s/o how to make ends meet/ couponing

southernbubby

Tue, May 08 2018, 12:54 pm

I used to clip coupons and then redeem them where the stores doubled the coupons but then several things happened:
1) stores near me stopped doubling
2) store brands at places like Aldis and Trader Joes have many kosher products which are cheaper than name brands even with coupons
3) I became an empty nester and now it takes a long time to use up things so I don't need as large of a stash of stuff.
4) I can find name brand products at Dollar Tree for half the price of CVS and some of their regular brands are kosher.
5)I shop at CVS when they email or mail me a coupon.
6)If I need things, it is often cheaper to buy on Amazon than it is to pay for the gas to go to a far away store where the prices are better such as Big lots or Xmas tree (that is the name of a chain that I believe may be owned by Yidden).
7)Walmart house brand is also cheaper for many things than are name brands with coupons.
8) Senior discounts at Walgreens and other stores.
9)Walmart fabrics are usually cheaper than Joann fabrics, even with a discount although it pays to compare.

anon for this

Tue, May 08 2018, 4:15 pm

amother wrote:

Do people who coupon buy sunday papers? The rite aid circular always says check sunday papers, is there another place to get coupons?

Some coupons are available online but others are only available from the Sunday paper. If you get a free local paper, check it for coupons--most have at least an insert or two. Dollar Tree sells the Sunday paper for $1. Also, you may have neighbors or friends who will save their coupons for you.

There are also services that sell coupons online (they're often called clipping services since technically coupons aren't supposed to be sold, so they'll say they aren't selling the coupon, but their time in clipping).

Besides paper coupons, many chain stores have coupons that you can load onto your shoppers card. Other sites like savingstar, ibotta, and checkout51 give you money back for certain purchases.

If there's a chain store where you frequently shop, search online for "store name coupon matchups" to find a site that lists the items on sale and coupons, rebates, or other deals that can help you save more money. For Rite Aid you can check out iheartriteaid.com

amother

Papaya

Tue, May 08 2018, 10:27 pm

LittleDucky, I was on the other thread, but I don't want to de-rail it, so I'm responding here. I don't get the Sunday paper. I try printing from coupon.com, but I think I end up saving very little. They're mostly coupons for one or two things that I use, and mostly for things that I don't use.

Also, looking at some of the homes that extreme couponers have posted online has scared me off a bit. I'm not so sure that a decor of "Charmin" is really what I wanted to show off in my home...

So how do you get things so cheap? And do you find that it pays? I'm wondering if it's better/cheaper to buy in Aldi's, or no name brands, etc. What do you think?

LittleDucky

Wed, May 09 2018, 9:56 am

amother wrote:

So I have friends who get the paper and give me their inserts. Dollar stores near me do not get the paper. You can get the paper for Sunday only, pull out the coupons, and recycle the rest. If you have a friend who wants to coupon as well you can swap coupons: not everyone needs diapers, contact lens solution, cereal, hair spray etc. You cannot sell coupons.
"Buying" from those clipping services doesn't make sense for me and is also a gray area so not going to do that. Also selling what you coupon with is not allowed.
The best way to start is with one store. Learn their game- points, rewards, etc. Target and CVS are the easiest IMO. Not too many rules. Get their coupon policy online and then look for matchup online- type "target coupon matchup" etc.

It can definitely be addicting. You don't get everything for free. And you need limits. Just because shampoo is 50 cents (and not 4.50) do you need 30? Sales come back usually. Sometimes its a weird product and it won't come back but sales do come around. Colgate is free at least once a month at one of the drug stores and many times at each store each month. I don't buy it each time as it wastes gas, time, mental energy... I have 2-3 tubes as backup and before Pesach I make sure to have enough for everyone to have a new one. But I limit myself on quantity and shelf space. I will not start storing shampoo under the bed, toilet paper in the living room etc.
I mostly coupon on household goods (toilet paper for example), personal hygiene (like shampoo, toothpaste, pads), cleaning supplies, baby/toddler (diapers, wipes, puffs when I had a kid who ate them), detergent and cereal.
Stuff that isnt a big deal keeping kosher (cereal is the main couponing food- cheerios etc). I find coupons on other products and use them but these are the main categories I would say. Keeping kosher does limit (free bacon won't help me!) But I can honestly say it saves me several hundreds a year. Maybe more. Actually- definitely more. At my height of couponing I saved us close to a thousand a year. I never calculated it but with shopping trips saying minimum of 40-60% off on things we were buying anyways and needed it adds up. 100% off is rare- you can get it on certain products. Just diapers has saved me hundreds a year- retail is 30-50 cents a diaper. I aim for less than 20 (15 for size 1-2 and it goes up based on size. Size 5 is about 22 cents). I have gotten it for 9 cents a diaper! Name brand!
Can you tell I enjoy couponing?

Bnei Berak 10

Wed, May 09 2018, 12:17 pm

LittleDucky wrote:

Plenty of good advise in your post, thank you for sharing! There is nothing as satisfying as getting a good deal!

amother

Papaya

Wed, May 09 2018, 12:24 pm

LittleDucky wrote:

So I have friends who get the paper and give me their inserts. Dollar stores near me do not get the paper.

It can definitely be addicting. You don't get everything for free. And you need limits. Just because shampoo is 50 cents (and not 4.50) do you need 30? Sales come back usually. Sometimes its a weird product and it won't come back but sales do come around. Colgate is free at least once a month at one of the drug stores and many times at each store each month. I don't buy it each time as it wastes gas, time, mental energy... I have 2-3 tubes as backup and before Pesach I make sure to have enough for everyone to have a new one. But I limit myself on quantity and shelf space. I will not start storing shampoo under the bed, toilet paper in the living room etc.
I mostly coupon on household goods (toilet paper for example), personal hygiene (like shampoo, toothpaste, pads), cleaning supplies, baby/toddler (diapers, wipes, puffs when I had a kid who ate them), detergent and cereal.
Stuff that isnt a big deal keeping kosher (cereal is the main couponing food- cheerios etc). I find coupons on other products and use them but these are the main categories I would say. Keeping kosher does limit (free bacon won't help me!) But I can honestly say it saves me several hundreds a year. Maybe more. Actually- definitely more. At my height of couponing I saved us close to a thousand a year. I never calculated it but with shopping trips saying minimum of 40-60% off on things we were buying anyways and needed it adds up. 100% off is rare- you can get it on certain products. Just diapers has saved me hundreds a year- retail is 30-50 cents a diaper. I aim for less than 20 (15 for size 1-2 and it goes up based on size. Size 5 is about 22 cents). I have gotten it for 9 cents a diaper! Name brand!
Can you tell I enjoy couponing?

Thanks for responding.

I don't get the paper, and none of my friends do, either. Does it pay to buy?

As for the bolded - yes, those pictures of "Charmin" stacked from floor to ceiling turned me off! But like you say, you don't have to stock up tons.

I use coupons from coupons.com and I find that for the most part, the amounts are very small. Twenty five cents for toilet paper is almost not worth it, IMHO. I do get some good deals, but it's not a huge amount, though. My friend shops brand names, Target and Aldi's, and I wonder if she's coming out ahead?

southernbubby

Wed, May 09 2018, 1:39 pm

I think that I save the most by first taking stock of what I have and using it up, shopping less often, and going to stores with less impulse purchases. Aldis has it's share of impulse opportunities but the reason it can sell for cheaply is not only it sells mainly house brands but it also has fewer choices and that lowers the price. Apparently large supermarket chains are paid by brands to put their products on more prominent shelves and that shows up in the price that we pay. We also pay more for having our purchases bagged by a bagger and Aldi is a bag it yourself, no frills place.

The purpose of coupons is often because the manufacturer wants the consumer to try a product and then will hopefully become loyal to it rather than purchase cheaper house brands. It is however fun to "stack" and try to use coupons together with sales or with coupons that are stuck to the item itself or with the CVS 30% off coupon or whatever deal Target has. Frum stores often won't honor coupons because someone has to send the coupons back to the company to get reimbursed.

Years ago, between couponing and refunding, some people basically got paid to shop but then these people had no restrictions on their diet and often had pets and lots of coupons are for pet food and other pet supplies. I also saw free deals years ago at Walgreens and have not seen that in awhile but nothing is really free if going into the store to get the freebie results in a purchase. Stores are not in business to lose money.

Walgreens gives seniors 20% off on the first Tuesday of every month but they probably 1) raise prices to offset it and 2)figure that all seniors take prescription meds and many are on Medicare and the store makes the most money on pharmaceuticals. So if I have to buy something at Walgreens, I usually put it off till senior Tuesday but it still isn't necessarily the cheapest place to buy. I find dollar stores to be the cheapest places.

Gas prices are also a factor.

LittleDucky

Wed, May 09 2018, 3:48 pm

amother wrote:

Yeah, coupons.com has low value coupons but not always! $2-3 off diapers is nice.
About buying the paper- depends on what you use. Sometimes subscriptions to the Sunday paper are cheap--- it depends on your papers prices. You can look up on the web what coupons are expected to come in your paper that week but it varies by location as to if it will be there and how much. 1st Sunday of the month usually has the most but not if its a legal holiday.