Do you coupon? | Imamother

momof2+?

Sat, Mar 04 2017, 8:21 pm

I've "couponed" in the past and have been quite successful. I haven't been doing it for a while, but have been feeling motivated to start again. Do any of you "amothers" coupon? I mean like going through the Sunday paper and/or print coupons from website...not just the occasional old navy 15% off. Where do you get the majority of your coupons from? How much (in your experience) can we (as kosher only eaters) save on our grocery bill? Anyone have stockpiles? (Have I been watching too much of "extreme couponing?")

ectomorph

Sat, Mar 04 2017, 8:35 pm

No. I tried but it wasn't worth the stress for me
Maybe when I have more kids will be worth it.

Tzutzie

Sat, Mar 04 2017, 9:05 pm

No I haven't.

We've been house hunting lately amd we've seen a house we are considering.

The lady is a really sweet woman. She does exteme couponing.
She says she feeds her family of 6 for under $100 a week! (Non-kosher food, but still)

In the basement she has one whole room designated for stockpiles of stuff she couponed.

She buys lots more than she needs and people in the comunity that are down on their luck would call her and she'd leave a few bags in her driveway at night and they'd come and pick it up discreetly.
People would rather call her than go to a local food bank and be seen....

I thought that was so kind and thoughful. And such a beautiful thing that she's doing. Taking a hobby and using it to help other. Beautiful.

She offered to teach me how to coupon if we buy the house Wink

I told her I'll think about it LOL

But if we do end up buying her house then I definitely won't let her off the hook Smile

LittleDucky

Sat, Mar 04 2017, 9:11 pm

I do. I have written about it before on here. It saves me a ton every month on my budget.
I mostly coupon for the items that are not kosher-specific, like toothpaste, shampoo, floss and cleaning supplies. I try to have a stockpile of these items and never pay full price on any of these. I don't have too much space to store stuff so even 1-2 of each is helpful to always have a backup and not pay full price.
I also coupon for diapers and wipes. THAT saves me a number I can't even come up with. I looked at my local store- diapers are running about 40-50 cents a diaper. I aim for less than 20 cents, but closer to 10 cents for the smaller sizes. Wipes I aim for 1 cent a wipe.
On food items, I do coupon, but mostly on the shelf stable items that I use. Things like cereal.

There are many ways to get coupons. Not every sunday paper gets the inserts. Call your local one to find out how many inserts vs the cost for each issue. Also, find out the value as availability and value (how much off) varies by locality. Sometimes getting a yearly subscription is cheaper. You can also print from online, but I found that my paper often has higher values (but I do it sometimes as not all are available in the paper and sometimes you need 3 or 4 coupons to do a good deal).
Ask away your questions!

momof2+?

Sat, Mar 04 2017, 9:31 pm

Tzutzie, such a nice thing that lady does! I'm touched. I find that once you big some sort of stockpile, it's easier to budget $100 a month because you are using things to the stockpile and adding the items that were cheap that week to the stockpile. get it?

Little Ducky, I couponed maybe a year ago and then stopped. I'm now getting close to the end of my detergent stockpile, although I still have shampoos and floss, so I thought about getting back into it. Do you mind if I ask...
I buy Target wipes and diapers. Since they are a store brand, I have a set time when I stock up (when it's on sale and "buy 2 boxes, get a 10/15 dollar gift card"). But I sometimes wonder if other brands can be cheaper bec there aren't really manufacturer coupons + store comparing.
What diaper/wipes do you find to be the best deal?

also, let me clarify:
You get the sunday paper which contains coupons that are greater value than the ones I can print from (ex:) coupons.com? I'm in Lakewood, so buying the APP, if that matters.
And if you're a big couponer, do you buy 4 sunday papers?
Do you have a subscription? or do you buy each sunday? I hear Dollar Tree has them, but every time I go they are sold out Sad

Sat, Mar 04 2017, 9:40 pm

No. I am happy to use generics and I find that couponing doesn't reduce the cost of name-brand products enough to make it worth the effort.

We do better with store specials, and shopping at Target (store card discount + cartwheel + store specials).

seeker

Sat, Mar 04 2017, 10:02 pm

I kept thinking I would but there were so few coupons for things that I use that it just never became a thing. Once in a while I'll notice something and clip it but I don't think it will make a difference in my life. Instead I just look for regular sales and stock up.

There are never coupons for kosher meat.
I buy almost all raw ingredients, most food coupons are for processed, packaged things.
Once in a while I manage to stack a coupon with a sale for toilet paper or something. But often it's cheaper and easier to just wait for a great price on a bulk pack on amazon.com.

LittleDucky

Sat, Mar 04 2017, 11:09 pm

momof2+? wrote:

So diaper couponing is my thing. Seriously :-). Once there was a super sale at Target that people asked me if I had triplets at home. No, just one at that time. But I bought in the next size too. It was a gift card+cartwheel+ Manufacturer coupon kind of week. Might have been a store coupon too but not sure. It was a while ago before they started putting store coupons and MC on cartwheel. Back when you had to text Baby to their number to get the store coupons or clip them from the newspaper or print from online.
I don't buy the store brand. Compare the prices... how cheap per diaper do you get? I didn't find it cheaper usually. My kids didn't work in other store brands and I figured it was cheaper to get the name brand that I know work than to use twice as many diapers because of leaks. I usually find Huggies cheaper than Pampers, but that is because Huggies has a few more per box. But not always. Last week the PG (procter and gamble insert in the paper) had $3 off 1 box or two bags of diapers. But the Huggies one that week was only $2. Target had a deal last week, buy $75 of certain baby stuff and get a $15 card. Bought 3 boxes of Pampers, use 3 coupons (or cartwheel had some to be used but it can only be used once. one for baby dry, one swaddlers and one for cruisers).

I get the newspaper locally to me. You need to compare what coupons come in your paper vs online. I might get the $2 Huggies coupon. You might get $1.50 or the $3 version... There are usually a few versions that go around the country. I have been to other areas and have seen that to be true. Typically more expensive to live areas get the better coupons but not always. Try the paper in the next town over and they might deliver in your area. Dollar stores in my area don't have the paper or are also all sold out. I sometimes wonder if the workers buy them all! I get the sunday paper delivered to me. but back when I was first starting if I saw it was a good deal on the one I got, I would buy a second from the store. But I don't need to do that anymore. I also trade coupons with friends... they need one type, I need another. She has a stockpile on toilet paper, I have a stockpile on toothbrushes etc. But I have seen people who are major couponers say to buy one paper per family member up to 4 papers. But since we can't use a lot of the coupons I didn't find that estimate to be reasonable for me.

And since I don't buy toothpaste or shampoo (since I have a stockpile), you are right- I have that extra $$ in my budget to buy other things. What I do is buy them at the lowest prices but I buy 4 at a time. Even then that might be equal to one at regular price! When starting I had an extra $10 in my budget for the week. Bought 2 toothpastes that week that ended up being free after coupons and rewards. Used the rewards to buy something I needed anyways or saved it for next week (but need to use it before it expires!). Next week bought Shampoo, used the rewards (and coupons of course!) to pay. received extra rewards to use the following week.

Couponing is also a mindset. See something on sale that you usually use, buy it even if you don't need it that week. So long as it doesn't expire before you will use it obviously. I once had a $150 grocery bill (estimated as I lost the bill. I wanted to have it framed I was so proud!). I spent only $35 or so... will store coupons, digital coupons to my card, manufacturer coupons, and sale items. I was buying things I use but just extra of each when I had the coupons now! Soy sauce was on sale for $1.50 but usually $3 (so saved 1.50 automatically). Then had a 75 cent coupon... so I spent 75 cents and saved 2.25! I bought 2. Cereal, usually $4 a box, had coupons and sale and ended up 1.50 a box.
Also, look at the most random stores for items. Your local pharmacy type store (CVS etc) sell food items too. Check their ads! Cereal was one week cheapest there!!! Canned tuna is also a major sale item at the pharmacy.

Up late nursing. Got to go to bed now. But ask away and I will try to clarify things for you tomorrow! This is a hobby as well as a money saving tactic. And can be addicting. Its also a fun game, coming home and showing my husband what I bought and asking him how much. And he is lucky. At least this hobby doesn't cost anything and actually saves us money! But people laugh when they see the toothpaste, laundry detergent and shampoo stockpile...

LittleDucky

Sat, Mar 04 2017, 11:10 pm

multiple posting error... whoops.

Last edited by LittleDucky on Sat, Mar 04 2017, 11:12 pm; edited 1 time in total

gibberish

Sun, Mar 05 2017, 6:17 am

One thing that I do that no one mentioned yet is price match. Walmart has a nice price match policy. I downloaded the flipp app and then purchase the produce that other stores have on sale that week in my area. You show the cashier the different ads and they give you the sale price. I save about 5 to 10 dollars per week through this alone. Check with your local Walmart for their policy as policies can vary.

ra_mom

Sun, Mar 05 2017, 6:26 am

I mostly only coupon when shopping online for kids clothes.

LittleDucky

Sun, Mar 05 2017, 7:54 am

About price matching, many stores will match Amazon (not 3rd party sellers on Amazon) so use their app as well!

There are also apps to get money after buying something but I haven't used them as my phone is too old. Ibotta, saving star etc.

momof2+?

Mon, Mar 06 2017, 6:26 pm

Thanks e/o for your replies. Unfortunately, my cellphone is very basic and doesn't download apps so I can't use rebate apps (ibotta etc). Target's Cartwheel is annoying bec it's not on my phone so I have to print the bar code and use in the store. The page that prints doesn't have the specifics of the deal written so I have to write it out myself in order to remember Sad

Is is possible to price match if I don't have the app? Can I bring in a flyer from a diff store? What's the rule?

gibberish

Mon, Mar 06 2017, 6:31 pm

momof2+? wrote:

Is is possible to price match if I don't have the app? Can I bring in a flyer from a diff store? What's the rule?

Of course! The app just makes it easier, but you can collect the circulars and show them the ads. Some Walmarts don't even require the ads to get the sale price; you just need to request the price! Check with your local store though, as policies do vary from store to store.

MiracleMama

Mon, Mar 06 2017, 6:41 pm

Pretty much never. It's so rare to find a coupon I would actually use.