Any couponers...is it worth it?

[Alison in KY]

I'm trying again for the second time to get into couponing. I'm not sure this is working for me. It just seems like I'm not finding that many deals on things I use, other than toothpaste and deodorant. I know others who are loving their deals and just love going to the stores and getting their items, but I don't even like shopping that much. Anyone else not get into it? Or can someone share with me why I should stick with using coupons? I just dont' feel like after the cost of papers and drive time that it's been worth it.

 

Alison

[Jamauk]

I used to be really into it. Then I realized it became more of a game and I wasn't actually using all of the things I was buying.

 

Now, when I look at what we would actually use vs 'hey, that's a good deal and we'll probably use it eventually' I find the very few things that I can get a great deal on just aren't worth the time and effort it takes to hunt down those deals.

 

My time is worth something to me and if it means spending a few extra $$ to save those two + hours I was spending, I'm ok with that!

[The Girls' Mom]

Just not worth it to me. There are virtually NO coupons for the things we actually eat and use. If they would start coming out with coupons for fresh produce and non-processed meat, then I'd jump back in. Every time I have tried couponing, the amount of junk coming into the house jumped exponentially.

[Jamauk]

Every time I have tried couponing, the amount of junk coming into the house jumped exponentially.

 

:iagree: Yes. This. Because it's in the house, we'll eat it. If it's not in the house we don't eat it.

[LifeLovePassion]

not for us as we eat very little processed food.

[MamaBearMO]

I do use some coupons, but tend to be very selective since I don't want to buy something just because I have a coupon but won't use it or eat it. I'd say the majority of the coupons I use are for health & beauty, baby items and cleaning supplies, all are expensive and the savings from the coupons does add up to quite a sum at the end of a year. This year I've gotten quite a few office supply coupons that have resulted in lots of free school supplies (pens, dry erase markers, copy paper, scotch tape, 3M wall hooks, etc.).

 

So far as fresh produce and other higher quality food coupons....they exist, they're out there, your best bet to find them is to RSS a blog dedicated to coupons so you'll know when they're available and where. Right now in my little coupon file I have coupons for driscoll berries, dole salads, a pound of tomatoes (no specific brand), sun sweet tomatoes, a pound of California cheese (no specific brand), California avocados, organic foods, organic valley dairy & cheese, etc., so the produce coupons are out there and so are coupons for organic foods. You just have to look for them and know where they are.

 

I spend an hour, maybe two tops, each week to clip and/or print coupons, file them, purge expiring ones and go through the sales circulars or online weekly ad pages. I know what I have in the house, what we need and what we're running low on, and what coupons I have, so when I see something is on sale, I'll add it to the list and pull the coupon.

 

To me, if it is something we'll use, the coupon is exactly like real money...if HP copy & print reams are on sale at Walgreens for $3.99 (as they are this week), why would I not use a $1.00 coupon? It's just like a dollar sitting in my wallet, except it's not green and it leaves the real $1.00 I do have in my wallet right there, in my wallet! Better in my wallet than in the store's cash register!

 

All that said, I also do clip coupons for things we don't eat, use or want. Often you will stumble on something that, while you or I don't want it, someone does want or need it, like the food pantry. So I keep those types of coupons in another little file and when I see on the RSS feed where a match-up is free, I'll grab some and add it to our food pantry donation box. Even if I can't use it, someone else might and free is free.

[MIch elle]

Some weeks are better than others but I just used $24 of coupons at CVS today; the only food item was Cheez-Its. I got $22 CVS bucks back too.

 

Since shopping at Aldi's, I don't use that may coupons at the regular grocery store but DO watch for deals every week at coupon.mom (it's free to join) to combine sales with coupons as much as possible.

 

YES, there are coupons for processed foods that almost everyone uses : mayo, steak sauce, mustard, sour cream, cheese, ricotta, etc. in the paper.

[Baseball mom]

Yes coupons have saved us alot. I try to stock up on things we eat and use (shampoo, soap, cleaners etc) when I have coupons and sales. Because I have saved and have a stockpile (not huge but decent sized) I have been able to help out a couple friends that were really stuggling. I didn't have extra money to give but I had extra food and toiletries to give.

 

I don't spend a huge amount of time on my coupons. I clip and put them in my binder while watching tv or while talking on the phone. Then each week I check the sale papers and see if my coupons match any sales. It doesn't take much time and the savings are pretty good.

[Momof3littles]

I occasionally can save a little money at WFs.

 

Last night Maranatha PB was on sale for 4/jar. THere was a $1 hang tag hanging around the neck of the jar. That could be stacked w/ $1 off from the WFs coupon circular available in store. THat made my 5 or 6 dollar jar of PB $2.

 

There was a coupon for 1.25 off of a carton of almond milk (we use it for smoothies) and the regular price was only 1.69.

 

We don't buy a lot of convenience foods but picked up some granola bars and cereal last night for an upcoming vacation. We were able to match up stuff already on sale with a coupon, which made it a much better deal.

 

Overall though, I usually don't find them all that worthwhile. I find we save more by minimizing waste (planning leftovers, dealing w/ them appropriately...freezing before they go bad, etc.), meal planning, freezer cooking, "stacking" recipes (make a few recipes that use overlapping ingredients back to back, so you aren't using 1/3 of a piece of ginger and 1/4 of a bunch of cilantro on one recipe, kwim?).

 

We also buy in bulk when we can (a half or 1/4 of grassfed beef for example).

Edited August 30, 2011 by Momof3littles

[melissad2]

I try to use coupons especially on diapers! However, with two kids in tow most of the time when shopping it is very difficult to coupon. I shop at ALDI for most staples and then fill in with sales/coupons at another grocery store. It seems like food coupons are not as prominent as they once were:thumbdown:.

[regentrude]

Not really worth it for us. We can almost never find coupons for the things we actually eat - lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and good cheese.

The few packaged foods we buy are cheaper at Aldis than the brand name items with coupon in other stores - our stores don't double, I never get actually free items.

 

I do use the occasional coupon for toiletries and very rarely one for food stuff. I use whatever coupons happen to come my way through the Sunday paper - but I do not go out an dive dumpsters to acquire more Sunday papers.

[bzymom]

I use coupons, but not as a part-time job! I get three Sunday papers and cut all the coupons I may use. I keep a file, and try to match sales in the circular for my market.

 

I do not buy things I would not otherwise buy. I leave my coupon file in my car and grab it whenever I go into a store as I do not read every circular. For instance, if I run into CVS and Tide is on sale, I grab a coupon. I know I need it, and would much rather pay $5 than $8.

 

It is worthwhile for me as it takes little time.

[WeeBeaks]

I use them. I save probably $40 a week off our grocery bill, total, so not hundreds, but it is worth it to me. I probably spend 2 hours a week on the process, so $20/hour payback works for me.

 

Last week I used coupons on the following:

Avocados

Bagged lettuce

Yogurt

Sour cream

cheese

coconut milk

rice

toilet paper

juice

organic lemonade

ice cream - yes, not a need there. :D

frozen veggies

lunch meat - this was an okay brand, nitrite free, but we eat the regular kind too occasionally.

handsoap

toothpaste

toothbrush (free after coupon)

vitamins

dental floss

eggs

 

I use them on deo and such too. Last week I had a lot of food coupons but often don't have as many. It depends on what came out recently in the papers. Even if I don't use any on food that week, whatever I can save on the other stuff puts more money back into what I can use for food. I buy one newspaper each week (delivered). I pay $10/YEAR for it. It was a groupon special, Sunday only. If there are more than $3 or $4 worth of coupons in there I absolutely know I will use, I will put another paper (for $2). Most weeks it is just the one, and my MIL gives me her coupons too often.

 

There are lots of printable coupons as well, often on the manufacturer websites. If you do Earthbound Farms for example, just go there and see if there are printables for their items.

 

Target has printables on their website for their stores. I *love* their printables. They even have printable coupons on stuff like socks, especially in certain seasons.

 

And my grocery store puts out $5 off $75 order and such. I do a "big" shop every 2 weeks and a smaller one the alternate weeks so my order is over $75 to use those coupons a couple times a month.

 

I think it is worth it for me even without processed foods. And we do eat some processed stuff occasionally, a cake mix here and there and so forth.

 

Re the time by the way, I clip my coupons when I'm in the passenger seat of the van on the weekends with DH driving. I snip and file them, 1 hour at most in a few smaller increments during errands. It takes me about 1 hour on shopping day total in the store, probably 1/2 hour more than it would otherwise take me.

[Jenny in Florida]

I sometimes find coupons that save a little. And I'm not above using them when they come along. In general, though, for us, the answer is no.

 

It seems that most couponers have a routine that involves multiple papers and websites and even buying coupons online. And, of course, you have to be buying the kinds of products for which coupons are usually available. But I've yet to see anything that convinces me it would be a meaninful savings for my family.

 

1. We do buy some processed food, but we are selective about it. We're ethical vegans, meaning that I have no objection to a little junk food here and there as long as it doesn't include any animal products (or refined sugar). Obviously, that seriously limits the products available to us. And it often means that I have to stick with one brand or style of a product, because it's the only one that has no objectionable ingredients.

 

2. We buy only cruelty-free personal care and household cleaning products. So, sure, if you are willing to use any of three or four brands of toothpaste, all of which are mainstream products, you're likely to find good deals. However, we use exactly one brand, which isn't stocked at just every store. There are coupons available maybe twice a year. I use them when I find them, but it barely makes a dent.

 

3. I live in a region in which stores do not double coupons.

 

At one point, just to see how it went, I signed up for the Grocery Game free trial. In the two weeks (or whatever period of time it was) that I had the membership, there were literally no deals available on anything I buy, with the exception of a few store sales (no coupons to stack) that I would have found anyway just by walking the aisles.

 

So, I gave up on couponing in any serious way. I do watch the ads of the stores I frequent and stock up when there are good sales. I compare prices and buy items at the stores that consistently have the best deals. I signed up for a Target debit card, which gets me a 5% discount on everything I buy in the store. And I buy as many ingredients-versus-products and generic items as my life accomodates.

 

As with other things being discussed on the board lately, I suspect my grocery spending falls somewhere in the middle of the road. I come in per week somewhere between the "thrifty" and "low cost" spending from the USDA's December 2009 statistics. We eat well and aren't as good about waste as we might be. And I don't have to worry about coupons.