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Does anyone do extreme couponing?

Posted: Oct 27, 2012

Hi. I want to do extreme couponing but have no idea where to begin. Any ideas would be appreciated. Thanks. ;

I can barely keep track of the 10-15 coupons - I cut out each week...

[ In Reply To ..]
That is a real talent these people have to keep everything straight.

I would really like to know how they get so many coupon fliers. I get one each week in the mail, thats it. They have thousands... Plus, how are they getting free things? I get a coupon for 50 cents off a bottle of ketchup, but ketchup is never 50 cents a bottle, usually over 2.50, so how do they get it free? The coupons say right one them, one coupon per item. I just dont get the whole thing.

A few ideas... - Tried but failed.

[ In Reply To ..]
Check out couponing/savings blogs such as Frugal Girls or QueenBee couponing (Pacific Northwest oriented). There really are tons of blogs to choose from. Look for something in your area for local deals. The blogs usually have a "where to begin" section. Very helpful info.

On these blogs, you may also be alerted to freebies. I have received sample sizes of shampoo/conditioner, lotions, pet foods/snacks (Yay!), among other things.

Sign up for your favorite manufacturer's newsletter. I belong to Proctor-Gamble. Quarterly they offer free samples and/or coupons. Not a lot, and sometimes nothing I am interested in, but it is free to join and I have received some freebies from them.

Coupon printers such as Red Plum and SmartSource(?) are online and you can print coupons or download them onto your shopper's rewards/loyalty cards.

Expect to spend a lot of time sifting through the sites and coupons and organizing. I gave it a go but quickly became overwhelmed and am now back to being the average couponer.

Good luck!

krazycouponlady.com - livin4christ

[ In Reply To ..]
The checkout girl at Walgreens told me to go to the site Krazycouponlady.com that it tells you how and what to do. I think I need someone to "show" me .. go with me and let me watch them and see how they go about it, then I would understand it better.. also, I do better at Walgreens, CVS, and Kroger than anywhere else~

I find that most coupons... - xyz

[ In Reply To ..]
are for processed foods or high-priced brand-name items, so I don't usually bother. I generally buy the store-brand version without the coupon, and it's still less than the brand-name item with the coupon.

me too....or you get the coupon that says.... - anon

[ In Reply To ..]
you have to buy 4 to get 1 free, etc. What on earth am I going to do with 4 of any one item when it is just me in the household? they would expire before I had a chance to use the items. not a deal for me.

We used to be - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
extreme couponers exclusively, but now are on a juicing plan (we've collectively lost 50+ pounds in just over a month!). I have a TON of helpful hints for you though.

There is a bit of prep work before you hit the store, but it's worth it! We haven't bought shampoo, deodorant, or soap for over a year now.

Our biggest savings was $1700 for $7.29.

I will take your hints please - and info about juicing plan please

[ In Reply To ..]
Thank you.

Send me an e-mail and I'll - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
give you all the info you need!

The juicing has been a lifesaver for me, as I have fibro/CFS and couldn't get out of my chair most of the time. It's been over a month now and I walk 3 miles daily around the track at the local school. Also, our food bill has been cut down to 1/4 of what it was and though I was a HUGE chocoholic and sugar eater, I don't eat any of it anymore and don't miss it for a second!

Can I send you an email too? - Karen

[ In Reply To ..]
DH and I were just talking about extreme couponing and I was saying all the coupons are always for stuff we don't eat, plus we've been talking for days and days (probably weeks now) about wanting to go more to juicing less processed food for better health. I've been reading a lot of info, but it can be confusing and I'd love to talk with you about it if that would be okay. Just need to know how to get going with it.

Thanks,
K

That would be fine by me Karen! :) - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
And if anyone else needs help getting going, please let me know and I'll be more than happy to help with both juicing and couponing!

Seems like a waste of time... - sm

[ In Reply To ..]
I've seen the shows on this and it seems to me most of the products are not things I would use in the first place. Most of the food is nothing I would eat or ask my family to eat and who needs 50 tubes of toothpaste or 20 things of lotion. You would probably be better served by taking the time to go to your local farm market for your produce, which is much, much cheaper than the grocery store, keep track of the ads for the supermarkets and also shop at BJs for paper goods using their coupons. That's what I do and I don't do too badly. If I see a coupon for something I want or need, I'll use it, but I think people get caught up in buying things they don't need because they have a coupon.

I coupon, not extremely, but smartly - it helps

[ In Reply To ..]
The first year, I kinda went crazy couponing to the extreme and I did not find that I saved any real money for the first 3-6 months. After I got a bit of a stock pile saved up and I understood the coupon phases, it really started saving me money. I routinely save 50% every time I go to the store now.

By coupon phases, I mean that I can get free razors in the spring and summer, but not in the winter. Or I can get free or almost free lunch napkins, paper plates and plastic cups in the summer or around the holidays in November and December, but not the rest of the year.

I use the drug stores like CVS and RiteAid to buy things on sale with coupons, then use their store credits to buy things that I am brand loyal to. For example, I can buy 3 bottles of Tide using coupons and get $5 off my next store purchase. I'll take that and buy Glad garbage bags or Scott toilet tissue and not have to pay for them.

There is one weekend every month where you will get extra coupon inserts, so I get 6 on those weekends instead of 4. The Dollar Tree where I live sells Sunday newspapers for $1 ($2 everywhere else). I feel like there has to be something in the coupon inserts to cover my out of pocket costs of the newspapers to justify getting that many copies, otherwise skip it or buy fewer newspapers.

Check with your local schools for Coupons for Classrooms or try Enjoy the City to buy those in bulk. I get four coupons of $5 off a $30 purchase at my local grocery store in each of those books. I caught a sale for the books, spent $40 and got $200 worth of those $5 coupons. I only plan for $30 grocery trips now to take advantage of those coupons. It is a net savings of $160, but it makes a huge difference in how I shop. Most of my $30 trips end up costing less than $10 when I buy things on sale and stack manufacturer and store coupons with that save $5/$30 coupons. I don't live in a state where you get the kind of extreme savings seen in other states.

If you really commit to it your first year, you will really see a huge savings if you stick with it after that.

Does anyone find she/he would make more money - with time spent MTing than couponing, or? nm

[ In Reply To ..]
x

coupon basics - kcmt

[ In Reply To ..]
I am not a crazy coupon lady, but I do use a lot of them. I live in the North East and I shop at Giant. They will double coupons up to a dollar (60 cents off becomes $1 off). I went to the store on Friday to prepare for Hurricane Sandy. My store had General Mills cereal (Cheerios, Cocoa Puffs, etc) on sale 4 boxes for $8. I happened to have 3 coupons for $1 off a box of these cereals. I got 4 boxes of cereal for $5. Pretty big savings considering they are usually between $3 and $4 per box.

I do find that for non food items like shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste...I do better at CVS and/or Rite-Aid.

Some basic things I do are:

1) purchase a Sunday newspaper for every person in your household (this is how you get multiple coupons).

2) go to www.couponmom.com and sign up. They will send you weekly emails for printable coupons and coupon codes for restaurants and shopping.

3) go to www.commonkindness.com and sign up. This website will ask you to pick a non-profit organization. They will make a contribution toward the non-profit of your choice for every coupon redeemed.

4) If you are on Facebook, there are several pages you can "like" and will give you information about great bargains and accompanying coupons. Some of the ones I have are "Frugal living and having fun" "cuckoo for coupon deals" "we use coupons" "stockpiling moms" I keep Facebook up and running while I'm working (shhh) and that way I am able to see the coupon deals come up as they are posted. This will also allow you to print multiple coupons of the same product.

5) keep yourself organized either with a binder, envelopes or some other kind of coupon organizer. I made this mistake of taking a stack of coupons about 2 inches thick to the store with no organization....big mistake.

I hope this helps. I do not have the time to spend like the people you see on TV, but I usually save lots of money when I take as much time as I can afford.

good tips - it helps

[ In Reply To ..]
I do the same, with having a coupon binder (for single coupons arranged according to the aisles of my local grocery store), as well as having accordion folders for whole inserts (in date order).

As to how much I save versus how much I make doing MT, well, my income in MT could end tomorrow. My stockpile will still be here. I'm in the south and my work all comes from the southwest. A lot of it depends on their snowbirds and let me tell you, business ain't what it used to be. My busiest season is Jan-June, so I make 2/3 of my annual income then. Stockpiling helps me stretch through the last half of the year when I don't have as much discretionary money available.

Extreme Couponing - livin4christ

[ In Reply To ..]
I have been trying.. the first time out i did "ok", but i know i need to get the "hang" of it, especially since I'm outta work, trying to save money every direction I can.. Would luv to do like a few I know have done... unreal all the stuff they got for just a few dollars~

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