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Post by workingclassdog on Jun 2, 2021 15:48:48 GMT
Remember the craze about couponing and getting $100 of groceries for free?
My sister and I were crazy about it (in different states).. we would compare notes. She just said she just used her last stash of some cleaning product from back in the day. LOL That was a fun down memory lane conversation on what we would do to get the deals.
I was good but not like some of them out there. I could get quite a bit for less than $10...
Dishwasher soap was the BEST deal I ever got. I think it was when the tab thingys came on the market and some were in a tin can. There was a coupon for a free can of them. I was getting about 10 to 12 coupon sets each week from different sources. I think I got at least 10-15 free cans of them.. Lasted forever. Each one was probably around $6-$8??
Toothpaste and toothbrushes never paid for. Shampoo was dirt cheap. Snack foods were also dirt cheap.
I never went to the level though if it would go to waste. If I had 10 toothpaste tubes that would be enough. I would stop. Or share with someone. I never had a room full of stuff. Everything had a place.
Funny, as fast as I started it ended... it was a lot of work. But at the time my kids were little and times were lean.. so that helped me and my sister out a lot. I can't even imagine doing it today... the time and effort was so much.. cutting and cutting coupons. And plus the stores started getting more restrictive about it.
Someone here on 2peas had a thread each week to follow.. I wonder if that person is still here. That was gold.
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Post by jenjie on Jun 2, 2021 15:49:58 GMT
The grocery game! Loved it!
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Post by mnmloveli on Jun 2, 2021 16:09:45 GMT
Oh yes ! One of my favorite memories with my Mom, there was a Sears coupon in a local free moving magazine, for $10 off a $10 purchase. WOW did we make a job of that. My local shelter (dog & women’s) and church were so thankful. You would be amazed what we got for free!!! Blankets, toys, housewares, clothes. It was amazing. The good ole days 🥰
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Post by Spongemom Scrappants on Jun 2, 2021 16:14:26 GMT
I remember doing that. Mostly personal care products (toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, razors, and the like) and cleaning products (lots of laundry detergent!).
My boys liked to 'shop my pantry' when they would come and go. They would load up a bagful of stuff to take back to dorms or apartments.
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Post by MichyM on Jun 2, 2021 16:14:41 GMT
For about the first 10 years of our marriage I did clip a coupon or two for items we would buy anyway. But the extreme couponing thing, or anything that vaguely resembled it...absolutely NO. I had no time, and zero interest.
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Post by mom on Jun 2, 2021 16:18:15 GMT
I did when we were paying off debt. Especially for things like cleaning supplies, personal items and that sort of thing.
I don’t use paper coupons now, but if I am shopping somewhere that has an app (Walgreens, cvs, target) that great coupons I will still look and see if what I need has a coupon.
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Post by magellen on Jun 2, 2021 16:20:01 GMT
Not really. I never had the room to store a lot of stuff and most of the coupons were for things I would never use and they were not that good ,50 cents off 2 of some expensive cleaner.
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iluvpink
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,362 
Location: Michigan
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Post by iluvpink on Jun 2, 2021 16:24:09 GMT
Not really. We definitely had a really rough several years financial wise, so I tried. But I didn't have the time/energy to get too serious. And lots of the coupons were for things we didn't buy or could save by buying the store brand. If I could save $15-$20 a week off of coupons, I felt I was doing really good. Most weeks I didn't do that well.
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basketdiva
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,649
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Post by basketdiva on Jun 2, 2021 16:52:14 GMT
I was never into extreme couponing because I don't just purchase a product because I have a coupon. Im brand loyal in many cases.
Now I will check for coupons online these days when shopping for a product. Recently saved 25% off an item by searching for a coupon. The store was only offering me 15%
My best coupon deal was for Flonase when it went over the counter. The store price was $22 but Walgreens had it sale and I had a manufacturers coupon for $7 off. Final cost was $12. Now I buy the Kirkland brand -so much cheaper and no coupon searching.
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Ryann
Pearl Clutcher
Love is Inclusive
Posts: 2,561
Location: Left Coast
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Post by Ryann on Jun 2, 2021 16:52:41 GMT
No. I looked into it and decided it would take way more time than I was willing to give.
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Post by slowrunner70 on Jun 2, 2021 16:53:13 GMT
I started getting into couponing when I began working for a drug store back in 2005.
Got coupons from friends, co-workers, neighbors, sunday's paper and weekly store ad mailings.
Free personal hygiene products ( we haven't bought shampoo, conditioner, razors, shave gel, toothpaste, mouthwash, facial cleansers, moisturizers etc in years ), dirt cheap laundry soap.
I used to be able to get free toilet paper, paper towels and facial tissue, too.
When the extreme couponing show on TLC came out, it got more and more difficult to get deals. Manufacturers and stores put limits on the number of coupons allowed.
At the same time, it got easier to hunt for deals, because there were (and still are) plenty of websites, blogs and forums that do all the research.
All that's left to do is clip the coupons , familiarize yourself with the coupon policy of the different stores, and go shopping.
Over the years, we've donated thousands of dollars worth of stuff (mostly personal hygiene ) to local charities.
Since the coupons themselves are so hard to come by now, and also because of the many restrictions imposed by the manufacturers and the stores, I have lost interest in it.
We still have a nice stockpile of necessities.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
Sept 21, 2024 0:48:02 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Jun 2, 2021 17:02:41 GMT
I forgot about that weekly couponing thread, but I remember it and finding lots of useful deals from it!
Loved couponing, but it was so much work and it was rare I put in the time to get the really, really good deals. I even signed up to be a mystery shopper for awhile and was able to get my mom a new pair of prescription bifocals from Wal-mart for free (plus other unmemorable stuff).
Kind of miss those days, it felt like winning a small lottery when you saved a lot!
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Post by katlady on Jun 2, 2021 17:06:42 GMT
I used coupons, but was not extreme about it. I am brand loyal, so I wouldn't buy another brand just because I have a coupon.
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Post by longtimenopea on Jun 2, 2021 17:30:43 GMT
I tried, but in reality it didn’t super work for me. I didn’t want to stockpile and I didn’t want to move toward buying more processed stuff that was usually on coupons. Sometimes I would get some extra pasta sauce or ketchup or cheese or whatever with a coupon but usually I didn’t find much I really wanted in the circulars.
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Post by auntkelly on Jun 2, 2021 17:31:26 GMT
The grocery game! Loved it! I played the grocery game when all the peas were playing, but I wasn't a very successful grocery gamer. I was always carrying around a huge file of coupons, most of which I did not use by the expiration date. When I did want to use a coupon, I couldn't find it. When I did use coupons, it was usually for stuff I wouldn't have bought otherwise or stuff I could have bought cheaper at another store w/out a coupon. However, despite all the above problems, I loved printing and studying all those charts on the grocery game website and then reading on two peas about all the bargins the peas found. |
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Post by **GypsyGirl** on Jun 2, 2021 19:11:17 GMT
Back in the day I used coupons religiously, but never to the extent of those people on the TLC shows. When DD was a baby, I put back all the money I saved from coupons and bought a used Bernina sewing machine for $500. That was a pricey used machine back in 1988! I still have the sewing machine and it still sews like a dream. It's fun to have something to still show for all that couponing!
Now I rarely use coupons. HEB has their own coupons hanging by the items so I will use those (some are really good deals!). The local hardware/gift store sends out coupons a few times a year, but if I give them my phone number I still get the discount with out the physical coupon. I haven't seen a regular coupon insert in several years since we quit taking the paper 10 years ago.
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breetheflea
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,314
Location: PNW
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Post by breetheflea on Jun 2, 2021 19:40:39 GMT
I tried but the stores here do not double or triple coupons, or there was something weird about the coupon that excluded whatever I tried to buy, or when Walgreens was the place to get deals, someone else near me would buy everything off the shelf before I could get there... The best deal I got was probably Albertson's and something to do with buying 10 boxes of cereal and getting a huge discount, but I don't recall actually needing a coupon for that one, I just remember buying a lot of cereal at once. We had a tiny house back then and I had to store my stock-ups in the garage and then we had a mice issue and I gave up.  |
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Post by workingclassdog on Jun 2, 2021 19:43:48 GMT
I tried but the stores here do not double or triple coupons, or there was something weird about the coupon that excluded whatever I tried to buy, or when Walgreens was the place to get deals, someone else near me would buy everything off the shelf before I could get there... The best deal I got was probably Albertson's and something to do with buying 10 boxes of cereal and getting a huge discount, but I don't recall actually needing a coupon for that one, I just remember buying a lot of cereal at once. We had a tiny house back then and I had to store my stock-ups in the garage and then we had a mice issue and I gave up.  Walgreens was the one I could never catch onto... My sister was pretty good at it, but I sucked.. HA.. Our stores always doubled.. which was nice. And you could stack coupons (one store coupon and manufacturer coupon) |
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Post by magellen on Jun 2, 2021 22:05:06 GMT
I started getting into couponing when I began working for a drug store back in 2005. Got coupons from friends, co-workers, neighbors, sunday's paper and weekly store ad mailings. Free personal hygiene products ( we haven't bought shampoo, conditioner, razors, shave gel, toothpaste, mouthwash, facial cleansers, moisturizers etc in years ), dirt cheap laundry soap. I used to be able to get free toilet paper, paper towels and facial tissue, too. When the extreme couponing show on TLC came out, it got more and more difficult to get deals. Manufacturers and stores put limits on the number of coupons allowed. At the same time, it got easier to hunt for deals, because there were (and still are) plenty of websites, blogs and forums that do all the research. All that's left to do is clip the coupons , familiarize yourself with the coupon policy of the different stores, and go shopping. Over the years, we've donated thousands of dollars worth of stuff (mostly personal hygiene ) to local charities. Since the coupons themselves are so hard to come by now, and also because of the many restrictions imposed by the manufacturers and the stores, I have lost interest in it. We still have a nice stockpile of necessities. The pantries are always asking for personal hygiene products. Is there way to get them for free now ? |
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Post by scrapmaven on Jun 2, 2021 22:21:11 GMT
That show ruined it for all of the couponers. I always wondered what they would do when the items expired? Soda does expire. So does toothpaste. I always feel like a winner if I use one coupon at the store. I do not buy non-grocery items without checking for a coupon. For instance, I won't buy something at Macys until I've checked for a WOW pass. In my state you couldn't extreme coupon, anyway. So, it wouldn't have done any good to try. I know on the show the checker was pre-selected and they planned well in advance w/TLC for the purchase, but irl can you imagine having to stand behind someone who was buying that much stuff?
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Post by slowrunner70 on Jun 2, 2021 22:33:50 GMT
I started getting into couponing when I began working for a drug store back in 2005. Got coupons from friends, co-workers, neighbors, sunday's paper and weekly store ad mailings. Free personal hygiene products ( we haven't bought shampoo, conditioner, razors, shave gel, toothpaste, mouthwash, facial cleansers, moisturizers etc in years ), dirt cheap laundry soap. I used to be able to get free toilet paper, paper towels and facial tissue, too. When the extreme couponing show on TLC came out, it got more and more difficult to get deals. Manufacturers and stores put limits on the number of coupons allowed. At the same time, it got easier to hunt for deals, because there were (and still are) plenty of websites, blogs and forums that do all the research. All that's left to do is clip the coupons , familiarize yourself with the coupon policy of the different stores, and go shopping. Over the years, we've donated thousands of dollars worth of stuff (mostly personal hygiene ) to local charities. Since the coupons themselves are so hard to come by now, and also because of the many restrictions imposed by the manufacturers and the stores, I have lost interest in it. We still have a nice stockpile of necessities. The pantries are always asking for personal hygiene products. Is there way to get them for free now ? I wish I could help, but I honestly don't know. There are still a lot of couponing blogs and websites out there, but to me it seems like they are either trying to play the system and get stuff for free using not-so-ethical methods, or they're playing by the rules, which means you won't get anything for free, but at least it's heavily discounted. Of course that's just my opinion. |
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Post by slowrunner70 on Jun 2, 2021 22:37:00 GMT
That show ruined it for all of the couponers. I always wondered what they would do when the items expired? Soda does expire. So does toothpaste. I always feel like a winner if I use one coupon at the store. I do not buy non-grocery items without checking for a coupon. For instance, I won't buy something at Macys until I've checked for a WOW pass. In my state you couldn't extreme coupon, anyway. So, it wouldn't have done any good to try. I know on the show the checker was pre-selected and they planned well in advance w/TLC for the purchase, but irl can you imagine having to stand behind someone who was buying that much stuff? I read that on the show, stores made exceptions. There is just no way any store would let a regular customer use coupons on an item that it wasn't intended for. Most famous example is probably Jamie Kirlew with her ("alleged") coupon fraud. |
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Post by crazy4scraps on Jun 2, 2021 23:40:27 GMT
It wasn’t worth doing here because none of the stores offered double or triple coupons and that’s how those extreme coupon people were making out like bandits. Plus I didn’t have a lot of storage space in my house to stockpile anything.
Most of the coupons are for specific brands or products and more often than not it wasn’t a brand I used because it was more expensive to begin with, so using a coupon on it just brought the price down to the same price as what all the other brands cost. Sometimes we discovered that the generic item was the same or better quality than the name brand, and the store brands tend to be less anyway even without a coupon or sale.
I will look for extra savings on Target’s app and I definitely comparison shop so I know what a good price is for the things I buy. One other thing I’ve learned over the years is that when you have more disposable income and extra storage space it’s easier to save money on groceries and other items because you can afford to stock up when the price is low. That way you don’t need to buy it again at regular price and can wait until the next time that thing goes on sale. People who don’t have the extra cash to buy in bulk or storage space to store any excess stuff are definitely at a disadvantage there.
I still can’t believe we made it through literally an entire year without needing to buy any toilet paper. I finally had to buy a big pack for the lake cabin a few weeks ago, and bought a big pack for DD’s bathroom today. I used to be able to double or even triple stack the discounts on paper products and would collect a pile of $5-$10 Target gift cards over the course of the year that I’d use at Christmas. I’m guessing that will never happen again!
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Peamac
Pearl Clutcher
Refupea # 418
Posts: 4,229
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Post by Peamac on Jun 3, 2021 1:51:51 GMT
I did when I had more time and the kids were still at home. I saved at least 50% each week, usually more (but never the great amounts they showed on tv).
Now that stores in my area aren't doubling paper coupons, there's no need for me to clip coupons. I just use the coupons on the stores' websites and usually save 40-50% each week.
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Post by ScrapbookMyLife on Jun 3, 2021 3:33:14 GMT
For the most part, I never did the coupon craze type couponing.
I would use newspaper coupons and get disposable razor blades for almost nothing(.18cents, .39cents a package), back then I had a couple neighbors passing along thier weekly coupons.
At one point I had at least 30 packages of disposable razors, all acquired for very little money.
I did, and still do...general couponing. I try to be wise with my money.
I look through the coupons from the Sunday newspaper (a relative gives them to me) and use them if it is for an item that I regularly buy.
I am on a lot of email lists(Michaels, Joann, Bath & Body, Penneys, Bundt Cake, and many other places... so I get emails with discount coupons or notices about daily or weekly sale items.
I check the weekly grocery ads for sales on the items I use. I stock up at the sale price.
I try to use a store or manufacturer coupon whenever I can.
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Post by ScrapbookMyLife on Jun 3, 2021 3:48:09 GMT
I can't remember now if it was the old two peas board or another scrapbook message board, but I participated in a year long challenge.
I'm guessing it started on Jan 1 and ended on Dec 31.
Anyways for a year, anytime I saved money using a coupon or got a free item when using a coupon, I put the "saved money" in a envelope, jar, etc...
For instance, free dessert at Chili's put that $5.99(price of dessert) in jar, $3.50 coupon at Ulta put money in jar, manufacturers coupons(saved .70cents put money in jar.
I don't recall the exact amount I saved that year, but it was around $500.00
I love money challenge stuff like this.
One year, I did "a bill a day" starting on January 1 through Dec31, put any denomination bill($1,5,10, 20, 50, 100 in an envelope.
I think I did a week or two at a time(7-14 days worth).
I ended up with $600+
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Post by lesserknownpea on Jun 3, 2021 5:02:33 GMT
The craze coincided with me having no money, our family perennially in debt due to my exe’s terrible money habits, and me having four kids to feed.
Thank heavens for double coupons, store coupons, rebates, and my giant file full of every coupon from all the newspaper inserts. I would go to the post office and scoop up an armload, then cut and file them at home. I kept us fed, shampooed, tooth brushed, and band aided. I had closets full of stuff I got for free, or received money back for buying. I saved every UPC code off of packaging, and even had a stash of all the packaging from the things I bought, because sometimes they changed up what part of the packaging they wanted you to send in to get a rebate.
I didn’t bat an eye when I deposited 20 one dollar checks from rebates at the bank, it put gas in my car.
There’s not a lot you can do to improve your situation in life when you have 4 kids 5 and under, but this I could do, in addition to running a home daycare. ( all that extra food helped feed my daycare kids, too. )
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Post by dewryce on Jun 3, 2021 5:16:33 GMT
Participate is a strong word. I collected insert, read articles and threads about it, planned for it, occasionally cut and organized coupons, and rarely used them. Repeat. I finally gave it up many years ago when I realized that:
a) it was a mess and driving me crazy and I felt a mental weight to use them and guilt that I hadn’t
b) I was never going to get it together to make it worthwhile
c) the coupons are for specific amounts/sizes/brands and DH (who did our shopping) wasn’t great at details
d) we are both pretty picky and had definite brand preferences and what we liked often didn’t offer coupons
My local chain never doubled coupons so we wouldn’t have had the crazy savings a lot of people were reporting. Though, I did well at Walgreen’s or CVS occasionally, a lot of it was stuff I ended up donating or giving away because we didn’t like it/use it.
These days we get all of our groceries curbside, have been since last April. Our grocery chain has online coupons, and when I realized they had them I would of course clip the coupons for items I was already planning on purchasing. (Though, coupons for the items we use are most often buy thing #1 and get thing #2 free, and we don’t use thing #1. Or, buy $10 worth of ice cream, save $3 and we don’t keep it stocked on purpose). My account says I’ve saved a whopping $70 since then. But recently I’ve started looking at the ads every week and buying things we can freeze or shelf stable items that have coupons. Have been doing that with items on sale for longer, like our preferred proteins and occasionally produce, but it doesn’t keep track of those savings.
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Post by bc2ca on Jun 3, 2021 6:16:35 GMT
I maybe don't belong on this thread. I seriously tried couponing years ago and found very few that made sense for us.  It took a while for DH to believe me, but so many coupons were for highly produced products that we didn't usually buy. |
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Post by jlynnbarth on Jun 3, 2021 7:10:22 GMT
I used to play the Grocery game too. I really enjoyed it and I was able to teach my kids about savings. Since we lived in WA, the land of no double/triple coupons, we could never get the 80+% savings that others could, but we did save a ton of money. Our normal savings was about 35-40% We never bought anything we wouldn’t normally buy unless it was a new item we wanted to try, be it a food item of personal care item.
I loved the message boards at the Grocery game. You would always hear about great deals on other items besides groceries too. I was able to get tons of free products from Victoria’s Secret (which was great for Christmas gifts for my dd and her friends). Learned about stacking coupons for Bath and Body works to get tons of low cost/free items there. I also heard of sales that were coming for cell phones and was able to get 2 free phones for my kids when they were old enough to have them. It was a positive, fun thing for me. I really enjoyed it.
I definitely learned the different stores sales “calendars” and know when to look for those sales to this day. (Although Covid kinda blew that up last year).
I have the Safeway/Albertsons app and use it when I make my grocery list, but the sales aren’t as good and coupons are much less now. It’s a bummer. I still play the monopoly game at those stores when it’s going on and I get tons of free stuff playing that. What we don’t/won’t use I give to friends that will or donate. The coupons I know I won’t use I leave by/on the products so that someone else can use it. One day I got 10 loaves of French bread and handed them out to people at the checkout line. We weren’t going to eat that much bread and the “coupons” were digital for those, so I couldn’t leave them by the bread. People were surprised but grateful lol
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