After reading about how much money Cory (I hoped I spelled it correctly) and Sara saved on groceries, etc., I am thinking about giving this coupon thing another whirl. I guess some of the things I get hung up on are:
It seems like it takes forever and a day to cut out coupons and download them and print them. Any tips on this?
How on earth do you organize them and remember what you have?
How long do you have to start collecting before you see any real profit?
Sorry if some of this is repeat, but in my past attempts it seems the most I ever managed to save was five or six bucks on a trip.
I'm just chiming in to say that none of our stores do double coupons, so that does cut down on the savings available. I usually save between 5-15 dollars when I shop, so nothing like the others, but every little bit helps.
I have bought so many coupon organizers. The accordian kind, baseball card holders with dividers....Now I just keep them all in a big envelope all mixed up and before I shop I pull out the ones I use. I put them in order of the aisles at the store and away I go.
Maybe someday I'll move up to going store to store and buying only what's on sale...
i'm just starting and learning lots from corey. my basic goal is to save enough money to make it feel like i've gotten a small (very) part time job. as such i feel like it's worth the time for me - but it does take some time.
i bought 2 papers last week and will probably buy 2 or 3 this week as well.
i include sale prices in my "amount saved" so it's not like i've saved $100 just in coupons (yet )
so far what i'm doing is going through the sale ads when i get them and making a list of what's on sale that we use. i personally never buy things we don't regularly use (aside from different flavor/brands of what we use ie:skippy vs. jif peanut butter).
after i make my list i put starts by the items i have coupons for.
this week i ended up needing to go to 4 stores so it is time consuming but i figure since i'm not working i'll make the time. plus it gives me something to do to get the kids out of the house.
i'm also planning to switch my prescriptions to cvs and start doing some shopping there as their extra care rewards look pretty freaking good.
sappy wrote:i'm also planning to switch my prescriptions to cvs and start doing some shopping there as their extra care rewards look pretty freaking good.
I'm going to start on the coupons b/c after buying formula Good Start formula on sale for $5.34 and then using a coupon that allowed me to buy 2 cans for for $2 I'm all about coupons now! Plus our local grocery store chain does do double and triple coupons so I'm all about it.
That being said-
I switched by prescriptions to Wal-Mart b/c of their $4 generics. The only medication I get brand name is my Synthroid and I get it for $10. I actually saved money by switching from Walgreene's to Wal-Mart. I don't know about CVS's prescription drugs b/c I very rarely go into a CVS. Don't know if that'll help.
And Sam's Club too. I often times get refills there too b/c I can get my $4 generics.
i don't want to c/p your entire post, so i will try to remember the basics.
#1-i rarely buy a newspaper...if i do it is the boston sunday globe and only one copy--that baby goes for $4 flipping dollars, which i would rather spend on a coupon clipping site where i can get multiples of what i want and skip the rest and not spend time clipping. coupon sites like thecouponclippersdotcom and couponsbydede only charge 5-8 cents for most coupons and they do all the work.
#2-i use a 3 ring zippered binder w/baseball card dividers by section of the store (ie produce, marinades/dressings, baking, beverages, meats, frozen foods, etc)
#3-you should start seeing a profit immediately if you do the following: try to always use your coupon when the item is on sale and buy multiples so you won't need to stock up on that item until it is on sale again. people always say "well, i don't have room for all that" --honestly, between toys and crap i get from couponing, i don't either, but ways i get around it is to take things like granola bars, etc out of the box when i get home and keep them all in a tub (small size, not a giant one) in the cabinet, etc. i also have 3 shelfs in my laundry room devoted to my finds. typically if i have a sale and a coupon i will get between 10 and 40 of any one particular thing:)
#4-my store does double coupons, so i am lucky there for sure.
#5-after a couple months you should see a big profit b/c if you are buying multiples, only buying something with a coupon+on sale, and cooking from WHAT YOU HAVE ON HAND you should really only need to replenish milk, cream, produce, meats, etc. during your weekly trips + whatever good deals are offered that week.
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