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Coupons

November 5th, 2009 at 03:01 pm

I am totally coupon illiterate. I'd love to use them, but using a couple here and there...I don't. And, shame on me, sometimes I use a coupon and buy an item I don't really need, just because I have the coupon. I'm looking for some suggestions on how to learn to find good coupons (good websites and other resources), organize them, take advantage of good deals (double coupons, etc.) and not have to spend forever doing it. Lay it on me, folks!

Posted in Food / Groceries, Saving Money, Shopping | 7 Comments »

7 Responses to “Coupons”

  1. Lisa Says:
    November 5th, 2009 at 03:42 pm 1257435766
    1257435766

    I would recommend two free sites. One Slickdeals.net then put your cursor on forums and click on B&M drugstores. You will find a wealth of information about using coupons at the various stores each week. Remember that drugstore sell all kinds of food/household and drug needs. I keep the coupon books and only clip coupons when needed. I put them in a gallon bag with that weeks date on the bag. Slickdeals contributors tell what week and Valassis/redplum or smart source has the coupon and I clip just the needed coupon for my deal. People even post deals to make it easy for you. When using the grocery store I tend to use Couponmom.com. The service matches coupons to store sales adds. So once again I go to the dated plastic bag and only clip as needed. This system makes coupons user friendly. Slickdeals also has a printable list of unexpired coupons and the location. Any questions contact me at klbb90@aol.com.

  2. dmontngrey Says:
    November 5th, 2009 at 06:10 pm 1257444649
    1257444649

    I highly recommend www.afullcup.com for the forums and www.hotcouponworld.com for their coupon database. I'm with Lisa - don't waste time clipping them! Find forums for the stores in your area and get familiar with the information provided there. I second the drug store suggestion - it's an easy place to learn how to make coupons work for you. I've saved almost $3500 YTD so far. Smile

  3. fern Says:
    November 5th, 2009 at 10:41 pm 1257460909
    1257460909

    smartsource.com

  4. Lia Says:
    November 7th, 2009 at 09:39 pm 1257629968
    1257629968

    For inspiration and challenge I follow jane4girls800dollarannualbudget.blogspot.com. This blogger only spends $800 cash per year for several pets, one adult, one 18 year old and two tweens. This includes food, pet and household supplies (and I think eating out). As you read this blog, remember to take what you need or would work for you and leave the rest or modify it for your lifestyle. Every situation is different. She does some gardening and major couponing. She gets about an 80+% savings to spend only $800 cash.

  5. Theo Says:
    November 11th, 2009 at 05:21 pm 1257960070
    1257960070

    Ah, the mystery of coupons, It took me ages to really understand them, and that's still pretty basic. I would simply start by picking up the coupon circular for your local store and see what they offer.

    You might find that some of the things you already buy have coupons, but more then likely you'll find that they are for different brands of the same items. To get the best deal you might have to move to a different brand, but if it saves you money there's no real harm on it.

    Keep an eye out for in store coupons as well on items you buy, and see if your store lets you use two (or more) different coupons on the same item for extra savings. This is more useful with some of the websites listed in other comments as you might be able to find a coupon there as well as one in the local circular.

    My store also prints out coupon for items as check out. Usually they are for a different brand of the same item. Recently they set up a bin at the store entrance for "Take a coupon leave a coupon" so people can find what they need.

    There are some tricks if you want to squeeze every cent out of your coupons, and you can do some crazy things if you spent a lot of time on it, but that's really on the extreme side.

  6. Jerry Says:
    November 13th, 2009 at 08:20 pm 1258143654
    1258143654

    Coupons lead to a big difference if you take the time to use them. I think that companies actually bank on the fact that it will be too much work for people to do it! Using them is good insurance to get more for your dollar, at any rate, and it can really bring savings.
    Jerry

  7. minnie1928 Says:
    November 16th, 2009 at 04:50 am 1258347052
    1258347052

    Assuming that you don't get a Sunday paper with coupons, I've found that ordering coupons from www.couponmasters.com to be a huge savings. You pay pennies for each coupon, you can get multiples to really max out your savings potential. I also use sites like www.hotcouponworld.com to see what my stores will be running on sale in coming weeks. Then I scan the list at couponmasters to see if there are any coupons that I could pair up with the sale items.

    For example, a while ago I ordered coupons for $1 off 1 single roll of certain brand of toilet paper. Each roll sold at the store for .99 so the coupon made the roll free. I paid .08 for each coupon. I ordered 20 coupons. I paid $1.60 for 20 rolls of TP...not too shabby!

    Today I stopped at the grocery store while on my way to an errand in the same strip mall. I had a $3 coupon for Snuggle dryer sheets that I found in the Sunday coupons. The dryer sheets were on sale for $2.99, so after tax I paid .17 for 80 dryer sheets that will last me probably over a year (I use them sparingly, and re-use them often).

    Coupons have saved me thousands of dollars over the years, easily.

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