Beginner

**misty120876** · 11-11-2002, 02:03 AM

I am completely clueless when it comes to the fine art of clipping coupons and saving money using them. I've tried it a few times and always end up spending more than normal. I've heard of doubling coupons and all of that, but again, am totally clueless. How do you all save so much money? I am so new to this that I wouldn't even know where to begin (besides the actual clipping of the coupons). I had so many of them and after spending $300 at the grocery store and had over $100 worth of coupons (and used them!!), finally gave up and threw them away.

How do you double coupons? Can you buy w/ using more than 1 coupon for an item? Hope you all don't mind completely walking me through this. I was telling dh about the grocery challenge and he said "Yeah, they probably buy lame stuff!"

I was reading to him the things that were bought and the prices paid for them and he doesn't believe it. I know this is be/c of my own experience w/ clipping and using coupons. I'd LOVE to prove him wrong (or let him think everything is "lame" and start my own little personal savings

)

TIA!

**justjenn** · 11-11-2002, 06:43 AM

Welcome to the Frugal Village! It's great that you have joined us.

First of all, you have to remember that just because you are using coupons doesn't mean you are actually saving money. Most times you can find the generic brand/store brand cheaper than the name brand with a coupon. Also, a lot of people use coupons on things that don't normally buy anyway. So, being frugal is a whole lot more than just using coupons.

My suggestions to you is to read everything you can here, and start doing little things to work towards saving money. I have only been at this for a year, and have made a lot of progress. You will fall off the frugal wagon from time to time, but you just need to dust yourself off, and go on. I recently fell hard, and am now getting back into the swing of things.

Also, go to your library and check out all the Tightwad Gazette books. They are great, and are invaluable.

Good luck!

**dz_blonde_girl** · 11-11-2002, 07:07 AM

I'd love to help you with this. I used to do most of my shopping at Walmart (WM) every 2 weeks. I'd load the cart to the brim and spen $150 to $200. That was just about 4 months ago.

You need to start out by stocking you pantry and freezer. Chicken hindquarters were on sale here for .18/lb, so I bought 20 lb and put them in the freezer. Same with ground beef, pork chops, roasts...buy a bunch when they are cheap and freeze it. The WM here price matches, I can get much nicer cuts of meat there than if I go to the store that is advertising the low price.

I have a big shelf in the basement for canned goods. We can a lot of vegetables out of our garden so I don't buy peas, carrots, corn, tomatoes etc. Chicken broth is on sale for $1/3 so I bought a dozen cans. Creamy soups etc, buy a bunch when they are cheap. If you watch the ads sometimes you can figure how often some thing come on sale. This seems to change with the seasons though.

Only take coupons for stuff that you use to the store. My coupon binder has 2 pages of baby coupons, about 5 pages of grocery coupons, and only 1 page of household stuff and 1 page of health and beauty stuff.

Once you've got yourself all stocked up, you can get away with buying only sale items, or better yet sale items with coupons. The Pillsbury Grands Biscuits I bought the other day were on sale for .99. That particular store doubles coupons up to .75 on Mon thru Sat from 8 to 10 AM. I had 5 coupons for .50 off. This particular store will not give me the .05 I was over in coupons, so I knew I had to buy something else. I always buy my TP there because I can get it for .29 for a 4 pack with my .50 coupon doubled, even though I have to pay tax on the whole $1.29. The result was 5 tubes of biscuits and 16 4 packs of TP for $5.35! I won't need TP until next year!

Does that help?
My sister lives in NW TN near Dyersburg.

**dz_blonde_girl** · 11-11-2002, 07:14 AM

Sometimes you have to do the math, like justjenn said. Walgreens has Suave Deodorant soap for .99/3 pack this week. I have a coupon for .40. That would be .59/3 pack. WM sells it for $1.59/6 pack. So let's see .59/3=.196666/bar and 1.59/6=.26/bar. Guess where I'm buying soap? As long as they are the same size bars.

I keep a calculator on my coupon binder.

**mustang80** · 11-11-2002, 07:19 AM

Hi Misty! To really save, you need to match your sale papers with your coupons. Sale papers usually come out on Wed. or Thurs. SIt down with the ad and especially pay attention to loss leaders. These are the items on the very front page that are VERY reduced to get you in the store.

For example-this week Shop Rite had some special deals. If you buy 2 Butterball Stuffing mix at .99, you get 2 cans of store brand cranberry sauce for free. I had a coupon for .55/off 2 Butterball stuffing, so doubled that made one of the boxes free. So I paid .99 for 2 boxes of stuffing and 2 cans of cranberry sauce.

When you see a great deal, and don't have enough/any coupons, post a message on the coupon trading board that you have a need. Two weeks ago, Drypers went on sale here for $4.49 a pack, which is already dirt cheap. I went to the coupon board and scored a bunch of $1.50/off 1 coupons. I went to the store and bought 6 packs of diapers for $3.00 each! I didn't need that many, thus the beauty of stocking up.

When you stock up, you take advantage of great deals BEFORE the item becomes a need. If you need it, most likely you will pay full price for it. If it is already in your pantry, you saved yourself money and a trip to the store.

Check out your area for stores that double coupons, most will double up to 1.00. Every part of the country is different, though.

HTH! Let us know if you have more questions. The ladies here are great for answering your questions, and the ladies on the coupon trading board are great too! I've traded with them several times.

**Mom23boys** · 11-11-2002, 08:24 AM

LOL Karen! I went to Walgreens last night and bought 12 packages of the Suave soap with the coupons. We all think alike here. I think we rub off on each other!

I save because I stock up like the others said. I get more than one of the same coupon and buy the items when they are on sale.

**captclearance** · 11-11-2002, 08:50 AM

Hi Misty, You are asking the right ladies !! They save a lots of money, but in a variety of ways (not just coupons) I don't have double coupon stores here so I am a clearance and loss leader shopper.... I stockpile (big time) I use coupons where I can....
I use a coupon for items that are already on sale, and the loss leaders are where I save a lots of money, like Karen said... I buy 20 pounds of chicken too..... Check here on the front page and you'll find many articals on couponing and ways to save money....
http://www.frugalvillage.com/

HTH

**homesteadmamma** · 11-11-2002, 09:54 AM

Hi Misty - I'm glad your here also. btw- I love your avatar, what a beautiful picture.

I agree with the ladies here. It isn't only about coupons when it comes to grocery shopping. We don't have triple or doubles and we have very few coupons. The ones that are here, are mostly for items I don't buy.

First you need to stock up on your pantry. Watch for the loss leader sales. Those are the sales that are usually on the front and back of your ads from the grocery stores. The store takes a loss on those items in order to get you into the store to buy other things. Look at those and take out a specific amount of your budget each week/month, in order to begin to purchase those loss leaders. You'll find you'll quickly stock up your pantry.

I agree, if you have a freezer, stock up on the sale items you see in your grocery store or in the ads.

Use coupons to benefit you. If you have a coupon for something that you don't or wouldn't normally purchase, don't use it unless you purchase that item to donate to someone. No matter how much you save, it doesn't save if you don't use the item.

When there is a sale and you have a coupon for that item, then use it. Thats where you really begin to save.

Also, read some of Alya'smommy threads. She always has great totals when it comes to purchasing groceries. And ask lots of questions here. The ladies are always so willing to help and encourage each other as we try to be frugal.

**~Sherry~** · 11-11-2002, 10:01 AM

You've already got some great advice... I just wanted to say welcome!! If you have any other questions, just ask... as you can see you will get an answer.

**heaven** · 11-11-2002, 12:26 PM

Also alot of the stores have cards (preferred customer.) Get those from places you usually shop. I have one and save tons on stuff i usually buy so if you can get a sale with the card and the coupons you are really doing well. GOOD LUCK welcome to the village.

**MANDERS** · 11-11-2002, 03:52 PM

Misty Hi! You should have Krogers,Winn Dixie's and maybe ingles or publix there am i right?Also I think maybe there are some fred's in TN.ANywho Kroger and Ingles doubles up to .50 on the first coupon of multiple items.So say like this week there pilsbury grands biscuts are .99 each and I have 4) .50 coupons I will only get the first one for free.In this case I go to multiple Krogers(have that advantage since I live in the suburbs of atlanta and have 3 within 10 min of my house!)Publix does not double coupons,I don't know about winn dixie since they all turned to saverite before i could ever shop there.Fred's is owned by kroger and will double coupons up and including a $1 on Saturdays! This is awesome if you have one nearby,I have gotten so many things free from there.

Ok now on to saving with coupons,Like justjenn said jsut cause you use coupons doesn't mean you are saving anything.Don't get discouraged though,coupons can save you tons of money.Though they do take quite a bit of time in the beginning after a while you'll get down to a routine.

Oh yeah get that kroger plus card cause they won't double if you don't have it and if you go to their website( www.kroger.com ) you can get coupons for kroger products which are put on your kroger plus card.Also you can go to www.valupage.com to print out a sheet to get web bucks.WHich is simply you print out the sheet take it to kroger or ingles and buy the item on the sheet(you can also combine with coupons)and you get a print out receipt for so much off anything on your next trip to that store.

Hope this helped If it was to overwelming for ya just read it again cause i'm a big rambler.lolOh yeah where in Tn are ya

**Jerseygirl** · 11-11-2002, 07:16 PM

These girls have given you everything you need to know to get started--take baby steps, it's a big change for the whole family and it does take some getting used to-but look back at some of the older threads where we discussed what these strategies have helped us achieve. Good luck, and do ask any questions you have.

**Darlene** · 11-12-2002, 08:15 AM

Great advice ladies! The only other thing I can think of is to keep your eyes open for rebates too. You can find rebate forms sometimes in newspapers,on packages,on shelf near item & on store bulletin boards. It's great when you can combine sales and coupons and rebates.

Good luck & have fun!

**misty120876** · 11-12-2002, 09:42 AM

Thank you, ladies!!!

Wow!

The main thing that I need to do is stock up on everything. I'm horrible for letting my cabinets go completely empty. When, I do stock up, I'm bad for making my grocery list shorter the next week and using up what I already have. So, that is one thing I need to do for sure.

I already shop at the Dollar Store for my diapers, detergents, bathroom stuff, etc. Even some food. This is where I need to stock up from. I also need to start looking in sales papers. This is one thing I never do. Never have done. I usually go to which ever store (usually Krogers or Food City) has the best commercial on. LOL!

I just got a letter in the mail from the power company saying that there is going to be a 20% increase on all bills this winter. Our power, water and gas is all on one bill, so it's pretty high anyway. I've already started cutting down on these things and having everyone else do so also.

I sit down on Wednesdays and do my grocery menu and grocery list. This time, I'll get the sales papers and check them out.

Questions I can think of:
1. Is it worth using just a few coupons on items that are on sale or that I can get a deal on or should I just wait until I have a bunch to use at one time?
2. Does Krogers always double coupons? Is this a day by day thing or do they just do it on special days?
3. Coupons that say "limit one per customer, per item", what is the point of saving a bunch of the same coupon, if you can only use one? For the next time you go?
4. Can I get by w/ just clipping coupons and saving them to trade for other things?

Hmmmmmmm......that's all I can think of at this moment.

Again, thanks a bunch.

And, thanks Darlene, I am just getting into the rebates thing. I found several expired rebate cards in movies and such that I had bought forever ago and felt sick that I didn't turn them in. I have a $20 rebate on the virus protector that I bought yesterday. This thing is in the mail today. That's $20!

JALCCLARK, I don't think there's a Publix in TN. Maybe in the western areas. I shopped there when we lived in FL. I don't shop at Ingles be/c I've found them to be more expensive than any other grocery store. Food City here, is usually the best place for prices, I've found. But, I do go to Krogers when they are having their meat or dairy sale. And, pick and choose depending on who has the most Buy 1 Get 1 Free sale going on. And, I have the value cards to both places.

homesteadmomma, thanks!! I like that picture also. Mostly be/c 9 out of 10 times, I'm in my baggies w/ no make-up on and my hair up in a bun.

And, I have been checking out all of the articles and such on this site. Very helpful information. I'm out of printer ink (unreal expensive for ink!) and when I get more, I'll be printing out those lists.

Thanks again, ladies. I feel myself wanting to be lazy but will stick w/ this. I want to be a frugal Mom and want to save money! Plus, I know how awesome of a feeling one gets when they find that killer deal!

**misty120876** · 11-12-2002, 09:48 AM

Forgot to add (can you imagine?! LOL) that I also am a huge fan of our local consignment shop. It's the best one I've ever seen!! I've never seen any clothing over $8. And, after it's been there for a week, they mark it down a dollar! I have been there several times and bought shirts, shorts, etc for only .25! And, they are like new! I bought two winter coats over the summer. Both are 100% genuine leather. One was $4 for dh and the other was $2 for Ds. The only problem was that the one for Ds said, on the price tag, that it needed dry cleaned. So, I'm talking serious deals at this place. My Mom (lives in VA) saves up money just to come and visit the consignment shop. LOL! It's that awesome.

I can't even think of the last time I bought clothes from a regular department store. Well, except for under garments and shoes. I can't bring myself to buying those used.