For those that think coupons are not worth it.

[Mrs Mungo]

We are a family of 6 on one income. Couponing helps us out so much. With 4 girls in the house you can imagine the health and beauty products we go through. Since couponing I have never had to pay for deoderant, toothbrush, or toothpaste. I pay no more than $1.50 for nice brand shampoo's, ladies products, and soap/bodywashes.

 

I can only use dove deodorant. Any other kind breaks me out. I can only use SLS-free toothpaste, I usually have to order it online. I only use one kind of tampons, because other kinds are not comfortable to me. I only use one kind of shampoo because I have very curly hair, not every kind works for me. My eldest actually breaks out from certain shampoos, just from the excess running over her skin as she rinses. It's just not that easy for people with allergies. So, I receive no benefit from those types of coupons at all.

 

es there are alot of junk food coupons. Sometimes your paper might not carry the better coupons. But you can buy them online. I frequently get coupons for cheese, yogurt, rice, juicy juice, bottled water,canned veggies/fruit and everyday pantry items like oil, pam, peanut butter, spaghetti sauce, pasta, etc. Many of the items I get free or close to it.

 

Okay, I am also picky about brands, mainly because I don't buy anything made by Nestle (like Juicy Juice). I don't buy canned vegetables. I generally make my own spaghetti sauce. I don't buy bottled water. This is what people mean by coupons not being worth it. Lots of people don't buy the sorts of things that you find coupons for. Plus, I shop almost exclusively at the commissary where they do not double coupons.

 

While it's great for you, it just isn't worth it to me.

[rafiki]

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[Dobela]

I can only use dove deodorant. Any other kind breaks me out. I can only use SLS-free toothpaste, I usually have to order it online. I only use one kind of tampons, because other kinds are not comfortable to me. I only use one kind of shampoo because I have very curly hair, not every kind works for me. My eldest actually breaks out from certain shampoos, just from the excess running over her skin as she rinses. It's just not that easy for people with allergies. So, I receive no benefit from those types of coupons at all.

 

 

 

Okay, I am also picky about brands, mainly because I don't buy anything made by Nestle (like Juicy Juice). I don't buy canned vegetables. I generally make my own spaghetti sauce. I don't buy bottled water. This is what people mean by coupons not being worth it. Lots of people don't buy the sorts of things that you find coupons for. Plus, I shop almost exclusively at the commissary where they do not double coupons.

 

While it's great for you, it just isn't worth it to me.

This is why I use a coupon service, or will be again, to get coupons for the brands I use. I am suprised by coupons that are available in other places but never come my way.

 

And, lucky you! The commissary! I so miss being able to shop there. Even without doubling coupons the prices were always way cheaper than any of the local grocery stores. I really miss the meat and fresh veggies the most.

[Jenny in Florida]

The key is to find a site that does all the matching for you: there are many out there (Grocery Game, Coupon Mom,etc). You simply have to print your list, do a quick match up and go! It literally takes me about 20 minutes to get prepared for my shop.

 

I tried both of the sites you mentioned. Literally, the only deals I found listed during the entire Grocery Game trial period were store sales that required no coupons, sales I found simply by walking the aisles.

 

We eat organic as much as possible, whole grains, not much junk at all. The key is taking a few minutes up front to get on email lists for companies/products you do purchase...almost everyone will send you coupons. You just have to ask :) Also, sign up for Mambo Sprouts, they send coupons regularly for "good foods" .

 

Yep. I'm on their list, too. Each edition of their booklet nets me maybe two coupons. Period.

 

What I've found is that a lot of people who say they eat organic and use coupons are buying a lot of processed food items we don't or can't use. In other words, I don't care if the box of macaroni and cheese says "organic" on it, we still don't eat cheese at all.

 

The newspaper inserts always have coupons for bread, eggs, canned/frozen beans & veggies, whole grain pasta. Will you throw a lot of Qs out? Yes, but you'll get big savings with the ones you do use, especially if you have a grocery store that doubles and also has it's own store Qs.

 

We rarely read the newspaper, since we get most of our news reading online and by listening to the radio. However, during my most recent couponing attempt, I started buying papers. I found I rarely got enough coupons out of the insert to offset the price of the newspaper, and it bothered me to put all of that newsprint in the recycling bin.

 

I buy almost no bread, since the majority of it has ingredients we don't eat. We also go through very little bread, except when my daughter is home. Mostly, I bake my own.

 

We do not eat eggs.

 

And most of our produce is purchased fresh. Then only things I buy canned, ever, are cooked beans (for the times I run out of the ones I pre-cook and freeze), vegetarian, fat-free refried beans (ditto), occasional vegetarian baked beans for my husband. I usually keep on hand frozen corn niblets and french fries (for quick snacks for my son). And we always have frozen berries to use in smoothies. For all of those things, I regularly buy store brands.

 

Also, none of my local stores double coupons. I do watch for and clip store coupons that are helpful, but it's maybe one or two a week. Maybe.

 

Honestly, I have nothing against coupons. I'd love to use more of them. And I'd be very, very grateful for any tips. I just get frustrated having people tell me all the time how great they are but not seeing how they do much for me.

[Jennifer3141]

I can honestly say I've never seen Whole Foods compared to Wal-Mart! :D

 

That made me laugh too. :D

[Jenny in Florida]

As far as frozen berries - I've found some deals because of my new interest in coupons and saving money. Safeway did a deal with a coupon for $5 off of $15 of frozen foods. I went in and bought 3 bags of organic strawberries, $10 after my $5 off.

 

Target did a deal recently on frozen foods: Buy any six items and get a $5 gift card. I did it twice in two trips, mostly on frozen berries.

 

Also, my local Aldi's has a better everyday price on frozen berries than do any of the local grocery stores. So, when I can't find other deals, I go there and buy as many bags as will fit in my freezer.

[Jenny in Florida]

Okay, I am also picky about brands, mainly because I don't buy anything made by Nestle (like Juicy Juice).

 

Oh yes. That, too.

[cjzimmer1]

It's interesting reading through this and seeing different people's opinions on junk food versus not and what coupons are available to them.

 

For instance, someone mentioned egg coupons. The only egg coupon I have ever seen is for Eggland Best (some specialty version but I can't remember the details) and those are more than double regular eggs so saving 30 cents doesn't really help you out. I know coupons for fluid milk are not permitted in my state and I'm wondering if there is something for eggs as well (or maybe certain types of dairy) and that is why I've never seen eggs coupons.

 

Another mention produce. The only produce coupons I have ever seen are for some of the specialty tomatoes (grapes with some fancy packaging). These are so terribly expensive that even with a coupon they are overpriced. We simply don't eat tomatoes in the winter and in the summer I either grow them myself or buy them for bulk (for canning) at about 15 cents a pound. Actually I buy as little produce as possible at the grocery store because just about every other option (farmer's market, bulk auction, roadside stands, homegrown etc) is cheaper than a grocery store (even if there were coupons available) In the winter when these are closed we just eat stuff that I've frozen or canned during the summer months.

 

Many people mention cereal. I know there are great deals to be had on cereal when combining sales and coupon. However, cereal (organic or not) still falls in the junk food category for me due to the amount of preseratives/sweetners and who know what else is in them. My family eats oatmeal with whole fruit, which is bought in bulk through a co-op because even with the coupons buying only 2 pounds containers at the store is more than double the price per pound of buying a 50 pound sack through the grocery store. Yogurt - my view on this is why buy it all when you can make it for a fraction of the cost without the junk added in. I've watched the sales and sites like coupon mom, but the great deals they promote either aren't healthy enough (for my criteria only - no judgement what someone else decides for their family) or still is more expensive than making it myself

 

I do use coupons for toilet paper and kleenex but those are some of the few products we use. Cleaners and shampoo are baking soda (cheapest in bulk from Sam's), apple cider vinegar (cheapest in bulk through co-op) and coconut oil (cheapest in bulk from co-op).

 

So if you use processed foods, commercial household products, live in a area that actually has coupons for whole foods, live in areas that double foods, don't/won't use huge amount of foods then yes coupons are great deals for you. But coupons are necessarily available in all areas for healthy food. I personally find bulk buying to be a far better way to save money than using coupons but I realize that a smaller family would drown in the volume I sometimes acquire of something to get a great deal.

[DawnM]

I actually found couponing fun for a while and have thought about picking it up again, but I STILL have things on the shelves downstairs that we simply don't use! I am trying to use them anyway, but I hate taking all that shelf space up with stuff that has been there for 2 years that just isn't what we would eat or use.

 

My middle son gained weight while couponing and my husband lost weight because he just simply refused to eat it if he didn't like it or had any transfat at all.

 

What I have found works for us:

 

1. Budget

2. A plan (use http://www.budget101.com/budget101-free-ebook/free-ebook-groceries-200-month-2547.html ideas a lot!)

3. Make my own laundry soap and quite a few of my own cleaners

4. Do pay attention to the loss leader specials that we use and stock up

 

This way I am not coming home with 25 rolls of deoterant that none of us uses or boxes and boxes of twinkies that none of us needs.

 

We are still very frugal, out of debt other than the house, but we budget well and have a plan.

[angela in ohio]

While it's great for you, it just isn't worth it to me.

 

I think this is it.

 

Those who love coupons think others would use them, too, if they just tried harder or understood better. That's not it, though. There are those of us who live in a way that makes coupons not worth the time or expense. Those who use coupons don't have to prove anything to us; it's great that they work for you.

 

We buy most of our food in bulk, and I make most things from scratch. This is much cheaper, though more labor intensive, than buying most grocery store products. The time I could spend couponing goes to cooking, traveling to a farm to buy bulk honey, poring over co-op food sale catalogs, gardening, etc. I also take into consideration packaging and a desire to buy local products.

 

We are all doing the best we can for our families, and we can all choose to spend our time in different ways with the same goal of being frugal homemakers.

Edited March 16, 2011 by angela in ohio