do you clip coupons?

[wcladymacbeth]

Do you guys clip coupons? Are you a hardcore coupon clipper that matches coupons to store deals and uses all the store rewards available (extra care bucks, register rewards, etc.)? Or do you just clip randomly whenever you see something you buy often? If you do clip coupons, HOW do you organize them?


I took a class on Saturday about hardcore coupon shopping. I learned some websites to find great deals, learned about different stores and their reward systems and how to use them to the best of your advantage, etc. The lady who taught the class can buy like $200 of groceries for $50 if the deals are right. It's incredible. She showed me the receipts. She can even 50% of her bill going to more expensive stores like Whole Foods.

So anyway, I had yesterday and today off. Yesterday I spent about 3 hours looking at store ads and matching coupons to deals. Today I spent another hour preparing, and then it took me like 3 hours to go shopping because I went to 4 different stores and.. it was really hard and exhausting and it's not how I like spending my day off. It was sort of amusing at first.. kind of like a treasure hunt. I got a couple things for practically free, including 2 packs of Schick Quattro razors that I didn't need. I got a bunch of stuff I didn't need, because they were really cheap. Overall I probably saved $80.... but I spent as much as I spend every week shopping. It was a little frustrating.

 

[Fran101]

as for grocery shopping? No.. I really should but dont, grocery shopping is something I forget to do then end up doing as im walking home one day and remember I have no food lol

For clothes/shoes shopping, I do use reward systems/promotional codes/member card A LOT. I love shopping "smart" in that aspect.

but as for groceries, no, never really been a coupon user.

 

[Izzy's Valkyrie]

I wouldn't call Justin and I hardcore but we do coupon clip from the Sunday paper. We're good at it though and save a minimum of about $70 each time we shop. I think our record of combined coupons and store deals was something like $120. We usually only go to one store though.

 

[Kristen1980]

I get made fun of but yes I do. Justin makes fun of me, but when I get a 1.00 or 2.00's off his favorite food he doesn't seem to complain LOL! Lately, I've been clipping coupons for baby items like diapers, wipes, baby shampoo etc. On Sunday nights I sit at the table and clip away.

 

[bubbatd]

I clip only for things I need . Where as my neighbor will buy anything with money off . Her basement and freezer would feed me for a year ! I also figure time and gas into specials offered . I prefer one stop shopping where I get senior's 5% off on Thursdays .

 

[darkchild16]

I try to and do quite a bit but could do more LOL

 

[Fran27]

I do for clothes and kids stuff. For groceries in my experience it's mostly junk food I can find coupons for, and I'm pretty bad at finding them anyway, but I'll definitely use what I can.

In the end though I think couponing can be evil, when you end up buying stuff you'll never use just because it's cheap, and going to different stores to save might save you some money but time is money too...

 

[zoe08]

Yes I clip coupons, but I am not really good at it yet.

I read the coupon mom's book, and made a coupon binder. I am trying to learn and get better.

 

[AGonzalez]

I skim through them and cut the ones I know I'll use, on stuff I normally buy anyway. I don't buy stuff because "oh I haz a coupon!" for it if I'm not going to use it.

 

[CaliTerp07]

I found myself buying stuff I didn't need or even want, just because it was cheap or nearly free. Or it'd be like your experience, where I'd spend 3 hours getting everything together to save $30, max. Okay...my time is worth a lot more than $10/hour!!!!

 

[Gypsydals]

I do but not like I should and NO where near what my mom used to do. She easily saved $50 on groceries each time, granted she only shopped every two weeks (shudders at the thought of only going every two weeks). But I end up saving quite a bit just by getting whats on sale. Not that you could tell by my grocery bill. If I knew of sites to go to to clip coupons I would. But as of now I only clip out of our local sat paper(which is like a sunday paper) and our sunday paper.

 

[ACooper]

Yes I most certainly do I clip from the Sunday paper every week..........BUT..........I only clip the things I buy/use anyway because I refuse to be suckered into buying things I wouldn't normally buy just because 'it's a good deal' ROFL........and yes, the bargain hunter in me WOULD do that.
(I DO still clip diaper and baby coupons and send them in to work with Kevin for the girls there who need them )

Not only do I clip those coupons, I try to hold off on using them until one of the stores I shop has said item on sale, that way I save even more! I get a total HIGH from saving those bucks, I love to spend them elsewhere like Amazon.com :rofl1:

Kevin and I have a routine every weekend. We shop Kroger first, get the sale items (and especially meat, I prefer Kroger meat to every place else in town) use coupons as necessary on top of the sale, PLUS my kroger member card, then we head to savealot to get the rest of our list. Savealot (for those who don't know) is a 'bag your own' store..........they have some name brands and also take coupons

That's the ONLY way I can feed this house of 7 on $200 a week and still have good healthy results.

 

[Beanie]

I don't normally get a newspaper but I do get those mail flyers with coupons in them and I clip stuff out of those. We get a paper delivered to work and during football season I was in a lot of Sundays, and I ransacked it for coupons. I'll take the coupons if somebody hasn't thrown the paper away by Monday, too. Nobody else ever takes them, they just end up in the trash, so if I get the chance I'll snag all the coupon flyers.

But most of the stuff coupons are for aren't things I buy, and I'm not going to buy stuff I don't need just because I have a coupon, so it's never really been worth it to me. =/ I have saved $$$ on hair dye pretty regularly, but usually that's about it. I do get lots of coupons from boxes of stuff I buy, so whenever I go buy more I get to save. I really love when companies do that! But otherwise I mostly just stock up on things like crazy whenever there's a really good sale.

I love how Target prints out coupons whenever you buy stuff. I've used those before, but not always. I also get their coupon books in the mail several times a year and usually end up restocking on a lot of stuff with those, like kleenex and paper towels and cleaning supplies. Actually I probably use Target coupons more than anything.

As for how it's organized... I have a Hello Kitty cosmetic bag and it all goes in there, LOL. Along with my gift cards and stuff. It's all just chucked in there, no real organization!


ETA: I also LOVE to do what ACoop does - use a coupon for something that is already on sale! I get such bangin' deals like that and yes, it is a high, LMAO. You feel like you're totally tricking the system or something, I don't know, haha, but it's a great feeling!

 

[wcladymacbeth]

Yeah.. I'll prolly start clipping coupons every week and maybe browsing through store circulars for stuff on sale that I buy, but I'm never going to spend as much time on it as I did this week.

Here are some websites some of you might like:
The Thrifty Mama? <-- helped me get a free airwick i-motion starter kit today which is super cool..
Deal Seeking Mom ? Real Deals for Real Moms <-- finds store deals that match available coupons so you don't have to...

I also learned that if, for example, you open your lettuce and find that it is already bad when you JUST bought it, you can not only take it back to the store and get a fresh one, you can write to the company and get a coupon for a new one! I wish I did this a few weeks ago when I opened my fresh box of Vitatops and it was missing a muffin. I didn't figure anyone would believe me so I just pouted about it lol.

I also learned that if there is something that you buy a lot that you never see coupons for, just go to their website and leave them a message that you really like their product and ask them for coupons! I'm getting some coupons for Baked Lays and Baked Cheetos because I did this.

 

[Saeleofu]

I don't lsip them, but if the register spits out a "Save $1.50 on 7 lunchables" coupon as I'm buying 7 lunchables, I'll use it. Or if Kraft cheese is on sale for $1.67 each and this thing practically shoots a "Save $1.00 on 2 Kraft Cheese Bars or Shreds" coupon at me, I'll use it. Both have happened twice in the last week xD

 

[MPP]

1. I forget to clip the coupons.
--OR--
2. I remember to clip the coupons but forget to put them in my purse.
--OR--
3. I remember to put them in my purse but forget which products to select.
--OR--
4. I select the right products but forget to pull out the coupons when I get to the
checkout.
--AND SO--
5. I crumple them up and just toss 'em next time I clean out my purse.

IME, it's more efficient to ignore the whole thing. I may not save money, but my time and self-esteem have to be worth something too!

 

[wcladymacbeth]

lol MPP That was me too before I put so much effort into it the last couple days. That'll be me again next week I'm sure.


How do you all save on clothes? The only "clothes" coupons I get are like 3 day sales flyers and such. Like I think Kohls is having a 3 day sale this weekend where everything is 15% off. Do you just wait to do your shopping until something like that? Or where do you get your coupons?

 

[Saeleofu]

On clothes...I go to Walmart and only buy when it's absolutely necessary xD I haven't bought any clothes other than scrubs and shoes in almost 2 years.

 

[CaliTerp07]

lol MPP That was me too before I put so much effort into it the last couple days. That'll be me again next week I'm sure.


How do you all save on clothes? The only "clothes" coupons I get are like 3 day sales flyers and such. Like I think Kohls is having a 3 day sale this weekend where everything is 15% off. Do you just wait to do your shopping until something like that? Or where do you get your coupons?

SlickDeals.net Forums

I always search it for coupons before I go to the mall! I know the stores that I generally buy stuff at, so I'll search "The Limited" or "Ann Taylor Loft" and see what comes up. I almost always can save at least 20% that way. Sometimes Limited has really awesome "save $15, no minimum purchase" coupons, so I can get stuff nearly free.

 

[~Jessie~]

I don't.

Generally all of the food we buy is fresh, so there aren't any coupons for things like that!

I do take advantage of the buy one get one deals at Publix, though... on things like pasta, sauces, etc. We stock up when they go on sale or BOGO.

I need to start checking to see if I can find coupons for things we buy on a regular basis for around the home... like paper towels, tp, etc, etc. But I guess I figure that my time is worth more than saving a few bucks.