Lemonaid:
Way back when...
There used to be a pizza joint here that had an Asteroids machine, and they would give you a Large Supreme pizza if you could get a minimum of "X" points.
Me, I was an Asteroids MASTER. One of those kids that could sit there and rack points all day on a single quarter if I wanted to.
Well, deal on a Friday night was "I'll get the pizza, you guys get the beer and gas". Cost me $0.25 to go out on a Friday night, every Friday night one summer.
Pizza joint kept cranking up the "minimum" points required, but if you know the game, then you also know it didn't matter, would just take a few minutes more to reach the goal, that's all.

They finally "asked" us not to come back anymore after about 2 or 3 months worth of this abuse.

Me?
I got to go out every Friday that Summer, and it only cost me a quarter each week!

I am all for the coupon deal but hell friggen A do I have a fit when I get behind someone who has a million coupons and I am in a hurry. They should have a NO COUPON line. I plan on looking at all these links..but was never good at the couponing thing. I had a neighbor who was once and she saved some big money but she also invested so much time into it...hours and hours a week. I never found the time. Maybe I should.

Perhaps you could sort them on your next camping trip, Champ. Just a thought!

I understand the possibility of saving. But what about time wasted? Ok, two-bits here, 75 cent there...it adds up. But seriously, how much time?

I usually buy stuff on sale, but coupons don't really work for and basic food ingredients. I never fully analyzed it, but the time required vs saivings doesn't seem to work out for me. I put a price on my free time and other time that could be making me money.

When I first started couponing and building up my stash, I probably spent about 15 hours a week. Now I spend under 5 hours a week.

Krush. I save on average $6000k a year off of what I spent before couponing. At 5 hours a week, x 52 weeks= 260 hours a year; works out to about $23/hr...untaxed. That doesn't even include the extra money I have occasionally earned by selling extras. For example, a couple years ago a coupon came out for $5 off any size bag if Iams catfood. The 7lb bags were on sale at Walmart for $4.99. Over a week period I ended up with about 50 bags; which I promptly sold for $2 each at my next garage sale-lol! $100 bucks for about 3 hours work (at most)?

I remember the very first time I heard of couponing. It was in the 80's & I was watching a daytime talk show & a couponing lady was on it. She was so enthusiastic & talked about not paying for groceries. I figured I'd give it a try. So I clipped a .15 cent Pace Picante coupon and went to Albertsons. I stood in front of the Pace for a good 5 minutes trying to figure out how I could get a $1.70 jar of picante sauce for free. Short of swiping it, I couldn't figure it out & just gave up. 20 years later, after the Duracell deal at Kmart (mentioned above), it finally clicked. Like a light bulb. You have to understand the rules of the "game"; all stores have their own policies. You have to understand how registers ring things up differently at each store. You have to (initially) be willing to give up on brand loyalty (once you get a good stockpile going, you can cherry pick your favorite products more easily). You have to become familiar with the difference between a real loss leader sale and a phantom sale. You have to be able to distinguish between a good coupon and a not so good or even bad coupon. You have to understand the concept of stockpiling. You have to become familiar with sales cycles, prices and expiration dates (for example, crackers tend to expire within 3-4 months; we go through a box a week, so I'd never buy more than 16 boxes at a time; but canned tomatoes can last 18-24 months, knowing that my family uses 4 cans a week, I'll stock up on a couple hundred cans at the right price).

Since I'm not working outside the home, there really isn't a financial opportunity cost for me. If I wasn't spending 5 hours a week on this, I'd be watching tv or online. Plus, its a mental exercise...keeps the brain sharp. And its a nice way to fit in some light physical exercise. I might go a month without a major grocery store run; but then a good deal comes up & I'll spend 5-6 hours loading up at various stores.

I've bought coupons on Ebay before, for hair color when they were having a mega sale. I ended up with 20 boxes of what I use for 2$ each (normally 11 bucks).

I have old computer punch card box that I keep mine in - even has the green cardboard dividers. I found it in a closet at an old job when they were closing it out.

I've actually found, though, that I get better deals shopping at Big Lots or one of those crash-n-dent places than I do using the coupons, and it also takes less time.

A lot of what comes in the coupons I don't use - we don't eat a lot of prepared food. But the paper products are often good (though sometimes buying a different brand is cheaper than name brand plus coupon).

LQ

Interesting article:

http://www.hotcouponworld.com/2010/03/wa....

Wall Street Journal Says “Extreme Couponing” - We Say Smart Economics and Savvy Personal Finance

Posted by by Hotcouponmama on Articles, Finance, Hotcouponworld in the Media, Stockpiling

Yesterday, members from this site and other online couponing communities were featured in a front-page article of the Wall Street Journal entitled “Hard Times Turns Coupon Clipping into the Newest Extreme Sport”.

Instantly, people on Twitter were tweeting about it, and bloggers were likening people with stockpiles to hoarders. Sadly, the article and the subsequent video that went with it, went for the “extreme” shock value of what stockpiling is all about. The video commentary that went with the story was quite offensive - calling extreme couponers “crazy and insane”. It wasn’t what I’d expected when I was interviewed for the story. My personal take on stockpiling is about the economic value of having a pantry. That wasn’t evident anywhere in the story.

So, I’m going to give you the other side of the story. The one the Wall Street Journal missed out on, and the side that makes the point that stockpiling, extreme couponing, whatever you’d like to call it, is purely about economics.

Stockpile theory is a very simple premise…

First, make a list of the most important food items in your diet. Also make a list of non-perishable household items your family uses on a regular basis. If you have pets, include items for their care as well.

Then look at the average weekly consumption of any given item. How much cereal do you eat in a week? How many times do you cook pasta, feed the dog, wash your hair, brush your teeth?

When you find the average weekly consumption for your list of items, multiply that amount by 52 weeks in a year. That’s the amount of “inventory” your family should reasonably consume during the entire year. However, one should also consider the value of non-perishable items. If the sale price is right, or the item is free, then it’s not unreasonable to stock up on more than a year’s supply of light bulbs, toilet paper, toothbrushes, or shampoo.

Then, look at the shelf life of a given item. In the Wall Street Journal article, I was quoted as buying “50 jars of peanut butter” and some people commenting thought that was excessive. However, peanut butter has an 18-month shelf life and I use one jar per week. So a 50-jar purchase made all in the same week at the lowest seasonal price is not unreasonable. In fact, the savings on that one item was over $150 for the course of the entire year. If my family’s consumption is one jar per week, rather than making 50 trips to the store to pay full price each visit, one trip to the store to buy what I need at rock bottom prices is much more economical.

Some items don’t have that kind of shelf life, and subsequently, they run on shorter cycles. Steep discounts on oatmeal and granola bars happen twice a year, and the sales tie in quite nicely with the 6-month shelf lives on those products. So understanding the simple principle of “First In, First Out” is helpful for maintaining a stockpile of perishable goods.

Foods that are still within the expiration but have a chance of not being consumed should get donated to a local agency that accepts food donations. The great thing is, you can do so and get a charitable tax deduction for the donation. For some, the value of the tax deduction of the donated goods offsets the cash outlay for the goods purchased for personal consumption, making the cost of grocery shopping either a break even proposition, or a profitable experience.

In the peanut butter example, that $150 I saved can now go towards stockpiling some other items for future use. Stockpiling isn’t about over-consumption - we consume our pantry items at a regular rate of consumption. My family rarely consumes more than one jar of peanut butter a week. Just because it’s there doesn’t mean my children are gorging themselves on peanut butter.

I liken the savings in my household to the retained earnings of a business. Stockpile savings is like profit after business activities. It’s net after-tax dollars that can be either taken as a draw for fun things (like family vacations and piano lessons for the kiddos) or it can be reinvested into the personal finances of your family - ie, fully funding a 401K, paying down debt, buying a first home, going back to school - things that create economic value and build wealth for your family.

A good business manager is rewarded for cutting costs, managing inventories effectively, and creating wealth for the company. We don’t call him crazy or insane. Instead, he’s given more stock options, raises, and promotions. Those of us who fall into the “extreme couponing” category are doing precisely the same thing except the wealth is being created for our personal financial gain. If I put $10,000 into a 401K account, I’d be doing better than most Americans. But if I could put $10,000 in the 401K, and then shaved $10,000 off of my planned purchasing, the dollars I saved couponing could actually do more for me than the money I’ve saved in the 401K because it’s cash dollars I can spend right now and use for other investment vehicles.

Are there people out there that are clinical hoarders? Absolutely! We’ve seen from shows like A&E’s “Hoarders” that an estimated three million Americans suffer from hoarding. Interestingly though, you never see people in those shows clipping coupons as a means of feeding the obsession with accumulation as it relates to the disease.

Could there be people who coupon who do have a hoarding illness? I’m sure there are. But the people you find at sites like this, using social media tools to save thousands of dollars a year - the obsession isn’t in the accumulation of stuff, rather, it’s in the security of having finances and an inventory of goods that will get them through hard times. For some, the economic gain of stockpiling is what’s kept them ahead of the recession.

Interestingly, Hotcouponworld has a disproportionate amount of members and site visitors that are in high-income earning household compared to other sites on the net. The bulk of our members are either working towards or have achieved some level of post-secondary education. That tells me that many “extreme couponers” do so because they have a grasp on what it takes to achieve wealth, and for those who have amassed some level of security, why pay full price and deplete those resources faster than necessary?

Once upon a time in American history, having a supply of food on hand was considered to be a sign of wealth, security, and prosperity. Today, one-tenth of the country is on foodstamps and food insecurity is a sign of the times. People who have used modern day marketing tactics to their advantage to accumulate a stockpile are doing better than the average American. It makes you wonder if our ancestors didn’t have the right of it that the material things in life that mattered most were the ones that covered basic needs.

As I spent some of yesterday responding to commentary on different blogs posts about the article, one thing struck me. One commentator posted that he “prayed the economy would get back to “normal” because of all the extreme couponing happening out there”. My comment back was that for those of us who have been doing this, we’ve been at it long before the economy tanked. For many of our members, having a stockpile is what has kept them in their homes and ahead of their friends and neighbors as they lost jobs and had houses foreclosed upon. But, believe me, we too wish the economy would get back to normal. The there might just be a little more elbow room at the grocery store!

A more interesting article from the Wall Street Journal would have been one that portrayed the economic security of having a 3-month, 6-month, or even 12-month pantry on hand, how it’s keeping people secure, how it’s putting food into the community food system, and how smart shoppers are using it as a low-finance, wealth creation tactic to stay ahead of the recession.

Be aware that people have figured out the bar code system for coupons and are creating their own coupons on photoshop, printing them out in high-res and selling them.

Read:

http://www.commonsensewithmoney.com/2009....

And then take a look here for examples of fradulent coupons:

http://www.cents-off.com/body_coupon_cou....

If anyone shops at Albertsons, send me your address and I'll send you the $X off a minimum shopping order they regularly give me at check-out. I shop in dribs and drabs. $10 here, $20 there. But the coupons are usually $3 off $30 or $5 off $50. I seldom get to use them. Right now I have two $3 off coupons sitting on my desk, but one expires Thursday and the other not until next week.

Dig, definately good to realize that there are some fraudsters out there. Fortunately few and far between though. Organized coupon fraud is also extremely rare...usually small family run convenience stores and gas stations that clip coupons and submit for product never sold.

The site you referenced is run by Bud...I can't remember his last name. Notoriously against any type of bulk grocery couponing.

In 5 years of couponing, I've never run across a fake coupon. Don't be scared off by a few bad apples.

I have not had that much luck with coupons. Most my wife gives, there is a cheaper kroger version, and when I get in line I often forget the coupons in my pocket,(ok, a moron, I am).
Coupons are often a big pain in the ass. I run in, and know the deals, and know one when I see it, scoop up foody, and get the hell out, before I visit the chip section, beer and wine section , and the flower section, ( Though, it buys me some nice back rubs).
Nice call Mezz. I kinda think kroger likes to front run coupons, and discount their **** first. LIke I mentioned, 90% of the coupns I take to the store, are not used and I leave them there.

We figured my wife is making us 20 bucks an hour couponing in all the money she is saving. Taking the grocery bill down from 700 to 150 a month is serious cash.

There are other opportunities as well besides couponing. For example, when blood glucose meters go on the walgreens bucks list we buy a boatload. we stop every day on the way home and buy one for 15 bucks, give them a five dollar off coupon taking it down to ten bucks then get 15 bucks in walgreens cash back. then we donate the meters to charity for the tax write off.

Also be aware of deals like this when grocery shopping. this week it's dog food. We don't own a dog but by puchasing the dog food we have enough coupons that they wind up giving us another three bucks off the grocery bill total. So we buy 10 bags of dog food apply coupons and pay 30 bucks less on the grocery bill and give the dog food to the animal shelter.

Alright... I just used 5 more 5 buck off 5 dollar or more purchase.

1st store
Windshileld scraper in mitten
Gloves
--------
32 cents

2nd store
long sleave gray sweater
-------
Free (Clearance only $4.80)

3rd store
one screen print t-shirt retro 76 (my birth year... had to get it)
long sleave sport shirt
-------
64 cents

4th store
Columbia ski jacket (clearance 75% off)
-------
$20.14 (my current one is torn so I couldn't pass it up... this is a nice jacket!)


Back to the First Store ("didn't I see you this morning?" "uuuhhhh" "d'oh!")
Long sleave sport shirt
------
$1.04

Lemonaid, you crack me up. When you put your mind to something, you go for it:)

This article was in our paper today, and it made me think of this thread:


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Couponing's Best-Kept Secrets: A Year-Long Guide to What's Cheapest When

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By Jill Cataldo/CTW Features | Posted: Friday, October 30, 2009 12:00 am | (0) Comments

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If you've been coupon shopping for any length of time, you may have noticed that there are times of the year when certain categories of products seem to take even larger dips in price than normal. Paper plates? Cheaper in the summer. Frozen food? Cheapest in March every year. But is there any rhyme or reason to this?

Actually, there is. If you've ever paid attention to these lower-than-typical sales, you may already have clued into our next best-kept coupon secret: the year-long cycle.

In addition to the constantly rotating 12-week price cycle at the grocery store, there's also a year-long cycle in which various products are featured at deeper discounts during certain times. And, the bonus to us as coupon shoppers is that these same categories of products are also typically featured in our newspaper coupon inserts in the weeks leading up to these promotions.

I'll run through the entire year-long cycle for you, but understand this. Because the featured items typically cycle even lower in price than they do during the normal 12-week cycle, when these seasonal sales come around, you may find it helpful to stock up even more than normal, especially if the item has a long expiration date. I try to buy all of the paper plates I'll need for the next year during the summer, because that's when they're at the lowest low point for the whole year. It's also when the most coupons for paper plates will be available, so smart shoppers can bring the price down even more.

So let's look at the calendar, for best savings every month.

January: Hot cereals, chili, bagged chips and 2-liters of soda. Remember, it's Super Bowl this month. Much of the year-long promotional cycle for retailers corresponds to key dates and celebrations in the regular seasonal and holiday calendar.

February: Canned Food Month. It's a great time to stock up on canned fruits and vegetables.

March: National Frozen Food Month. This is the lowest cycle low for frozen foods. This is a wonderful time to stock up, especially if you own a second freezer!

April: Natural and organic. Because Earth Day is held in April, there are many promotions on natural, healthy and organic products.

May: Summer lead-in promotions will bring good prices on anything barbecue- and cookout-related, because Memorial Day is approaching. Look for good prices on condiments, ground meat, burger patties and buns, paper plates and salad dressings.

June: National Dairy Month. This month marks the lowest price points for dairy products in the year-long cycle. While it's not easy to stock up on milk or ice cream you can at least enjoy lower prices on milk, cheese, yogurt and ice cream in June. Remember to bring those prices down even more by using coupons.

July: Mid-summer promotions feature more of the same items featured in May. Look for more deals on condiments and meat (steaks and pork chops, especially) and deals on charcoal, bug repellant and soda.

August: Breakfast focus. Look for good prices on cereals, frozen waffles and toaster pastries. School supply deals will be in full swing, too.

September: Back to School and National Organic Month. School lunch snacks (pudding cups, fruit snacks, granola bars) will all be on sale. Packaged lunchmeats and cheese will take a price dip here, too, as will many organic products.

October: Frozen Food Festival is the second cycle-low for frozen foods. Note that it's exactly six months after National Frozen Food Month! Baking season begins here, too, and we'll see sugar, flour, baking products and cake/cookie mixes on sale.

November: Hot beverages. Tea, coffee and cocoa will all be on sale. Canned soup will also take a nice dip in price. And, of course, anything remotely Thanksgiving-related will be on sale, too: stuffing mixes, cranberry sauce, pie crusts and the like.

December: It's party platter month! Deals abound on cold cuts, cheeses, crackers, chips, dips and anything related to entertaining. Hams will drop in price, as will potatoes, both regular baking potatoes and sweet potatoes.

The year-long cycle is a great tool that shoppers can utilize to calculate when even better prices are coming around… all year long!

Quote:

Stacking offers is the key - revolving home menus around what is BOGO...

MOM: Look kids! Peanut butter and pickle tacos!

KIDS [in unison]: AGAIN!!!

We need a "Sticking it to The Man" forum for legal ways to take advantage of the Leech**** Nation mentality or perhaps, to turn on, tune in and drop out.

Mezzmore wrote..

Taking the grocery bill down from 700 to 150 a month is serious cash.

I don't really see how this is possible with just simple coupon clipping, especially if one eats perishable food.

Buying a bunch of stuff for cheap and then selling at a yard sale falls outside the realm of simple coupon clipping. One is now reselling.

I buy milk, vegis (fresh and frozen), fruit, meet from the discount section (green meat FTW), and the other random foods. I try to avoid canned stuff and **** in a box if I can.

When I see cheap ground beef, I'll buy it all up and freeze it. But it won't last forever. When there is cheap laundry soap, I'll buy a box or two, but I only have so much space.

I just don't see how a few coupons can cut my grocery bill 75% when I already am pretty frugal. Maybe I'm just doing it wrong?

I hit the Jackpot

I went to a Kohl's ANCHOR store with registers on three sides. So I used three 5 dollar coupons at once

7th Coupon
Two ties on clearance. Basic colors brownish gold and a burgandy
----------
$1.48

8th Coupon
Another pullover sport shirt
Screen print T-shirt (retro) Fits kinda snug to show off my bod (don't go to the gym for no reason )
---------
$1.27

9th Coupon
Tan Courdoroy pants (I dig it)
---------
$4.03


/hittin' the clearance racks for out of season stuff mostly

lol nice. I always check clearance areas first for stuff.

If you're considering this, thegrocerygame.com is the best I've found. No need to clip coupons, simply file the coupon inserts by date. The website has spread sheets that indicate which items are worthy of stocking up, what coupons you should use to achieve the best price, and the date/insert you need to check. (i.e. from Sunday papers - Smart Source, Red Plum)

I started this due to the Gen's call to have a respectable pantry back in fall of 2008 (if I remember correctly) and as much as the cost savings are ridiculously good, they are really insignificant to me in comparison to the time savings.

I used to spend 2-4 hours per week driving to the stores, picking the food/supplies, buying, bringing home and putting away etc. I hated the entire process. Now btwn the freezer, supply closet and pantry... :) I haven't had to run to the store for something in over a year, and when anyone wants anything from a toothbrush to exotic canned mushrooms they simply grab it. :)

Now I spend little if any time on grocery/supply "getting," I love it.

Krush, you are doing it wrong. The savings I mentioned did not refer to the couple of times I sold stuff at a garage sale. I'm talking monthly savings.

I don't know how much space you have, but you do need a certain amount, depending on how many in your family. My laundry room/pantry is (guessing) about 10ft x 6 ft. I also keep papergoods like tp/napkins/tissue, upstairs in an attic storage area. Health & beauty aid goes under the sinks.

Look at what you eat on a daily, weekly basis. Canned tomato products and soups and beans last anywhere from 12-24 months. Condiments tend to last about 12 months. Boxed cereal 12 months. Canned pineapple & fruits tend to last about 18 months. Juice about 12 months. Paper products, foil, laundry soap, dish soap, pretty much indefinately.

If you tend to eat a bowl of raisin bran most mornings & you go through, say a box a week. You buy it when you need it (on sale-real or phantom, or not) & spend say $3.00 a box, times 52 weeks a year, would cost you $156 a year. If you can get 52 boxes at .50 a box, it would cost you $26 a year...a savings of $130/year.

It you eat 3 cans of baked beans a week & they cost you .80 each, that is $2.40/wk x 52 weeks or $125/yr. If you got 150 cans of baked beans for free, it would save you $125/yr.

I did our weekly shopping the other day. I got 3 gallons of milk, some fruit, veggies, flour etc. I didn't have to buy tp at full price (got that months ago at rock bottom price), didn't have to buy tissue, got that for free last month, didn't have to pay $5.50 for bacon (got it for $1.50 six months ago), didn't have to by frozen veggies (got the free steam fresh a few months ago), didn't have to buy hamburger at $3/lb (got 70lbs of angus whole chuck roasts & ground them up & froze them...1.58/lb), didn't have to pay $10/lb for ribeyes (got those for $3.88/lb several months ago). Didn't have to buy toothpaste or shampoo...I get those free from Walgreens or CVS.

For dinner tonight we had the periogies (1.90), steamfresh corn-free, home made wheat bread (1/4 loaf, so about .15 cents), baked beans (free, seasoned with bbq sauce, brown sugar, ketchup & mustard-all free) & a couple strips of bacon (about .20 cents); iced tea (free, sugar, lets say .10). Then I washed the dishes using free Electrasol tabs. Total cost of meal & clean up (for a family of 5) $2.35...heck lets round it up to $2.50 cuz of onions & salt & pepper.

Tomorrow I'm going to Kroger & getting some 10 or so bags of free shredded Sargeanto Mozz cheese & 10-15 64oz of Motts Natural apple juice for the kids.

I understand now. That's a lot of work for me though (and I don't have the storage space). Maybe when we have kids though LOL.

But, I take your coupon mentality and put that effort on cars. Cars cost me very little money because I fix my self, get good deals on parts (but only good quality parts) and buy used/cheap cars.

WakeUp..I read your last post of your 'meal' for your family of 5...yep...that's a cheap meal for sure but I question the calorie intake of the meal, the fat intake, etc. (and for the record, the Mrs. T's Perogies are a REAL favorite of mine!!). While it is a cheap meal, it doesn't seem to be a healthy meal. I don't know if you are going for health benefits here or just fill the stomach with something/anything unless of course money is so tight that it is the only way to survive this economy.
I went through many coupon sites the past couple of days and just don't get how any of you get these 'deals'. So many of the products that there are coupons for are things I just don't buy...and if I do buy them, the store brand of the specific product is just as good and still cheaper than the 'name brand' product. I think many get stuck on thinking some things are a good deal just because they have a coupon for it.

I disagree Champ; taken in context with the rest of the food my family consumers in a day, I think it is fairly healthy. Whole grain bread, veggie (well, is corn really a grain?), fiber from beans, tiny bit of meat (2-3 slices of bacon for seasoning of the beans...not per person), carbs from the potatoes in the perogies. This, along with a couple pieces of fruit during the day, a salad or soup or tuna sandwich & mixed veggies for lunch, toast & egg & juice for breakfast; I think its a fairly healthy menu. My kids are all in the 100th percentile for height and 50th percentile for weight.

During the summer and fall we eat much more fresh veggies; during the rest of the year, tend to go for more frozen veggies (I don't do canned veggies; their nutritional value is less).

I certainly could go much cheaper for a meal...close to free probably. But I have a problem feeding my kids chef boy-r-dee and hamburger helper and koolaid.

For the record, I'm actually not overly fond of perogies...but dh had a ying for them & got them on the way home from work (if I had known he was serious, I could have at least given him a $1/1 coupon-lol).

A healthy lifestyle is more than just one meal. It has to do with what you eat over a period of time, PORTION SIZE, and activity level.

Tonight it will be spaghetti, homemade whole wheat bread and mixed veggies. Tomorrow night will be shrimp, rice, salad & bread. And on Sunday, it will be a potroast with newpotatoes and baby carrots:-)

I am coming over Sunday for Dinner...save me a seat.

How do you make your Perogies? I slow boil mine til they rise to the top and then slow fry them in lots of BUTTER until golden brown (talk about unhealthy). I like the potato and cheddar cheese perogies. Oh yummy!!