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  • #16
    What I find amusing is all the talk of "extreme couponing" like it was something new. Nope, just better PR in the 21st century, what with the internet & reality TV shows

    Something very similar was quite popular back in the late 70's, early 80's. Most people referred to it as Couponing & Refunding. Articles in the "ladies" magazines, pen-pal type groups to talk about it, etc.

    One aspect back then was the "refunding" part - manufacturers would offer refunds in newspapers, magazines & in-store, to send in so many proofs of purchase and get something back. Sometimes you got cash, sometimes you got merchandise, sometimes awesome coupons to use. Before tossing out a box or label of anything some people would clip off the parts commonly used as "proofs of purchase" (boxtops, whole can labels, etc) and file them by food type or brand, as well as keep all register tapes in case they were needed as well. So if an offer was made that required six soup labels, you might only have to go buy one more to have enough to get the refund. Articles showed people who had not just cabinets but whole closets or more of file folders full of labels, etc., sorted by brand or type of food, etc. Some would get by the "one per household" restriction by using variations of their names, combined with the addresses of friends & family or even post office boxes.

    Since a lot of the "refunds" were actually special coupons (free items at the stoer, or extra large discounts), there were lots of magazine & newspaper articles showing the shopping trips where they'd get huge amounts of groceries for tiny amounts of cash. Same as now, pretty much. Back then, though, lots of grocery stores would double all coupons, or some had certain days they would double or even triple coupon values. If you combined an item on sale, with a tripled coupon, especially an extra large coupon you got as a refund, and bought the size that with a price closest to the total value off, you really could get items for a fraction of the cost.

    I did some of it, nothing too obsessive - I had one large file drawer I kept for labels & so forth, & probably spent 2 - 3 hours a week clipping, sending off for things, and so forth. My daughter was little, so her holidays were suplemented with some cute promotional stuffed toys, colouring books and so forth. And I saved probably $100 a month or so in coupons & cash refunds (my "me" money that I stashed without the now "ex" knowing).

    It can definitely save you some money if done right, and it can be fun. But it can also take up a lot of time.

    My advice is to keep these things in mind - some of which have been brought up by others, of course.


    Decide how much time you want to spend doing this, and stick to that (based on how much spare time you have, how badly you need the money, and whether you love it or hate it).

    Be nice about it - research & accept store policies, if you have a lot of coupons or complicated combinations, go when crowds are low, and warn cashiers (and thank them for the extra time & trouble.

    Find ways to trade coupons you can't use for ones you can - some supermarkets have boxes you can leave them in, or ask people you know - trading baby item coupons for pet coupons can help a lot if you dont' have kids but have a dog or cat. Even if you don't trade, leaving ones you can't use in a box at a supermarket or library is a nice gesture.

    Don't forget to figure in gas costs as well as time, if you have to go to more than one store, or go to a store farther away. And the cost of newspapers, magazines, etc. if you buy them only for the coupons.

    Don't buy what you can't use - you aren't saving any money if you don't use the product. Exceptions, of course, are if you know someone who will use it, give it to a food bank, etc.

    Be realistic about what you can use before it goes bad. Half a dozen boxes of cereal could probably be used before the best-by dates, half a dozen jars of something with a shorter shelf life, maybe not. Be realistic on sizes, as well, it isn't a savings if you have to buy the largest size to use the coupon, and end up tossing half of it out when it goes bad.

    Be realistic about your storage space - if it gets damp or bugs, you've wasted money or time, and if it inconveniences other family members, it may not be such a bargain.

    Be realistic about what you're actually saving. If you get a snack food practically free, it might be nice, but if you wouldn't have bought the snack food without the coupon, it isn't really savings, it's an extra freebie.

    Be realistic about nutrition & tastes. Eating something not as good for you instead of something healthier because you have a coupon is questionable on nutrition, as are big savings on high calore items if you're trying to lose weight, etc. Also, how important are savings if you push your family to eat brands/flavors or even types of foods they don't like? On the other hand, though, an almost free coupon can be a great chance to try a new product or brand for the first time.

    Take what you see and read with a grain of salt. Sure, the person in the article or on the TV show or internet may have gotten $100 of products for $2 - but they may have put hours and hours into clipping, searching, etc. to do so. They may also have been saving those coupons for months to be able to do that, and can only repeat it once or twice a year. They may not actually be able to use all those products, or use them before they go bad. And it will almost always show only items they had great savings on, which could be mainly extras & un-needed items, leaving their normal weekly shopping of necessities pretty much unafected.

    Figure out if it's worth it for you, and go for it to the extent that works for you. I've heard people say why spend two hours a week clipping coupons to save $5, that isn't good return of money for your time. But then, if you sit and clip coupons while watching TV one evening, using time you wouldn't use for something else or get more money for anyway, and don't mind it, then why not?

    I don't do too much couponing these days for various reasons, it just doesn't quite fit in or isn't worthwhile right now for me. But I do try to keep an eye out for the bargains & coupons I come across. I find the local freebie mailbox inserts have a lot of buy one, get one free deals on fast food. They come in handy when no one wants to cook, especially when we can use them to get take out sandwiches, and have our own drinks at home. Maybe not so nutritious, but we do like a fast food fix now and then

    Madness takes it's toll....
    Please have exact change ready.

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    • #17
      Everybody who does couponing should get themselves a coupon book. I had a surprisingly hard time finding one myself, though. But it's dark grey with pink detailing, so I'm happy.

      I get the Sunday paper (haven't actually paid for the subscription for ages, not sure why they're still delivering) and just one paper will have enough coupons that are useful to me to save me $10-$20 with about an hour's worth of work. And that's about what I make at my job, so it's absolutely and totally worth the effort.

      ^-.-^
      Faith is about what you do. It's about aspiring to be better and nobler and kinder than you are. It's about making sacrifices for the good of others. - Dresden

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      • #18
        My coupon book is a 3 ring binder that zips. I bought a box of baseball card collectible sheets. I also went to a website and downloaded their pre-made page dividers for the coupon book (One section is for coupons of frozen items, miscellaneous, shaving, fruit, canned stuff, etc.). I put those in page protectors. All nice and neat. I also bought a pencil bag, and put in a pencil, a pen, a notepad, and I still need to get a calculator.
        And you're welcome (in regards to my avatar).

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        • #19
          We do a combo of couponing, mix and match sales, rewards card and seasonal shopping. All of it is fairly easy and not very time consuming and surely worth the effort.
          1) Regular coupons offered in the free flyers we get in the mail. I never buy a brand that I wouldn't normally buy (unless it is a product I'm not brand loyal to) just because it has a coupon. I used to do that then figured out that even with the coupon I had spent more. Cornbread mix is a good example for me - I likes me my 45cent Jiffy Mix. (you should see me when they are 4 for a $1!)
          2) Mix and match (10 for $10) - usually there is a few thing I can get at least 10 things of in combo. That right there usually saves you at least $10 if you work the mix right.
          3) Rewards card - one gives us money off gas, and we get personalized (per our spending habits) coupons at check out. We also get, every few weeks, a card with a dollar off amount dependent on what we spent that month (this time it was about $12 off) along with my favorite coupons - 4 coupons for $2 off at least a $2 purchase for produce, dairy etc. (also dependent on our spending habit I think).
          4) Seasonal - I stock up on things that go on sale for the best price of the year. For example, cans of black beans around here are really expensive. I stocked up to the limit allowed for 35 cents a can during Cinco de Mayo sales.

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          • #20
            I agree with you all, couponing takes time and effort, but I can usually cut a $500 grocery bill down to $350 or less, so it's worth it. I also use a coupon service to order coupons (costs about $18 a month) so that I have multiple coupons for the brands/items I want. If anyone wants to know the website, PM me and I will send it.
            Remember, stressed spelled backwards is desserts.

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            • #21
              Quoth Merriweather View Post
              What I find amusing is all the talk of "extreme couponing" like it was something new. Nope, just better PR in the 21st century, what with the internet & reality TV shows

              Something very similar was quite popular back in the late 70's, early 80's. Most people referred to it as Couponing & Refunding. Articles in the "ladies" magazines, pen-pal type groups to talk about it, etc.

              speaking about back in the 70's and 80's

              there was a group at my old church that did this exact thing. they would send in X number of lables for a refund (with the proceeds going either toward things like postage or such) or if you sent in X lables and $1 you got some promo item (like a HUGE Jolly Green Giant kite I still have one of these). they would stock all of the promo items and use them as prizes for booths at the annual Homecoming or Xmas breakfast

              they had 2 rooms at the closed school devoted to this activity and the whole community/parish participated and they had a HUGE mailing list of people who would received the checks/promo items.
              I'm lost without a paddle and headed up SH*T creek.
              -- Life Sucks Then You Die.


              "I'll believe corp. are people when Texas executes one."

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              • #22
                A couple other tips:

                If you have a discount grocery store in your area, like Save-a-Lot, Price-Rite or Aldi, shop there. If we cut back on junk food and impulse purchases, we can buy most of the week's groceries at Save-a-Lot for under $60. That's for 3 adults. Cat food is extra because I don't buy the cheap generics (but I usually buy it at PetSmart because it's cheaper than the supermarkets).

                Check dollar stores. The Dollar General here has a lot of grocery items. Things like ketchup, spaghetti sauce, pasta, bread, cereal, cookies....for less than the regular supermarket chains. Their dairy stuff is pricey so I buy that at Save-a-Lot or Aldi (Aldi has the cheapest price on dairy in this area).

                Check the store websites. Some of them have printable coupons every week for their store.

                Shop from a list and stick to the list. I save the most money when I strictly follow the list and ignore all the tempting extra goodies that I don't really need. The more fancy extras in a store--in-store bakery, coffee & donuts to go, snack bar, etc--the more expensive that store usually is (Wegmans has a lot of great stuff but they are very expensive).
                When you start at zero, everything's progress.

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