Coupons can mean big savings

[Treasuremapper]

Is anyone else here into coupons in a serious way?

[JenLove]

I would say I'm pretty serious. I do mail coupons to a friend in CA, and she sends me things that I would use. And, I also go to a community center to trade coupons too.

My grocery store doesn't do doubling though, so I don't see the huge savings that some people do. But, I bet I save a good $50-75/month on coupons still.

[Artisan]

I find that I have a hard time using coupons -- they are almost always for cleaning products or packaged foods, like crackers/cookies. There are no coupons for broccoli, KWIM?

[treemom2]

I used to always use coupons until I started buying whole and organic foods. There just aren't a lot of coupons out there for organic foods. However when I do find them in a mag or Organic Valley sends me some I use them and love the savings!!

[momto l&a]

Originally Posted by reader

I find that I have a hard time using coupons -- they are almost always for cleaning products or packaged foods, like crackers/cookies. There are no coupons for broccoli, KWIM?

Yep. Hardly use coupons, as most are procossed foods and products they want people to try/buy

[JenLove]

That is true.. most of the coupons aren't for organic foods. I'm guilty of buying a lot of packaged foods. I do get coupons for my soy milk though.

[jentilla]

There are more coupoms for organic foods than you think. Most of the companies will offer coupons oin their website and you can register to receive Mambo Sprouts which is a coupon book for organic products. I do a coupon run and find that some local supermarkets like Publix (in southeast) put out green books to attract customers. They can have $10 a month in savings on green foods. Also, registering for baby clubs and what not from grocers can get you $1.00 off produce etc. and if the market has an organic section the coupon can be applied to that. Also my local organic supermarket will price down things if they are close to expiration. I just bought a $3.99 package of organic romaine greens for $.99! Look for the healthfood store national instore( it's taliored to that particular store, but printed nationally) mag too-I used to work (one day a week) at a organic supermarket and with coupons and my 20% discount would save about $25.00 per week on groceries.

[Ruthla]

For a while I put a lot of effort into using coupons- checking out which coupons I had and which stores had that item on sale that week, etc.

I found I was actually spending MORE money this way, because I wound up buying stuff I wouldn't normally buy, just because it was such a great deal. For example, a large package of plain rice is less expensive than the boxed mix, even when it's on sale AND you have a coupon for it. Dried beans in the package are cheaper than the canned ones on sale and with a coupon, etc.

I still check out the coupons for the natural/organic brands of stuff (I use Barbara's cereals, for example) but I really don't put in the kind of effort I used to, and I'm spending less at the grocery store.

[Girlo]

I like to use coupons for those things that I've been dying to try, but am unwilling to pay full price for......or for stuff (like cookies!) that I love to eat but won't buy unless I can get a great deal on it (on sale AND using a coupon).

I've used lots of coupons for Gardenburgers, Earth's Best products, and Morningstar Farms. I find them in the products themselves or once in a while in the fliers that come with the Sunday paper. There are great deals out there on good food.....you just have to keep your eyes open and look around a little.

[CerridwenLorelei]

I am just getting back into it

We use a mix of organic and 'mainstream" stuff ..

[Treasuremapper]

I see huge savings with coupons. Especially when I get coupons for organic stuff and take them to stores that double and triple that have organic foods. It can get very exciting very fast. I also use coupons for stuff like toothbrushes, paper towels, garbage bags, etc. Last week I bought bandaids, batteries, Pampers and toothbrushes dirt cheap by combining sales with coupons. (I'm using sposies right now but I may go back to cloth once dh's busy season is over).

How big are the savings? Well, eleven packages of Jumbo Pampers Easy ups, on clearance and with coupons, and including tax for a total of only 6.57. That's barely fifty cents a package. Yes, that was an unusual deal for diapers. But I also got twelve free toothbrushes and two packages of two Duracell cooper top double A batteries for just twenty five cents a package. I think that chipping away a bit at the edges will add up over time.

[Mama2ElijahNRiley]

I am really into coupons. I keep mine in a large 3 ring binder in clear baseball card holders! I mostly use them for cleaning supplies/laundry etc. trash bags... Shout... the only cleaning supply I really buy is Clorox Clean Up and I get it free with double coupons at the Fred's here so... hmmm sponges & scrubbies, I use coupons for those too.

I use a lot of coupons for things like cheese, pasta, etc. I ONLY clip coupons for items I would normally buy anyway. With the price of gas, I've stopped going to Kroger (30-45min away) and they're the only ones who double coupons. I think it all evens out though, Kroger is cheaper on staples and they do have sales, but WM is cheaper in their meat and produce departments. We just redid our budget today and now my goal is 50-75 a week on groceries... we'll see!

[sovereignqueen]

Mambo sprouts is a good place for organic coupons, also try the web sites of your fave brands, more of them are offering coupons.

I also like the site cutouthunger.org it matches up whats on sale with coupons (and unlike grocery game, its free) but its not in all areas.