|
Post by mom on Jun 3, 2021 7:50:19 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) From what I've seen on TikTok, Walgreens and Dollar General are the big places to get deals now, using their apps. There are people on TT that literally spell it out what you need to buy to get the best deals. It's fascinating to see them figure out how to get the most for next to nothing.
|
|
peaname
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,390
Aug 16, 2014 23:15:53 GMT
|
Post by peaname on Jun 3, 2021 10:58:07 GMT
I did do this when I was a stay at home mom. It took a lot of time but in hindsight it gave me something to do and engaged my brain. I live in the perfect area with three major grocery chains, CVS, and Walgreens all a stone’s throw away from each other. I didn’t get anything we wouldn’t use but it did take years for us to get through all the dish soap and toothpaste I chuckled when we opened the last of them. I’m also an introvert so I would never argue with a cashier or even return things if the deal didn’t work. There were some very useful blogs like I heart CVS and Hip2Save that spelled out what to buy. I work full time and haven’t clipped a coupon in years!
|
|
maryannscraps
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,786
Aug 28, 2017 12:51:28 GMT
|
Post by maryannscraps on Jun 3, 2021 11:24:24 GMT
I used to coupon a lot, and got many great deals. Mostly for cleaning supplies and personal care items. Some food. I often stocked up to donate to the local food pantry. They loved getting my deals on shampoos and razors.
|
|
|
Post by iamkristinl16 on Jun 3, 2021 11:46:25 GMT
I tried it for a little while but found it more frustrating than anything. I would look online for the deals, print a ton of coupons, then go to the store and they would be out of the things I wanted the most. I decided it wasn’t worth the hassle in time or expense of printing.
|
|
|
Post by Bridget in MD on Jun 3, 2021 12:55:23 GMT
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) From what I've seen on TikTok, Walgreens and Dollar General are the big places to get deals now, using their apps. There are people on TT that literally spell it out what you need to buy to get the best deals. It's fascinating to see them figure out how to get the most for next to nothing.I watch a lady on TikTok who is a dumpster diver. It is fascinating to me 1. the things that the stores throw away, perfectly good. 2. the way the stores will go out of their way to destroy what they are throwing away so people don't dumpster dive I guess? 3. Why the hell don't stores have an incentive to give to food pantries or good will places? there are so many people who could use that stuff!!!! The lady gets a LOT of hate - I think she has a big ass yard sale or something, BUT she also donates a TON Of her findings to the local schools (like paper plates and little toys for treasure boxes) and the animal products to animal shelters. People claim she is tresspassing/stealing, I am not sure what the rules are, but she has a system and makes her rounds. It fascinates me.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Sept 21, 2024 2:36:07 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Jun 3, 2021 13:00:06 GMT
I never got into the game or clipping multiples. It did clue me in to coupons.com and I used that pretty faithfully. Then they started tracking how often you printed their coupons and wouldn't let you after 3 times. Stores stopped doing double coupons. I didn't think it was worth going to multiple stores just to get free toothpaste. Now I just use the Meijer app and their mperks and call it good. I can barely remember to use paper coupons.
I rarely shop at Walgreens, dollar general, and similar places.
|
|
ddly
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,017
Jul 10, 2014 19:36:28 GMT
|
Post by ddly on Jun 3, 2021 13:02:36 GMT
I did when my kids were younger and money was tighter. I usually got cleaning products and stuff like toothpaste and shampoo. Used to keep a stock of those things.
Now that I'm older and have more money, I do use a few online coupons but I know what I like and don't like to settle for what I can get for cheap. I could never do the work that I used to do to find the products that were on sale and match them with coupons. I must have been crazy! LOL
I will say that I did raise a child that will look for a good deal. I think it's a blessing and a curse for her.
|
|
|
Post by crazy4scraps on Jun 3, 2021 13:24:17 GMT
From what I've seen on TikTok, Walgreens and Dollar General are the big places to get deals now, using their apps. There are people on TT that literally spell it out what you need to buy to get the best deals. It's fascinating to see them figure out how to get the most for next to nothing. I watch a lady on TikTok who is a dumpster diver. It is fascinating to me 1. the things that the stores throw away, perfectly good. 2. the way the stores will go out of their way to destroy what they are throwing away so people don't dumpster dive I guess? 3. Why the hell don't stores have an incentive to give to food pantries or good will places? there are so many people who could use that stuff!!!! The lady gets a LOT of hate - I think she has a big ass yard sale or something, BUT she also donates a TON Of her findings to the local schools (like paper plates and little toys for treasure boxes) and the animal products to animal shelters. People claim she is tresspassing/stealing, I am not sure what the rules are, but she has a system and makes her rounds. It fascinates me. I think it has more to do with the manufacturers than with the retailers who are tossing the stuff out. Some of those big chains don’t pay for the stuff on their shelves until after it’s sold, and if it’s near the expiration date (like in the case of makeup, food or toothpaste) it’s not cost effective for either party to ship it back. So the retailer reports how much stuff didn’t sell, the manufacturer gives the store a credit and instructs them to trash it so no one will use it. In some cases it’s a safety issue so trashing the products is a CYA type of situation. The manufacturer doesn’t want to get sued for someone using an expired product and getting sick. Also, since the retailer received a credit or replacement for the product it no longer belongs to them so they likely can’t also donate it and take a tax deduction for it. They have to do what the manufacturer dictates.
|
|
|
Post by workingclassdog on Jun 3, 2021 13:24:43 GMT
I have a story that happened to me. There was a Coke coupon floating around. I think it was via email? A friend who knew that I did the coupon thing forwarded it to me. It was for a free 12 pack of Coke. Funny thing is that you could print out as many as you wanted. I would print three and skip on to the grocery store and get my free Coke.. Did this for WEEKS.. every single time picking up pop. Then later found out that the coupon was totally fake. I was none the wiser. Had no clue. No one ever questioned it. I can't even remember how I found out about it. I stopped using it immediately. But was never stopped, questioned about it. It should have dawned on me it was not legit. I think I was so focused on what I could save each trip that it never dawned on me.
I never tried to cheat the system.. I was always honest. If items were limited I didn't go over that amount, or never took an excess of one item. If there were ten items on the shelf, I would buy 4 or 5, depending on how many coupons I had. Lots of time though I would get the last of what was there... 2 or 3 items. It would already be wiped out.
I just remember how I found out. The coupon was taped up by the registers and had in black writing on it.. do not accept, or something like that.
|
|
milocat
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,560
Location: 55 degrees north in Alberta, Canada
Mar 18, 2015 4:10:31 GMT
|
Post by milocat on Jun 3, 2021 14:00:20 GMT
We never had coupons here, they weren't printed in the newpaper or flyers or in a separate coupon flyer. Once in a while you might have seen an in store coupon you could rip off and use other than that I have never used a coupon.
|
|
|
Post by slowrunner70 on Jun 3, 2021 14:13:10 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'm not sure. I've been out of the couponing game for over a year. There are plenty of websites, Facebook groups, blogs, IG accounts etc that are all about coupons and deals. Most of them are probably legit, but there are some of them that are about "glittering", which is the practice of using coupons for items they're not intended for. Or, in more understandable terms, they're about committing coupon fraud. Hip2save is a good one, and right now I can't even think of another one. Sorry I can't help more.
|
|
|
Post by refugeepea on Jun 3, 2021 19:20:31 GMT
We did a few deals where we actually bought coupon inserts for dishwasher tabs. Laundry detergent and fruit snacks are the only ones I think we really stocked up on.
|
|
|
Post by MissBianca on Jun 3, 2021 19:50:16 GMT
I was never an extreme couponer but I did stack coupons at target with the newspaper. Now I use Ibotta when I remember and scan barcodes at Target for their digital coupons. The grocery store coupon is a pita though, it’s all just random and I have to scroll through all of it to maybe find 1 or 2 coupons I’ll actually use. I just don’t find many useful coupons anymore.
|
|
frankiegirl
Full Member
Posts: 181
Dec 22, 2020 12:42:01 GMT
|
Post by frankiegirl on Jun 3, 2021 20:43:10 GMT
Wow! That takes me back. My sister and I loved it. We did couponing and refunding (received a publication "Refunding Makes Cents!" and would pour over all the offers. We got so much for free and cool stuff (portable CD player!!) back in the day. We went to coupon swaps and talk about some crazy obsessed people (not us of course ). I can't tell you the last time I used a coupon. After Giant Eagle stopped their double coupons and I started shopping at Aldi, I really didn't need them. Plus I quit getting the paper that had the coupon inserts. Memories of going dumpster diving for extra coupon inserts - not my prouder moments but got a ton of items for free that I kept or donated.
|
|
|
Post by cmhs on Jun 3, 2021 23:07:41 GMT
Wow! That takes me back. My sister and I loved it. We did couponing and refunding (received a publication "Refunding Makes Cents!" and would pour over all the offers. We got so much for free and cool stuff (portable CD player!!) back in the day. We went to coupon swaps and talk about some crazy obsessed people (not us of course ). I can't tell you the last time I used a coupon. After Giant Eagle stopped their double coupons and I started shopping at Aldi, I really didn't need them. Plus I quit getting the paper that had the coupon inserts. Memories of going dumpster diving for extra coupon inserts - not my prouder moments but got a ton of items for free that I kept or donated. I subscribed to "Refunding Makes Cents" for a year way back when. One of the best deals I found was Hershey's/Southwest free flight vouchers. If you sent in Hershey's candy bar wrappers, you could get free Southwest vouchers. A friend of mine had a small home business making specialty candy bar wrappers for baby showers, weddings, etc. using Hershey's. She gave me her wrappers and I sent them in for so many vouchers! Enough for her and her family, me, my parents...it was awesome!
|
|
msladibug
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,533
Jul 10, 2014 2:31:46 GMT
|
Post by msladibug on Jun 4, 2021 0:02:39 GMT
Grocery Game player here too. When the stores stopped double coupons/had to purchase multiples and I started to go back to cooking from scratch there really weren't enough coupons for items that weren't prepared foods... so I stopped.
|
|
|
Post by snugglebutter on Jun 4, 2021 3:07:10 GMT
I did some couponing back when my oldest two kids were little. I was already a pretty frugal shopper so I didn't see significant savings. I remember at some point the cost of the Sunday paper went up and I decided it wasn't worth it anymore.
I do use the Target and Safeway apps now.
|
|
|
Post by hookturnian on Jun 4, 2021 3:24:43 GMT
It is fascinating to me 1. the things that the stores throw away, perfectly good. 2. the way the stores will go out of their way to destroy what they are throwing away so people don't dumpster dive I guess? 3. Why the hell don't stores have an incentive to give to food pantries or good will places? there are so many people who could use that stuff!!!! There is an amazing woman called Ronni Kahn who has started a worldwide movement to reduce food waste by supermarkets. She is a South African who migrated to Australia and started OzHarvest, did the same back in South Africa, and then spread out to other countries. I think she is also active in the US. I know she partnered with Jamie Oliver in the UK. ETA: wiki en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronni_Kahn
|
|