[lilmomma4]

im new to the site i just found it thank god , i need as much help or should i say advice i can get right now . well im a mom of 4 little ones and i have 4 other adults staying with me due to the econamy i cant see any one staying on the street there all family i love them all so much and we all are on a very strict budget . i first learned of the coupons on tv and im hoping to please have some help figure this out we are always in need of extra food and anything house hold but i can never afford alot . on the little we have what im asking is help for using coupons how do they get so much stuff for so little cost you see people on tv having stock piles of food laundry soap all of that i would love to learn how and have any of you got to the point where you can walk into the store and littelry get hundreds of dollers of food for under 20$ is that realy possible . thank u all so much .

[lilmomma4]

ps.

im really hoping to find money saving ideas my twin girls turn 8 this month may 21st and my son turns 2 may 23rd so we are having there party together and any money i can save on a party would be awsome any ideas please help i go to the portage wi walmart

[madisondeals]

Another poster gave this advice: read, read, read everything you have time to on couponing. You will find a lot of conflicting information on how to coupon. Use reliable sources! This website was a great jumping off point for me; the moderators are excellent and people are always willing to help. Coupon blogs are great resources too.

Read your coupon's fine print and dissect it thoroughly. If you don't understand something, google it and find out, rather than assuming what it means.

Find and keep a copy with you of all the coupon policies for stores you shop and if in doubt, ask your store before attempting something you're not sure about. This can enlighten you on using coupons in ways you may not have thought of.

What you see on "Extreme Couponing" takes a lot of planning time that most people don't have, but you can still save a lot with even a small amount of time.

Look for coupons in multiple sources: newspaper inserts, coupon websites, manufacturer websites, facebook, store websites, in grocery stores, ask your neighbors if they coupon, etc...

I've "upped" my game considerably by shopping for groceries only at stores that double coupons (Copps and Sentry on Wed. and Sat.) or take expireds (Cub, up to 90 days). I'm not sure if Portage has any stores that do, but you could ask for coupon policies at your stores' service desks and find out.

Also, hang in there. The longer you do it, the easier it gets. In the beginning you will sleep, eat and breathe coupons. Don't try to do it all at once; allow yourself a nice, gradual learning curve. Start out with small deals. And treat mistakes and things you weren't expecting as a learning experience. You will have cranky cashiers and irrational managers at some point. Treat everyone the way you want to be treated and if something negative happens, don't let it get to you; it happens to all of us!

I treat couponing as a never-ending learning experience and a privelege, and it keeps me much more sane than some of my more "hardcore" couponer friends

[Millenchic666]

Hi there! I just joined the site yesterday and am already beginning to make trades with other users and find myself becoming more and more acquainted with the site! I am 24, live in Neenah, WI (about an hour south of Green Bay) and I just started couponing within the past month. I have been working only part time and couponing helps me save money when times get tough. Now that I am getting the hang of it I doubt that I will ever stop couponing. I don't have any children, only two cats and a fiance that I care for. I would be willing to help you out by trading or giving to you coupons I have for children's items that will go unused. In return I ask for cat food/litter coupons, miscellaneous food items, and health and beauty items that you do not need. Send me a message!

[happydorkgirl]

lilmomma4 - I'm about three hours from you. I just joined last week and am already seeing some results with the little bit of couponing that I can do! I'll be sure to set aside children's item coupons for you so that we can trade sometime.

Do you have a Woodman's by you? I drive down to GB and am able to get my health/allergy-friendly food there. They have the BEST prices by far!

[Sasha101]

Hey there lilmomma...I'm on the other side of the state from you and am fairly new also...been doing this about 2-3 months so far. Read up and start small, you'll get there and remember in the beginning just a little amount of savings is better than none!

[Petersam421]

Hi all I'm about 2 or 3 hours south of Green Bay near Madison in Waterloo. I'm new to couponing but I've already gotten a few really good deals! I'm a wife and Mom of 3 little ones (2,8 & 9) and we all braved Walmart today and had a really big let down, I planned for this trip and had about 50 coupons but my savings were only 28 dollars. Yes I know some is better than none, but with my husband and I being both full time students and unable to find work in our lovely Wisconsin economy (hoping things get better soon! ) I was wondering if and how Copps/Pick and Saves double coupons work ?! I see that you can only use up to 10 dollars in coupons and to me that seems odd. Can anyone help me out please?! Also I'm more than willing to trade coupons I have at least 1000 right now and would be willing to trade for laundry and pet food/litter coupons.

Thanks all,
Samantha

[lynn226]

I live in Merton (Waukesha county). I have couponed since I was a teen (over 40 yrs ago). My DD currently lives in Madison and just got married last Saturday. I taught her well. They are 29 and 34 and their new house will be finished next week (Lake Mills WI). They shop mostly at Woodman's using coupons at face value as they don't have the time to play the PNS Game due to their busy work schedules. We recently got a Woodman's and I shop there frequently also. Many times their regular prices with face value coupons are better than the double coupons at PNS/Copps. Their everyday prices on almost everything is way better than PNS. Watch prices and you will know when a good deal comes along. I have alot more time than DD and SIL as I no longer work. PNS takes as many coupons as you have but only DOUBLES 5 of of them per $25 purchase on Wed and Sat. The trick is to do multiple transactions. You can double 5 coupons for every $25 that you spend BEFORE sale and coupons. Occasionally they offer doubledoule daze and then you can double 10 coupons for every $25. Get rainchecks when thye are out of items. This helped me greatly this past Wednesday when I could double 10 coupons. I had a raincheck for Philly Creme 2/$4 and had $1 coupons. I also had a raincheck for Pert 2/$4 and $1 coupons. I bought 5 pert and 5 Pilly. The original price on the pert was $3.29 and the Creme was over $3 so my 10 items were over $30 REGULAR price. Rainchecks brought it to $20. I added some produce (our PNS doesn't give cash back) and I don't like a total of $0 to bring attention to myself. So after my 5 pert coupons, 5 Philly coupons and 2 Vidalia onions, my total was $1.10. I did a total of 4 transactions that day combining sales and coupons. Stockpile when you get a good deal. You may not need 4 deoderants today but if you can get them for under $1 (which is not unrealistic as mine are often free at Walgreens) you will not have to pay $4 when you run out and none are on sale. Watch the boards here and read, read, read. See what others are getting and how to do the deals. Get multiple papers. I get 2 Sunday Journals delivered. I also get coupons from neighbors and trade with friends. Check the boards for early posting of the weekend coupons and pick up extra papers when there are exceptional deals. One bummer here now is that the Red Plum and P&G now come in the mail so I no longer can get extras in the Sunday papers. I just learned though that the Waukesha Freeman has all the inserts in Saturday edition. I am going to start checking to see if it is worth making a trip on Sat to get extra papers when I think the coupons are HOT (especially the weeks P&G come out). Let me know if I can help further.

[Petersam421]

I was wondering how I make both of these lists? I know how to get to where they should be but I can not for the life of me add anything and I'm pretty good with the computer

[bearsnakes]

Originally Posted by Petersam421

I was wondering how I make both of these lists? I know how to get to where they should be but I can not for the life of me add anything and I'm pretty good with the computer

If you go into the coupon database there is a box after each of the coupons listed. if you check the ones you want to add then go to the bottom and open the drop down box it will give you the option to add to ISO list or FSOT list. HTH

[Petersam421]

I have another question....in the weekly preview it says that there was supposed to be a chef michaels dog food coupon and I can't for the life of me find it. I've entered the zip codes that are most popular. Can anyone help me?!

[gracie55]

Originally Posted by Millenchic666

Hi there! I just joined the site yesterday and am already beginning to make trades with other users and find myself becoming more and more acquainted with the site! I am 24, live in Neenah, WI (about an hour south of Green Bay) and I just started couponing within the past month. I have been working only part time and couponing helps me save money when times get tough. Now that I am getting the hang of it I doubt that I will ever stop couponing. I don't have any children, only two cats and a fiance that I care for. I would be willing to help you out by trading or giving to you coupons I have for children's items that will go unused. In return I ask for cat food/litter coupons, miscellaneous food items, and health and beauty items that you do not need. Send me a message!

Hi am also from Neenah. I go to woodmans for my big items. otherwise I price match at Wallyworld. Wallyworld is not always the cheapest. yes, you should have all the stores c/p match or items, because sometimes the cashier doesnt have a clue. Pick n Save I go sometimes if they have a good good sale and I have a c/p for I will go there on the double c/ps day.

[gracie55]

Originally Posted by Millenchic666

Hi there! I just joined the site yesterday and am already beginning to make trades with other users and find myself becoming more and more acquainted with the site! I am 24, live in Neenah, WI (about an hour south of Green Bay) and I just started couponing within the past month. I have been working only part time and couponing helps me save money when times get tough. Now that I am getting the hang of it I doubt that I will ever stop couponing. I don't have any children, only two cats and a fiance that I care for. I would be willing to help you out by trading or giving to you coupons I have for children's items that will go unused. In return I ask for cat food/litter coupons, miscellaneous food items, and health and beauty items that you do not need. Send me a message!

Hi am also from Neenah. I go to woodmans for my big items. otherwise I price match at Wallyworld. Wallyworld is not always the cheapest. yes, you should have all the stores c/p match or items, because sometimes the cashier doesnt have a clue. Pick n Save I go sometimes if they have a good good sale and I have a c/p for I will go there on the double c/ps day.

[mmessman]

Originally Posted by gracie55

Hi am also from Neenah. I go to woodmans for my big items. otherwise I price match at Wallyworld. Wallyworld is not always the cheapest. yes, you should have all the stores c/p match or items, because sometimes the cashier doesnt have a clue. Pick n Save I go sometimes if they have a good good sale and I have a c/p for I will go there on the double c/ps day.

I am also from Neenah! We should start our own little group! LOL. I have only been couponing for a few weeks so I'm just getting started on my binder. I also do not have any kids so I can also give someone in my area the children's coupons (diapers, formula, etc). The big problem I'm noticing is how to price compare at all the stores. I usually shop at Woodman's but like Gracie I will go to pick n save for a few things if I have coupons and it's a double coupon day.

what I need to do is start a spreadsheet of the normal prices of my regular favorite items at woodman's and then check the prices at the other stores. That way I'll know if taking a coupon to a different store will benefit me more or not. If anyone else from Neenah wants or needs to contact me my e-mail address is mmessman (the @ sign) live (dot) com

[happydorkgirl]

I'm so jealous of all of you lovelies in Neenah! You guys really should get together and swap coupons. I'd do the same if I were down there!

I'm up in Marinette but make the hour or so drive to Woodman's frequently. It's where I get most of my allergy-friendly food! If you guys ever decide to meet there let me know; I'd love to meet some fellow couponers and swap some of these coupons that I cannot use!

[Robis9806]

Does anyone shop at piggly wiggly? Or know anything about their coupon policies?