thoughts for thursday.

today, i'm talking COUPONS.  do you use them?  if you do, i want to know everything you know about coupons.  where do you get your coupons?  how do you keep them organized?  do you only buy things when they are on sale?  i don't think i'll be on the next episode of 'extreme couponing', but i would like to start learning the ways of getting a bit more bang for my buck.

i'm going to be honest, i totally SUCK right now at using coupons.  i will grab the flyer on my way to the store and usually RIP them out while i'm in the line waiting to pay for my stuff.  if i'm being organized, i will actually CUT them out at home before i go, but then usually forget to use half of them.  in either event, i'm always ticked off because i forgot to get something that i had a coupon for or i bought something and forgot to use the coupon for it.  FAIL.

recently, i learned that when i shop at super one (which i need to do more often, but it's a 30 minute drive just to get there), i can go online and put all my coupons i want on a piece of paper and print it out.  then i can just give the cashier the piece of paper and they can scan the coupons off it.  i think there is something you can do with your phone too, but i haven't looked into it that far.  i need to though as that would be TOTALLY awesome.  there is a local grocery store i go to, but they rarely have any in store coupons.  so, i know i'd be saving money by going elsewhere, but i keep telling myself i'm doing a good job at supporting the local economy. 

i know there is more i can do.  aside from cutting the coupons out of the sunday paper ... what do you do?  what can i do?  i know some of my blogger friends are coupon experts (especially leeann). 

also, what's with the coupon sites that want you to download some coupon printer thing?  smells like a problem to me.  but maybe i'm wrong? 

share your coupon knowledge with me!  i want my 'percentage saved' to go up on my next receipt!

Comments

[LeeAnn Howard]

Hey Jenny.. I was reading your post and then thought.. this is right up my alley, and then you linked me! haha!
I buy about 4 papers each week. Usually get the bigger city papers, like Detroit or Ann Arbor, because they have thicker inserts in them. They typically say buy one paper per family member you have. Althought I dont have 4 grown family members, I do donate items to people in need and give items to friends and family. Personally, I clip out all the coupons each week. Well except for Depends and meds I wont use. Althogh these items have been free before, and would be great donation items. Anyhow, I organize all my coupons in a binder with baseball card sleeves. Yes its time consuming, but I also work 3rd shift and have lots of down time at work, so I get a lot of my cutting and organizing done at work, lol.
You can also do what Kim suggested and just 'collect' the inserts and write the date on the front of it in big bold marker. Most of the websites and blogs that I read tell you the items on sale and what coupon to match up with it, then telling you what date and insert that coupon was in. And this is why I get papers from the larger cities, they have more inserts, therefor most likely having the coupon that I need for that sale.
That might be why many people say there are never coupons for items they buy, probably because the smaller cities have thinner inserts.
Sooo once you have been saving your coupons, you can check out different websites or blogs each week that will tell you the sale matchups. Youll want to google it for finding someone in your area that does matchups.. like "Super One Matchups" or "super one sale coupon matchups". you get the jist of it..
Then see what they say is on sale, and check to see if you have that coupon(s), and then get that number of items. The key is to stock up on that item while you can get it at that price, without buying too much of it before it expires too. Thats why ideally, 2-4 papers would be sufficient.
I also like to go to www.weusecoupons.com and click on the forum tab. There you will find people all over the US, and you might find your local stores in there with matchups. Some people even get their hands on the store ad 1-2 weeks ahead of time.
If you have chain drug stores in your area, like CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, those are pretty much the only place where I get awesome deals on my Health and Beauty items. Once you start in on the store rewards, you just keep rolling those over the next week and stretch your dollar even more.
Any questions, you can email me Jenny.. or even sign up on my fb group Jackson Clippin' Q's, i know its my local group i made, but you can still learn a lot from it to start you off!

[kim]

http://www.pocketyourdollars.com/ is a good site for shopping target! i think they do cub foods, too, if you're down here to shop.

i like the site because all you have to do is take out the smartsource/redplum things from your paper, date them and throw them in a folder. then the site will tell you when it's a good idea to pull them out (because something is on sale in store).

[Jessica]

I buy a Sunday paper and go to coupons.com. Then I shop on Wed. when the new specials come out for my local store. I line up the specials with the coupons, make a weekly menu based off of that, and save money and (usually) waste nothing.

I hate to admit it, but I honestly still hate it. I know people who LOVE to coupon, and don't mind the time and energy...but I just never have gotten addicted. I make myself do it because I know it saves us money, but I struggle.

As long as I stick to a menu, clip some coupons, and don't let myself be tempted by things that are on sale but we really don't need, I'm pretty darn proud of myself. :-)

[angela]

I love grocery coupons and use them often. I don't get the Sunday paper though so I rely on flyers from Superone and Cub. I try (off & on) to make a meal plan based on items that are on sale. When I make my grocery list I write a © by it so I remember that I have a coupon and glance at it while looking at the item. Some times the coupon isn't always the best deal. There may be another brand cheaper, so you have to watch. I don't do a lot of stocking up but I could probably save more if I did. I tried the online coupon printing thing a while back and at that time Superone wasn't accepting them but I am guessing that has change by now and I should look in to it again.
I agree with you Jenny about trying to keep it local. I get my essentials in town, milk and such. Also, Zup's does have good cuts of steak when were in the mood for something other than Venison!

[Stacy Peterson]

I coupon! I get the Star Trib on Sundays and I also use coupons.com. The coupon printing software is just fine. You select the coupons you want and it prints them. You never have to enter your email so I wouldn't see why you would get spam. Oh and if you type in the zipcode 90210 you get more coupons. (don't ask my why, you just do) You need the software to get the barcode to be scanable for the store. If I lived in SB I would drive to Super One!! I try to use coupons on stuff that are on sale/have a store coupon. Target also takes one target coupon and one manufacturer's coupon, awesome savings there. I also follow a few couponers online. My biggest tip though: Make a whole months menu, make a huge list and go shopping for that list. Every week or so go buy essentials like bread, fruit, milk. This could be done at zups. The worst thing you can do is not plan meals and just run to the store every night for dinner. I keep my coupons in a binder meant to hold business cards, works great.

[Stacy]

I ALWAYS- use coupons for Super One, I did not however know about the online thing where a person can go and put all of the ones they want on one sheet. How interesting, and I will have to look into that.. Super One SOMETIMES has GREAT Deals with Coupons in the Reg. eweekly paper and then in a coupon bklet, and then the in store seals, so when I haven't groc. shopped in FOREVER I seem to get a Super Good Deal there. The most I saved with Coupons and In Store Deals was just 2 months ago. I saved 114 dollars$ You can Imagine how EXCITED I Was, although this isn't all the time, I seem to be more obsessed with Super One couponing after that.. My sis how ever uses Coupons from the Sunday paper, and I (being in experienced in other store couponing) didn't know you could take those coupons to ANY store you shop at, as long as it's b4 the exp. date...(and of coupse if it says only excepted at ___Store then you can't) But I will have to start looking into those more now, I never get the SUnday paper, time to do so I suspect. So, about this coupon downloader...I DID try it once, and I had a mess...It downloaded half way and wouldn't go the rest of the way, and I would get weird emails and spam- ( I think it probably took forever and didn't download right because I had dial up at the time, but I will NEVER try that again.)... So GOOD LUCK JENNY with your NEW Coupon Venture!

[Mary]

I need a little schooling on this myself! I've watched numerous episodes of extreme couponing and have followed a few sites/groups but for me, it just seem like a good fit. Maybe I have it all wrong though. It seems like the extreme people buy a lot of stuff that I wouldn't ever buy and stock up. They are all so into their stock piles. I try to use coupons as often as I can and I do watch sales. I buy a lot of my stuff at a warehouse type store like Sam's (mine is called BJs). They offer lots of coupons for things I use regularly so I do use the store coupons and the manufacturer coupons to double up. With regards to regular grocery shopping, I try to by stuff when it's on sale and when I have a coupon, it's a bonus! Like I said, I have a lot to learn. I'm interested in seeing the responses you gt :)

[JuliP]

I don't use them....have tried multiple times. However, I find that coupons are rarely for items that I normally buy and if isn't for something that I buy, I don't use it or buy it. We will end up with several grocery bags of stuff that go to the Boy Scouts for the annual food shelf drive.
I've attempted to download that coupon printer, but am really leery of it...I just buy what we need and don't take my kids to the store with me....that's enough of a savings right there!