[Dtanton]

I coupon in Illinois but my daughter lives in Hawaii - she does have the commissary available to her but I'm wondering if she has other couponing and stockpiling opportunities that she isn't taking advantage of in her area.

I know she has Foodland and I notice they are running the same cereal deal (buy 3, get a milk Cat) that I've got here - so that's good.

I see that they have Longs but they don't seem to have the CVS ECBs -- is that true?

Walgreens RRs are definitely a possibility, though the savings aren't quite as high in some places (Today's purex ad was about .75 more than my ad.)

Are there other stores she should be visiting? I'm guessing there are no doubling opportunities there, am I right?

One more question - do any of you follow any Hawaii coupon blogs? I've found a couple but I'd love to find one who does coupon/deal match-ups. She's new to couponing and those match-ups are really useful when you're new. :-)

Thanks, in advance, to anyone who might wander in with some advice and experience to share.

:-)

[meimeichi]

Hi, I just moved to Hawaii a few months ago. I was an avid couponer on the mainland. Honestly I can't seem to coupon here as well as I did on the mainland. Due to our prices being slightly higher. Longs was bought out by CVS and they carry all CVS brands but you won't be able to participate in ecbs. Longs has their own ads when it comes to the Sunday circular. You only get ecbs quarterly as to the amount you spend. As for grocery and super stores I've been able to stack coupons at Safeway and Target to get cheap deals. Walmart seems to have the cheapest prices when it comes to buying grocery items, but there are no Super Walmarts here. The Sunday coupon inserts are not the same as the mainland ones. We usually end up getting less coupons or no inserts at all sometimes. Our local paper will not print the full inserts because they claim not all of the products are sold in Hawaii and it would cost them more if they do print them. When I compare inserts from what my fam sends to me the mainland inserts have all the products we have here so I'm not sure what's going on here. A website I use locally only for Hawaii is pennypinchinginparadise They are the best local ones around, but they do not post everything so you still need to check with afullcup. I do the best I can here. You may want to send your daughter coupons as they are hard to find here at times. Let me know if you have anymore questions

[meimeichi]

I forgot, there is not one grocery store yet that I have found that will double coupons. Since almost everything here gets shipped in from a shipping container I understand why our prices are a little higher.

[Dtanton]

Yea I figured there were no doubles but also decided it couldn't hurt to ask. :-)

You've been very very helpful and I really appreciate it.

I'm going to start sending my daughter inserts every week -- that should help her a lot! And, she's going to start going to Walgreens again and taking advantage of RRs -- that's better than nothing. Sure wish the Longs would make the complete switch to CVS. :-)

[Hbmomof2]

Longs will never make the complete switch here. The local people would boycot the change because longs has been part of the island for so long.

If your daughter has commissary privilages there are great deals to be had and 95% of the time its the cheapest place to shop. Best way to make your money strech at the commi is to buy lots of overage items. Example I bought 40 travel size razors at $0.62 used 40 $1 off coupons so I had $15.20 to use on other things. commissarys honor the full face value of a coupon and apply it to your total purchase.

As for Walgreens RR deals she needs to wake up and be there at midnight if she really wants something. there are a lot of people who wipe the shelves the moment the deal goes live.

As for the grocery stores around here Times, Foodland and Safeway its best to bring the ads with your to the commi to compare prices on fruit and meat. sometimes they can be cheaper but its rare and not always worth going for one item.

Like pp said coupons are hard to come by. I spend one day a week hunting them down in stores. I have no shame walking in and walking out with only blinkies tearpads and booklets in hand... and the occational peelie.

Wish I had a mama with access to coupons who would send them to me. good luck to your daughter.

[leslie16chic]

Hey there!
i am a military wife here in hawaii at schofield and i have not found one place here that doubles cupons, i know that the comissarry will let you use cupons up to 6 months old. What stinks is the comissarry does not have a sale paper so its hard to plan trips that way. I heard from the cashier at the comissarry that there are about 3 extreame cuponers that shop there, they also get paid to take the items!! I really wanna meet these people i want to learn more, maybe they can teach me something?

[CnCmommy]

I'm in Ewa and I coupon I get some stuff cheap $3 and under but I don't shop at the commissary I usually shop at Target since they have a better coupon policy then all the other stores. If you ever need tips or anything feel free to send me a message
Bridgett

[leslie16chic]

Thanks for replying! i saw that you mentioned that target has a good cupon pollicy? what is their cupon policy? are you military family? just qurious because you said you did not shop at comissarry. i am new at all this but i think i have done well so far i get free stuff some times but mostly just dirt cheap stuff its hard to get free stuff in hawaii there are no places that double cupons so that makes it harder and it stinks . i cant wait to get back into the main land. i live at hmr keep in touch :-)

[blessedrub]

Hi all I'm fairy new to coupling for about a month now. I didn't know schofield would honor 6 mth expired. Is that in writing anywhere? The NEX expires on the day of. I've found that most of my savings come from the commissary and walgreens. I would love to get more pointers as well b/c it is more difficult here to get things for free. I like target as well. I asked someone at longs and they said that they will honor cvs coupons. Hope that helps. Feel free to contact me so we can share sales and deals and make the best of coupling in Hawaii.

[leslie16chic]

Hello there, thanks for replying to my post! i am at HMR i have been trying to find a friend in cuponing , I had no idea that longs honors cvs cupons. thats good!! and if you go to this web site


it will tell you the comissarry cupon policy and just print it off if they give you a hard time. Its only for overseas duity stations for the 6 month expired cupons. im not sure if that goes for the in store cupons though.

i buy a sunday paper every sunday and i organize my cupons and look through teh sales papers for good deals. Irs deffinatly hard to get good deals in hawaii, well thats been my experience thus far,

maybe if we work together we can get practice and help each other out!

its hard to plan your shopping trip when the comissarry does not have a sale flyer they hand out every week, so i find myself getting frustrated rummaging through my cupon booklet and looking at everything on the shelves, not to mention my 3 yrad old son going through the isles like a chicken with his head chopped off .

its deffinatley hard i think with help it would be easier with a partner. I also pick up cupons through out the comissarry and px and save them incase that item goes on sale later.

FYI at PX if you bring your own bags they take off your bill .5 cents per bag!!

hope to hear back from you soon!
leslie

[leslie16chic]

ok so this blog would not let me put a web site link onto it so i would have to email it to you so you can see the comissarry cupon policy sorry abt that if you give me your email i will email it to you asap! :-) or go to alaskacupondiva.com if you cant find it that way i will email you the direct link

[leslie16chic]

if you have yahoo instant messanger you can im me maybe? leslie16chic

[AimBre]

Hi! I'm on HMR too! I just started couponing. I didn't know we had any extreme couponers here but I always see people with carts piled high and wonder. I've been thinking of asking my mom to mail me the inserts from the mainland as well.

[leslie16chic]

yes there is extreame cuponers here, have i yet to meet them i would love to. im just beginning to learn how to get stuff for free i was trying to find some friends we could all work together! and learn and help each other. you can buy sunday papers here and they usually have cupons in them. but my mom sends me cupons from ga every week . i love mail day. well here is my yahoo im you can send me a email or chat if you like my sn is kielersmommy2007 for yahoo mail its leslie16chic

look forward to hearing form you

[blessedrub]

Are the coupons the same that you're mom sends you from GA as the ones that we have here?

[leslie16chic]

yes i believe thay are. maybe more. im not 100% sure i will get back to you on that.

[zetaqueen07]

Hi! I'm at HMR too and would love to get with other people to coupon. F.Y.I. The commissary does not take expired coupons. Hawaii is not considered one of the overseas locations as far as the commissary is considered. I also heard that the coupons here are not good so I am having my mom and mother-in-law both send me their inserts.

[cassie.teshima]

Sad to say that I can't go to the commissary because I am not in the military nor is my husband. However, do your questions about Longs and CVS, they are the same company. CVS owns Longs.

I don't know of any Hawaii coupon blogs, but I haven't search yet. I am just beginning my journey of couponing extreme. I have been doing it on a smaller scale and I do see the rewards.

Hope that helps.

[cassie.teshima]

Sorry trigger finger.

[kincaidia]

I'm so glad to have run across this thread! I've been trying to find Hawaii couponers and see that we are all in the same predicament...high prices and low savings. Hopefully we can turn that around with some savvy couponing!

I see that some of you shop for deals at Target. I'm a newbie so I'd appreciate any help regarding Target's coupon policy. On the Target site I read that they will accept one manufacturer's coupon and one Target coupon for the same item (unless prohibited). For example, I have a MFR's coupon for $1.00 off Nivea body wash and a Target coupon for $1.00 also. Can I stack the coupons even if both coupons state: Limit one coupon or offer per transaction? Anyone try stacking at Target before?

I was born and raised in Hawaii so naturally Longs is always, "a part of my day." I was so glad to hear that CVS took over Longs and quickly signed up for the Extra Care card. Like Meimeichi mentioned, in Hawaii we only receive EC bucks quarterly based on how much we spend. There are however deals I've received in the past like, spend $20 get $5 off and such. I've also received coupons attached to my receipt that I've taken advantage of. I do travel to the mainland 1-2 xs a year so whenever I have a chance I pop into a CVS and look for deals I can take home with me.

I was fortunate to be raised in a military family so I was able to reap the benefits of the exchange and commissary. Now that I'm an adult and no longer have those privileges I've had to seek deals elsewhere. I registered my Safeway card online and now load my card w/ coupons. Safeway.com also lets you print out or email your shopping list w/ the coupon deals/prices. I'm also glad that they do a deal match now! Does anyone stack coupons at Safeway?

Thanks in advance for your help! Happy Memorial Day!

[cassie.teshima]

Thanks for all the information Kincaidia! I recently also learned that CVS has a 'green tag'. It is a tag that you attach to your reusable shopping bag and you get $1 CVS buck for every fourth shopping trip.

I'll definitely do the Safeway.com thing. I have the card, but never did do the online coupon loading.

Also, I have started a coupon LiveBinder that I am happy to share with you. It's not the cleanest and I know there are sites that provide duplicate information; however, having just started it is the first thing I started doing.

Enjoy your weekend as well!

[kincaidia]

That's great Cassie, I'll keep an eye out for the CVS green tag! Anything to earn an extra (care) buck!

[kincaidia]

Just a follow up to my Target question...I did go to the store with my manufacturer's and printed Target coupons in hand. I was able to stack the coupons and got some really great deals! I was able to reduce my total by almost $10. They also had a bunch of items marked down so don't forget to look for those little reddish orange clearance stickers! Also, Target almost always has a coupon for a discount at the cafe. My nephew was able to enjoy his Pizza Hut breadsticks for $.50 off. I also sign up for Target coupon texts. It's a convenient way for me to save even more money. Happy shopping!

[cassie.teshima]

I love shopping the isles of Target, especially if it is on clearance. Best deal right now is Safeway. If you do the deal match for the Digiorno Pizza and you get the SmartSource manufacture coupon each pizza comes out to $2.50 each (for the small personal size one).

[sagemom]

I'm a newbie couponer myself...have been a casual couponer but now I'm trying to really take advantage of coupons and all the deals out there.

I started a blog savvygem.com that posts match-ups for target, walmart, foodland, times, kmart, safeway, and I also post freebies, hawaii dining discounts, etc.

Like I mentioned, I'm still a newbie so I'm sure many of you will find many other deals, but like someone had mentioned--hopefully we can all help each other to become savvy couponers =).