I have a question about coupons. It amazes me when I read how much money people save using coupons and I think that's great! But I have noticed in all the Sunday circulars and even the printable coupons on the web are mostly for prepacked food,junk food or cleaning products that are too expensive, when I can make my own. Not that I'm a health nut or anything, but I try to avoid using as much of that already prepared food as I can. So are you guys finding coupons for healthier food, or is this the only way to save with coupons? Any helpful hints would be really appreciated, as we need to reduce our food bill as much as possible.

Thanks,
Laurie

I think it varies and is relative to each family. I used to be very into coupons and saved a bundle. I had a double to $.99 grocery store and could really stockpile well. Primarily, I would trade for my wishlist items of items I bought in a typical week.

We moved and I still use them occasionally, but not as often. The coupon policies are just not as flexible here. I save more now by creative meal planning and shopping more store brands and by sales. (stocking up during sale prices) Baking more at home and not buying snacks and cutting out carbonated beverages etc.

I think coupons are a great thing if it fits into what you are typically buying or if it brings down that namebrand item to next to nothing, and if you are fortunate enough to live in an area with great coupon policies.

I think a few of the girls that are really into couponing can lend a better hand. As I mentioned, I have been a bit out of the loop for about a year now since our relocation. I miss the great coupon deals I used to get.

Sara

I find that I use the most coupons for things when their on sale and doubled. I use them for paper products, moisturizer and other personal products, cleaning products-if I can get that $4 cleaner for .50 it is well worth it. I do buy some of the convenience foods, but keep them for nights that I'm really too busy after work to cook, or to take in our lunch bags to work, and then only if its free or almost free. I do find some good tie in coupons--buy 2 boxes of cereal get a free gallon of milk, that I will do if the cereal is on sale and I have a coupon for that too--last time I found that deal I got two large boxes of Raisin Bran on sale 2/$3, and had a $1 coupon which brought it down to $2, then got that milk, usually $2.19 for free--that's almost $8 worth of groceries for $2--can't argue with that math. Keep looking-you'll master it if your motivated.

Couponing is definitely worth the time invested! I went to ShopRite the other day and got 170.00 worth of groceries for $76.00. That's math I can't argue with. Sure, some of it was junk, but I have kids, (and I like junk on occasion too!) I got some Bic razors for .33 each that normally sell for $3.39. The valupage helps too.

I really miss our double coupons when I read these posts :(
~Michele~

I agree most of it varies with each family. You read these stories about women doing amazing things with their coupons and while it may be for some I do not buy alot of the convience foods that they may purchase to get the results they do. Most of the coupons I use are also for items that aren't easily made at home, like dog food, toothpaste, toliet paper etc. We live in a very small town and WM dominates the grocery market here, matter of fact there is only one other small grocery store and a discount store that I don't care for. While none of these places doubles coupons we do have a small store here that is similar to the General Dollar that doubles coupons on Sats only up to 1.00. This is where I will pick up toothpaste for free and cleaners very inexpensively as well. My other groceries are purchased at Aldi's (in the next town over), I fill in with the sale paper to the only grocery store here and are pretty much made to pay full price for everything else. If you are making your own cleaners and are not a big consumer to prepackaged foods, unless you have a store that doubles were you might receive items for free, coupons would only benfit you for about the same they benefit me ....toothpaste, foil, tolietpaper etc IMHO. About the only advice that I might lend to cutting your food bill would be creating a price book, this will let you see when sales are recirculating so that you may stock up enough on an item to get your through until the item goes on sale again. Use store brand names, still keep a sharp eye out for those coupons on things you do use and try to find a place that doubles if possible. Reinvent your leftovers into a new dish and use meat in cassaroles, soups, etc and not as a main course.

I use a fair amount of coupons. I "try" not to use them for junk. I have one store that will triple, not to exceed $1. I buy a lot there. If I get a coupon for junk in the paper and can get it for free or pennies, I buy it. Otherwise I stick with what I normally use. Like today I got juice boxes for .09 and a slim fast bar for free. Dd was thrilled.

I get a lot of condements, beans, cat food, toilet paper, toothpaste, rice mixes, cake mixes, icing and soda for little to nothing. Some of this is convience food, but I get it cheaper than I can make it.

Actually, I find it's much much cheaper and much less time consuming (for me) to buy the prepackaged things with coupons.

But what I do is:
Buy salsa's, canned veggies, canned fruits, healthy cold cereals, soy milk, bread, veggie burgers, microwave burrito and rice meals, and then for my hubby I get his superpretzyls super cheap after coupons too.
I also use valupage when I buy the cereals and use the webbucks to buy my produce and juices.
The things that I do make myself though is soups..like lentil soup, split pea soups are easy to make in my crock pot.
I just stick to loss leaders for my produce and eggs.
Oh I splurge on my desserts though, I get Healthy choice Icecream and Haagendaaz..only on sale, I'll pay 60-80 cents a pint for haagendaaz, and at the most i'll pay 2.50 a gallon for healthy choice. I stock up when I can get it for 1.50 a gallon.
I got 8 boxes of boca burgers, and 12 boxes of ortega frozen burrito and rice dinners for free..and then I got the frozen dough for 33 cents a loaf..which is great I can use that dough to make breadsticks, rolls, cinnamon rolls you name it..I did listen to my husband though and got rid of all my cake and frosting coupons:D