Any couponers out there?

KH826 · August 2014

Hi! So I am looking for some advice and tips from any expert couponers -- I know someone here must have some tips! I'm not talking TLC reality show level couponing per se. Not the kind of couponing that will require a "stock pile" and 40 hrs a week of clipping, sorting and organizing. However I know that there are ways that we can start saving more at the grocery store, Target, etc., and I am looking for some tips! We have the Target cartwheel app, and my wife has a a Target redcard for saving 5% every purchase, but I am wondering more about manufacturers coupons, etc. or just general money saving tips! I want to learn some tricks, so someone please impress me with their saving savvyness. Thanks!

AandStilltrying · August 2014

We grocery shop at Kroger and use the Kroger app. It let's you put manufacture coupons onto your Kroger card to use in store. You can view add and create list off of it. We just saved $20 on grocery trip for the week. This isn't a "coupon" trick but a great app that helps us.

kristi&p · August 2014

I am a coupon person. I do a stock pile but it keeps my and my SO, mother, MIL, two sisters families, my BIL family, and the ability to donate to a women's and children's shelter in stock of all toiletries (shampoo, conitioner, fem products, dental, deodorants, soaps) and all cleaning supplies. I do work a full time job so I go to sites that do a lot of work for me. My favorite is www.livingrichwithcoupns.Com I go to the store I want to shop at and can match from there and print my coupons. I do get great deals on food items but that stock of items can provide for everyone so mainly I stock up on enough for just me and my SO. I shop mainly at Shoprite, CVS, and Target.

My method is trying to get things that will give me money back. Example for target would be laundry soap

Tide w/ oxie on sale $10 every $30 spent you get a $10 target gift card. On top of that I had a coupon for buy one get one free. So I purchased 6 in total that's $60, used 3 buy one get one coupons reducing by $30. Earned $20 In target giftcards. I paid $30 for laundry soap I needed and with the $20 I got back I can go buy things that I usually can't find too many coupons for like meats and produce.

I do not go out of my way to just try and get stuff I'll never use for free I do it in a way I get the email things I want and need at a better price.

mrs&mrsk · August 2014

Kristi where do you live? We are in ny when my sister lived here she would drive 30 mins to a shoprite lol

We coupon some but in waves. I like living rich with coupons and coupon divas

I'm too tired to do it now but I'll be back on it in time for diaper sales!

kristi&p · August 2014

@mrs&mrsk I live in CT. Shoprite is pretty good with e coupons matching regular coupons so it's pretty cool some Shoprite even triple coupons up to a dollar which is crazy good. Where I live they only double coupons .99 and under but I'll take what I can get.

KH826 · August 2014

So I think we have decided to check-out Costco/BJs for diapers, wipes and formula and see what we might be able to save by buying in bulk. I have looked around online, and it seems that the cheapest option other than a Costco-BJs situation would be Target. Both the diapers and formula that we use are about $5 cheaper per case at Target than anywhere else (including Amazon). Plus we can save 5% and get free shipping using the Target Redcard. I am considering just ordering a month's supply of diapers, wipes and formula at a time and having it delivered.

We are also currently looking for a good produce place, since produce at the grocery store seems to take up about 50% of our weekly bill. We have considered a CSA, but the problem is that we can't really decide what we want if we go that route and will get things that we don't want also. I feel like we would end up always having to supplement at the grocery store anyway and have things to give away so that they didn't go to waste. There is a place around here (we live in Philly) called Produce Junction, and their prices are WAY cheaper than the grocery store. However, the closest one to my house is about 30 mins away, and their selection is not always predictable. So I don't know. I am tired of paying $3.99 for an eggplant and $2.50 per pound for peppers... and don't get me started on fruit! Like $8 for a bag for green grapes. Ridiculous. Anyway, I am open to produce suggestions if anyone has any...

For everything else, I have done a pretty decent job over the last few weeks of cutting down our grocery bill with coupons and buying the specific things that the store has on sale. Last week the bill was about $30 less than usual, so that is a good start. My goal is to get it to less than $100 a week, but we haven't been able to do that yet. Between produce and fresh fish it seems almost impossible, BUT I have now made it my challenge to try and see how low I can get it.

Thanks everyone for your tips and pointers!

ATXmommas · August 2014

I'm late to this party, but if you are an Amazon Prime member, you may want to check out the Amazon Mom's Club. There are discounts if you sign up for x number of monthly deliveries. I haven't taken full advantage, but we do buy our diapers and wipes (and a few other miscellaneous things along the way) in bulk there.

kristi&p · August 2014

Keep in mind BJ'S allows you to use multiple coupons on on pack of items. Example I have gotten great deals on little things like gum. If it's $9.99 $2 BJ'S coupon because there is 14 in a pack with 14 different UPC you can use more coupons like $1/2 packs of gum u can use 7 $1 coupons and get pretty much all for $.99. Not that I eat that much gum but it's nice to have at work/car plus I have 10 nieces and nephews that use it. But same concept with cleaning products animal items anything with multiple UP you can stack with more coupons and the store coupon.

KH826 · August 2014

@Kristi&p - I am impressed! You sound like a pro! I am excited to start using more coupons. I feel like it is a little game to see how much I can save HAHA

trisholio · August 2014

We have a Costco membership and is well worth it for diapers and when we were buying formula, now we have WIC for the foster kids. Buying dog food and diapers easily pays for our membership fee by itself.

kristi&p · August 2014

I get such a rush lol I love shopping and being able to do this saving myself and family money while feeding in to my shopping wants/needs

newmompeanut · August 2014

I guess there's a really great deal on Amazon right now...

https://fabulesslyfrugal.com/amazon-mom/

ATXmommas · September 2014

Reviving this thread....

How do you use your cartwheel app? I gave it my first try yesterday because I had one $5 coupon for cat food and one $5 coupon for groceries. I found the whole process a bit burdensome for just 5% off most grocery items. That said, I did get a great deal on car food - ended up paying $9 for two 7lb bags. Just not sure the app is worth the effort.

KH826 · September 2014

So I find that the more you use the cartwheel app the better your savings. The more you use the app and save at the cash register the more rewards are "unlocked" for you to use. I also think you won't necessarily save big every time, and the best saving are when you combine the cartwheel offers with paper coupons. So, for example, I had a $5 off Similac paper coupon (that I got from registering at similac strong moms website), and then the Cartwheel app had 10% Similac ready to feed formula, AND when I got to the store, the Similac ready to feed formula was buy 2 get the 3rd free. So, I was able to combine all three offers and saved about $12 total on formula. I did something similar with Pampers Swaddlers.

I find that the grocery savings with Cartwheel is somewhat negligible. BUT, grocery items at Target are usually a bit cheaper than the grocery store anyway, so it is still a win. I agree that 5% off fresh berries that cost $2.99 to begin with is not a bank breaking savings, but I find the more I use the app and the more I save the better I get at finding deals and the better deals I am offered in the future.

So, the short answer is that it is a decent amount of work and some times it feels worth it and other times it does not. It also depends what you are buying and what the sales are in store for a particular week. Also, the cartwheel app alone isn't super awesome unless you pair it with paper coupons in my opinion. I have been printing coupons every week off of my local grocery store's website, but they are manufacturer's coupons and can be used anywhere.

ball.and.chain · September 2014

KH826 said:

So I think we have decided to check-out Costco/BJs for diapers, wipes and formula and see what we might be able to save by buying in bulk. I have looked around online, and it seems that the cheapest option other than a Costco-BJs situation would be Target. Both the diapers and formula that we use are about $5 cheaper per case at Target than anywhere else (including Amazon).

I don't know if you are married to a particular kind of formula, but we feed B the BJ's house brand (Berkeley & Jensen). It's $8/lb versus $14/lb (at BJ's) for the name brands. Even if we have coupons for Enfamil, for instance, the BJ's brand is still cheaper. I had read in Baby Bargains that you might as well go as cheap as possible with formula because the nutritional profile is the same (it's federally regulated). A friend's pediatrician said the same thing to him. It's nice to get a lower price without having to mess with coupons; OTOH, BJ's doesn't generally have coupons for house brand items, so you can't get the price any lower than it is AFAIK.

ATXmommas · September 2014

@KH826 - thank you! I feel like the prices at my grocery store are better than target and the quality of the produce is much better as well. We actually returned grapes to target! I also got irritated because I was trying to spend at least $30 on groceries so that I could get $5 off bsg the cashier told me I couldn't apply the price of peanut butter to the total. Huh?!? Anyhow, I'm going to keep my eye out for paper coupons and maybe I'll give the cartwheel another shot soon.

I mentioned the Amazon Mom's Club a while back, but my problem with it is that i can't figure out what I need delivered each month (other than diapers) to take advantage of the 20% off because everything is in bulk quantities. One order of wipes lasted a good 8 months!

If I figure out any good tricks, I'll let you know.

ball.and.chain · September 2014

ATXmommas said:

I mentioned the Amazon Mom's Club a while back, but my problem with it is that i can't figure out what I need delivered each month (other than diapers) to take advantage of the 20% off because everything is in bulk quantities. One order of wipes lasted a good 8 months! If I figure out any good tricks, I'll let you know.

We have the same issue. I signed up for Amazon Mom because it gave us a higher percentage off our registry completion discount and didn't cost anything for the first 3 months, but I think we'll probably cancel before it starts costing money. I feel like I have no idea how fast B is going to grow so I don't know how many weeks or months we'll need a particular size diaper for. The free shipping is great, but we already pay for Amazon Prime, so it's duplicative.

ATXmommas · September 2014

ball.and.chain said:

ATXmommas said:

I mentioned the Amazon Mom's Club a while back, but my problem with it is that i can't figure out what I need delivered each month (other than diapers) to take advantage of the 20% off because everything is in bulk quantities. One order of wipes lasted a good 8 months!

If I figure out any good tricks, I'll let you know.

We have the same issue. I signed up for Amazon Mom because it gave us a higher percentage off our registry completion discount and didn't cost anything for the first 3 months, but I think we'll probably cancel before it starts costing money. I feel like I have no idea how fast B is going to grow so I don't know how many weeks or months we'll need a particular size diaper for. The free shipping is great, but we already pay for Amazon Prime, so it's duplicative.

----
Whoa, I didn't realize the Mom's club cost money. I thought it was free for Prime members. I guess I need to double check! The diapers haven't been a problem because you can easily change the size before your order ships out. The first month I tried, I ordered cat litter, dish detergent, laundry detergent, diapers, and wipes. The only thing we needed more of by the next month was diapers because we received 3 containers of everything.

KH826 · September 2014

@ball.and.chain - thanks for the tip on the BJ's formula. We are definitely going to look into that. We don't have a BJ's membership, but it might be worth getting one. Can I ask, do you also get diapers at BJ's? What brand does B use?

@ATXmommas - Oh, I do NOT buy produce at Target. I am kind of a produce snob (I know that sounds bad)... and the quality of the stuff at Target is just "eh" on a good day, and they don't have the selection that I need on a weekly basis. I will get cereal, pasta sauce, crackers and things like that at Target (although that is all stuff we don't buy a lot of, so there's that...) I have been using Target recently more for diapers, formula, toilet paper, paper towels, shampoo, detergent, dog food, etc. I still get all my produce at the grocery store. Which is why I am still spending a fortune on groceries! Booo!

We looked into the Amazon Mom's thing too, and decided against it for the same reason - we would basically end up with a wayyyyy oversupply of everything other than diapers, and honestly we also don't have the storage space to keep all that extra stuff. I don't need 6 months worth of laundry detergent or dish soap, and I don't have any place to put it!

ball.and.chain · September 2014

KH826 said:

@ball.and.chain - thanks for the tip on the BJ's formula. We are definitely going to look into that. We don't have a BJ's membership, but it might be worth getting one. Can I ask, do you also get diapers at BJ's? What brand does B use?

We started out with Huggies and they leaked pee...so we switched to Pampers. They worked better for a while and then...they didn't. Specifically they were starting to leak during some of his toxic formula poo blow-outs. Leaking pee is way better than leaking poo! So we switched back to Huggies. For now that is working well, but they also seem to fit him differently so it changes a bit as he grows. In other words, we're keeping an open mind -- but we like that the Huggies Little Snugglers have a poo pocket in the back waistband. Also don't like the scent of Pampers. I was told that Costco only carries Pampers OR Huggies, though I don't know which it is. I can confirm that BJ's (or at least the one near us) carries both brands (I think they also carry a house brand, but I'm not willing to go generic on diapers. I don't remember if they carry Luvs or anything else). We've bought them at BJ's and at BRU. Obviously the BJ's boxes are big, so we only buy there if we know he's going to be in a particular size for a while. That said, BJ's will often have diaper coupons, and they also take manufacturer coupons I believe. But if you have BRU coupons, it can be a toss-up as to which ends up being better. For us BJ's comes out on top partially because it's 3 blocks away versus 30 minutes to BRU. I can't say I've actually done a price comparison.

ball.and.chain · September 2014

ATXmommas said:

---- Whoa, I didn't realize the Mom's club cost money. I thought it was free for Prime members. I guess I need to double check! The diapers haven't been a problem because you can easily change the size before your order ships out. The first month I tried, I ordered cat litter, dish detergent, laundry detergent, diapers, and wipes. The only thing we needed more of by the next month was diapers because we received 3 containers of everything.

Oh, that may be true...the Prime membership is on my wife's account and the Mom account is on mine, so I didn't realize we might be able to get both for the price of one. Will have to look into that. I do know that Mom costs money (if you don't have Prime) after the first 3 months. Also good to know about diaper sizes!

ATXmommas · September 2014

@ball.and.chain - Moms club must be free for prime members. I havent been charged anything for it. It's definitely my preferred way of buying diapers. I've never had to buy diapers from the grocery and we never run out.

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