496 Member
    Anybody from the North East? Is there something similar to southernsavers.com for us up here? I do not find a lot of coupons for Hannaford/Save-a-Lot/Shaw's...and Shaw's prices are higher so their dble coupons are not that great a deal most times. We also have Target and Wal-Mart. Any help greatly appreciated. :-)
  • luckygrrrl
    luckygrrrl Posts: 35
    On Facebook try Sweeties Freebies, they are awesome, they work really hard to help find good deals and FREE STUFF!!
  • KimmyEB
    KimmyEB Posts: 1,208 Member
    The Sunday paper is the best place to start. Even check the sales ads...I know here in Florida, Publix has inserts with coupons. Plus like someone else mentioned, they allow stacking between manufacture's, Publix's, and a competitor. I also get the $5 coupons just about every week. They also take printed coupons, at least the ones near me, do. Also, check the little Parade magazine in the Sunday paper...every now and again, they have a few coupons for stuff, too.

    If there's a certain brand or product you really like and buy a lot of, look to see if they have a Facebook page, or a website for you to sign up for newsletters and coupons.

    Also, any restaurants you eat at, cafes, coffee shops, etc....sign up for their newsletters, and get free stuff.

    Target.com has coupons for food, clothes, and more, too.

    The Entertainment books are also worth the money, too. I got one last year, and the coupons are good for a pretty long time, and have coupons for everything from department and mall stores, to museums, to restaurants, and other stuff, depending on your region.

    I rarely ever pay full price for ANYTHING, whether groceries, eating out at restaurants...I love it!
  • corbansmom
    corbansmom Posts: 71
    I was buying All You, but it seems like most of the coupons lately have been for makeup, so I stopped buying it. I thumbed through it today to see if it would be worth the cost, and it unfortunately wasn't. I was pretty disappointed.
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