Comments on: 5 Lessons I Learned Using Coupons

By: Rose

Rose — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 22:39:05 +0000

8/18/11

Hi I heard on the news about extreme couponing and I have gotten alot of coupons and have tried to match the coupons to sale items to see if I could get any free bees or spend a small amount of money like one experienced couponer said. It seems to me that I must be doing something wrong because the only good deals that I can find is the buy 1 get one free items, the buy 10 for 10 if you have a dollar coupon for whatever item you choose. Otherwise you can save money but I have yet to learn how to get the majority of my groceries for practically free. help…
thanks,
rose

By: Lorina

Lorina — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 20:29:26 +0000

Since I am just starting, So you should collect coupons first then look for the sales in the paper is that correct.

By: Theresa

Theresa — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 02:37:26 +0000

My first coupon experience didnt go well. I bought 3 newspapers at 2 different stores and someone had stole the coupons out of two of them!! then I went into a local Walgreens and did two purchases and the cashier acted like he put them both into one bag: needless to say when I got home there was only one of the purchases in the bag; the manager watched the playback video and the cashier had acted like he was putting it in my bag but was actually throwing them under the counter;; she did give me my stuff but i had to drive back to the store to get it. I said local but all my local stores are about 15 miles away from me. So not a good start but Im not giving up yet.

By: Rita

Rita — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 21:54:54 +0000

I have been shopping at the Stanford Ranch Safeway for a couple years now. I really like their just4u program but its not as great as they want you to think. I just started using other coupons there and have been having problems. Apparently a lot of the coupons they offer on thier website are already MC and cannot be doubled with other coupons. There is no way to tell, that I can see, which ones are MC and which are store coupons. Of course their cashiers don’t know either, they don’t seem to know much about the program in general. have you run into this problem?

By: Charlene

Charlene — Sun, 29 May 2011 17:53:13 +0000

Beverlee- in theory yes. Let’s say you have a $1 body wash coupon and the body wash is $2. If the coupon does not have a limit you could in theory buy as many as you have coupons for. Keep in mind that you never want to be the party pooper that grabs every single item a store has so everyone else goes home empty handed. The store for sure has the right to limit coupons so if they feel you don’t need 172 body washes, they can certainly tell you no. One other thing if you are using a ton of coupons, you always need to cut them yourself. If you have 5 or something no biggie- but if you are practicing for the coupon Olympics and have a mountain of like coupons- make sure you are not cutting them with those huge paper cutters or whatever. The store won’t be reimbursed

By: beverlee

beverlee — Sun, 29 May 2011 17:30:10 +0000

thanks for all the info! you talked about watching for limits on coupons, so if i have a coupon without a limit does that mean i really dont have a limit? i can use one coupon for multiples of that item?

By: Lorena

Lorena — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 15:12:02 +0000

Hi Charlene
I’m not sure where I found your blog but here I am and am so thankful to have found you. I have only started reading but am learning alot. I find myself with a tight budget and learning to coupon (things got so bad we were using credit cards for grioceries) I have become a more “concsious” buyer and definately looking out for coupon and sales. I just needed to stop what I was doing and thank you for this great blog.

By: anna

anna — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 20:26:14 +0000

from what i found(like sac bee..) must be sactown like me!
i totally agree with you on walmart. so far i haven’t had too horrible of an experience, (if it comes close i contact corporate) most of stores near me is very friendly and helpful. i just get embarassed going everyday though(cause i find good different deal everyday). so i drive up to other stores time to time. personally cvs is the best with coupon, then target, walgreens(had couple troubles, once manager was great the other manager wasn’t), rite aid i haven’t used much yet. but i hate going to walmart. maybe my region but most of cashiers are not friendly(coupon or not) and it’s hard to breathe with so many people shopping there.
i am so glad to have found a close (even if not sac) blogger who has market deals also, which is so helpful!
thank u!

By: Tonya

Tonya — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 21:42:31 +0000

Charlene- I love all the great advice you have! I just started couponing about 2 wks ago. I’m curious as to why you don’t shop at Walmart? I have to drive a little over an hour to get to a town that has a Walmart, Target, and Walgreens. And I’m already starting to notice that Walmart is more expensive than the others.

By: Charlene

Charlene — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 23:17:36 +0000

No Sharon I do not typically shop at Walmart for a variety of reasons.

By: Sharon Ervin

Sharon Ervin — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 22:31:29 +0000

Do you shop at Walmart?

By: Terri

Terri — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 15:56:08 +0000

Hi Charlene,

I personally will never step foot in a Walgreens again. I’ve actually had a checker grab my coupons out of my hand and tell me that I was cheating him. I left the store without my products and cried in the car. I’m now a loyal CVS customer! Our local Safeway (San Anselmo, CA) is fabulous and they love to show off my receipt after a successful shopping trip. Thanks so much for your website – it’s my favorite one.

By: Jasmine

Jasmine — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 14:52:25 +0000

This is why I love your blog. You manage to be a coupon queen without being over the top ridiculous with it. I too overdid it when I first started couponing, and have since learned my lesson about moderation and that something isn’t a deal if it is just going to sit around not getting used (or get freezer-burn!). I have had to find a balance between scoring really great deals and buying the things my family actually needs. I think this is definitely something that comes with practice.

By: Making Cents Out of Life » Blog Archive » Blog Hopping

Making Cents Out of Life » Blog Archive » Blog Hopping — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 14:26:59 +0000

[...] My Frugal Adventures: 5 Lessons I Learned Using Coupons I suffered from extreme burn out about 4 months ago, nearing Christmas time and when I wasn’t feeling well. I learned that you have to pace yourself and have fun with it, and not let it stress you out so badly that you don’t want to do it anymore. I redeemed a few coupons in the last couple of weeks, and enjoyed it so I think I’m ready to get back “into the game” and so is my wallet. I haven’t felt like shopping but this week is going to have to be a shopping week for us as far as groceries and toiletries are concerned. Well, other than toothpaste. Ugh. I may never have to buy it again! This post helped me remember some of the things I love about couponing, and brought back some of the memories of when I would get something for such a great deal it excited me! Yes. I Am. That. Pathetic. But I bet I pay less for stuff than you do, if you consider me pathetic ) [...]

By: Kristin @ Making Cents Out of Life

Kristin @ Making Cents Out of Life — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 14:12:57 +0000

I took a break from couponing for several months at the end of last year and I’m still not back in it full swing because the “fun” was outweighed by the additional stress I placed upon myself to grab the deals and use all of a certain coupon and roll my bucks and rewards before they expired and….the list just went on and my heart was not in it. I love it, usually, but it was a stressful time in my life and some times you have to take a step back. I learned that the hard way, with extreme burn out. I do buy typically 10 of a freebie or super cheapie when I find it because my family also benefits from my couponing. My parents use the free toothpaste and shampoo, my brother lives on his own and can use it, and honestly the things I can get for free are far better quality than what they’d buy and spend more on. Its about time I get back in it…I’m getting excited now thinking about it again!

Thanks for the great reminders of something that I enjoyed AND saved money doing!

By: janaki

janaki — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 12:55:01 +0000

The article shows the level of maturity you got overy couponing. Love your thoughs and need to be followed by most of us.

When i first started couponing i will drive to stores like crazy and will buy all the deals simply becoz i have a coupon for those item but at the end i will end up not using those.

For moderation it requires lots of maturity and its not easy. I always remind myself that the deal will return and i can buy that again.

Thanks for reminding me these little values regarding couponing.

By: Charlene

Charlene — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 07:31:20 +0000

Jenna– I am going to check at Target tomorrow and I will report back but there should be a really sweet deal there on Dove. So no worries!

By: Jenna

Jenna — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 06:55:09 +0000

Thanks for the great post. I threw my back out this week and have been driving myself crazy all week that I’m missing out on free Dove Men’s Body Wash at Rite Aid and Walgreens. Seriously, is my life really going to change because I miss out on a few deals? This is a good reminder to me to just take a chill pill and relax already! I’ve only been couponing for a couple of months so tips like these are great and add to the learning process. And, BTW, your site is my fave – I’m so happy to find someone local – keep up the good work!

By: AnnMarie Webster

AnnMarie Webster — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 06:33:17 +0000

Great Post! This is what I’ve been meaning to type up! Hope you don’t mind but I linked it to my blog for my readers!

By: Mary

Mary — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 05:07:54 +0000

A number of years ago I did a great deal of couponing and stockpiling. I still have some products left. I took a long break. Now that I am back using coupons I had forgotten how certain stores and clerks can become rude and uncooperative and treat me as if I were stealing their property. At Target recently as the clerk slowly read through each coupon twice and held and examined each item to match it with the coupons, challenging me on almost every purchase, I finally said, forget it, I asked for all my coupons back and told them to keep their goods and left. It was so humiliating. I went to another Target and it was much friendlier.

By: denise

denise — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 04:50:46 +0000

I absolutely love your site, it is by far my favorite, because you tell it like it is, and you always sound so happy : ) My tip is when you first start out, to only look for deals on things you already buy. I drove myself crazy getting deals on all kinds of different brands, and things that we don’t normally use. My husband saw how stressed i would be when a deal wouldn’t go the way I wanted, and he told me to treat it like a job. No one know what they are doing in the beginning, you learn as you go!

By: Michelle

Michelle — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 03:50:59 +0000

Thanks for a wonderful post, I wish I had read this when I first started! I got carried away for awhile there, stocking up on products we barely use and driving myself crazy trying to hit multiple stores a week with a toddler. Now I just go to CVS every few weeks (I have a very coupon friendly CVS, I love them!). Much less stress

By: Stefani

Stefani — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 02:51:20 +0000

Hi Charlene,

Great post. I just started getting into coupons last month and have saved about $250 this year using coupons. I also agree with moderation. So far I am just doing the deals at Walgreens. Now I really want to get some of the other deals at CVS and Rite Aid but right now I am trying to take it slow.

This week was a totally cool week for diapers. I ended up going to Walgreens three times to take advantage of this deal. I also sort of local, I am in Citrus Heights. The Walgreens that I have been going too has not given me any problems with coupons yet.

By: Charlene

Charlene — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 02:36:22 +0000

Angela, I have been treated so rudely at the Stanford Ranch one I refuse to go there. They have also decided you can’t stack Safeway coupons and MQs and there are all sorts of stupid new policies that apparently start when I walk in the door. I do fine if the manager checks me out but otherwise I pretty much know I am in for trouble.

I really like the Granite Dr store. It is smaller but they just seem nicer except one crazy lady that works at U Scan.

By: Melissa R.

Melissa R. — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 02:35:42 +0000

Hi Charlene – I love your post! I just started couponing about 6 months ago and I agree…it’s easy to get carried away. I am just now seeing that deals do come around again and it’s okay not to get every one. My husband tells me all the time “it’s not a great deal if you don’t really need it!”. Thanks for sharing and for all that you do to help us all have great “frugal adventures”!!

By: Charlene

Charlene — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 02:30:28 +0000

I agree completely!

By: Brenda

Brenda — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 01:18:19 +0000

Great thoughts! I shopped for months at a Walgreen’s store that’s just across from my normal grocery store. It was a convenient location, but they have consistently given me a difficult time for using lots of coupons & RR’s to have very low out of pocket. I would leave the store frustrated every time & not wanting to ever return, but I would because the deals were good & I needed to stretch our money. I finally realized there was another Walgreen’s the opposite direction that was very customer friendly & I’ve switched to doing all of my shopping there. I leave much happier & way less frustrated. It’s worth going a little bit out of the way to cut my stress.

By: Angela

Angela — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:02:29 +0000

I am local to you and was wondering what Safeway you avoid and which one you shop at?

By: Amy

Amy — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 23:55:46 +0000

Really great post. I do like the moderation thing, that is one of my philosophies as well. I could have a humongous stockpile, but I choose not to. I have a donation bag for toiletry type items that I take over to a local ministry for women every once in a while. Sometimes I pick up that extra tube of toothpaste or bottle of shampoo when they are free just to get my total up to use a $5.00/$20 type coupon, and I just don’t need them (or want to add to the stockpile.) So I throw them directly into the donation bag and then when the bag fills up, I donate. When I first started couponing, it was with the goal of providing for my family on a tight budget–but now it has the awesome side benefit of being able to give to others as well. Thanks again for the thoughtful post!

By: Charlene

Charlene — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 23:37:34 +0000

I used to as well. I still have shaving cream that I got for .10 at Walgreens 2 years ago. I have enough for several more months. I guess the point is to just buy what you can manage. When we moved a few months ago my husband was really thrilled with an entire box of salad dressing I have done several donation boxes and we still have a million salad dressings.

By: sarah m

sarah m — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 23:33:04 +0000

Great Post and advice.. personally i will stock up as much as possible on non perishables when free or nearly free.. but i have at times had to stop myself .. it is easy to get carried away

By: Charlene

Charlene — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 23:17:30 +0000

Thank you Sheila. I was bracing myself for mean comments

By: sheila

sheila — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 22:57:25 +0000

Hey Charlene, Great post, really balanced viewpoint. I think all Walgreens are a little coupon shy, I avoid Walgreens unless I’m really excited about a deal.