Extreme Couponing

[MsPony]

My stepsisters family is OBSESSED with coupons!! My mom said when said sister would come over as a kid, she peeled and clipped all the coupons in the house Now my niece does it too, I went grocery shopping with her once and never again will I lol.

 

[freemotion]

It actually took me about an hour to go through the fliers each week and sort my coupons and make my lists. I drove by all the stores on my work travels so I rarely needed to grab dh and make a special trip, but we would if the sales were superior....like b1g2 on tp with coupons! I literally made a decent hourly wage doing it, but only because I got those great coupons from my mom....oh, yeah, one of her friends delivered the newspaper and always had stacks of coupon fliers left over. I got those, too, after she took what she wanted. We made out like bandits. Those days are over now, at least around here.

My buddy still does well on certain items, like shampoo, deodorant, laundry soap, that kind of stuff. She gives a lot of it away to needy people she knows and is well-loved! I had to forbid her from bringing junk food to me anymore!

Guess what, now she is very "fluffy" and I am on the slim side...No couponing for me! Why aren't there coupons on wheat berries and turnips????

 

[Shiloh Acres]

I think also when you take it to this level it becomes a true hobby.

I saw on tv a lady who entered every single contest she came across.

her biggest win--the $1 million dollar prize from some company
a few trips to Hawaii and other exotic places
money, free items, cars, and more

she won alot of stuff...lol...but she committed unbelieveable time to this hobby but it sure paid off for her big time

Hm. If someone could promise me it'd pay a million dollars, I'd be willing to devote a LOT of time to it. With a million dollars, I am more than sure I could set myself up to never NEED anymore money after that! Even without the trips to Hawaii and a car, LOL.

Somehow I'm not motivated to try it though.

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

I think this can be quite a hobby, or an obsession! Some take it too far for sure.

I agree, the coupons around here are for stuff I don't want to eat or use, and often say right on them that they can't be combined or used when the item is on sale. So really not worth the hassle IMO.

For the time and effort I find the best for me is shopping at a good price all around kind of place, stock up on what I will use when they have it on sale. Hubby jokes about me and the lack of shopping lists, I show up and decide what we are eating this week based on what's on sale. We never go hungry so it's working.

Buying less and less as we get better set up so coupons will be even less attractive as we progress.

 

[Shiloh Acres]

That's pretty much what I do. I don't even look at coupons.

I buy what's on sale CHEAP, and stock up. Keep enough on hand so it usually rolls around another good sale before I run out. If I DO run out, usually do without. Plan the menu around what's on sale. Use what I grow myself as much as possible of course.

I know I said somewhere before that often means no shopping for a particular week. I think it's been about a month since I've been shopping, LOL, except for a few things I know where to get cheap. I have plenty of most things stored to get by. I'm wondering if it's a seasonal thing in this area though, or if the prices are going to come down again. I'm used to seeing SOMEthing on sale cheap enough most weeks.

The cashiers usually seem amazed that I save well over 50% on every shopping trip ... sometimes closer to 80%. Just goes to show their stuff is overpriced to begin with. (Or I've just started seeing the term "loss leaders" .... maybe that's the word for what I'm buying. But I refuse to pay full price or anywhere near it.)

 

[MsPony]

I got a $50 trip to Whole Foods for $25!!! That has been my greatest ever coupon clipping.

Ok, so this first chick has like 2 rooms + starting in on hubbys man cave of stock piling. Why would you ever need that much?!?!

 

[MsPony]

Oh she also PAID $70 for a stack of coupons?!?!

 

[CJW]

I rarely use coupons because most of the stuff I buy doesn't have coupons that print in the newspapers. I will flip through the flyer they hand me at the health food store...I usually don't buy anything though.

I can't wait to grow my own food. I know my food budget is super high, but we eat well and are rarely sick. We choose to spend money on wholesome food, and not other things. (which is why I had to fit a 10 ft piece of PVC pipe into our mid 90's compact car. ) We also are Gluten free, and the boys are dairy free.

If you knew what we currently spend averaged out per day, you might freak out. I even freak out a little. I just bury my head in the corner of the couch for a couple minutes and I forget what I was freaking out about.

Having chickens has really helped cut our egg budget! We go through, at times, 2-3-4 dozen a week, without any baking. ( I love eggs for breakfast and I really like eggnog, too!)

But I am eagerly awaiting spring/summer/autumn!

 

[Mattemma]

I caught that last night.The guy got $900 worth of stuff for $214. I am not going to mention it to dh, or he will insist I get as good as that.

 

[ohiofarmgirl]

Buying less and less as we get better set up so coupons will be even less attractive as we progress.

this is true for us too.

but we use those grocery cards and Kroger does a great job of sending us personalized coupons - most of which are MANUFACTURERS coupons so we can use them at a different grocery store b/c they have a better gas program.

but

when we didnt grow our own stuff i totally scored. i think one time i got $100 worth of stuff we actually use for $40.

i keep wondering if the online coupons will ever be useful. every time i check the store site the specials are for stuff we dont use. but sometimes we get a "save $2 when you spend $10" in the deli or dairy or whatever.

the best value we get are the 10 for $10 sales. so we always check out the circulars and then stock up.