[Texasscrapdaisy]

Originally Posted by gdd629

Okay see i didn't know that thanks for the info guess i will be going to meijer and i have to wonder how long it will be before meijer follows krogers lead

If I remember correctly Meijer is actually a part of the Kroger family, like Ralphs. They have several stores in the Kroger family. It's been so long since I worked at Kroger, I don't remember all of the stores in the "family".

So I would guess it probably won't be too long until they follow the lead.

[quezsmom]

Originally Posted by gdd629

Okay see i didn't know that thanks for the info guess i will be going to meijer and i have to wonder how long it will be before meijer follows krogers lead

I would still check with the store manager of the store your normally shop. Because I can tell you that some of the stores here will have a policy, but one store in the same city will do something else. It pays to ask first. hope that helps

marva

[julietsfolly]

There is a $1.00 off two Spic and Span products and walmart has the spray bottles for 0.97 each

[benbeccasmom]

Well, I'm absorbing more and more. This is all totally new to me. I started in another thread and now into this one. I have to say, you are amazing people to take the time for all of us! THANK YOU!!! I am beginning to feel overwhelmed with just the reading. I haven't even clipped my first coupon! I will start clipping on Monday when Easter is over and I can go out and buy a copy of First for Women. Then, I can start looking for online coupons and hopefully by next Sunday's paper, I will have a few ready to go. Does anyone purchase coupons from Ebay? Thanks again. Gotta go catch a train!

[JoWill52]

I am just getting started using my q's and building up a stock pile. All of these suggestions are really going to help me get started. At first my goal is to cut my grocery and hba's in half. Thanks for the tips.

[Acherry8308]

Thanks for the post! It was very helpful!
How do you deal with cashiers who think they know the policy, but you have checked and what they are saying does not match up? This seems frustrating to me.
Also, I'm in college and therefore do not have a lot of space to stockpile, any suggestions on how to get great deals without having to buy everything in bulk? Thanks!

[kiasham13]

what is the binder system?

[nomadicpixie]

Originally Posted by kiasham13

what is the binder system?

The binder system is a way for people to organize all their coupons and be able to carry them all with you to the store. You keep all your coupons sorted in a binder and bring the binder to the store. Some people prefer this method to filing them at home. A few posts up I describe how to set up a binder and in that post are some links that show a few people's binders. HTH

[nomadicpixie]

Originally Posted by Acherry8308

Thanks for the post! It was very helpful!
How do you deal with cashiers who think they know the policy, but you have checked and what they are saying does not match up? This seems frustrating to me.
Also, I'm in college and therefore do not have a lot of space to stockpile, any suggestions on how to get great deals without having to buy everything in bulk? Thanks!

This is hands down the most frustrating part of couponing. The hope is you can get your store trained and following the rules after a few trips. But there are stores that just never get it, and then I just refuse to shop there (for me that is the local Vons ie Safeway). Always, always carry the store coupon policy with you - it is your best weapon. Also, do not hesitate to ask for manager. It is time consuming but it is your right to use coupons within the guidelines of the coupon policy. In theory you should only have to show them the policy once. But in practice it is very common to have to argue the policy with the cashier.

[Acherry8308]

Originally Posted by nomadicpixie

This is hands down the most frustrating part of couponing. The hope is you can get your store trained and following the rules after a few trips. But there are stores that just never get it, and then I just refuse to shop there (for me that is the local Vons ie Safeway). Always, always carry the store coupon policy with you - it is your best weapon. Also, do not hesitate to ask for manager. It is time consuming but it is your right to use coupons within the guidelines of the coupon policy. In theory you should only have to show them the policy once. But in practice it is very common to have to argue the policy with the cashier.

Thanks so much! Great advice!

[Thiftymcgee]

Wow thanks, great info!

[KCLAngelia]

What about coupon clipping services? Which ones have the popular coupons? I know about ebay, but i was hoping there was some other good reliable ones.

[quezsmom]

I have purchased from ebay when the cost is low enought that it doesnt take away from the coupons. I also use mycouponhunter. I have for years now I love her service.

[nomadicpixie]

Originally Posted by KCLAngelia

What about coupon clipping services? Which ones have the popular coupons? I know about ebay, but i was hoping there was some other good reliable ones.

There are three I have used in the past and have no complaints over: Coupons by Dede, Coupon Master, and Coupon Carry-out. I also get my full inserts and various coupons from people here on AFC in the FSOT section. My last resort is ebay - you can find good deals there or you can get completely ripped off so weight what you will save against what you will spend.

[JoWill52]

I haven't bought off of Ebay, but have bought from wholecouponinserts, and couponsandthingsbydede. I will be honest, I think it is cheaper to buy multiple papers in your local area, no shipping charges. The other thing I noticed is, some of the coupons are different from other states. I have just started myself and have my binder and I bought baseball card holders (9 per sheet) to fit in the binder and some that hold 31/2 x 5 photo (4 per sheet) to organize my coupons in the binder. I have already got some great bargains. Good Luck to you

[Adritrj08]

Hi I've started using coupons and I really try to do it right but It seems hard to really save when the stores around my area only accept 2 coupons of the same bran and only double up to a dollar. How can I start my stock pile when I can only buy 2 of the same things? Please let me know I really need to save.

[julietsfolly]

Go every day....if its a really good deal then it will be worth it in the end to make multiple trips...

thats my suggestion

[nomadicpixie]

Originally Posted by Adritrj08

Hi I've started using coupons and I really try to do it right but It seems hard to really save when the stores around my area only accept 2 coupons of the same bran and only double up to a dollar. How can I start my stock pile when I can only buy 2 of the same things? Please let me know I really need to save.

Some tricks to get a stockpile with only allowing 2 like Qs:

go several times a week
go to several stores around town instead of one big order at one store
bring somebody who can do a second transaction
shop a secondary store as well (like Walmart) for things you can since they don't limit

Of course not all of these are practical if you live in a small town or far away from the stores. It may just be more difficult to stockpile if you are limited in stores or distance.

Also, one trick I know of with doubling is to use slightly different coupons. Often products will have a .50 off coupon out at the same time as a .75 off coupon. Since they are different coupons they should both double.

One thing you will find about couponing is your shopping trends will completely change. We do shop more often - and usually its because of scenarios like this. We also shop more stores. Watch all the grocery stores in your town and go in and get just the super deals. It means more trips but better deals.

I hope you are able to find what scenario works best for your situation.

[nakrauss]

"I think my main concern is dealing with a "hater" cashier that doesn't know the coupon policy or gives me the stink eye when I give her mine. I'd also feel bad and anxious if there were people in line behind me."

Coupon Policy-some are available online, print it out and carry it in your binder. You can also request a copy at the customer service desk.

Cashiers- Profile the cashiers!

Look for the upwardly mobile cashier, young men or women who are working part time while going to school. Or the chipper former housewife who just wants to put a few extra dollars into her families budget or get out of the house and meet new people. They come dressed to work, even in their uniform, they are clean with presentable makeup and jewelry. This is going on their resume.

Our store hires people who have various impairments, it might take a little longer but they will adhere to the policies, ask for help if it is needed and basically bend over backwards. They will not tell you no or give you attitude!

Avoid cashiers who look tired, irritated, or dirty. Even without coupons they do not like "big" orders and they get bent when you spend more on groceries than they do. Jealous much? Get over it.

Be Kind to Fellow Shoppers- AVOID THURSDAYS and busy times of the day

Thursday is a traditional shopping day for two major religions that regard Friday as a Holy Day. Many businesses distribute paychecks on Thursday. Sales also begin on Thursdays at a lot of stores. That equals a lot of people on the same day! Sunday night and all day Monday is a dead zone!

If your store has a bakery the doors are unlocked to let in the bakers as early as 4 am. Just open it manually. You can shop fully stocked shelves up to 3 hours before any other shoppers are there. Then check out at 7 and be the first customer of the day.

Do not attempt this if you are not a regular customer or you haven't spent time building up relationships and good report with the employees and managers.

Managers, department managers and other employees-
Find out who the managers are and every time you shop make a point of giving them a sincere compliment! This way when they see you coming at 5 am their instinctive response is a positive one. If they ask what you are doing there just tell them you wanted to get a head start on your shopping.

A little bit of sincere kindness to people who usually get a boatload of complaints goes a long, long way in your favor! Even if you are not a typically outgoing ray of sunshine you can pull it off, call it your game face.

Smaller independent stores love a regular customer. The first time I checked out of the store I work at now with four cart loads, the manager came and helped the cashier bag, helped me to my car and thanked me for shopping with them.

Hope this helps!

[AmieofAvalon]

Thank you for the helpful information.

[cheryl_c4]

Thank you so much for this post! It has helped immensely!

[Sillyna511]

I'm a (VERY) newbie to couponing, but I really want to make it work! My biggest struggle right now is that all the coupons I see online are for things that our family doesn't buy - chips, cookies, snack foods, etc. Like your article states, it's not worth it for my to buy Oreos for 50% off, if I wouldn't be buying them to begin with. it's just spending money I don't need to spend. So how do I find coupons for stuff we actually use?

The first coupon shopping trip I did was 2 weeks ago, the new WinCo foods opened in our town, and they had a coupon mailer that had a bunch of store coupons for specific items - about half the items were things we'd use (.28 for a can of veggies, .48 for a pack of hot dogs, etc.) and we saved $5.43 on the shopping trip - but spent $56. I know that any savings is a great start. But I just can't help feeling like that was as good as it gets.

Any advice for finding coupons on REAL food (not snack food) that I can use to make healthy dinners with?

[nomadicpixie]

Originally Posted by Sillyna511

I'm a (VERY) newbie to couponing, but I really want to make it work! My biggest struggle right now is that all the coupons I see online are for things that our family doesn't buy - chips, cookies, snack foods, etc. Like your article states, it's not worth it for my to buy Oreos for 50% off, if I wouldn't be buying them to begin with. it's just spending money I don't need to spend. So how do I find coupons for stuff we actually use?

The first coupon shopping trip I did was 2 weeks ago, the new WinCo foods opened in our town, and they had a coupon mailer that had a bunch of store coupons for specific items - about half the items were things we'd use (.28 for a can of veggies, .48 for a pack of hot dogs, etc.) and we saved $5.43 on the shopping trip - but spent $56. I know that any savings is a great start. But I just can't help feeling like that was as good as it gets.

Any advice for finding coupons on REAL food (not snack food) that I can use to make healthy dinners with?

It is definitely more difficult to find coupons for healthier items. You best resource is going to be the coupon database. Input the brands you buy and see if there are any available. There are healthier coupons out there but they tend to not be as prominent as snack foods and such. Also check the inserts as they often have coupons for staples. If you are looking for organic brands check out mambo sprouts - they frequently rotate the brands. Also remember many staples and healthier items are cheaper and have more coupons at certain times of the year (frozen veggies in winter, soups in fall, baking supplies in Nov/Dec, diet foods in January, picnic items in summer, etc). For those type of items stockpiling will be important! The coupons are out there I promise, it just takes a bit more work to get them.

[tkd_mommy]

WOW!! This was soooo helpful...thank you so much! I have just started couponing and my store doubles, which is nice though I am still working at it! I need to be realistic though and not expect to save 1/2 my bill right away...I'm an over-achiever like that

I do have a question though...something I don't understand with stockpiling...I get stockpiling things like TP or papertowel...but I don't understand when I see things like the woman one extreme couponing who had gotten the 70 bottles of mustard...how can that be a savings when it's likely to expire before they could use it all??

[nomadicpixie]

Originally Posted by tkd_mommy

WOW!! This was soooo helpful...thank you so much! I have just started couponing and my store doubles, which is nice though I am still working at it! I need to be realistic though and not expect to save 1/2 my bill right away...I'm an over-achiever like that

I do have a question though...something I don't understand with stockpiling...I get stockpiling things like TP or papertowel...but I don't understand when I see things like the woman one extreme couponing who had gotten the 70 bottles of mustard...how can that be a savings when it's likely to expire before they could use it all??

Yeah the mustard is illogical stockpiling. Most people buy what they would use between now and the next sale or now till the items expire. If you get the item for free or better than free then you get tons - but then you give it to friends/family or donate. But if you are paying OOP for the items and won't use it then its a waste. So the example of her mustard was completely impractical and illogical. The good thing is you are thinking this through and realizing what she did was not real smart.