Extreme Couponing

OMG I just typed this whole long response and I think it got lost b/c the thread was being moved at the same time I was editting. *ugh*

Same thing just happened to me! :mad:

Anyone know if there's a way to get it back?

i wish we could do this in uk. our vouchers always have a snag. buy one get one free. only 2 per customer blah blah. i've seen the show and it was fab.

Ha! Okay I was able to go back in my browser and find where I typed my original crazy long response, so here you go:

The show makes it look much easier than it really is. I've been couponing since a few months before I had my first child (4 years now) and you *can* get some amazing deals and stock up on things free and cheap, but it's generally not going to be like you see it on the show. Most grocery stores have limits on the amount of identical items you can buy per trip and many also have limits on the total number of coupons you can either use or double in a shopping trip. In my area those limits are generally 20 total coupons and 3/4 of the same item, however some stores are more generous. And that depends on the individual stores in your areas. Every single store has their own individual coupon policy and you need to research and teach yourself the policies for each store you're interested in. When you see the 'extreme' trips on the show, many times the store you see the person shopping is letting that person completely murder their usual coupon policy b/c it's a TV show and they think the publicity will be good for them.

Some PP's have already mentioned some really great websites for helping you find deals - southernsavers.com, afullcup.com, and hotcouponworld.com are some of my favorites especially for couponing beginners. AFC and HCW are a bit easier to follow and get your questions answered IMO - I don't like the commenting format on SS and I don't like that the owner has a habit of not fixing mistakes that are pointed out. (but I think she's a 'one person operation' so it may be difficult for her to follow-up - AFC and HCW are user-driven - they do have moderators but each member can add their own findings and announce corrections which I think is more user-friendly) AFC and HCW have their sites set up so that each individual store has it's very own discussion forum. If you want to see what great deals there are for Walmart, you go to the Walmart forum. If you're interested in CVS you hit the CVS forum, etc. They have a forum for individual stores and it's not just for one region of the country like southernsavers, it's national. AFC and HCW also have coupon trading groups which you can join if you're interested in trading coupons you don't need for ones you can use.

As far as comparing prices from grocery and drugstores to Walmart, Costco, Sams, whatever, it's really on a case-by-case basis. The 'every day prices' at those stores may be lower than the grocery stores, but if something goes on sale B1G1free at the grocery store it is likely cheaper than the regular prices at those stores, plus factor in that some grocery stores will double or triple certain coupons which means sometimes you can get certain items completely free at the grocery stores. Same thing goes for the drugstores. The 'regular' prices at CVS, Walgreens, and Rite-Aid are ridiculous compared to Walmart, however they each have loyalty/rewards programs that frequently net free products. You don't just walk into one of those stores and pick up a cart full of stuff expecting to save money, you have to plan your trip carefully in advance based on the sales, coupons, and rewards available for that week. If you approach your drugstore and grocerystore shopping that way, planning to buy *only* the items that are fantastic deals from those stores, then you can buy your other necessities from Walmart or warehouse clubs and find that you'll save a good deal of money. Just watch the impulse shopping. The goal of stores giving 'great deals' is that they expect you to come for the great deal and then impulsively buy other items that get them a better profit margin. You can't shop that way if you want to save money, you have to have a plan and you have to stick to it.

Here are a couple of sites for printable coupons that you might be interested in:

www.coupons.com
www.smartsource.com
www.couponnetwork.com (some of the offers are 'future savings' offers, these are more complicated as they only apply to particular stores, you will want to view the details of the offer to see if it applies to stores in your area)
www.redplum.com
www.bettycrocker.com

Many manufacturer's offer printable coupons directly from their websites, also many offer printable coupons from their Facebook pages. So if you have certain favorite items, check out the company's website and facebook page to see if they're offering anything you can use. And, if you take the time to email them a comment/suggestion/complaint/etc and request coupons, often they will mail you some in appreciation for your feedback. This is a nice way to get coupons for items that you know you use.

Also, since you mentioned Walmart, they carry a magazine called 'All You' (it's made by Walmart and sold there exclusively) - it usually has a bunch of different coupons in it. Sometimes they are really good ones. I suggest flipping through the magazine and checking whether the coupons are good ones *for you* before purchasing it. It's generally around $2-$2.50 if I remember correctly, so make sure you see coupons that you will use that are worth more than that.

As a couponer myself, I find that this show is extremely unrealistic. I've been couponing for a little over 2 years, and I have NEVER seen a store stock so many of the items that would be free/close to free after a coupon.

I really like the blog Deal Seeking Mom (https://www.facebook.com/DealSeekingMom), or Couponing to Disney (https://www.facebook.com/CouponingtoDisney)

I have been couponing for about two months now and I am in a two bedroom appartment and it is getting way crowded in here.
I have so much I am going to be giving some to the cancer society and a homeless charity. Things like Detergent(cheap),toliet paper(cheap),toothpaste(free),toothbrushes(Free).. and many more good deals. Because of the show, stores have been changing there policies. So like Frys will only bring three like coupons up to a $1. so you have to make many trips. It is a lot of work, but if you have the time it is worth it. Moneysaving mom. com is a good site. have fun-- Lisa

I used to coupon and yes, I could get a lot of food for less money. That being said, there are no coupons for vegetables or meats. I finally quit doing it about a year ago and we do still have razors, body wash and dishwashing soap around. But other than that, I ended up buying foods that weren't the best choices nutritionally. The key to getting whole foods for less is to buy what's on sale.

There are not *usually* coupons for fresh items, but every once in awhile you catch a break. If you shop Target, they have a printable coupon section on their site and sometimes they have coupons for fresh produce. Most recently they had one for $1 off of 3 green giant fresh items. Also, depending on what state you live in, sometimes there are amazing rebate opportunities. The best rebates are put out by various beer companies, in some states they require beer purchase but in some states the law prohibits them from requiring the consumer to buy alcohol in order to take part in the offer. Soooo, for example here in NC, I sometimes get rebates for things like 'get $10 back on your meat purchase of $10.01 or more' or 'get $20 back on your total grocery purchase of $80 or more', which apply to anything you need to buy and are simply wonderful to behold. LOL The wine companies also occasionally put coupons on the wine bottles, sometimes for things like '$2 off of any beef or chicken', and if you're in a 'no alcohol purchase necessary' state then you can use the coupon without buying the wine. But you only get the 'no beer purchase necessary' rebate deals in certain particular states. A quick question posted on one of the couponing websites I posted above will let you know if your state is one of those that require beer purchase or not - I believe both of them have 'rebating/refunding' forums where you can ask those types of questions.

Oooh, also, occasionally there are decent coupons for frozen or canned vegetables, if you like those it often makes them a good deal. Earlier this year I was able to stock up on canned spinach for next to nothing (I like it ) and today I'm picking up my favorite frozen veggies for a pretty good deal compared to regular price. (I like the Green Giant steamers to have alongside salmon or chicken and coupons come out for those fairly frequently, plus they're on sale at my local store)

Interesting post. we coupon and will save about $60-$80 on a shopping trip but never as much as the shows make it seem. There are some great sites on this post though so thanks for posting.

I used to coupon and yes, I could get a lot of food for less money. That being said, there are no coupons for vegetables or meats. I finally quit doing it about a year ago and we do still have razors, body wash and dishwashing soap around. But other than that, I ended up buying foods that weren't the best choices nutritionally. The key to getting whole foods for less is to buy what's on sale.

I have been couponing for a few months now, and I have actually had coupons for salad, lettuce, and perdue chicken, they are out there! I use another site, livingrichwithcoupons.com, its great, store sales are matched up with the coupons for that week, I have been saving a lot of money this way, and I don't only buy processed food, but the money I save on things like bbq sauce, and cereal can go towards the meats and fruits and veggies i need to buy!
I get the sunday paper, and I print coupons online.

I do agree that the show is unrealistic though, the people on there leave with a cart full of toothpaste and mustard, sorry thats not gonna fill my family for the week!!

best advise I could give would be, don't expect to go to the store and do a weeks worth of grocery shopping for $5, its not gonna work, unless you only buy junk food, as you gather more coupons you will start to save more money, and as you get more comfortable with it you will too. read the stores coupon policies too, because they are all different, the site I posted really does have a lot of information, thats where I started and learned most of what I know now!

I started couponing heavily earlier this year, and while it is hard to get coupons for veggies, fruits, etc it is NOT impossible.

Driscolls will email you coupons for strawberries, blueberries, etc over the summer.
Dole coupons are plentiful for fruit, fruit salads and salad mixes
Perdue chicken coupons for their regular chicken come out around once every 6 wks from what I've seen
Bird's eye, Green giant - always putting coupons out there

Target (especially ones just changing to "Fresh" or "Grocery) will put out online coupons that sometimes include salads, eggs, etc.

Egg beaters, Eggland's Best put out coupons all the time.

And of course, the usual yogurt, greek yogurt, smoothie mixes (which is really just a bag of frozen fruit)

The key to the savings is the planning ahead. My store doesn't do overage - that's why those people go crazy "stockpiling" - they can then use the extra money towards meats and produce.

Ie - bottle of mustard on sale for 0.75. There's a coupon for 50 cents/1, and that store doubles, so it's a dollar off. 1-.75=0.25, so you're getting a quarter back for each bottle of mustard. So if you buy 100 bottles of mustard, you've gotten $25 in overage, and can thus buy $25 in other products and thus are 0 out of pocket.

I dont do that because my store doesn't do this, but usually I'll get things for free and use that money towards meat/produce. I average 50-60% off at the grocery store, which has still translated to about $4000 in savings since April when I started. It does take time. If there's a really good sale you can order inserts online for less than the cost of a local paper.

Coupon values - you learn that there are better values in different parts. I don't care about low value coupons because we double to .99. So a .75 coupon is better than a $1 coupon for me. For others, it's the opposite. Going to coupon sites helps you determine this, plus knowing your local policies.

A good hint is most grocery stores have a website where you can do the list there and see what the price is ahead of time. Other stores that have gas stations (Tops) will give you gas points for what you spend, plus the coupon you use. I just saved $1.40/gal on my last fill up.

Look around online, joint coupon forums, twitter feeds are great, too...it's out there. Just have to plan. HTH

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