I Am Looking to Start Using Coupons and Need Help/suggestions

Updated on January 10, 2011
A.V. asks from Lake Orion, MI
7 answers

I watched the show last week on people that use coupons along with GREAT sales in stores. They would look online at websites that told them with coupons and stores that had sales but they did not say the websites. Does anyone use any of these sites?? The people on the show would get like $400 grocery bills down to $5. I am a stay at home mom (laid off 2 years ago) of three and need as much suggestions to save money as possible so I can continue to stay home. Thank you for any suggestions!!

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H.S.

answers from Cincinnati on

The best tip I could give you is to clip coupons from the sunday paper and match them with coupons online. Most stores will let use a store coupon and a manufacturers coupon together. A box of cereal that started out as $3, the store runs a sale for $2.25 a box.Use a $1off manufacturers coupons and a $1 you printed online or "added" to your grocery card and that = a box of cereal for .25 cents. NEVER pay full price for anything! Everything goes on sale eventually. Wait until you have a coupon that matches a sale. I've had coupons for $1.50 off an item, and a store is selling it for $1 during a sale, and at checkout, I made .50 cents.

These are the sites I use regularly and match them with a coupon from the newspaper.
shortcuts.com
cellfire.com
savingmoneywisely.com

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D.B.

answers from Boston on

Red Plum and Smart Source are available on line but also in the Sunday paper. One of the programs I've seen recommended on TV is The Grocery Game. You can usually try it for 30 days for free, then it's something like $5 a month. I didn't get a lot out of it because I don't buy most of the products they covered -- but I don't have little kids and I also don't always buy name brand or processed foods. You can get coupons sent to you through them, and you just click on the ones you want, and then print only those. I have a friend who saves a fortune doing this. Combine them with stores that do double coupons, of course, and watch the market circulars - sometimes they have bonus coupons that will double a $1 coupon (which doesn't double under normal circumstances). Get a coupon file and organize it by category or by supermarket aisle. I have 2 - one for the regular market and one for BJs (they send their own coupons). Usually you can take a regular manufacturer's coupon for 2 packages of something, and combine it with a BJs coupon, and the mfr coupon will scan for a single BJs item if it's a multipack. If not, the clerk should scan it for you. Doubling up is where you really see the savings.

I keep a couple of big paper clips on the front of the coupon file - I pull out the coupons I plan to use and put them there ahead of time (in grocery aisle order), or reach into the file when I'm in the store and see a deal - then when I get to the checkout, the coupons are clipped together and ready to be scanned.

Also keep an eye on rebate deals, and save the receipts or bar codes, whatever they want. It's worth a stamp to get a check for $3 or $5.

I clip coupons while watching tv, stack them in categories, then file. As I file, I pull out anything that is about to expire, and stick it in the paper clips so I'm sure to buy that item. I also put a dot next to items on my grocery list for which I have a coupon, to help me remember.

Coupons only work when you are really flexible on what brands you buy. Also, sometimes a $1 coupon off 2 packs of a name brand is still more expensive than the generic or store brand - so be careful while you are first getting started. Also, saving $1 on 3 gallons of ketchup you will not use up in a year is no bargain.

And be careful using coupons for packages of 100-calorie snacks. The snacks are already way overpriced compared to just buying the basic product and using your own snack containers or bags (especially reusable ones). So coupons aren't worth anything on those items because you're already paying so much more.

Some people on TV have these elaborate notebooks where they 3-hole-punch the circulars and flip through the pages. I can't imagine spending that kind of time but I suppose if you have a lot of kids, it makes a little more sense.

The other thing these people on TV do is recognize when the sales start - usually Thursdays. If you plan your menus around the sales, and then add in the coupons, it makes a difference.

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D.K.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Look at this site. She covers coupons/deals for lots of things (food, toiletries etc). http://www.livefabuless.com/

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S.O.

answers from Chicago on

I use coupons only on items I would normally buy.Just because you have a coupon does not always make it the best deal so be careful. I use coupon.com and the Sunday paper for most of my manufacturers coupons then I go on each store website for their coupons. You can combine manufacturers coupons with store coupons. Example this week I bought yogurt at Target and use the .75 Target coupon along with the 1.00 Yoplait coupon and my yogurt was only .35 each. I make a list of what is on sale at each store and then I go through my coupons. I also buy store brand to lower the overall food bill. I love Pantene shampoo and I have never paid over a dollar for it. You have to watch sales and combine coupons to really save money. This week I saved $20.00 which is good since I buy a lot of store brands. I have saved other weeks close to $50.00. My overall food bill this week was around $100 and that includes pet items, toiletries, etc.

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L.L.

answers from Topeka on

I know what show your talking about they bought things that they had "coupons" for we don't always have coupons for items we eat such as meat have you seen meat coupons other than a grocery sale ad or the frozen chicken.Yes I do use coupons compare them to the sales ads in Sundays paper to get a better deal some stores offer double coupons plus the sales price when you use their store cards to get the good price.I haven't added all my savings.Just last week I went to Walmart to buy some items hair spray,& other things I had a bill that was going to be around $ 40.00 I ended up paying $10-12 less using my coupons I had dollars off plus stacked it with a buy one get one free.
www.Dealspl.us
www.coupons.com
www.RedPlum.com
www.Baby.com
www.FrugalGirls.com
www.DollarGeneral.com
I'm sure these will help get you started I print from my home computer have never had an issue with a store not accepting them.
Go to the direct website of the products you use get signed up for their emails more than likely they will ask for your home address where then they will start to mail you coupons plus get e-mailed coupons I do this I have many many great coupons but only clip what I like will use & need & not buy it because I have a coupon for it unless it is a "FREE ITEM" or next to nothing after using a coupon typically under a dollar

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K.M.

answers from Oklahoma City on

Two of my fave sites are www.dealseekingmom.com and www.consumerqueen.com.

Start with those and check out the links they post to other websites, too. I saw that show you're talking about too--amazing, isn't it? I'm nowhere near that savvy with my coupons but I do frequently save $20-30 on a $150 grocery tab. It makes a big difference.

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A.G.

answers from Boston on

I found this site last week http://moneysavingmom.com/
You have to play around a bit but it shows you how to get lots off good deals and stuff for free. It brings you to each individual store and tells you how to get the most out of the weekly sales and flyers and tells you how to get the coupons you need for the best deals.

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