Is it possible to use coupons and eat healthily?

[Cindy in C-ville]

At the beach, my step-sister brought me BAGS of stuff she had gotten free or nearly free from using coupons. Most of what she brought me was CVS kind of stuff - body wash, shampoo, razors, etc. This kind of stuff appeals to me - if I'm getting it for free or super cheap, but the whole CVS system is overwhelming to me.

 

For groceries, I have never used coupons b/c I mostly see prepared food kind of stuff, and we just don't eat that. Do any of you who eat mostly whole foods use coupons? If so, could you give me a quick tutorial?

 

We are seriously needing to cut our budget and I'm wondering if this is something I can do to help out. TIA!

[KS_]

At the beach, my step-sister brought me BAGS of stuff she had gotten free or nearly free from using coupons. Most of what she brought me was CVS kind of stuff - body wash, shampoo, razors, etc. This kind of stuff appeals to me - if I'm getting it for free or super cheap, but the whole CVS system is overwhelming to me.

 

For groceries, I have never used coupons b/c I mostly see prepared food kind of stuff, and we just don't eat that. Do any of you who eat mostly whole foods use coupons? If so, could you give me a quick tutorial?

 

We are seriously needing to cut our budget and I'm wondering if this is something I can do to help out. TIA!

 

The CVS thing is too much for me at this point in my life, and although I love using coupons when I can, I haven't found all that many for the types of foods we eat now. Our Fred Meyer will occasionally put coupons for specific products in their natural food aisle (like for Annie's products, or Organic Valley products), but I rely more on watching for sales on the products we use the most. We don't get the newspaper anymore (cost too much), so I don't get the weekly coupons, but I wasn't using that many of them anyway.

 

There are sometimes coupons I find to print online, but not regularly.

 

We have been cutting our budget some by using a fruit/veggie co-op (Bountiful Baskets) - if you can find a produce co-op in your area, that might be a good option.

[FriedClams]

ABSOLUTELY.

 

We eat healthy here and I am a coupon queen. Most healthy foods are non-processed - fruits, veggies, rice, beans, meat (some), etc. Those are usually some of the cheapest things in the store. I try to cook from scratch as much as possible and that keeps costs down. I also shop the clearance bins, the almost-out-of-date stuff and the freezer section. I clip coupons for some of those items - yogurt, eggs (when I bought them in the store - now I get them from a friend), frozen veg, cereal, paper products.

 

Where I make up the bulk of my couponing money is at CVS or Walgreens. I pay pennies on the dollar for: dish soap, body soap, shampoo, face wash, deodorant, girl products, razors (and blades), OTC meds (Motrin, Tylenol, COld meds, especially for the kids), toothpaste, shower gels, etc. They are all name-brands and large quantity. I save a TON by clipping coupons for those items. I have a "stash" so I rarely have to run out and pay full price for those items.

 

ETA- Money Saving Mom and Southern Savers are great places to start reading up on how to save money with CVS and other stores. I would caution that it will take about a $40 investment and about a month or so of consistent shopping (or shorter if a friend will train you!) to really get the system. I TOTALLY balled it up at the beginning, both in CVS and Walgreens, but the "stupid tax" I paid then has been MORE than recouped! For me - it's totally worth it!

Edited August 19, 2010 by Kayaking Mom

[Caraway]

I think that it depends on where you live and what you consider healthy. ;)

 

Around here there are certainly ways to save money on healthy foods, but not by using coupons.

[LibraryLover]

www.mambosprouts.com/coupons/free_coupons.php

[spradlin02]

I also shop the clearance bins, the almost-out-of-date stuff and the freezer section.

 

Those are my favorite places to shop. It astounds me how many people don't buy marked down meats because they think they're bad. Thanks, I'll take it.

[kokotg]

Right now I'm going through 20 coupons (bought on ebay) for local, humanely raised chicken that my local stores carry. I've gotten bags of free Kraft cheese with coupons and sales before. I see coupons for organic milk regularly. I also buy a lot of snack stuff for the kids (string cheese, crackers, pretzels, tortilla chips etc) for trips to the park and stuff, because I'm just not on the ball enough to always pack wholesome homemade muffins, no matter how often I tell myself I will. I stock up on whole wheat pasta and sauce when I can combine a sale and coupon on it.

[LarlaB]

We try to eat mostly whole foods, on a budget. I use coupons whenever possible...and honestly, its not that often. For our area, the majority of food coupons I see are for highly processed foods (snacks, cereal, canned soups, boxed dinners etc) and while the deals are there, its (IMHO) nutritionally inferior food that we try not to buy.

 

If you're not highly concerned RE dairy, there are coupons to be had...cottage cheese, sour cream, shredded cheese etc. But, we are mostly organic here, so again, those coupons don't work. :)

 

The only 'healthy' coupons I get come directly from Kroger based on my purchasing history ($2 off produce, beans, organic brands, organic meat & dairy etc). And as PP's said, bargain bins & sales. That's how I save on whole/organic items. :) Bulk. (Also, CostCo is a biggie for us- makes healthy ingredients a lot more affordable on a daily basis)

[mom31257]

I don't know where you live, but if you are in the south, go to http://www.southernsavers.com. It is a great site and fairly easy to use. I do use coupons, and I feel that we eat fairly healthy. I do use some processed foods, but if I do, I always pair it with fresh whole foods. I feel that I'm at least counter balancing it.

 

I've saved a lot of money on things that aren't food. I've gone in to grocery stores and saved from 50 to 70%. I don't try to hunt down every deal, though, as some coupon shopper do.

 

Here is what I do. I buy 2 papers every Sunday. I buy 2 so that when there is something good, I'll have at least 2 coupons. Some people buy more. I put the date on the cover. I save these and only cut coupons when I need them.

 

On Saturday evenings I go to the website I mentioned above. I look at the weekly ads (coming up) for the stores in my area. The site has a feature where you can click boxes on the list and print out just what you want to buy. It will include the coupon information, too.

 

I print out all my lists (usually Publix and Kroger, sometimes CVS, Rite Aid, or Walgreens) I only buy what I think we are really going to use. I take the lists and go through my coupon sets to cut out all the necessary coupons. If you look on the site, the coupon information under a sale item might say SS 8/8 or RP 7/25. That means Smart Source August 8th or Red Plum July 25th. Those two are the main companies for providing the coupon inserts in the Sunday paper. This is why I put the date on the front cover.

 

Sunday afternoons/evenings I do the shopping. We don't have church on Sunday night, so that makes it easier for me. If stores are out of things already, I do ask for rain checks.

 

CVS, Rite Aid, and Walgreens all issue certificates that act like cash in their store. They have expiration dates, so you want to keep a check on them. The website I mentioned has tutorials and information about each store.

 

If you have any questions, feel free to pm me. It didn't really take me long to learn the process, and it's really saved us money. My dh says it is like my part time job. I probably am saving $50 a week over what we were spending.

[KS_]

We try to eat mostly whole foods, on a budget. I use coupons whenever possible...and honestly, its not that often. For our area, the majority of food coupons I see are for highly processed foods (snacks, cereal, canned soups, boxed dinners etc) and while the deals are there, its (IMHO) nutritionally inferior food that we try not to buy.

 

If you're not highly concerned RE dairy, there are coupons to be had...cottage cheese, sour cream, shredded cheese etc. But, we are mostly organic here, so again, those coupons don't work. :)

 

The only 'healthy' coupons I get come directly from Kroger based on my purchasing history ($2 off produce, beans, organic brands, organic meat & dairy etc). And as PP's said, bargain bins & sales. That's how I save on whole/organic items. :) Bulk. (Also, CostCo is a biggie for us- makes healthy ingredients a lot more affordable on a daily basis)

 

Oh, I get those coupons too, from Fred Meyer based on how much I buy :)

 

I do save money purchasing in bulk - but most of that I do online, so no couponing involved (a few things I get at Sam's). I watch items at Amazon that we use (packaged stuff, but organic or natural) and if it goes on sale, then I buy it. I also buy bulk organic wheat berries, organic dry beans, honey, etc., online.

[tiffijo1]

I too find that I rarely see coupons for Organic products! We do try to buy the milk, eggs, and butter from Costco because it is a great savings compared to our grocery stores.

[Chris in VA]

Not coupons, but Angel Food Ministries has better, less processed stuff now.

[mcconnellboys]

My food coop has discount days and special sales multiple times per year and I stock up then. They also print out coupon books periodically and I use those when they have them available.

[Proverbs*Mom]

I personally didn't find it to be possible. Around here, the coupons for non-processed foods are few and far between. Of course, my family is also gluten-free, so I am not excited by coupons for cake mixes and pasta, lol. :) Also, at this point in my life, admittedly, coupons are not something I can seem to keep up on. It's really hard for my perfectionist nature to admit that! The piles of coupons and "missed deals" were actually stressing me out, so I just quit trying. I have issues. Ha ha!

 

I do love (correction-used to love, I haven't done it lately) going to CVS and getting great deals on health and beauty items. My favorite site is:

 

http://www.iheartcvs.com

[Jen in PA]

My MIL gives me stacks of coupon inserts and I can go through a month's worth and find maybe 3 or 4 coupons for foods I would actually serve my kids. I find it's a better use of my time to just shop sales for healthy foods and cook from scratch.

[Faith]

I like this blog. http://savingnaturally.com/

[OrganicAnn]

I've have received coupons for organic vegetables. These are from Krogers and are not often. They come in the mail (not the coupons from the newspaper).

 

Anyway sign up for all the coupons you can. Use what you need, toss or give away the rest.

[TechWife]

I'm doing this by shopping on triple coupon days and super double days. These days come around about once every three months. I have blogged about it, so if you want to you can take a look at my blog.

 

Items I get w/coupons include: yogurt, rice, frozen veggies, bacon, canola oil and a great deal of household and hygiene products. It is worth it, but I don't spend a lot of time clipping coupons. I do go to the southern savers site that others have mentioned. I also wait to clip until one of the special days comes around, otherwise store brands are less expensive and I just buy those.

[rafiki]

.

[Brigitte]

At the beach, my step-sister brought me BAGS of stuff she had gotten free or nearly free from using coupons. Most of what she brought me was CVS kind of stuff - body wash, shampoo, razors, etc. This kind of stuff appeals to me - if I'm getting it for free or super cheap, but the whole CVS system is overwhelming to me.

 

For groceries, I have never used coupons b/c I mostly see prepared food kind of stuff, and we just don't eat that. Do any of you who eat mostly whole foods use coupons? If so, could you give me a quick tutorial?

 

We are seriously needing to cut our budget and I'm wondering if this is something I can do to help out. TIA!

 

Cindy - totally unrelated, but.....your latest blog post brought me to tears.

[Nature]

Our local co-op has several coupon books that has healthy and/or organic food. I’ve also found coupons for free vegetables with the purchase of chicken or other things like that.

[WeeBeaks]

Someone already mentioned the Mambo Sprouts booklet, which is fantastic.

 

I also routinely use coupons for some fresh chicken and meats, some meat substitute products (boca and soforth which many would NOT consider obviously), butter, yogurts, cheese, soymilk, etc. I did find some coupons for whole wheat bagged flour last month. I use coupons on some olive oils and so forth (Costco is typically cheaper). This week I got free tuna with coupons.

 

I buy a whole lot not strictly healthy too for which I pay very little - crackers, cereals (organic ones ideally), packaged oatmeal, granola and so forth. I look on a case by case basis at the ingredients on convenience foods. Sometimes when they are nearly free with coupons and not horrible for us, we go for it and give mom an easy dinner night.

 

Someone already mentioned the HUGE benefit though - pay less for everything you aren't eating (cleaning supplies, toilet paper, beauty items and so forth) and save every dollar you can for quality food for which you cannot find coupons. Every season too the drug stores here have coupon freebie/rebate items for even homeopathic type items (cold remedies come to mind), regular saline and so forth if you are into more natural health and beauty. Just keep your eyes open and stock up on the stuff you use and skip the rest. Every little bit helps, even if you are only saving a few dollars versus the huge amounts someone else is doing more processed foods.

 

Even the local health food co-op has coupons from Mambo Sprouts out and available for the stuff they carry - Muir Glen, Cascadian Farms, some of the natural juices.