Coupons and deals

[ShaneEnochs]

Just wanted to share something with you guys. I have been watching "Extreme Couponers" on Netflix, trying to find a way to realistically survive without foodstamps, and I picked up some tips and tricks throughout the series. So today my wife and I went to the grocery store prepared with coupons and a grocery list full of deals.

We spent $117.48. We SAVED $98.20. How awesome is that? I'm pretty sure we're set for the rest of the month (except for things like milk and bread). I was so excited! I can't believe I've been paying full price for crap when I absolutely didn't have to. I paid little over HALF of what I normally would have. How awesome is that?

[W_BRANDON]

Don't forget to factor in the time it took you to collect/sort those coupons.

I'm concerned most with your taste in television.

[KCIndy]

Just curious - where did you get the coupons?

[ShaneEnochs]

Just curious - where did you get the coupons?

Most were digital coupons that I loaded straight onto my Kroger card. Others came from the newspaper/sales papers. Most of the savings came from the in-store deals. The coupons did help a bit though.

Don't forget to factor in the time it took you to collect/sort those coupons.

I'm concerned most with your taste in television.

It honestly only took about three hours of preparation.

As far as the television thing goes, I'm always looking to learn. Why not learn about saving money?

[MelissaWV]

Most were digital coupons that I loaded straight onto my Kroger card. Others came from the newspaper/sales papers. Most of the savings came from the in-store deals. The coupons did help a bit though.



It honestly only took about three hours of preparation.

As far as the television thing goes, I'm always looking to learn. Why not learn about saving money?

Kudos on that, but I don't find a lot of coupons for meat and dairy and produce. It's usually for frozen food, non-food items, and prepackaged things.

[W_BRANDON]

It honestly only took about three hours of preparation.

As far as the television thing goes, I'm always looking to learn. Why not learn about saving money?

I was just kidding about your taste in tv.

It doesn't seem like the people on the show really save as much you are lead to believe. They end up having a bunch of crap they don't need (e.g. 200 bars of soap, 150 tubes of toothpaste, 80 boxes of detergent etc..). Some of this seems like a waste but then again I've never tried doing it.

[phill4paul]

I was just kidding about your taste in tv.

It doesn't seem like the people on the show really save as much you are lead to believe. They end up having a bunch of crap they don't need (e.g. 200 bars of soap, 150 tubes of toothpaste, 80 boxes of detergent etc..). Some of this seems like a waste but then again I've never tried doing it.

And if you got these things for pennies on the dollar do you think you could sell them for half what the store was selling and make a profit? That's what yard sales and flea markets are for.

[ShaneEnochs]

I wasn't going into it with the expectation of getting huge amounts of stuff. I just wanted to be able to save as much as I could buying what I would normally buy.

I did, however, end up buying like 30 cans of green beans. But hey, I like green beans.

[Steven Douglas]

Don't forget to factor in the time it took you to collect/sort those coupons.

The only time I would factor in time, counting it as money, is if it really was a substitute for other time that was, or could have equated to money.

I had a pantry, fridge and freezer fully stocked and packed during my "starving" college days, for literally pennies on the dollar from what the average person paid in groceries, and all because I was systematic about it. This is no idle boast; in the early '80's, my all-time record for savings was $317.13 worth of groceries (two FULL carts) for exactly $16.00.

It's not like it was in the 80's, with price wars and double and triple savings, and multiple coupons, but it's starting to get there. Right now stores like Krogers and Safeway are producing enormous savings opportunities for anyone willing to go online. The big push is to get you to buy in larger quantities, but people of truly limited means aren't spending unnecessary money on unnecessary items simply to brag about how much they "saved". It's all about survival and necessity at that level, with a lot of patience involved. I would buy four copies of the Sunday paper (to begin with) just for the coupons. And more if I needed, if the sales warranted.

One enormously valuable strategy I employed has to do with staying power. In other words, how long will it be before the next sale on this particular item, and can I last until then? I needed peanut butter, but would go without until it went on sale. I never compromised, I had no problem substituting, and acquiring a taste for sale items, so I count ONLY a big sale with substantial savings. And if peanut butter was finally offered at a "Loss Leader" price, I'd search out matching manufacturers coupons (they will ALL send coupons to you if you write to them and ask point blank), and make whatever substitutions I needed to make, to funnel it into peanut butter, so that I could stock up enough to last me until the next sale.

Shop those sales, baby, and more power to you! Get it down to a system and a science. There is no need to pay a lot for groceries if you have the spare time to invest.

[angelatc]

Awesome! I was into it a few years ago. I think there were much better deals then.

The best deal I ever got was from Jewel Osco. They were giving $5.00 back if you bought 5 Proctor & Gamble products. They also had ivory soap on sale for .49 a bar. Ivory Soap is a P&G product. So, (rounding and excludung tax) I made $2.50 for every $2.50 I spent.