Bargain Hunters and Couponers [Archive] - MotheringDotCommune Forums

ekblad9

02-05-2003, 11:37 AM

:thumb I also clip coupons and LOVE a good deal. I used to be really good at it but slacked off for a while. I'm getting back into it now. This is a great idea! :D

My question is : sometimes I buy things with coupons that I wouldn't ordinarily buy, KWIM? Then I'm not really saving money. It's hard to distinguish. I guess that's why I started slacking off. Plus there's hardly ever coupons for "natural" foods. Any help there?

Nicke

02-05-2003, 01:01 PM

What a great idea this is!

I am a compulsive coupon clipper. :D I also "over shop" everything to get the best deals.

Bladestar5....how did you get that much wrap for free? Sounds like you have some stuff to teach! :)

Bladestar5

02-05-2003, 02:02 PM

well, lets hope the reply works this time! They REALLY need to make this forum able to hold more people at one time. UGH

I get my coupons at the recycling center. There are lots of people who buy the paper and recycle them, along with their coupons, and I don't buy the paper because I don't read it, so it is a waste.

I got the wrap on sale for 1.99 and had 1.00 and 2.00 coupons. My grocery store doubles 1.00 coupons and under. Therefore, I got it free, and all I paid was the tax. I have gotten free cookies and cleaning products this way also, although I do plan to go organic.

Nicke

02-05-2003, 02:51 PM

I've never thought of going to the recycling center for the coupons. What a great idea! So, you just go in and get the circulars?

I don't buy the paper either. I usually read my news online or I occasionally watch the television. But that more often than not depresses me (too much violence).

For my coupons, I get them from my mom and my grandmother. They never use them, so they know to pass them to me. :)

Trishy

02-05-2003, 02:58 PM

There are no recycling centers or I would be all over that. I have been thinking of trying to figure out when the man comes to fill the paper vending machine at my gas station and being there to ask him if I could have the inserts. My mom and MIL give me their coupons. The sunday paper here is $1.75. I am planning on getting it this Sunday. I am going to sit down with the store ads and my coupons, plan my meals, make my list and head to Super Wal-Mart for some price matching. Yes it will be an investment of a few hours but this is the best way I can think of to save without having to go to 4 different stores.

3boysmom

02-05-2003, 03:56 PM

I do not cut coupons, but I am a bargain fiend! Ebay is an addiction, I never buy anything without going there first. Yesterday I got my oldest ds (an avid aggressive inline skater) a pair of $100 skate shoes he's been lusting after forever for $40 at the sport store. There was a sign saying all skate shoes on clearance for $39.97 so I snapped up these shoes. Most skate shoes run about $50-60 normally. The sales guy then informs me that these particular shoes were supposed to have been taken off display until after the sale and would not be discounted. I talked to the manager and pointed out that it was not my fault that they neglected to remove these shoes and I wanted him to honor the sign. He did! He had to walk me to the register to ok the price because the cashier didn't believe the markdown he had written on the box! LOVE IT! DS was so happy!

Trishy

02-23-2003, 10:16 AM

Ok so this is what I am going to do to start makng the most of my coupons. Meal planning. I have tried to do meal planning in the past but I have been a miserable failure. But my grocery bill has been getting way out of hand lately. I end up having to go to the store to get just a few things and I end up spending $30 or more. So today whenever dh gets home I am going to go out and get the paper. Then I will clip the coupons, combine them with my small stash of coupons and comb the grocery sale ads. Then I will look at my recipes and try to plan 14 meals. I don't cook everyday. Usually I will make something and we will eat it for two days in a row. We have a Super Wal-Mart in Corbin that price matches so I will go there to get most of my groceries. I still have to call them and clarify what their PM policy is. I ususally get most of my meat at Winn-Dixie because they usually have reduced meats that have $1-$3 off per package. They also have a lot of buy one get one frees on meats, sometimes get two frees. If I can do this I can get almost a month's worth of groceries at once, only having to go back to the store a couple of times through the month to get bread and things like that. Oh! There is a bread store! I have been meaning to check that out. Maybe I will go there after I make my grocery shopping trip so I will know just how much room I have left in my freezer. Then after I am done shopping I will make a list of what meals we have available and cross them off as we go along.

Does anyone else do anything similar to this? Can you give me any pointers?

What other things do you do to cut corners in your home?

I just love saving money :love

willowsmama

02-23-2003, 12:21 PM

Oh. this is a awsome place! I love saving money, if I didn't I'd have to WOH.

Anyone here read the Tightwad Gazette? It's the best saving money guide I've found. It's 3 seperate books or there is the Complete Tightwad Gazette which is all 3 in1. The complete version also has success stories in the back, these are nice when you're feeling down!

Some of my better bargains are-
6 bags of baby clothes from a mom in Skye's dance class. These have been most of Willows wardrobe. The clothes ranged from newborn to 3T. And they were given to me for free!

2 all wood dressers for 30.00. They needed to be refinished & the owner couldn't figure out how to get the stain out. 8 1/2 mos. preggo I hauled these babies home. Dovetailed drawers real wood I was in heaven. Got the big refinished in 11 days(gotta love that nesting urge) and the second a couple months ago.
Skye loves hers. My dh thought I was nuts at first- now these are nicest dressers we've ever owned. Someone asked to buy for 200.00 each!

MammaMel

02-23-2003, 11:44 PM

I LOVE to bargain hunt!
I try to plan meals for the week and then do my shopping with coupons of course :)
I thought cloth diapering was a money saver until I found MDC, lol the HYENAS have got me buying things I don't need:confused:
I love love love to shop, but hate to pay full price for anything.
The other day we went with the IL's for family portraits at Sears and I left my coupon home, AHHH!! I felt sick for paying full price.

christymama

02-24-2003, 04:40 PM

I think saving money is GREAT! the moreyou save on everyday things the more you can use for fun things! If anyone hs any ideas of what and how to do this let me know!! I do the coupon thing as well out store here does double coupons as well but only up to 45 cents, haha i guess thats better then nothing. Keep me up to date!!

TigerTail

02-24-2003, 10:56 PM

count me in ;)
i think my last great haul was some kroger's frozen cincinatti chili that had $1 shredded cheese coupons on 'em- they were marked down to a buck and a half themselves, so checking (the cheese was marked down to .99 a bag) got me 6 chilis & 6 pkgs of cheese for 9 bucks. my big thrill is finding something on sale i can double a coupon on and get nearly free- love it! (not to mention that the boys' wardrobes are mostly goodwill- hannas, miniwear, baby gap etc. gotta look around, but good baby clothes (that I'm getting two kids' wear out of) for 1.75 (half some days) instead of twenty bucks or more a pop- oh yeah.

suse

Rie&BugsMom

02-26-2003, 07:59 AM

Definitely count me in. My dh tells me that he couldn't imagine being married to anyone else because he knows I hate to spend money. Many moons ago when I was pregnant with my ds, he gave me $100 and told me to spend it any way I wanted to. I really wanted a nice, dressy maternity outfit. Something I thought might make me look spectacular while I was pregnant. I had taken a friend with me and we found the outfit, but it cost $60. She thought it looked GREAT on me and I thought it was rediculous to spend that amount on one item. She took my money and went to the checkout cashier and payed for it. hahaha. I brought it home and showed it to dh, and although he loved it, I was plagued by the amount of money I spent on it. I promptly took it back, got back my money and gave him the $100 back because I just didn't want to spend that much money on myself. Pitiful, isn't it?

Well, it has been 10 yrs since then, and I have to say that I have decorated my entire house with mostly yard sale items, furniture that was given to me through the years by friends or relatives, and I have some really beautiful things from the dollar store that look expensive. People tell me all the time they love my house and how I decorate it.

It is not always easy to shop cheap, and it takes some frugal searching to find just what you may be looking for, but sure is worth it in the end. I have yard saled and thrift store shopped for most all of my children's clothing when they were little.

I DEFINITELY LOVE A BARGAIN

Bladestar5

02-26-2003, 08:06 AM

I am just terrible. I cannot spend money on JUST myself!! Dh's mom gave me $100.00 for my birthday recently, and I bought some clothes for my ds and dd.
I couldn't help it!! They were on clearance at Sears for 60-85% off the original price, and then 50% off that! I got my boy some packs of undies, for if he ever potty trains, and some undies for my dd, also....They were cute, ok?? I know, she is only 3mos, but she WILL grow :LOL :love
Anybody else have a problem with spending on only themselves?

Trishy

02-26-2003, 11:44 PM

So I went grocery shopping yesterday and saved about $30 with my store card and coupons. was really thrown off because our newspaper with coupons is from Lexington and their Winn Dixie is in a different zone so they have different sales. I don't think I am going to start shopping at Wal-Mart because it will cost me 1 1/2 gallons of gas to drive there and back and then there will be the added expense of running over to the other side of the store and just getting one thing. The employees at Winn Dixie treat people very well for the most part too. They even carry your groceries to your car and put them in your trunk for you. So next time I start gearing up for another grocery shopping trip, probably in three weeks, I will go to the store and just grab a circular.

Bladestar, you are just as bad as me. I wouldn't have bought the outfit either. I have all of my maternity clothes saved and most were given to me.

pixiemama

02-27-2003, 10:21 PM

I love a good bargain just as much as the next MDCer. Have any of you ladies checked out www.stretcher.com ? It's a great resource for money saving and frugal tips. What do you all think of deep freezers? Is it worth it to buy one, or is it just a waste of energy and makes the electric bill higher? Actually, it might not make much of a difference b/c now we have an average billing plan for electricity so it won't fluctuate that much from month to month. :banana Glad to see this thread and yes, I have a hard time spending money on myself. I always feel guilty afterwards.:rolleyes:

Trishy

02-27-2003, 10:51 PM

I have a deep freezer waiting for me at my MILs but I don't have room for it here. Hopefully I get a house soon so I can fill it up with free deer meat and on sale store meat. The deep freezer is free too! MIL just said I could have it!

pollyanna

02-27-2003, 11:06 PM

I have a deep freezer. I think it's great. I go food shopping once a month I buy all my milk bread and meat, pack it and freeze it.

Pollyanna

mags&jordy

02-27-2003, 11:30 PM

Oh my....I'm definitely IN!!

My parents are quite rich people, but the thing that I took from my Dad was that he hated spending money.
Well, it's not that I don't like shopping, but I must give everything a thought before I decide to buy it and truth is I don't buy anything for the regular price. Especially not for my dd - iIdon't buy used clothes, but I wait for sales and coupons. I'm on every child's store mailing list!! I have just bought her a carter's dress for 7$, which originally cost 22$!! I waited for a sale and got an extra 20% off with a coupon...
I buy groceries on Sundays, after I look through the Sunday paper coupons...
My best deals?
DD's OshKosh outfit for next winter org.priced 76.50$, got it on sale for 26$..Yoo-hoo!!, and a baby gap winter jacket org. priced 40$ - got it for 14$!!!...Gee, I'm a sales addict...

Let's also start mentioning DEALS - there's always something online too, that can be used in reatil stores.
Have you checked out "Babymint.com"? It's like UPROMISE, but you can also print out grocery coupons, use them and once you accumulate 25$ they send you a check {my choice, you can have it contributed to a college fund acc}.E.G. they have Florida's Natural juice coupons 10c off, but when you use it the company contributes 1$. The juice is often "2for5$" in our local grocery store, so if I use the coupons, I basically get 2 for 2,80$!!

Love to you all!

Love to you all!

reilly's momma

02-28-2003, 02:10 PM

count me in too! I'm not really a coupon cutter, whenever I've done than I end up buying stuff just cause I have a coupon. :o kinda defeats the purpose, ya know? But I love sales & bargains, & free stuff. I am an expert garbage picker, a wonderful habit when ya live around college kids, wouldn't believe some of the stuff they throw out.

I have a wonderful idea, I posted this in the northeast ohio threads already. I am in the Cleveland Ohio area & want to start a buying club, unless anyone knows of one in the area currently. I've been researching & the startup #s are smaller than I thought, 5-8 families is the suggested minimum. The idea is we purchase directly to get wholesale prices. I belonged to one when I lived in New Orleans & it was great! So if anyone in my area is interested, or if any of y'all know anyone out here that would be, let me know, please. :love & if anyone wants to do this in their area, I can provide more info, save you some footwork (I guess that should be fingerwork, huh?).

Trishy

03-09-2003, 02:50 PM

:banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana :banana

See me dancing? Wanna know why? My Kroger has SUPER DOUBLE COUPONS this week! I just called my mother and told her to send me all of the coupons she had tomorrow so I will have them by the end of the week. I have a stash of $1 off coupons that will be doubled to $2 and make most of the stuff free or almost free. I am really considering buying another newspaper today because I will more than make back my money in coupons. I have to call my MIL and see if she got the paper. She will send me her coupons and that will save me $1.75 on not buying a new paper. Oh I am so excited! If ds were not sleeping I would be at Kroger RIGHT NOW! I am only buying stuff I have coupons for and I will save a ton! WOOHOO!

:balloons :balloons :balloons :balloons :balloons :balloons :balloons :balloons :balloons :balloons :balloons :balloons

Oh man, the bouncy smiley is gone :crying

Bladestar5

03-09-2003, 03:20 PM

If we are really careful, including paper products, my family should end up spending only $200. or less this month for groceries. That is for 3 people who actually eat the groceries, plus a cat.
I am keeping track by keeping an envelope with the month on it, and I stash any grocery receipts from that month into the envelope. Then I will add it up once the month is over. Then I will know what we spend on groceries.

Trishy

03-11-2003, 03:16 PM

If you have Rite Aid in your area they have Robutussin cough drops buy one get one free for $1.99. Some of the bags have $1 off coupons on them. I was able to get 4 bags with $1 off coupons so I paid $.22. I am going to the Kroger sale in the city on Thursday and there is another Rite Aid there so I will be sure to stop and see what they have too.

Trishy

03-13-2003, 04:05 PM

So I go to Kroger today for Super Double Coupons and I was pretty down in the dumps because a lot of the stuff I wanted to use coupons on were not stocked. Some other Fat Walleter must have got there before me. But I did get somet things. My total with tax before coupons was $75.23. After coupons and store card discounts it came to $11.45! I saved $63.78. How exciting is that? I came in the door and dh thought I had to have spent at least $50. When I showed him the reciept he was stunned. I got tons of toothpaste for just pennies and they paid me $1.01 each on 9 cans of Hormel Turkey chili. I am still waiting for my mom's coupons to get here, thought they would be here today. So if they come before Saturday I may just head back to do some more damage. I bought 4 things that I didn't have coupons for and if I had not bought them I would have ended up paying maybe $1 and some change. So exciting. I used the Uscan so I wouldn't have a smart *** cashier pissing and moaning about my coupons. I did need some help with the chili coupons because they wouldn't scan but they had a boy that was the Uscan supervisor or whatever they call it and he just put them right through. I hope mom's coupons come so I can go back again. I'm printing like 20 more of those chili coupons LOL

Bladestar5

03-13-2003, 04:28 PM

Wow! And I thought I was good! You are the frugal grocery QUEEN!!:sunshine

Trishy

03-14-2003, 02:11 PM

My mom's coupons came and I didn't even go home to sort them out, I just went straight to the store. I pulled all of the $1.00 off coupons out along with the rest that I had left and some I printed last night and went for it. I would have liked to have been better
orgainized and not had to keep prying two 20 month old hands off of the coupons. I still have a ton of coupons left so maybe I will go back tonight.

Remember they are doing super doubles to $1.00. I got:

12 more cans of $.99 chili with $1 off coupons
2 pkgs Seapak shrimp B1G1 @ $2.79 with 2 $1 coupons
2 boxes Betty Crocker Homestyle Bakes $3.99 with 2 $1 coupons
Quaker Cereal $2.33 with $1 coupon
13 crest and colgate toothpastes $2.49 each with $1 off coupons per
4 Aussie 3 minute miracle on time use $.69 each with 2 coupons for $1 off 2 products
1 Mr. Clean $2.49 with $1 off coupon
1 Spray and Wash $2.49 with $1 off coupon
3 Ziploc containers $3.69 per package with $1 off coupon
Bertolli Aflreado sauce $3.59 with $1 off coupon
Angel Soft toilet paper 12 pack $2.97 with $1 off coupon

Anyhow my total before coupons and in store card was $112.52. My total savings was $95.52 and I spent a whopping $17.00 of my own money. The cashier was totally shocked. This was a different Kroger I went to, they didn't have the U scan but they did have all of the things I wanted to get yesterday that they were out of at the other store. The cashier was very nice, young enough not to care but experienced enough to be able to punch in my printables without calling the manager over to help her. The cashier called the two baggers that were bagging my groceries up to show them my total. I had to drive past dh's work on the way home and he was outside so I pulled up and popped the trunk. He looked inside and asked how much I spent. I showed him the reciept and he was dancing in the parking lot LOL. I told him that I would like to go back tonight and he said please do!

pollyanna

03-14-2003, 02:19 PM

I wish the stores up here did that. They will only double coupons upto 99 cents and we all know most coupons that come out now are 1.00 off two so they won't double them. I shop at Price Rite and to save on groceries. I also purchase the damaged fruit and veggies.

Pollyanna

Beck

03-15-2003, 11:02 PM

Does anyone look for rebates? That's my dh's big thing. Here's some examples of what we've got:

$5 US rebate on crayola art centre - we found them on clearance for $4. We live in canada, so we made a few bucks.

$20 rebate on "for dummies" books that sell for $20. Apparantly most people forget to send in their rebates or lose them, so they make a very high rebate to get people to buy it.

$100 web cam, marked down to $60 and a $30 rebate.

If you work in any store that sells HP products, you can do online quizzes to earn points toward products. With rebates and HP points we made about $20 when we bought our last printer.

joyfulheart

03-17-2003, 06:09 PM

I love, love, love "bargain shopping"...ooohhh, I get goose bumps just thinking about it. Yesterday, I saved $56 from the grocery bill with coupons, shopping sales and the store's 10% for members (it's a food co-op)...I have a hard time with coupons in the newspaper, because I tend only to buy organic foods and most of the coupons in the paper is for stuff my family and I don't consume...thank goodness for those Mambosprout coupons, though...I also enjoyed The Tightwad Gazettes, which I borrowed from the library I might add. And finally, I usually don't buy anything unless it is on sale...and then stock up. Oh, and I buy my kids' clothing the season before...for example, at REI, I bought my older ds a $90.00 winter coat for next year for $14.00...Gortex winter gloves for $4.00....ah...I just love reliving those deals...

Peace and love,
Joyfulheart:love

TigerTail

03-18-2003, 10:35 PM

wow, trish, good job! when i went my kroger's was out of almost everything... i did good on a few things like spectrum olive oil (normally almost 14 bucks, down to 8 something, and i had two bucks off, sooo...) laura's lean beef... essentially, every coupon i had that was NOT in the paper. i tell you, literally every newspaper coupon item was out. lots of snippers in my town! so i only saved about 50 bucks.

i am wistful for when i lived in ca, and all the mkts doubled to a dollar just as a matter of course (and one mkt in san marino in addition, had 3 bonus *triple* to a dollar coupons! that was the best!). does anyone know if the cali mkts still do this? (when i got here i was appalled at being shortchanged on the doubling! oh well, at least now i've got a bi-lo that doubles to 60 cents... but i'd still trade that for a trader joe's!) here we get aldi's (same company)- oh great, i can save 4 cents on a nasty can of off-brand corn. yeah, they occasionally get some fun stuff, but i don't shop there weekly just to get my christmas stollen or a pair of nice gloves or cheapo blender, kwim?

now, big lots has had some awesome things- winter kid's clothes are 75% off (got lots of stuff for next winter for like a buck apiece- beats goodwill!)... canned broth (college inn, the good stuff!) for 33 cents, boxes of nasty nestle choc chip cookie mix (my dh requested this, & as i doubt they made any profit on a buck a box i made an exception- as it buys me time on the weekends if dh will make cookies w/ the kids :p ), cheap easter chocolate (price, not quality), ummm, i got a 5 lb can of solid albacore tuna for 7 bucks and froze it in increments for sandwiches, butterball stuffing mix for 40 cents, some organic lemon tahini dressing for my falafel for a dollar... it was quite fun.

suse

pottermamma

03-24-2003, 11:25 AM

OK, so I don't do too many coupons (although there are some pretty good coupons for organics at Stonyfiled.com) but am a big thrift store shopper (Just got Dh a brand new lined shammy shirt for $5) and come from a long line of bargin hunting folks!!!!

I thought you ladies might appreciate this deal that Dh scored about 2 years ago. We bought a Dish network TIVO box and the deal was such that they actually ended up paying Dh enough to buy a new stereo at the same time (not a top of the line stereo but it was at least $150.00) So, we got the box and the stereo for free!!!!! And there was no catch (I was not convinced until we actually got the refund back) and everything was legit!!!!!!

Happy Saving!!!:love

reilly's momma

03-24-2003, 11:34 AM

ok, so they are 95% feather & only 5% down, but I got a queen size one & King size one & they were still cheeper than most comforters with crappier filling, & they are so warm-it's still chilly up heremost of the time. Now if only we had queen & king size beds to fit the blankets :rolleyes:

reilly's momma

03-24-2003, 01:22 PM

Joann's has a big three day sale this weekend for any who don't already know. Here's the sale flyer http://specials.joann.com/fsi.asp?sesid=740015086&refid=&waid=&lci=30623 I'm plotting to collect even more fabric :LOL :LOL

Bladestar5

03-24-2003, 01:37 PM

I know it!! And dh's Federal Check just got here!! I wonder how hard it will be to get some of that $$ from him:D :banana Oh, yeah, seafood dinner for me!!

TigerTail

03-28-2003, 08:55 PM

don't know if it's just my kroger's, but ours has jelly/pickle jars and lids drastically on clearance (i got cute gingham-print covers in different colors and sizes, 6 for a buck! i already had jars, but there are the whole kits, too.)

suse

reilly's momma

03-31-2003, 12:01 PM

& got lots of fabric, most under $3 a yard :D Also, I found out yesterday that there will be a huge Joann etc opening about a mile from me in October :exclaim :bouncy :banana :bgbounce :balloons :bouncy :banana :bgbounce :balloons :bouncy :banana :bgbounce :balloons
I think I'm turning into a fabricaholic :LOL :rotflmao :LOL :rotflmao :LOL :rotflmao

TigerTail

04-09-2003, 02:19 PM

latest bargains: bi-lo has yo-crunch (i know, it's candy, not a food item, but i like it!) for 53 cents, and at big lots i got a garden seat and arch for just under 80 (check out the thread in 'digging...' under 'planting for spring' if you want details.)

suse

reilly's momma

04-23-2003, 12:18 AM

Joann's is doing a moonlight madness sale, Friday 2 May & Saturday 3 May. All the clearance fabric & stickered clearance stuff is 50% off lowest price! :bgbounce I am so excited :banana last time they did this was around halloween. They have some other stuff on sale too but this is what stands out for me plus they're staying open until 10pm. This will be me :bolt rushing to grab up the good stuff before anyone beats me to it, heh heh

Trishy

04-23-2003, 09:12 AM

Winn Dixie had triple coupons, up to and including $.50 last week. I got $108 of groceries for $35 :banana

sarasprings

04-23-2003, 11:24 AM

I am jealous of all of you that have double and triple coupons. No luck where I live, although, I rarely have coupons for the food I eat.

Anyway, I just got back from Yankee Dollar. I don't know how widespread the storeis, but they had Newman's organic food -- minty oreos and double chocolate cookies, usually $3 and $2.50 at the grocery store. They also had organic decaf earl grey (fair trade) tea (16 bags), and barbara's oat circle cereal.

Trishy

04-30-2003, 08:25 AM

Sunday I went to Winn Dixie to get a few thing and on the way out I saw a flyer. They were doing triples again this week! Yesterday was the last day and also the day the truck came in so my coupon friends and I spent a couple of days getting our coupons together and headed out there last night. My total before coupons and store card was $202.19. Total after store card was $177.84. Total after store card and coupons was $73.12. My grocery bill for this month was just shy of $150 and I saved a little over $200 on my two triples trips. I saved more money than I spent on groceries this month. That is truly amazing. My dh said this is better than me having a part time job. I am just amazed at what you can do with coupons. Granted this does take time to sit down and sort coupons, go through ads, swap and slowly go through the store (I was there for over two hours last night) but it's well worth it.

TigerTail

05-01-2003, 12:15 AM

trish, y'all have winn-dixie in ky? i haven't seen one since driving thru texas. we just got a bi-lo, and we have also gotten a publix (which i have never been to, but my dh has scary grandparent memories of from fla.)

hey, i'm curious-what mkts, (and where) DOES everyone have?

i'm in middle tn- regularly bi-lo, kroger's, and food lion, but we have a few albertson's (the one i know of for certain just became a publix- did they all?) er, and publix. and for health food, only wild oats. we have big lots- does everyone have those? 'cause if it's reasonably common, i'll post when i see something cool.

in ca, i miss mrs gooch's, louis foods (san marino), but lucky, safeway, ralph's, alpha beta, no big loss.

suse

christymama

05-01-2003, 01:05 AM

Im SOOOO jelious!! We have a Bobs IGA and a Safeway here. Im so use to Superwalmart and Krogers. So its been some getting use to here. Everything is so much more expensive here too. Io never get good deals. In fact i buy the cheap stuff and still pay 170- 180 a week for food well we just cant afford that so We make it realllllly strech for a few weeks. I was thinking about looking for coupons from the net. Do most stores take them if i print them from my computer? I really need to figure soemthing out here. If anyone got Ideas Let them FLOW!

Trishy

05-01-2003, 08:09 AM

Most stores should accept internet coupons. I print them primarily from two sites:

http://www.coolsavings.com
http://www.smartsource.com

In the closest town (2 miles one way) we have Winn Dixie, Sav-A-Lot and a local store called Foodland. It is rumored that Kroger will be taking over Foodland and I have all of my fingers crossed. In Corbin (about 25 miles one way) there is Kroger and Super Wally.

sarasprings

07-05-2003, 09:21 PM

Just thought I'd add some clothes info...

Lands end clothes are on clearance, plus 50% off at Sears. Lots of stuff for $2 and $2.50. I think I got half of next summer's wardrobe for $18.

reilly's momma

07-05-2003, 10:58 PM

We live in an area with lots of students & tis the season for them to be moving & throwing out stuff that isn't junk, so I've been having a blast :bgbounce

Recent acquisitions include a set of coffee mugs, a bunch of glass canisters, some cobalt & some green, a penguin light & an air filter, both of which work perfectly, & just tonite I picked up a copy of Gray's Anatomy & a biochemistry textbook, as well as a few other books. I love garbage picking, it's like going on a shopping spree cuz you can take whatever you want without having to foot a bill at the checkout :bouncy

LaffNowCryLater

07-06-2003, 02:13 AM

Ohhh, I love coupons. I think I am such a dork b/c no one else my age(19) stalks coupons like I do. I especially love Babies R Us coupons, b/c you can use one of their coupons AND a manufacturers coupon!! lol

Trishy

07-06-2003, 07:49 AM

:wave Mother and daughter garbage picking duo here. I'm still on vacation (going home Wednesday) and mom and I have scored some really good finds around here. Her and her sister have garage sales from time to time and we must have gotten 5000 free books. One of the books we got is a first edition by John Steinbeck. We also got one of those long folding tables, a changing table for my SIL and tons of other little goodies. I don't actually dig through garbage though, the stuff is usually sitting at the curb.

aoife

07-07-2003, 04:14 PM

WOW!! A thread just for MDC frugalites, just like me!! See, I DID need to tiptoe into some other forums! Too cool!

Another penny-pinching-princess here. I don't clip coupons (we just don't get good ones here in my area and there is only one store who doubles coupons, and they inflate prices to compensate). But, I have 4 local stores to comparison shop at (2 grocery stores, a WM, and a BJs ~ and we're soon to have a 3rd grocery store woohooo!). I also try to do it homemade if I can to save $$, too.

I'm so excited!

Use it up. Wear it out. Make it do, or do without!

hslingmomof4

07-16-2003, 01:07 AM

Oh, I love clipping coupons. I love rainchecks too. This what I use to do back in NKY. I would go to Biggs, Meijers or Krogers buy my product at a darn good price. Go to the customer service desk and ask for a raincheck for that product. You aren't lying, you didn't say it was out and you get one for your next visit when it isn't on sale. Dh and I got rainchecks for Capri Suns. They were $.99 a box of 10. We went back the next day too and asked for more. When waffles are .99 we would do it too.

Now, in the south, not much variety, no dbl coupons, no good grocery stores that compete. I'm miserable when it comes to getting a deal. Although, I was at Petsmart and Pedigree had tons of coloring books with coupons in it. 2.00 off of a 21pound or more of dog food. So, I grabbed 10 books. teehee! The coupons don't expire til August 31st. We also grabbed the free Breathe Busters coupon. We have tons of them too. Everytime I buy dogfood, we get that free too. If a coupon is offered, I take more than just one, if the expiration date is long enough. Around Xmas, I get a lot of rainchecks for later use. Depends on the store if they expire or not. Meijers didn't and I loved it.

Trishy

07-16-2003, 08:58 AM

You guys want to know how to get the really good coupons? Find products around your home that you really like and check the packaging for a toll free customer service number. Call them and tell them how much you and your family enjoy their product. Then ask to be put on the mailing list. Usually they send you either high value or free product coupons. Not many places receive calls telling them they actually like products, most calls are complaints. It only takes 5 minutes to call a place and can really pay off.

serenetabbie

07-19-2003, 10:06 PM

I am loving this thread! I sure with the markets around here had double coupons.
Trish, I do that! I called Nissan (ramen noodles) and today got 5 free packages coupons in the mail. I have gotten great coupons and free products from Reynolds, Horizon Organics, Boca (a part of Kraft), Aussie shampoo, White Rain shampoo, and various pet foods/supplies. Companies like to hear compliments and suggestions. most places have email addresses. Plus most places will send free samples of stuff too. All the stores around here take ecoupons. Check the website of your favorite store or product for them. I can never get coolsavings to work on my computer for some reason.
I curb side shop and make from scratch. I have the Complete Tightwad Gazzette on my bed side table. I never pay retail price for anything new. Most of my kids stuff is from yardsales or free. They get all excited when we go yardsaling because they know they will each be able to get something they like. I never turn down anything free, even if I turn around and donate it (I don't have yardsales, I write it off on my taxes). I buy T.P every 3 months when it goes on sale at one of the local drug stores (those big rolls, single ply) Most of my garden was free from trading with other gardeners.
Today I got 3 packages of Boca burgers, 5 packages of Top Ramen and a bag of green beans for free :) From compliments! i am waiting for the shampoo to go on sale for 79 cents so it will be free too.