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SeaStar
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| Posted: Aug 23 2013 at 6:46pm | IP Logged
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This week I picked the book Extreme Couponing at the library.
The Extreme Couponing Lady from TLC wrote this book, and I am finding she has a lot of hints and tips about couponing that I didn't know.
In the past I have used coupons quite often, but I have never been a master at it. These days I find I don't want to sacrifice my time to pursue them.
But as I read this book, I am realizing that there A LOT of ways to play the coupon game and really slash your grocery bills. Extreme couponers estimate they save over $4, 000 a year in food costs.
At this point, if I had teenagers, I would say, "Who is up for a fun challenge?" and try to hand this project off. I would offer a reward- like taking a fun family trip- if we really did save over a set goal- say, $2000.
In reality, I have the 10 and younger crowd- though they love to collect coupons at the store from the blinky boxes. Hmm... maybe I could do something with them on a small scale and we could build up.
Anyway- the book is a very good read. Even if you hate couponing (and I am not wanting to start a debate here), you have to admit you can save a bundle if you are willing to take a little extra time.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Aug 23 2013 at 7:00pm | IP Logged
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Couponing depends on what you have access to, and what you're willing to buy. A great deal of the time I don't find anything that is worthwhile for me BUT
Today I used 2 coupons for Zout.. the Zout was on sale and I ended up with 2 bottles for less than the regular price of one.
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Rite Aid had composition books 2/$1 and a coupon for $1 off of 2.. and I had a really nice cashier and she rang up my coupon 3 times.. so I got 6 composition books for free 
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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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SeaStar
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| Posted: Aug 24 2013 at 9:18am | IP Logged
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JodieLyn wrote:
Couponing depends on what you have access to, and what you're willing to buy. A great deal of the time I don't find anything that is worthwhile for me BUT
Today I used 2 coupons for Zout.. the Zout was on sale and I ended up with 2 bottles for less than the regular price of one.
AND
Rite Aid had composition books 2/$1 and a coupon for $1 off of 2.. and I had a really nice cashier and she rang up my coupon 3 times.. so I got 6 composition books for free |
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Awesome deals, Jodie!
Today at Walmart I got 70 page spiral notebooks- wide and college ruled- for seventeen cents each .
My dc are always asking for notebooks to doodle in, so this was a good deal for us.
And at JoAnne's. when I used my teacher discount card, I got a free teacher's calendar that has a year's worth of coupons in the back. That was a surprise!
Also wanted to mention that if you are looking for a coupon for a specific food item- say, organic milk- you can go the coupon lady's website and do a search for that one item. The search will tell you what is available, and you can print right from her site. Also- if there is a limit on how many coupons for that item you can print, often that limit is computer specific. If you have a lap top at home and a desk top, you can print the maximum number from each different computer.
So, while I, like Jodie, don't often find coupons for things I want to buy, now I feel like it is at least worth a couple minutes of my time to to a coupon search and see what comes up. Her book is full of tips like that- things I never knew about coupons.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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pumpkinmom
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| Posted: Aug 24 2013 at 10:02am | IP Logged
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Today is the last day, but Target had 30 (double) roll Cottonelle for $15.99 and buy two get a $5 gift card. I also found $1.50 coupon on the packages and saved another $3. Used my target card to get 5% off. If I did my math correct that was thirty-eight cents per roll! And surprisingly I found space in my house for 60 rolls of tp!  We average one roll a day so this will last two months.
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Cassie
Homeschooling my little patch of Ds-14 and Ds-10
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: Aug 24 2013 at 10:06am | IP Logged
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You know to do a websearch for a coupon code when you buy anything online? I've saved upwards of 20% fairly frequently by doing that. And with a large family it's not to hard to save up needs long enough to hit the free shipping too.
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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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SeaStar
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| Posted: Aug 27 2013 at 12:33pm | IP Logged
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I was surprised to find today that Whole Foods has a coupon section right on its website! You can print off coupons for a good variety of items- yogurt, OJ, bread, frozen yogurt, hotdogs, etc. They can only be used at Whole Foods, but you may be able to stack them with a manufacturer's coupon (I have not checked into their coupon policy for that yet.)
But even on their own, they will save me a few dollars
Whole Food Coupons
ETA: Wow! You can stack coupons (use two coupons for the same item- one from the manufacturer, and one from the store). 
WF coupon policy here
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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SeaStar
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| Posted: Sept 09 2013 at 11:50am | IP Logged
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Bumping this up...
Just wanted to comment on my couponing experiences.
It's been over ten years since I took couponing seriously, and I am finding that a lot has changed in that time.
For one, you don't have to clip coupons from the newspaper these days. You can print just about all you want, for anything you want, on line.
Also, with Saving Star, you can just link grocery card numbers to your on line account, click on the coupons that you think you might use, and then go shop. If you buy anything that you had an online coupon for, the money is deposited in your account. When you hit $5, you can cash out and get a check or gift card.
That is pretty painless, plus paperless.
I used to think that there were not many coupons for things I buy. But I have found coupons for cheese, organic milk, paper products like tin foil and muffin liners, eggs, baking soda, tortilla chips, Halloween candy and much more.
When my grocery store has triple coupons, I can get tin foil and Reynolds baking cups for only a few cents or even free. This weekend I was able to get bags of Snickers and Kit Kats for 99 cents a bag at Harris Teeter just by using my Vic card and a coupon I printed from coupons.com, which was doubled.
My dh is not a huge coupon fan, but he was somewhat amazed after adding up the savings numbers after just under 2 weeks of couponing.
This has all been an experiment of sorts for me, to see if it is really worth my time, and I would have to say it definitely is. I am just scratching the coupon surface, and I am never going to stockpile toothpaste, but it all adds up.
I really enjoyed the Extreme Couponing book, which helped motivate me to take another look at coupons. There is a running theme through the book of saving money but also helping others with coupon deals.
The author makes a comment that hit home for me, about not judging food. If you can buy 4 boxes of Hamburger Helper for free or nearly free and donate it to a food bank, you are helping someone. No one dies from eating what you might think of as "unhealthy food", but people do starve to death every day.
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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DianaC
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Bumping this thread to say I'm looking forward to the Frugal Friday posts starting back up. Thanks so much for your tips and links! I have Southern Savers bookmarked and I check it periodically for specials. I've saved quite a bit with her tips. This week, I bought $54 worth of toiletries (my favorite brands) and it cost me $20.
For those who are skeptical about coupons because you use items that have no coupons, know that there are lots of coupons from the grocery stores and from the catalina coupons (those that print out when you check out) for $$ off your next shopping trip or $$ off the meat dept, produce dept. etc. Since the first of the year, I've saved over $30 with those.
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4Real Forums : Our Lady's Loom, Larder, and Laundry
Topic: Frugal Friday Finds 8/23: Couponing
