A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Banter Hall Coupons anyone?

With the economy going the way it is I was wondering if anyone else uses coupons?

I've become quite proficient with them,regularly saving 50% or more. My "trophy" receipt was for $94.xx and only paying $2.52.

What other ways are you saving money now-a-days?

G-Mom

well fist let me say I am impressed with your savings!!! fantastic !!! I wish I were as good with coupons.----- If my grocery budget gets in the red any more, we are going to have to go on a hunger strike for a whole month just to break even. Thank goodness for putting $$ back for unexpected bills.

I too try to use coupons---but I am not nearly as good as you are G~mom.
..............about what else i do to save...............
I definatley think twice about travel these days, rarely going in one direction for 1 reason. We also eat leftovers much more now, many time with the 2 of us eating 2 different meals. The AC is up higher than I'd like and we do not go out nearly as much---and you need to know we did not go out much before. I am sure there is more.......

While I am at an age when I should be starting to think about retirement, instead if I ever get well, I will be looking for a job.---The bad thing about that is, unless I get a job close to home, I will be eating up all my wages in gas & wear & tear on the car.

Oh well, at least we are none of us alone in this.

Hi G- Mom and Carol,
I too use coupons- love when hubby remembers to bring me the ones from the Sun papers his coworkers buy and leave at work.... I just used coupons and cherry picked at the store- the had a buy 10 for $10. sale and for every ten items you got $5 back... well had coupons I had stockpiled for most of the stuff... spent $95. and saved $351 . came home with 12 of my tote bags filled with stuff- all staples and stuff that will keep... I would have gotten more but filled up my freezers and didn't have anymore room...
Nana

I wish there were more coupons available here. There used to be and I enjoyed couponing and saving at least 25% every shopping trip. But our papers are carrying fewer coupons these days. I haven't explored on-line coupons much.
Right now my mind it not organized enough to use coupons effectively. Most of my shopping is done on the way to or from some other necessary trip. So shopping on the fly, sort of.
As far as general economy and saving, I am on the road more than ever before and spending a lot of time in medical facilities. So we are also having much more fast food than I ever have before. When eating at home, we are just using much less meat. That is about the most economizing I can think of right now.

I try to coupon but they are hard to get and most on-line coupons are not for use in Canada. We've cut out alot of extras in the grocery list. Everyone is in the same position.

I never thought about the same coupons not being available in Canada...that is such a shame,Tamara.

Way to go Nana!!! Sounds like you made quite a haul! I've got all of my family trained to spot tearpad and blinkie coupons when we are out. I don't miss out on many of them. I also buy 10 papers every week(got a deal where I get them for 1/2 price). I love getting stuff for free : ) Do you CVS too?

I'm with you Juniegirl. I never go anywhere unless i can take care of more things than one. I'll plan out my shopping,so i hit 3-4 stores at the same time and in the same area.

Another way I have found to save on the electric bill,is to unplug whatever is not being used. If something is plugged it it is still pulling a current,small amount yes,but it can add up. So tv's,toaster,coffeemaker,stereo's,etc are all unplugged after use in my house. Amazing what you can find on the net,lol! We also don't turn on the A/C till about noon and we turn it off at dusk. Last year our bill averaged $250 a month in the summer,this year it has stayed under $190.

I'm too tired right just now to contribute to this conversation, but I did want to take a sec to say it is very nice to see you on, G-mom! I miss you much!

Merme

I am finally awake enough to address G-mom's interesting question!

Although it isn't a hard and fast unchangeable rule in our house, I mostly make everything we eat from scratch. I don't buy many premixed/packaged type meals or sides. If I can do it for less by doing it myself, I do. The reason it isn't a very strict rule is because sometimes buying it ready made is less expensive!

I also save alot by using generics for many things, but again, not for everything.

Because of my limited caridac function, I have to keep the apt set at a very cool temperature, so my electric bill is always fantastic-huge! So, I economize in other ways and cut other corners where I can. Before my heart got so bad, on most days I preferred to shut the a/c off and open all the windows to catch breezes from the sea and only ran the a/c minimally on the very worst of days.

Our "entertainment" dollars are kept very low, too.... no impulse spending on fun junk, very rarely eating out, no going to the movies as a family, the clothing budget kept to a minimum, etc., etc.

I don't have a car but I have cut way back on taxi's as well.


Merme

I clip coupons once in a while. With only 2 of us here most of the time we never buy groceries. It sounds crazy but the only things we have all the time is water, Pepsi, milk and orange juice. We usually have peanut butter and a loaf of bread and a few apples. Our store shopping is for detergent, cleaners and stuff like that. It's cheaper for Johnny to eat out and I'll eat a peanut butter sandwich or an apple. When we buy groceries company is coming.

I clip coupons and then I forget to use them! But I definitely don't find as good of coupons as G-Mom and Nana!! I would definitely remember to use them if it made that big of a difference on my grocery bill. As far as other things I do...I am trying to cut back on shopping trips and make sure I get everything done at one time when I do make the trip.

We could be twins Jess. I do the same thing, I was cleaning the other day and found a big pile of them that expired over a year ago. But I do use them once in a while. Seems like usually the coupons that are in my paper aren't for things I use.....

Ditto, Loz.--either that or I forget to take them with me.

But I do try.--I think the object is to buy it when you DO have a coupon for it and let the coupons dictate what you are eating that week.--

Am I right, Nana & G~mom??

Thats about what I do Carol- I have a bunch of online coupons sites I go to and print out- I check my flyers for the grocery sales too- that dictates what I buy mostly- but if something is on sale and I have coupons I use all I can find- I have a basement pantry cabinet and a freezer down there and 2 top of the fridge freezers too , fridge in garage for drinks and extra stuff- Popsicles for kids- that kind of stuff... I use fruit juice and make them popsicles too a lot... better than the sugar water ones.... most grocery stores here have on line sites now too and you can print out coupons on them- our Albertson's takes any store coupons too so that helps and the fast Carrie sees the ad the week before helps too - she gives me a heads up when good stuff is on sale... every little bit helps.
Nana

Yep that is what I do Loz....forget all about my coupons and then I get home and go...darn it..I had a coupon for that!! It gets frustrating!

I don't know that I could ever let the coupons dictate but it is a good idea if that works out for you!

When I was younger and a more avid coupon clipper, I kept coupons in those personal sized white envelopes, labeled with the category or specific coupons inside. I kept the envelopes in my purse all the time so I always had them with me. I've seen other shopper use those expandable wallets with multiple compartments for coupons.

It takes some planning and dedication to use coupons.


Merme

I've totally changed my mindset on grocery shopping. I never shop for a weeks worth of groceries anymore. I have gotten a stockpile built up,so I never have to shop unless there is a sale. I check the sale ads every week,making a list of items that are buy1get1 or are on sale for a good price. That is what I'll purchase. Publix stores take competitor coupons so that is where I usually shop. For example,they had Kraft mayo on sale b1g1. I purchased 5 of the sales(10 jars total),used 10 $1 off coupons,final cost before store coupons was $8.45. I also had coupons for free oscar meyer hotdogs when you buy 3 kraft products,so I used 3 of them with the kraft to get 6 packs of free hotdogs(they are B1G1 also). My total on that shopping trip was $95.xx,I walked out of there paying 50 cents!

G-Mom

Good for you, G-mom, good for you! Now THAT is some way to shop for groceries!!


I should be so well organized.



Merme

I use a card file box for my coupons... used cards with tabs to label catagories .. set it up to go with the store aisles... I go thru them once a month or so and weed out the expired and soon to expire ones- ususally while watching tv... I try to keep the soon to expire ones in front... when I get my flyers (on Wed) I go thru the ad , see what is on sale I need to replace- I stockpile too GMom.. check out how many coupons I have for it and place them in front of my box -- I also make my list by aisle and star the stuff I have coupons for, I only buy meat on sale too which helps a lot- or at Sams in big pkgs I break down to meal size for us....use my food saver for that- got that at Sams too..LOL!
Well off to referee a fight- they are not behaving very well this morning- may just issue a nap order today!
Nana

Our newspapers don't carry coupons, wish they did.

The price has risen drastically on things in the past year. Here it is ridiculous...just think whole chickens this week are on sale for $2.79 a pound. Who can afford that even on sale? .......

prices are rediculous every where tamara. i don't know when/where it is all gonna end----.