Wow! I watched that new show called "Extreme Couponing" Has anyone else seen it? I found it so interesting and strangely inspiring. I especially liked the one where the guy got something like 500 boxes of cereal for free and donated them to a food pantry. We are now past the one year mark of being unemployed and things are really tight. So I am left wondering...how does someone start REALLY doing coupons like the people on the show? I mean, I clip and use my online fliers and digital coupons, but the most I have EVER saved was 46%. These people are saving like 98%! What do they do? How do you start?
Any thoughts on this?
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8 comments:
Unfortunately I don't think the show is entirely realistic. I do lots of couponing and I never save 98%. But I do save more like 40-50%. Have you checked out savings blogs? A few good ones are Hip2save.com, moneysavingmom.com and southernsavers.com.
I use a website called hip2save.com. She lists the weekly deals paired w/coupons to optimize savings. I also like moneysavingmom.com
The best way to learn the system is to go to www.moneysavingmom.com Especially check her CVS 101 post. She frequently gets things for free at Wal-Mart as well. Stores that double coupons are also helpful for freebies. Good luck!
Some of them commit coupon fraud, which is a crime, so watch for that. They use coupons for something close to what they actually buy instead of the correct product. :/ Read the store's coupon policy normally found on their website. Some stores (like Target) will let you use a store coupon (one they give out) and a manufactures coupon (like your fliers) so you can use 2 on the same item! :)
I wondered if you might watch that, and what your opinion would be! I didn't see it, but have seen commercials for it.
I've heard of people using a binder, in which they track grocery prices - what's cheapest when. So they know what is the best possible price, and how often sales drop that low. Then they combine it with coupons.
However, a lot of it seems to depend on living near a store that doubles, and none here do. Does your friendly Kroger? :)
Also, I wonder if the time is prohibitive? One commercial said the lady spent 4-6 hours preparing for a trip, right? OK - so let's say she saved $80 on groceries. She's just paid herself, at best $20/hour. Not a bad salary, but that's a best-case scenario. And a LOT of time.
Not sure what I think, but I'm intrigued! But I'm sure they leave out the cost of the people's time, and gas, when they look at the savings.
Keep us up to date on your thoughts!
I started by subscribing to the local sunday paper as well as the largest sunday paper in the area. I have a couponbinder and I match coupons to sales and stockpile what I will use in a 12 week cycle.
Check sites like slickdeals.net to see if there is a coupon matchup for your store. Also, a trial at thegrocerygame.com is well worth it to get you started & get your feet wet!
Thanks for all the comments. If I ever get underway with this and start really saving I will post an update!
I love couponing-but I never save that much percentage wise either :( However, I have learned a LOT of tricks-one being to let somebody else do the leg work for you :) If you go to thekrazycouponlady.com she matches stores weekly ads up with coupons from the internet and the newspaper so you can figure out where to get the best deals. Hopefully this will help :)
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