...or so my family thinks. Running off of yesterday's grocery shopping post, I'm going to attempt to answer Heather's questions and pull in other thoughts related to couponing and shopping.
First, I'll attempt to answer Heather's questions...
1) What types of items do you regularly buy at Walmart (here in CA, our Walmart is just a regular one, not a supercenter...perhaps that would make a difference)?We do have a Supercenter in Warsaw, but I tend to avoid buying any of my groceries at it, unless I'm there and am in NEED of something... the produce and meat tend to not be as good of quality in my opinion. Most of the "deals" or "steals" at Walmart are on bath/body products or candy/gum - i.e. Kotex usually has $1Qs available, and Walmart carries a small pack of pantiliners for $1.00, which makes them FREE plus tax. Walmart is also my preferred place to buy baby products - I like the Parent's Choice brand of diapers, wipes, and formula if I can't get a great deal on those products at CVS or WAGS or elsewhere.
2) Do the "steals" you find in the ads generally cause you to alter your menu, or do you simply stick with your plan and just buy whatever you need for each recipe?I'll get more into meal planning in a following post, but the short answer is no. I don't tend to alter my menu based on what's on sale. I tend to buy ahead and freeze (we invested in a LARGE chest freezer last November). I tend to menu plan based on what's in the cupboards/freezer. I tend to do my monthly menu shopping in one shot, unless I need "fresh" ingredients for a meal, then I'll pick it up within a week or so of that particular meal.
3) What type of coupon sorter do you use? A binder w/ baseball card holders or some other type?I "built" a box. I basically figured out what size of a box I thought would work (it's already too small less than a month later), and made dividers. I sort my coupons by expiration date (most people sort them by product type) and then have a "coupon database" spreadsheet I've created on my computer that I print out every other week or so with all my coupons listed alphabetically (with expiration dates listed). I find that this works for me, but others have other methods. I have tried sorting by product type, but found I was doing too much "searching" and couldn't easily find coupons I thought I had, and often didn't keep up with purging the expired coupons.
4) Do you typically write your list according to the layout of the store? You mentioned you only go down the aisles you need, but I generally have at least one or two items I've missed and always have to go back...I hate that!I tend not to organize my list by the layout - although, that would save some time. I, too, tend to miss an item or two, but unless it's a NEED, I tend to push it to my next trip. My main grocery store (Owens - local Kroger affliate) just reorganized the store, and I can't find anything in it, so it'll be awhile before I can organize my list accordingly, and I don't shop the other store frequently enough to know where things are.
5) Where do you get your coupons from? Do you buy multiple papers? Receive them from someone? Buy them online?I get coupons from many sources. I print them off the internet -
coupons.com,
smartsource.com,
redplum.com, etc. NEVER pay for coupons on the internet - it's illegal to sell coupons! I also buy the weekend paper when I know the coupons are going to be worthwhile - you can find out what coupons are going to be in your local paper online at
couponclippers.com. If it's a "normal" coupon week - one or two inserts per paper - I tend to get two papers. (I have two choices for a local paper - one carries the RedPlum insert and costs $.75 more than the other that doesn't carry the RedPlum insert. I decide which paper to buy based on what the RedPlum insert will have in it - I tend not to use most of the coupons in the RedPlum insert.) If it's a "big" coupon week - multiple SmartSource inserts, P&G inserts, etc - I tend to buy 3 or 4 papers, and I tend to buy the more expensive paper, as it tends to have a few extra coupons due to having a larger distribution area. Another great source of coupons is reading various blogs online that will alert you to coupons on various websites -
moneysavingmom.com is a great resource. Another great way to get coupons is to request samples online -
walmart.com is a great place to get free samples of products, and most come with a "high dollar" coupon (I got three free samples in the mail today, and two of the products came with "high dollar" coupons)!
6) Do you find that with all the "great" deals you get, you actually use all of the products? I recall seeing a number of people snagging great deals on J&J products at RiteAid a couple weeks ago, but thought to myself - "There's no way I a) need all of that or b) could even use half of it."I have a rule of thumb with great deals... I don't pay money for anything I won't use (and that includes tax - coupons can't be used to pay tax). However, that said, if I have a item I NEED (like allergy medicine) that is going to cost "x" without any "deals", I allow myself to spend "x" for everything I am getting. Example: last week I had a
net shopping trip total of $32.28 - I HAD to buy allergy medicine ($12.49 each - bought two boxes) and diapers for a new baby gift ($8.99 on sale)... those items alone totaled more than my total for the entire trip. As far as buying large quanitities of items, if it doesn't cost you anything, it's a great way to help somebody else out. Create a stockpile of items that you aren't able to use and donate them to a local women's shelter or other community resources. Often times, using a coupon at WAGS or CVS will result in a "money maker" (you get a coupon for more than you paid for the item, even with tax, if you buy the item), so I will buy multiples of these items, even if we can only use a few of them. (Toothpaste - the high quality kind even - is one item you should NEVER have to pay for again if you shop at WAGS or CVS.)
7) My in-laws give me the ads from every Sunday paper. Do you typically cut out *everything* and then use whatever you can for a good bargain (i.e., even if it's not the brand of shampoo you typically use)? Or, do you only cut ones you think you'll actually use?I used to clip only the coupons I thought I'd use. And I used to be brand loyal. Now, I clip EVERYTHING - even for items I'll never use. Honestly, it saves time, since you don't have to think about whether or not you might possible use each coupon. However, that said, I don't print coupons off the internet that I'm sure I'll never use, and most of the time I don't print them off the internet until I'm sure I'll use them (they are expensive to print - in terms of paper and ink), unless they're a high demand (really good coupon) coupon that won't last. I use whatever coupons I can to get the best price possible for whatever items I need (regardless of brand). ***Note: when using coupons, you can often buy multiple packages of smaller sizes for much less than buying fewer packages of larger sizes. Always compare price by the smallest increment possible - i.e. ounces, sheets/rolls, loads, etc.*** Coupons that you know you're not going to use (for products you don't buy), you can share with someone who might use them. Coupons that you don't use before they expire, you can
donate to a US military base - they are able to use coupons for approximately six months past the expiration date.
Hopefully that answered most of Heather's questions. I'll try to conclude with some of my other thoughts regarding coupons.
* I'm not a couponing expert. I'm still fairly "new" to the couponing world. I've shared what works for me, but just because it works for me, it might not work for you.
* Coupons should save you money. Don't buy a product just because you have a coupon for it. Store brands are often cheaper than name brands, even with coupons.
* Buy smaller items with coupons to save more money - watch for coupons that DON'T have minimum sizes listed, as you can often buy trial sizes for FREE or pretty cheap.
* Organize your coupons - however this looks for you - if you can't find the coupon when you're at the store, it does you no good to have clipped it.
* Store coupons can be used with manufacturer's coupons. However, you can't use two manufacturer's coupons on one items.
* Look for stores that accept competitor's coupons or price match - these can be a big time saver if you don't want to drive all over town for the best deals.
Q4U: What works for you? How do you organize your coupons? Do you use coupons to help others as well as save your family money? Do you have any other couponing questions for me? I'll try my best to answer any other questions, and I'd love to hear how you coupon!
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