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bestill
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| Posted: May 05 2010 at 9:07pm | IP Logged
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I have always been amazed at those mom's who can use coupons and save a ton on groceries. I do the Sunday clippings, but i don't seem to save much. Some people use multiple coupons etc. I have never understood this since it generally says on most coupons one coupon only. I would love to hear from some coupon queens out there who can give me a coupons for dummies lesson. I have 4 children and am really going to use this summer to educate myself on how to save in that area.
thanks
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: May 05 2010 at 9:24pm | IP Logged
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Well to start with.. *I* rarely use coupons.. though I also have been known to buy a couple of papers and split my shopping trips into a couple to use a $10 off a $50 total 
But so very much of what you're going to be able to do with coupons will depend on just which stores you have access to. Like I hear about amazing deals at one of those stores that give you store money when you buy things.. there's not one within 100 miles of here so.. doesn't do me a lick of good.
There's lots of ideas beyond coupon use though so don't think you have to stop there.
Definately find out more about couponing if it's something that will work in your area and for how you eat.. or if you're willing to change how you eat to use the things that you can get coupons for.
Here'a thread on Pantry Stocking and how that saves money that I did a while back.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: May 05 2010 at 9:39pm | IP Logged
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Ouiz uses a coupon system and TOTALLY SAVES MONEY....I'm going to "alert" her of this thread. She has a few posts and links on her blog, if you want to poke around in the meantime.
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Suzanne in ID
Wife to Pete
Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
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Ouiz
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| Posted: May 07 2010 at 11:02pm | IP Logged
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Oh Suzanne, you're sweet!
Yes, I do use coupons. I am NOT one of those "super moms" who manage to cut expenses by 80% or so, but I have tried to incorporate all those great ideas out there and have cut our grocery bill almost in half.
The key is to get several newspapers (I get 4 each Sunday) and clip out EVERYTHING that you would be willing to buy if it were close to free. Then, you wait for a sale. When the price is low enough, you take your coupons and stock up. Use what you can, give lots to the local food pantry, and it's a win-win situation for everyone. Doing it this way you will pretty much guarantee that you won't be spending much (if anything) for a lot of items (like shampoo, toothpaste, DIAPERS, etc etc etc)
If you start small and work your way up, you'll become addicted (in a good way! ) in no time. The first time I went to CVS and got stuff for free, I knew I was hooked.
I would really recommend learning from "the masters" like Money Saving Mom, or The Thrifty Mama, or signing up for the Grocery Game. All those places can really walk you through how to start, and alert you to some of the great deals out there each week.
Sorry to ramble!
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Ouiz
Blessed to be married to the man of my dreams and mom to 8 wonderful children here on earth
B-17, G-16, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, G-7, B-4
Chez Ouiz
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kbfsc
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| Posted: May 15 2010 at 7:02pm | IP Logged
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Ooooh, I've only recently become a couponer, and I am hooked! In the last 6 weeks I've saved about $600 on groceries and household items. I agree with Ouiz - it's addictive, but in a good way. My husband sure thinks so. 
The method I use is a bit different from Ouiz's. The idea is to just shop the sale and buy-one-get-one items and apply coupons to them to save even more. You stockpile when the prices are super low like this, and pretty soon your pantry is nicely full. The first week I shopped this way we were pretty limited - eating only what was on sale - but I saved more than I spent that week so it was worth it.
Frugalcouponliving.com is the site I use - she lists my grocery store's specials and links directly to online coupons that apply and lists the Sunday paper coupons that apply - so I don't have to clip and sort. I just three-hole punch each Sunday coupon pamphlet and keep them organized and dated in a big binder.
I am spending slightly more each week on groceries overall, but I easily get twice as much food as I used to.
Thrilling finds: Cascadian Farms organic frozen fruits, normally about $4/bag - I got them for something like $.30/bag. Metamucil, the big canister, normally $13.99 - I got it for $1.99. Sorrento cheese sticks, normally $3.50 for 12 - I got them for $.50.
Sorry to ramble, too - just so thrilling to save this kind of money!
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Kiera
happy mama of ds '02, dd '03, ds '06, dd '09 and little ones in heaven
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mama2many
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| Posted: June 01 2010 at 6:42am | IP Logged
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Does this system work if you aren't willing to change your way of eating??
Like, we don't eat "white" foods as a family (kids get treats and such..)
I've tried and have saved up to $100, but seems that more often I'm only saving like $5!! 
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kbfsc
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| Posted: June 01 2010 at 7:15am | IP Logged
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I think it could definitely work for you. Again, the idea being that you stockpile when the things your family would eat are super low. So watch for the whole grain stuff to go on sale and hang on to your coupons.
We are eating a little differently since I started. For example, lots of cold cereal in the morning because I can get it for less than $1/box. My kids used to eat tons of whole wheat bagels and cream cheese. I had to wait for the bagels to go on sale to stock up, so now they have those again.
Another thing to look for is a grocery store that accepts competitor coupons. In my area that's Publix. CVS, for example, sends emails to folks that participate in their extra rewards program (or whatever it's called when you have one of their little red cards), and included in the email is often a $4 off $20 purchase coupon. Public accepts that coupon - so it doesn't matter what I've purchased at Publix, I still save those $4. I've seen those kind of coupons also from Save-a-Lot and Rite Aide.
Ok, one more thing - I'm on a roll! - the websites I used (frugalcouponliving.com and livingrichwithcoupons.com) both often list other great buys (especially online bargains) and free samples aside from groceries. This has been a bonus and blessing! For mother's day I bough myself $120 worth of cloths from Coldwater Creek - for $25!! The sites listed coupon codes and kept track of the specials for me. I just don't have time to do all that leg work and bargain hunting.
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Kiera
happy mama of ds '02, dd '03, ds '06, dd '09 and little ones in heaven
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MaryM
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| Posted: June 01 2010 at 11:25am | IP Logged
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Love hearing about your great finds!  You guys are amazing.
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Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
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Ouiz
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| Posted: June 01 2010 at 12:08pm | IP Logged
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While it's true that a lot of the coupons are stuff like hamburger helper or things like that, there ARE a good number of coupons for the healthier foods as well. Not as many, but they are out there. www.coupons.com is a great place to download them, and The Thrifty Mamaor Money Saving Mom both try to find great healthy deals every week.
Other than that, if you just stock up on the ingredients rather than the items themselves, you'll save money and bless your family by making the stuff yourself! (always a good thing!)
The main thing, IMO, is to get many of the same coupon, so when your store does do a BOGO sale, you are all over it. For example, I was able to cash in on BiLo's recent BOGO sugar sale with coupons (that also doubled) and got about 10-12 bags of sugar for minimal cost -- a huge blessing when canning fruit for jams!
As far as the other food goes--the stuff that YOU personally wouldn't eat (like HH or boxed mac and cheese or whatever)--you can still stock up when it's basically free and bless someone else with it. I kinda struggled with that (since I'd like everyone to have the chance to eat healthier), and I asked my dh what I should do, and he said that perhaps those who get their food from the food pantry wouldn't have time (or be interested) in cooking from scratch, so that boxed stuff would be a huge blessing to them.
For us, I use the savings from all the couponing to enable me to buy the healthier things that don't have coupons -- such as fresh fruit, or example. Because I'm getting the other stuff inexpensively, I CAN buy organic whatever, or stock up on fresh fruit/vegetables, or dairy products from local farmers. So while my grocery bill might still be $220 a week (covers all including diapers, and remember... I'm feeding 9), we're eating much, much healthier, I'm donating to others, AND I'm still stockpiling.
It's an all-around win.
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Ouiz
Blessed to be married to the man of my dreams and mom to 8 wonderful children here on earth
B-17, G-16, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, G-7, B-4
Chez Ouiz
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: how to coupon questions
