I get the appeal - saving money? Like that part. Cutting paper out on dotted lines? I can get behind that. I can even get excited about planning a menu around coupons (let's be honest here - I can get excited about Zac planning a menu around coupons).
So we get the paper. And I look through the inserts. And I go to the coupon websites. And I find a zillion coupons - and not one single coupon for anything we actually buy.
I've read about how you can't be brand loyal when you're using coupons, but even if I take that into consideration, I can't ever find coupons for things we actually buy.
What am I missing here? Do you use coupons? What's your secret?
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Good topic. I cut coupons too, but always end up forgetting about most of them and then they expire! I tried putting them in a binder to organize them, but that didn't help. Now I keep some in a little drawer in our kitchen, and some in my car. A lot of the coupons we use are for restaurants. We rarely eat out anywhere unless we have a coupon!
ReplyDeleteI have wondered the same thing. I use a few coupons each time I go, but end up only saving a couple dollars each visit to the store. Part of my problem is that I buy a lot of store brand stuff, so even with my coupons it still often ends up being more expensive. If you figure this whole thing out let me know!
ReplyDeleteI feel you on the crazy coupons people! I really want to be one, but I do not have the time or energy to cut coupons or search high and low on the internet for coupons I will actually use. But I do love that you can upload coupons to your store cards (I use Kroger). After you upload the coupons to your card, you can print a list of all the coupons you have so you know what you have on the card. It works for me. Doesn't save a ton - typically $10-15 off a $100+ grocery bill.
ReplyDeleteGood luck and if you find a system for paper coupons I'd love to hear about it!!
Hello! I'm totally not an expert, but a few tips for you: look in/on packages of stuff you do buy, about 40% of the time there's coupons for next time. Go to websites of stuff you like, coupons are there too. I follow a few coupon sites that set up a list of deals (unfortunately none do my local grocery stores) for national drugstore chains which helps me get free stuff from CVS mainly.
ReplyDeleteOh and my local grocery stores (all of them) double manufacturer coupons up to a dollar, which pretty much makes every coupon equal a dollar off my bill :) gotta love that!
Thats my dilemma. I can never find coupons for ANYTHING we buy. I'm lucky if I can save a $1 ever time I go to the store, and thats just not worth the effort to me.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what is being said here as well. I'm showing my age, but I have been grocery shopping for approximately 25 years. If it doesn't come as a generic or a store brand, I don't buy it. There are some exceptions, but they are far and few between. Another thing that irks me now is that a lot of coupons now are "buy 2(or more) and save $.50." Really??? Seriously, why bother? If the product is on sale sometimes it helps-but not much.
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