Grocery purchases and coupon

[chinaco]

A few questions about coupons for groceries... Or any other way you keep your grocery costs down.

• How much do you think (or know) you save in grocery costs by the use of coupons?
• How do you keep coupons orgainized?

 

[dumpster56]

It really depends. sometimes store brands are cheaper and just as good. There was a time our stores were triple coupon the face value up to a dollar. Heck there was a period that we saved over 400 dollars over a 4 month period on groceries. Now we use coupons only buy things we use make sure the store brand is not cheaper and then go for it. Usually say 5 to 10 dollars a week with coupons. 40 to 50 dollars a month. an extra tank of gasoline.

 

[TromboneAl]

We cut grocery costs by about 40% starting in 2005 by shopping smarter, but we rarely use coupons. We found that the coupons are often for the higher priced brands, and we can do better with the generic brands, which are usually just as good (as 888 noted).

Main strategy: use price list to know for sure when something is cheap (just cause it's advertised doesn't mean it's cheap), and stock up. Also: don't buy prepared foods (e.g. Hotpockets, Hamburger Helper).

 

[Goonie]

We only use coupons for stuff that we normally buy. Like PianoAl, we buy a lot of generic and store brand stuff, and it is just as good (if not better) than 'brand name'.

I had a friend that worked in a factory where they packaged/canned food, and he said the line he worked on put out 'brand name' as well as generic and store brand.....the only difference was what was printed on the paper label! It was the exact same commodity being put in the package or can, the only thing that was changed was the label.

 

[HFWR]

Also: don't buy prepared foods (e.g. Hotpockets, Hamburger Helper).

And what's wrong with [-]Snot[/-] Hotpockets?

 

[crazy connie]

I am a whole bunch annoyed by the coupon game. I basically use whole fresh ingredients. When did you last see a coupon for brocolli, eggs, apples or even a gallon of milk? It seems the coupons are only for the processed stuff in the grocery store. I will use coupons for my deodorant or laundry detergent. I wish the mfgs would stop the advertising games and give me the best price or that the growers and meat packers would play as well!

I know, I should just plant a garden and avoid the store even more!!!

 

[mickeyd]

I have heard tales of folks who save 50% of their food purchases by using coupons but I don't know if I believe it.

We clip a coupon or two and try to remember to use them, but do not have a systematic way to make it part of our regular shopping process. Once and a while we get a total of $5 or so, and that feels good, but I think you could use coupons and buy items that you really do not use or plan to use, as was mentioned earlier. Yea, you would save something, but the item may sit on the shelf a year or so until you picked it up in the summer of 2008 and said "Hmmm, I wonder why we have this?"

 

[FIRE'd@51]

The real savings occurs when the coupon is used in conjunction with a sale, e.g. cereals.

 

[mickeyd]

The real savings occurs when the coupon is used in conjunction with a sale, e.g. cereals.

Wow, don't get me started of breakfast cereal. Yes they have plethora of coupons, but since the basic product is so overpriced, the coupons only lower to price to $1 above the store brand rather than the usual $2 above the store brand. BTW, the store brand seems to be identical to the Kellogg's or Post product, according to the label (calories, carbs etc).

 

[TromboneAl]

I wish the mfgs would stop the advertising games and give me the best price or that the growers and meat packers would play as well!

If it makes you feel better, realize that the people who are fooled by the advertising games are subsidizing your groceries. That is, the stores are making money off the uneducated masses, so that keeps your prices down.

Our best scheme: every two months or so, whole chicken goes on sale for 59 or 69 cents per pound. We buy 5-6 and squeeze them into the freezer. Each chicken gives a great meal (like vertical roasted or Onioned Chicken (see ER Cookbook)), several churkey sandwiches (like post-holiday turkey sandwiches, but with chicken), one open-faced churkey sandwich dinner, and broth for a soup.

 

[bright eyed]

overall, we don't use coupons either - for most of the reasons folks stated here - unhealthy products/high price game...I rarely go to the "super" market ...buy mostly at trader joes or like stores, a few bulk items at costco, a few things at Target grocery (which has really good prices for the products they carry).

once in a while i scan the coupons in my parent's sunday paper, if there is something we use/need i will make a run to the super store that gives double coupons - but then and only then.

i also think the markup is silly - you're paying for that inundation of junk mail, radio ads and tv ads...it's a bad model and a lot of the supermarkets from the old school are going out of business around here - either because of walmart/target or tj's ...lemons should not be 2 for a dollar.

cola is a funny one to watch, one week 3 12 packs for $5, next week 4 for $11, it's always going up and down like a yo yo...we don't buy that either (get enough from eating out)...but it's always a new #!

there was that lady on oprah who used the coupon game to open a food pantry - collected coupons up the wazoo, went to the mart that (foolishly) had triple coupons and came out w/ a car full of food for less that a few bucks, probably not that healthy, but food nonetheless...see how long that lasts after the oprah affect takes hold..

 

[W2R]

As frugal as I am, you may be surprised to find out that I don't mind spending considerable money on healthy food, if that is what it takes. Like Connie, I buy a lot of fresh produce, meat, chicken, fish, and shellfish, and like Goonie, I only use coupons on something I would buy even without a coupon. But I seldom if ever tell myself that I cannot afford some type of healthy food. I probably spend more on groceries just for myself, than do most entire families here.

Anyway, I usually only have a few coupons (if any) and I keep them in my wallet. Just before checking out, I get out my wallet and check the coupons to see if I happened to have any of those things in my basket. Usually I don't. Most of my coupons end up going in the trash after they expire, but I still look for coupons and pick out the ones I might use.

When I retire in a couple of years, I will probably need to work on reducing my food costs. I do plan to start a vegetable garden, for health more than for the savings, actually. I really do enjoy fresh vegetables, and vegetables right out of the garden are so healthy.

 

[FIRE'd@51]

Wow, don't get me started of breakfast cereal. Yes they have plethora of coupons, but since the basic product is so overpriced, the coupons only lower to price to $1 above the store brand rather than the usual $2 above the store brand. BTW, the store brand seems to be identical to the Kellogg's or Post product, according to the label (calories, carbs etc).

Don't know where you live, but the big supermarkets where I live often put the brand-name cereals on sale for half price. With the coupon I end up paying considerably less than the store brand.

 

[bbbamI]

I save an average of $50 a month by using coupons.

I get most of them from the Sunday paper. I clip those and put them in a drawer in the kitchen. During the week, when I get additional coupons, I throw them in the drawer. When I receive the ad from my grocery store, I get all my coupons and put them in catagories of food, personal, cleaning, and pet care then store them in an envelope. I make sure that I pull out the ones that are in the ads, so I get a douple dip of savings.

It's extremely rare that I buy fresh meat. I either have a coupon, or I stock up from the "rotten meat" area. My dad was a butcher for 25 years. I save a lot of money this way.

 

[linkerbink]

I use some coupons, but usually save them for when they also have specials at the store on that item. I have several of those "shopper club" cards which actually can show a greater savings than coupons. And yes, I know "they" track my purchases, but I really don't care if they know about my weakness for anything containing cheese!

 

[kbst]

We save a lot of money using coupons in conjunction with the store savings card. VIC card at Harris Teeter or MVP card from Food Lion. We mainly shop at Harris Teeter because they double coupons up to 99 cents. We stock up on items and rarely buy without using both. We save an average $45 a week with this method.
We also only buy meat and seafood on sale and stock up the freezer. Buy a Food Saver and seperate meat into serving sizes. Meat will last a lot longer like this in the freezer. We buy the whole filet minon and have it cut into steaks when it's on sale.
We buy old bananas on sale. They make better smoothees.
We only buy the beer and wine that is on sale and buy the wine by the case to save the 10%
We like to buy vegetables from the farmers market. They taste a lot better, have a lot more varieties and are usually cheaper.

kbst

 

[HFWR]

I have "membership" cards at Kroger, Albertson's, and Tom Thumb, which saves a significant amount over not having one. I buy many store-brand or generic items, and shop for most groceries at Walmart, with occasional larger quantity ourchase at Costco. Most coupons are for stuff I wouldn't buy, no matter the price. But I'll use ones that fit with my needs.

 

[SaveSome]

We just returned from the grocery store. We saved $12.90 in coupons and spent $28.61. I always think of how much we'd have to earn to get that value in goods - over $23.35 in wages subject to SS tax in California. It definitely adds up.

Today, for example, we got a 24 oz. bottle of Vlasic pickles for $.50, 2 boxes of Barilla pasta for $.50 each, six Yoplait light yogurts at $.37 each, Marie's salad dressing for $.50, and Morningstar veggie burgers for $1.00.

A person at work told me just recently that she doesn't even look at prices of the stuff she buys.

It's not for everyone but it works for us and we enjoy the challenge.

 

[MikeD]

My wife doesn't look at the prices or the total amount of the food items she buys. Fortunately, I do the shopping. I know the price of everything we buy in all of the stores we shop in so I can spot a good price right away.

We buy the exact item that we want, usually name brand, for the cheapest price. I like to save money but I also like eating what I like.

One year, 2002, I think, I tracked all my coupon savings. We saved $189.00 over the whole year.

Cash register operators rarely look at coupon expiration dates. Walmart is a rare exception. I've used coupons that were years past their expiry date.

Harris Teeter has high prices in my opinion. Even some of their half price deals are still higher than the discount food store's prices. Oh, but their occaisional triple coupon weeks are glorious! Most places do double coupons up to .50 but HT will triple up to .99. I get some deodorant almost free.

Mike D.

 

[TromboneAl]

I stock up from the "rotten meat" area.

That's good. We call it "expired meat" ("see if they have any expired meat for dinner") but I like "rotten" better.

 

[shoe]

Grocery purchases and coupons

I can usually count on saving between 40 and 50% each shopping trip with coupons. It takes alot of time and effort and the desire really has to be there. It order to truly save the most, you must be able to get multiples of the same coupons. I do this by visiting my recycle center and taking the inserts that others have discarded. When I'm done cutting out the ones I will use, I take them back to the center. I also trade coupons with like-minded friends. Last week my local store had Hebrew National franks on sale 2/$5. It's the only brand I buy so I collected 8 coupons for 75c each. My store doubles up to 99c so the coupons were each worth $1.50. To make the deal even sweeter, my store was offering a$3 off your next visit when you bought 4 packs. Each pack ended up costing me 25c.

There is a whole underground of people trading information about this very topic. Last week I read on a website that Barilla pasta was giving free coupons for doing a 40 minute survey about pasta and sauce. For my trouble, I recieved 12 coupons for a free box of Barilla Plus pasta (whole grain) and 12 coupons for free Barilla pasta sauce. For anyone interested, Hot Coupon World and The Grocery Game are too such websites.

 

[AltaRed]

Must say I do not look for, or use, coupons. I buy what products I want to buy because I like them. I don't compromise. But I do check the supermarket flyers briefly each week to see if what I want/need is on sale that week and get some to stuff into the pantry or fridge as the case may be. I also use the store 'affinity cards' to capture the 'savings' for house brands that I choose to buy. That is always worth 5-15% of total bill.

FWIW, house and generic brands are not always the same quality as the 'brand names' products (at least in Canada). Definitely see the difference in, for example, frozen vegtables.

 

[Fireup2020]

Coupons are great for toiletries - which I purchase based on sales & cupons. I use coupons for movie passes, entertainment, etc.

 

[VoyT]

Most stores here still double coupons up to 50 cents ... so I can still get good deals when I match them to sales.
Most of my coupons are for things like personal-care stuff, paper products, cleaning stuff. Though I have scored on some small food items .. like 8oz of sour cream for 35 cents and a couple of bottles of BBQ sauce for 29 cents each.
Cereal coupons I don't bother with unless it's Malt-O-Meal. Those combined with sales can occasionaly bring the price down to less than $1 a bag. Otherwise I buy store brands or go to Aldi.

Oh yeah, organizing. I bought one of those accordian-style organizers at the dollar store. My biggest problem is remembering to bring the darn thing home...

 

[Sue J]

That's good. We call it "expired meat" ("see if they have any expired meat for dinner") but I like "rotten" better.

My store prices meats so high that I rarely buy it unless it's marked down because it's too close to the "sell by" date. I've gotten some great bargains and I've never had anything that wasn't perfectly usable.

As for coupons, I don't use many, but I like the ones that print out at the checkout. They are more likely to be things that I really use, or sometimes an incentive to try another brand. We don't get a newspaper, so no coupon clipping for me.

Another thumbs up for using a Foodsaver. When I see steaks marked down twice because it's too close to their date, I buy a few and vacuum pack them for freezing. I cut out the price sticker and put it inside the bag so that I can see what I paid when I finally use it.