Shopping Smart Techniques

[spasmo]

What, if any, shopping smart techniques do you use?

Do you strictly use coupons?
Do you use a spreadsheet?
Do you buy coupons on the internet? If so, how does it work for you?
Do they still do double coupon days and things like that at places?

How much money does it save you a month? Is it worth it?

I was thinking about this because I saw an article on Pinterest.com that someone had posted about grocery sale cycles.

I used to use coupons and a spreadsheet but I quit doing that. I am going to start doing it again though but then I remember seeing something somewhere that people could spend hundreds of dollars on groceries but had so many coupons and stuff that it barely cost them any money.

so what do you do?

 

[hornadylnl]

What those extreme coup owning shows don't show you is how many hours these people spend to save that money. I think after a certain point, it becomes classless. Stores offer coupons or sales at a loss sometimes to draw in business. When those loss sale items are the only items a customer buys, that loss has to be made up somewhere.

ETA: Is Scutter a Mormon?

 

[Hoosierdood]

We shop at Aldi's. Full grocery cart for under $100.

 

[Benny]

Extreme Couponers (or whatever it's called) pisses me off.

I once saw an episode where a woman went into a store and had so many groceries and was so disorganized that it took 4 workers and a manager 3-4 hours to check her out and they either ended up owing her money or she spent a couple of dollars (can't remember).

I don't understand how they can keep doing this, because there are only so many stores around where they live...I know if I was the manager/owner and had to go through all of that just to lose a PILE money, I'd politely ask her to never step foot in my store again...This can't be that uncommon with these people.

 

[jsharmon7]

Extreme Couponers (or whatever it's called) pisses me off.

I once saw an episode where a woman went into a store and had so many groceries and was so disorganized that it took 4 workers and a manager 3-4 hours to check her out and they either ended up owing her money or she spent a couple of dollars (can't remember).

I don't understand how they can keep doing this, because there are only so many stores around where they live...I know if I was the manager/owner and had to go through all of that just to lose a PILE money, I'd politely ask her to never step foot in my store again...This can't be that uncommon with these people.

Even if the manufacturers reimburse them for the coupons, it still has to be a pain in the butt for the store. It's an obnoxious show, and one that my girlfriend happens to love.

As far as Aldi's, I wasn't impressed with their prices the last time I stopped in. I didn't see anything I couldn't buy at Kroger or Walmart for about the same price. Maybe I didn't look closely enough.

 

[Classic]

My phone has an application to scan bar codes on products. Once it IDs the product it gives you the nearest store locations and prices, takes maybe 1 or 2 minutes. Good for larger purchases.

 

[thej27]

Extreme Couponers (or whatever it's called) pisses me off.

I once saw an episode where a woman went into a store and had so many groceries and was so disorganized that it took 4 workers and a manager 3-4 hours to check her out and they either ended up owing her money or she spent a couple of dollars (can't remember).

I don't understand how they can keep doing this, because there are only so many stores around where they live...I know if I was the manager/owner and had to go through all of that just to lose a PILE money, I'd politely ask her to never step foot in my store again...This can't be that uncommon with these people.

x2
I sometimes buy the Sunday newspaper and my wife likes to see if any of the coupons will be useful. I have seen many a newspaper missing the coupons since that show began. I now check every newspaper to make sure everything is there that I paid for.

I once bought a newspaper from Kroger in Greencastle, pulled it from the middle of the stack only to find all of the ads missing. My wife talked to a manager about it and she said they had found someone had stuffed a bunch of newspapers behind other stuff down an aisle with all the coupons missing. Another time at a gas station someone had tried to pull the ads out of the middle of a newspaper only to rip half the 3 of the sections in half.

 

[spasmo]

hehehe I didn't even know there was a TV show. I just remember reading an article about it some time ago.

Time is why I quit making a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet was mostly for price matching items but it was also my list.

 

[rotortech]

I refuse to use coupons. The cost of all coupons is built into the products on the shelf so the cost is spread out. Instead, just like Hoosierdad, I go to Aldi. When I went on disability I had to trim costs. By going to Aldi, I cut my grocery bill from $160 per week to less than $100 (4 people). The products are very good and almost always cheaper than Walmart. Aldi does not take any coupons so you don't have to foot that bill.

I don't pay retail for anything. If I need something, I do without until I find it on sale, discontinued, scratch and dent, demo item or returned, etc. I do all my own repairs - House, Car, Appliances, Trees, etc. I don't have a smart phone and I don't have Cable or Satellite TV. I read a lot but I don't buy books. I use the library all the time. My budget is so tight that every time I save money it feels like getting a raise.

I saved the most money by eliminating everything that had a monthly charge. When I started looking at $10 here and $20 there things added up to a hundred or more a month. You can always get a cheaper phone plan. Shop around. Shop around for car and homeowners insurance too. While you are at it, refinance your home if you pay more than about 5.5% interest. You would be surprised at how many things are costing you $100 per month that could be eliminated.

Buy your clothes at Sams - this ain't a fashion show.

Enough of my tightwad BS.

 

[Amattern]

My sister is a stay at home mom and is all about the couponing. She started a long time ago and now she developed it into a Hobby/Bussiness she has her own website/blog called InGoodCents.com, she has a article in the Indianapolis star. There are all sorts of free things on her site, printable coupons, etc. She is out of Noblesville so mostly everything on her site is for people in Indiana. Go check it out and maybe it will help you get some extra gun money too!!!

 

[eldirector]

A) We have a Sam's membership, and buy a lot of stuff in bulk.
B) We try to "shop ahead", so we don't end up paying out the nose for the convenience of buying it right when we need it (for example, plan your meals based on what is actually in the cabinet, and then keep that cabinet stocked)
C) My wife keeps a coupon binder of some sort. Not sure how she organizes it, but she saves us a few bucks here and there.
D) It is funny when stores change their sale rotations. My wife has a "system" - certain stores on certain days/weeks. It really burns her biscuits when she has to change her "system"!
E) For some things, we sign up for the "discount programs". We did at Babies R Us, for instance, and it has saved us HUNDREDS of dollars in diapers and formula. We also signed up for some sort of Pampers Points program. Sure, Pampers are more expensive, but we get a FREE CASE (that more than makes up for the cost difference) after every 3 cases we buy.

Not really a "shopping" technique, but we do make a few hundred bucks each year from our credit cards. We have two cards (Visa and Discover), and they pay US cash for using them. We rotate which we use based on that billing cycle's rewards. Right now, Discover is paying 5% back on dining out, so if we eat out, we swipe it. The trick is to NEVER, EVER (as in never-ever) carry a balance. Act as if it was cash, and only use credit for what you could have used cash for. Takes some self-discipline, but has paid off well for us.