Tightwad Gazette type frugality vs. couponing

[Florence]

I am not into couponing;if I have a coupon for something I would buy anyway, sure, I'll use it. But I don't have notebooks or folders for "deals". I'm much more the TG type frugality--make my own stuff from scratch, garden, and use it up, wear it out type things. Am I missing out on something??

[razz]

I think that I am the same.
The US experience may be different but most coupons that I see are for items that I don't use like special cleaning products, processed foods etc. I find that watching the sales carefully after I have researched items that I need, striving to get free services like free checking accounts, free CFP services through our credit union, cents per litre of gas towards groceries, points towards groceries or free movies are a much better option for me than coupons.
EG - I got eight bottles of Cetaphil cleanser amd moisturizer at the discount section of our grocery store. This is a product that I use every day and the cost is usually about $14-16/bottle and I bought out the whole batch for $4 each, gave some to DD's and kept a good supply for the next few years for myself. DH has been advised to take a multiple vitamin daily by specialists so today I bought 2 bottles of 250 for $10 which are usually over $20 with an expiry date in 2014.
Watching and giving deep thought to what I purchase has saved me a lot of money vs coupons for items that I never use.

[happystuff]

I am a minimal coupon also. If I have it and it is for an item I use, I will use a coupon. Otherwise, like other's have posted, couponing is not my major source of saving.

[Float On]

I use to have the coupon binder and various rebate programs but I gave it all up when I finally realized I was spending more on saving more on things I wouldn't normally buy. I also was bad at stocking up on 'sale items' to the point of things going bad before I could use it.
If I see a coupon for the toothpaste or detergent I normally buy, then great, I'll use it. But I quit buying the Sunday paper when it went up to $2.00.
I also went to the other extreme and ultra frugal style made my own dishwasher detergent and laundry soap. But with our super hard water those just didn't clean as well.

[cattledog]

I used to coupon more than I do now. It was frustrating because a lot of items were already sold out by the time I got there.

[jania]

Every now and then I think I am missing out on a great opportunity so I'll take the time to go through the coupons that come in the mail and look through the Sunday paper coupons that people bring in to work but the coupons are usually nothing I ever buy. I never see any coupons for fresh vegetables, though there are the weekly grocery sales. When I do have a coupon I find I forget about it until after the expiration date.

[pinkytoe]

Once in a blue moon I will use a coupon from the Sunday paper but find that the majority are for "corporate" foods/items that we rarely use anymore. If it is something we use and there is a coupon I will use them. Our local stores actually offer local deals so I take advantage of those most often. My latest strategy is dating everything with a Sharpie to get a good idea of how much I am using vs price. For example, I will make cross hatches on the container each time I do laundry to see how many loads I get, price per load and how long it lasted. It was shocking to see that since I bought the detergent on Feb 1, I have done 26 loads. It also gives me an idea when to take advantage of a sale and stock up so I guess that is the TG method since she liked analysis too.

[ctg492]

No coupons here, tried and failed in the past. I buy what I need, no more and no less.

[Merski]

We've given up the Sunday paper and don't have coupons anymore. DH thinks most coupons are getting you to buy stuff that is either overpriced or not good for you or overprocessed. I still look at the flier online for our grocery store and will make a mental note if there are any good things to pick up. I'm rather Amy Dacyzn in frugality more now.

[Mrs-M]

I am not into couponing;if I have a coupon for something I would buy anyway, sure, I'll use it. But I don't have notebooks or folders for "deals". I'm much more the TG type frugality--make my own stuff from scratch, garden, and use it up, wear it out type things. Am I missing out on something??Ditto. Same as you...

[early morning]

Yeah, I'm the same way as you all. I do buy some convenience/processed foods but since I shop at Aldi it's still cheaper than buying them at another store w/a coupon. Once in a while DD will find an online coupon for something we use - generally non-food items. I used to coupon more, but it's a hassle and we found, as others have noted, that we bought things with a coupon that we would not have purchased otherwise.

[Buttermilksky]

It is sad to me that the extreme coupon folks buy so much junk. I'm not sure what drives someone to buy anything in such volume that it will last 30 plus years. Chemicals do break down, as do the plastics used to make the bottles and jars. Food expires too. Even that chemical-laden snack food you've stacked in your garage,full of enough preservatives to save a wheatfield. What interested me was the shelves of soft drinks. When my son was a kid he got into collecting specially marked Pepsi and Coke cans. Within just a couple years--oops! The cans leaked and destroyed the shelf of books below them. Stcky mess it was. Makes you think twice about actually DRINKING that mess as well.

To me even a few coupons usually means I'm buying things I neither need or are good for me. Like the posters above, if I use the item anyway it's a nice little gift to save a buck or two or get a freebie. Otherwise I would rather simply spend less, buy whole foods locally, cook from scratch when I'm able. After a lot of clean foods I think you can almost taste the chemicals in processed food. Blech.

[crunchycon]

I used to be into couponing/refunding back when DH and I ate more processed foods (ah, we were young once). I did save some money, but the time and effort just weren't worth it. I'd rather put in the time making stuff from scratch.

Having said that, like others on this thread, if I run across a worthwhile coupon and it's something I'd use, well, yeah. Otherwise, I can probably get it for less at Aldi. Saves gas, too, just going to one place.

[Jemima]

I think what you're missing by not couponing is a lot of unnecessary stress and possibly some additional expenses. As an example, a friend sent me a coupon for Allegra which expires today and I was tempted to dash off to Rite Aid and use it. However, although I do have allergies or something that's making my sinuses congested, the last time I took Allegra, it made me nauseous, dizzy, and tired.

Right now I have two coupons from Staples, one for use online and one for use in a store, a coupon for a supplement I use regularly, and another from Ace Hardware. All expire near the end of the month. That puts some pressure on me - and my budget - that I really don't like. I'm not only not using coupons, I'm making an effort to avoid them and all the special, time-limiited offers that used to arrive in my email inbox, before I unsubscribed from nearly all of them a few days ago. Keep in mind that it's all advertising, the same as sales you see in the newspaper or online.

It's far more frugal to not buy something at all than it is to buy it and get ten dollars off of a fifty dollar purchase. And then you have to figure out where to put it, and possibly buy something else to go with it, ad infinitum.

In other words, stick with Amy! :)