sunflowerlady Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 Here is an experiment I am trying-couponing. I read the Coupon mom book and am working on bringing down our grocery bill using a combination of couponing, loss leader sales and shopping at Aldi. I am starting to think I am too poor for couponing.:confused: A great many of the coupons are for things I still couldn't afford even after the coupon. I get a better deal on store brands of items usually. Brand name cleaning supplies, health and beauty supplies and makeup can be purchased much more cheaply by buying a store brand or at Aldi. I am not brand loyal to any products, really. Normally, I shop at Aldi for the majority of my groceries and fill in at Wal Mart (which is right next door) for things Aldi doesn't carry. Now I am considering the game plan of going to a few different stores each shopping trip. Oh, and I am trying to figure out the CVS thing. Has anyone actually done the work and effort required to compare couponing combined with store sales vs shopping at Aldi or Save A Lot? I guess to answer this for myself I need to sit down and start a price book. When this week is over and homeschool activities stop for a while I will have more time to devote to planning shopping trips and going to different stores for different things, so I am not giving up yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eleni Posted April 11, 2011 Share Posted April 11, 2011 I try to use coupons, but most of the things they are for we don't use. I've been spending around 125$ a week for our family of 5 the past few weeks...including dog food, cat food and litter, hygiene things, paper products I make our bread We aren't eating meat because it is Lent(and I think that is what accounts for the big price drop! I usually spend around $200 a week) I make a big pot of veggie soup that gives many many servings and costs maybe $6 to make. That is what dh and I eat for lunch along with the bread I bake. Tonights dinner was ww rigatoni made with ricotta and spinach and sauce baked for awhile and I made enough for 2 days I made a big pot of vegetarian chili with loads of veggies and that fed 11 people for dinner...the 5 of us for dinner...and will provide a few more lunches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 How is your couponing going now? I didn't see this thread earlier. I have just started back to couponing. Do you have a match up website, like SouthernSavers.com to match up deals with coupons? I use HotCouponWorld.com a lot for the forums and help. It does take time, and many give the advice to NOT lower your grocery budget for a few months while you build your stockpile. Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunflowerlady Posted May 21, 2011 Author Share Posted May 21, 2011 Funny to see this thread again from last month.LOL Well, I am getting more serious about couponing. I so use a few different sites to match up sales and coupons. I have a good , small stockpile of personal care items, laundry detergent and a few food items. I have been trying to shop according to sales and coupons deals and then fill in at Aldi. Two weeks ago, I really did well and spend at least thirty dollars less than usual. That is for 2 weeks. Of course, I took into account meat I already had on hand, so that helped with the saving. We will see how I do this Friday when I have less meat in the freezer. Also, I decided to use cash when I shop, so that helps keep me on track and I am less prone to toss things in the cart. It does take time to go to a few different store, but I have more time available than money.:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 I am getting more serious about it as well. have you found laundry soap for free? I haven't yet. I have some sitting in the basement that we take on trips, but for home use I just make my own as it is about $1 per month or less for use. Dawn Funny to see this thread again from last month.LOL Well, I am getting more serious about couponing. I so use a few different sites to match up sales and coupons. I have a good , small stockpile of personal care items, laundry detergent and a few food items. I have been trying to shop according to sales and coupons deals and then fill in at Aldi. Two weeks ago, I really did well and spend at least thirty dollars less than usual. That is for 2 weeks. Of course, I took into account meat I already had on hand, so that helped with the saving. We will see how I do this Friday when I have less meat in the freezer. Also, I decided to use cash when I shop, so that helps keep me on track and I am less prone to toss things in the cart. It does take time to go to a few different store, but I have more time available than money.:lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasmama Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 Do you have a CVS nearby? I do well on health and beauty items there. I cut coupons, wait for a B1G1 sale and then use two coupons. This works out to be a much better deal than I could find even if I bought similar generic items at Walmart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplemama Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 (edited) I do both: I use coupons for things I cannot get at Aldi, or our commisary. For example: today I bought $84 worth of Osteo-Biflex for $15 at Rite Aid. I need it for my arthritis. I think it works better than generic. So I bought it on sale, bogo, and used two coupons for $6 and $5 off a bottle. I also found one large bottle marked down 50% off because it was expiring soon, and used a coupon for that one. I got some register rewards from previous purchases, which took $13 off. There are a few things I won't buy at Aldi--I mainly just buy produce, frozen fish and a few dry/canned goods. The rest of my household items I try to buy using coupons when the items are on sale: detergent, dishwasher and regular dish soap, paper products. I usually stock up when things are on sale because I usually have multiples of the coupons available--my hubby buys a paper on Sunday, as does my father-in-law, and there are coupons in the free newspaper printed on our military installation. I check out coupon mom . com to check out sales and match up coupons, but I generally don't buy a lot of things that coupons are available for: processed food, household cleaners, and beauty products of types or brands I don't use. Couponing for everything is too time consuming for me and doesn't give a good return on my time! I also get good deals in other places--I found two books at our library book sale that would have cost me about $150 total if purchased new, but I found them at the book sale for 50 cents each. Jennifer Edited May 21, 2011 by purplemama Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 I should do CVS again as well. I haven't done much of anything for a while. Dawn Do you have a CVS nearby? I do well on health and beauty items there. I cut coupons, wait for a B1G1 sale and then use two coupons. This works out to be a much better deal than I could find even if I bought similar generic items at Walmart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunflowerlady Posted May 21, 2011 Author Share Posted May 21, 2011 I have found good deals with CVS and Walgreens, mostly health and beauty stuff and some household things. I have not found laundry detergent for free, but I have found it cheap by combining sales, store coupons and manufacturers' coupons. If your homemade is that cheap, it will be hard to beat that price.:) I tried homemade once and it didn't work out. I have hard water and I wash in cold water, so that may have had something to do with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_girls_mommy Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 Just popping in to say, stick with it! I have only been doing it for about 3 mos now, but I am saving so much money. I do CVS, one grocery store that doubles the coupons, and then fill in at ALdi after the deals. Also, Walmart price matches. So if I can't get to Aldi, I can take their add in and get the produce deals at Walmart, or if I can't find something Walgreen's is advertising on sale, I can take their add in and then use the coupon at Walmart, etc. I just learned this trick. I have a good stockpile on personal hygiene and kitchen staples now and have even gotten coupons for baking items, meat (Yes actual meat coupons matched w/sales =free chicken and low cost beef, not just processed stuff..) so those deals will eventually come around. The hardest part was the first month or so, as I didn't have a stock of things. So I was chasing the coupon deals then still having to buy regular stuff at Aldi. But now I only have to do the coupons for the week plus produce and milk. I have a good blog to follow that helps immensely. I wouldn't do this if it wasn't that easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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