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Tiam
3-19-11, 12:31am
I don't....so I have no real experience on them. But my question is: if I have a coupon that gives me .50 cents off of an item, am I limited to a certain item? I ask because recent videos I have seen talk about having a coupon and applying it to 10 or 20 items. ONE coupon will apply to all the items? I don't coupon, so I am coupon illiterate. A lot of coupons are for products I don't buy. Actually mostly for products I don't buy. So I struggle with finding coupons and keeping and using them for actual products I might use. anyone have suggestions for me?

early morning
3-19-11, 10:19am
Honestly? Don't bother. I know lots of people save with coupons, or say they do - but I shop at Aldi, dollar stores, the locally owned bakery, and sometimes the farmer's market, so seldom have any coupon-able items. I also buy primarily house-brands/generics of non-food items. I also don't take a newspaper- so don't get many coupons. Last night I stopped at WallyWorld to get cat food (they are the only place on my many routes that carry what I need) and was pleasantly surprised to find a $2 instant coupon on the cat food bag. But other than that, I have found couponing to be a total waste of my time and effort. As always, YMMV.

Float On
3-19-11, 11:30am
I've never seen how you could apply one coupon to 10 or 20 items. Usually the fine print states pretty clearly it's terms. Many of the super-couponers buy coupons in multiples so they may have 10 $1 off Dial soap coupons and if the store is having buy one get one free then it can be applied that way for huge savings. I coupon'd for a while but never got into the buying multiples and realized that a lot of coupons are for things I'd never buy anyway. I just try to combine good store sales and my frequent shopper card. Don't forget if you shop at Wal-Mart that they will honor any stores listed price, just carry your store fliers with you and show them at the checkout. Wal-Mart won't double coupons but our grocery stores double coupons up to 50cents.

CathyA
3-19-11, 11:41am
I use coupons all the time. They are just like money. But they do sometimes drive me crazy.
I've never seen a coupon that applies to more than one item either. (Unless its something like a discount if you "buy 10 of the following products at the same time" coupon.
You can usually only use 1 coupon for item and it can't be used with a different coupon for that item.. Let me explain. Most coupons are "manufacturer's coupons". You can't use 2 different manufacturer's coupons on one item. However, if the store has put out some of their own coupons, you could use both that one and a manufacturer coupon on the same item. But.....you always have to read the fine print.
They have expiration dates too.
Some stores will give you double the coupon value up to 50cents. That means, your 50 cent coupon is worth $1.00
Be sure to get the grocery store's "card" and that will give you all of their sale prices, even without a coupon.

Sometimes you can use a coupon that isn't exactly for the listed product. It depends on how the store's computer is set up. For example, I was able to use the "Honey Bunches of Oats with Raisins" coupon, for the "Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds". I wasn't sure they would take it, but they did.
Just start out slow and you'll catch on.

We get tons of coupons in our local paper and alot in the Sunday paper too. If you don't get the paper, you might consider figuring out which edition puts out the most coupons and buy that one. Also, there's lots of coupon sites on the Internet.

Good luck!

Tiam
3-19-11, 12:11pm
I think I found the answer. These folks are printing or buying multiples. I don't buy the paper so I don't get those. I saw one couponer say she buys 4 sunday papers....well, to me that would be the price of whatever savings I get. Also I don't buy a lot of processed foods that usually couponed. How often do you see a coupon deal for a bag of pinto beans? But last night I went to two of my local low cost warehouse discount style stores and the prices were quite high. It's getting to be more of a challenge to be sure. I've seen a lot of stuff lately about hedging inflation by buying multiples of sale items because the price keeps going up so much each week. That makes a certain amount of sense to me. I think for some serious couponers it's like a game. It's entertainment and it's justified to them by the savings they get. and they may really eat those kinds of foods.

CathyA
3-19-11, 12:36pm
I tend to use coupons for things like bread, canned fruit, dried pasta, cheese, crackers, spices, cereal, condiments, dish and laundry detergent, toothpaste, etc. I bought a rechargable oral-B toothbrush awhile back with a $12 coupon off.

Fawn
3-19-11, 7:52pm
I tend to use coupons for things like bread, canned fruit, dried pasta, cheese, crackers, spices, cereal, condiments, dish and laundry detergent, toothpaste, etc. I bought a rechargable oral-B toothbrush awhile back with a $12 coupon off.


Hmm... I get free non-electric toothbrushes every 6 months when I go to my dentist. I haven't bought a toothbrush in years. Don't eat canned fruit, buy 1 loaf organic bread from the health food store every week or so for $4.00. Not cheap, but healthy. Dried pasta $.99/# at Aldi...this is their regular price, no coupons. Don't eat crackers, spices are either grown by me, or orgainc...again, no coupons. Sugary cereals---Aldi at $1.69/12.2 to 15.3 oz. Condiments...hmmm, we realy don't eat these. Dish and laundry detergent at Aldi...again cheaper than anyone else, w/ coupons.

YMMV.

Float On
3-19-11, 8:21pm
These folks are printing or buying multiples.

If you get into printing coupons make sure you check your local stores and see if they'll accept those kind. Around here they will not due to fraud or something.
On another post we had a conversation about calling regarding products you like or have a problem with and them sending out coupons. I'm considering spending an afternoon calling the customer service number for all the products I really like and see if I can get some coupons that way.

treehugger
3-21-11, 12:39pm
Many of the super-couponers buy coupons in multiples...

This is a key point, and something I had never heard of until I started reading a few frugal-focused forums (hooray for alliteration!). People subscribe to services and buy coupons from ebay (!!) to get multiples to use on shopping trips. I have also learned that available coupons vary widely by region. Where I live, I almost never see useful (for me) coupons; instead, they are all for processed food, snacks, cleaning products, etc. Also, stores here do not double coupons.

So, I have stopped worrying about not using coupons; they simply don't work for me in my area, for the things that I buy. And I simply refuse to get into buying coupons (which, apparently, is actually illegal, so you are technically only paying for the coupon clippers' time and shipping and handling).

What I do instead is rely heavily on my pricebook, sale flyers and loss leaders, and shop regularly at several stores to get the best prices without coupons.

Kara

bicyclist
4-1-11, 12:04pm
I have found that coupons for groceries save only a small percentage of the price-5% to 10%. While I save coupons for use at the supermarket when I notice they are for products which I buy regularly, I have done better to use other methods of shopping. I found that a produce market in center city Philadelphia was often half or less of the price I was paying for fruits and vegetables at a suburban market.

I have yet to try Walmart or Costco for canned goods but suspect that their prices may less than that of local supermarket chains like Giant or Acme. That interests me to check out. Recently, Target began to sell groceries in our area-yet antoher competitor.

Another side benefit of comparison shopping is that I start questioning whether I need the item in the first place considering all the time I spend shopping!

jennipurrr
4-4-11, 3:53pm
I've been couponing for a few months now. Honestly, I mostly do it to keep myself busy since I have more free time. I have been able to drop my grocery bill a lot, but I think it has been the effect of couponing, a pricebook, careful purchasing and stockpiling. I really like the site www.southernsavers.com - they have an easy to use thing to make your list based on sales.

I don't get a paper, so I have to use the printable coupons. Sometimes I do buy coupons off ebay in multiples, but rarely, and generally only for really good deals (item is free or I get paid to buy the item)...I remember I bought them for peanut butter and dog cookies. I felt kind of crazy buying 20 peanut butters, but it last a long time, it was a brand I like and it made it free, so the only cost was the couple dollars to buy the coupons.

A lot of stuff that has coupons is junk. I generally try to buy pass that. I have found they are great for frozen veggies, canned soups, salsa,and organic milk to name a few.