You guys may laugh...

[EricHill78]

at me with all the couponing my wife and do but we do pretty well considering we have a tight budget. We payed 8.75 for all this stuff. Considering those Febreeze sprays run about 2.50-2.75 a piece it wasn't that bad of a deal. We've done better deals before but we allways put everything up so I figured I'd take a picture to show you guys you can save a good deal.

Note - the Bengay was free, I don't use that shit lol. Giving it to the in laws'

[lxskllr]

My problem with coupons is most of the time it's for stuff I don't use, or wouldn't otherwise buy. I do most of my shopping at BigLots, and Aldi, and their off the shelf prices are usually better than I could get with a coupon. I also have a shopping card for BigLots, and after 10 purchases of $20 or more each, I get 20% off a future trip. It doesn't sound like much, but their prices are low as it is, so another 20% off is pretty epic. What I do is low ball my 10 shopping trips, then get a huge order at 20% off :^D

If you use the products though, coupons can help a lot making ends meet :^)

[Bigblue1]

I coupon all the time, not only is it smart, it's like a sport to me, as in how much can I screw corporate America out this time, kinda sport. Lx- I find it hard to believe you can't use any coupons out there. I agree, don't use them for shit you don't need or won't use, but there's a ton in the paper every week and if you search the products you do use on the web, a lot of times they have coupons on their website. I don't shop at Aldi very often, but they do cary some brand name stuff, don't they? You should be able to use manu coupons if they do..... Anyways, I never buy anything for retail unless I really, really need it right now. But that rearely happens as I buy stuff when it's on sale with coupons that I know I will need. ie bandaids, soap, deoderant, laundry stuff, medicines, basically everything. Also I have a small grocer in my town that sells cold cuts at like 50% off the chain grocers without coupons and always buy my CC's there. Not only is it cheaper they turn over a lot of meat, so I know it's super fresh...... BTW that pork I smoked today cost me $.99 a lb. How do you beat that?

[c.nash]

I don't have time to clip coupons... So I never use them.

My grandma once gave me a bunch for stuff I do use and I just always forgot to use them. lol

[lxskllr]

Aldi has very little brand name stuff. If they get something, it's usually a special purchase, and will be gone in a week or two. I'm honestly drawing a blank at what I could get with a coupon. BigLots has a lot of food at rock bottom prices. As bonus, you can get premium European, and high end American stuff at store brand prices.

The thing is, after shopping at closeout type stores, I've lost almost all brand loyalty. I'll buy what's available, and make do with that. If there's something I like a lot, I'll buy a bunch of it. For example, I use Toms of Maine toothpaste exclusively. About 3 years ago, BigLots got a bunch in, and were selling it for $1.50 a tube. I bought a ton of it, and I probably have another 5 years of toothpaste squirreled away in my cabinet. My target price for cereal is about $2 per pound. I'll waver on that for something especially good, but you'd have a hard time getting cereal for that, even with a coupon. If I go to a regular store, I buy all the stuff that's on sale. Now I might be able to extend that with coupons, but it's hard to tell what it'll be ahead of time. For cleaning I use either baking soda or vinegar. Laundry, and dish soap I buy once or twice a year.

The thing with coupons, is they're usually for the more frivolous items. Cakes, marginal cleaning supplies, heavy markup food products... By buying store brands, and closeouts, you get stuff that's functionally the same, but at a lower price, without the hassle of clipping. I'm probably a bit of an exception. I live a fairly lean lifestyle, and am fortunate to have some cheap shopping options close, but for my specific needs, coupons wouldn't do me much better, if at all than what I've got.

[Bigblue1]

Aldi has very little brand name stuff. If they get something, it's usually a special purchase, and will be gone in a week or two. I'm honestly drawing a blank at what I could get with a coupon. BigLots has a lot of food at rock bottom prices. As bonus, you can get premium European, and high end American stuff at store brand prices.

The thing is, after shopping at closeout type stores, I've lost almost all brand loyalty. I'll buy what's available, and make do with that. If there's something I like a lot, I'll buy a bunch of it. For example, I use Toms of Maine toothpaste exclusively. About 3 years ago, BigLots got a bunch in, and were selling it for $1.50 a tube. I bought a ton of it, and I probably have another 5 years of toothpaste squirreled away in my cabinet. My target price for cereal is about $2 per pound. I'll waver on that for something especially good, but you'd have a hard time getting cereal for that, even with a coupon. If I go to a regular store, I buy all the stuff that's on sale. Now I might be able to extend that with coupons, but it's hard to tell what it'll be ahead of time. For cleaning I use either baking soda or vinegar. Laundry, and dish soap I buy once or twice a year.

The thing with coupons, is they're usually for the more frivolous items. Cakes, marginal cleaning supplies, heavy markup food products... By buying store brands, and closeouts, you get stuff that's functionally the same, but at a lower price, without the hassle of clipping. I'm probably a bit of an exception. I live a fairly lean lifestyle, and am fortunate to have some cheap shopping options close, but for my specific needs, coupons wouldn't do me much better, if at all than what I've got.

that's why I clip them and keep them in a case, this way when they go on sale at a low price I can really clean up........ It really doesn't take that much time or effort to do it...... Then again, I'm not sure there's a big lots close to me, maybe I should find out and see if they take coupons. Who knows that tooth paste you bought is pretty expensive, There may have been a dollar off coupon for it somewhere and your stuff would have cost even less.....

[EricHill78]

We use them for items we need and use. Trust me after I use the bathroom sometimes those Febreeze are essential! lol. A lot of great food deals we get, toiletries etc. It's pure win honestly. If my wife finds a good deal on something we don't use we often give them to family members who do for example the Ben gay.

Another example which wasn't pictured was salad dressing. Our local grocery store has a special I believe they were the 8 or 9 oz Ken's salad dressing that was a dollar a piece. There was a coupon in the paper a dollar off that same size. So ended up being free. It adds up. The savings that is.

[EricHill78]

I coupon all the time, not only is it smart, it's like a sport to me, as in how much can I screw corporate America out this time, kinda sport. Lx- I find it hard to believe you can't use any coupons out there. I agree, don't use them for shit you don't need or won't use, but there's a ton in the paper every week and if you search the products you do use on the web, a lot of times they have coupons on their website. I don't shop at Aldi very often, but they do cary some brand name stuff, don't they? You should be able to use manu coupons if they do..... Anyways, I never buy anything for retail unless I really, really need it right now. But that rearely happens as I buy stuff when it's on sale with coupons that I know I will need. ie bandaids, soap, deoderant, laundry stuff, medicines, basically everything. Also I have a small grocer in my town that sells cold cuts at like 50% off the chain grocers without coupons and always buy my CC's there. Not only is it cheaper they turn over a lot of meat, so I know it's super fresh...... BTW that pork I smoked today cost me $.99 a lb. How do you beat that?

Kudos! Glad I'm not the only one who likes to save a dime..

www.afullcup.com a great resource blue. It's a forum that has subsections for all the grocery stores across the country. It's great for a deal you may have missed.

[Thraxy]

14 tubes of toothpaste? We live in a small apartment... I bought 4 toothbrushes a few weeks back and the bathroom was crowded... lol

[lxskllr]

Then again, I'm not sure there's a big lots close to me, maybe I should find out and see if they take coupons. Who knows that tooth paste you bought is pretty expensive, There may have been a dollar off coupon for it somewhere and your stuff would have cost even less.....

I should probably look into that. If I could add a coupon to BigLots prices, it would be like stealing :^D

Here's my short WalMart rant copy/pasted from another forum...

The WalMart near me pisses me off. The prices aren't that great, excepting a very few select items, and the prices marked are ALWAYS wrong. It's usually only ten of cents, but sometimes more. It isn't worth keeping track of at the checkout, because someone will be running all over the store, and it'll take me an hour to leave. I bet they've gotten me for 10-20 dollars since I've been going. It isn't worth the hassle anymore. I'll sometimes swing in for one or two things, but I avoid them for big orders.

[EricHill78]

14 tubes of toothpaste? We live in a small apartment... I bought 4 toothbrushes a few weeks back and the bathroom was crowded... lol

Ha! We live in an apartment as well but has very good storage, two closets two bathrooms. It's a tight squeeze but we make the stockpile fit.

[Mr. Snuffleupagus]

Ha Ha!

[Frosted]

Ha ha - That is so my bathroom. 4 tubes of toothpaste and we have to create an extension.

[EricHill78]

Today's Haul... At HEB (local grocery store like Kroger, Publix, Winn Dixie)

$117.42 - coupons = $11.38

Not bad at all. Got various things we need food, shampoo, odds and ends. Only thing we didnt need was cat food ha. The catfood cost like 2.57 and the coupon was 4 dollars off. So do some math we got average on 14 boxes that carried over to our groceries. We are giving them to my wife's friend who owns a cat. Bonus.

[Mdisch]

The only coupons I've ever seen in Denmark are "get a free beer" at the local bars :P