I wanted to continue with the series on learning how to effectively use coupons. Many of you may have seen the new television series called Extreme Couponing and I just wanted to share a little about my perspective on what a not so extreme person might expect to save at the store each week and what kind of time investment is required to get those savings.
First I do want to let you know the shoppers on those shows are doing Extreme trips. I personally don’t feel it is a realistic portrayal of what you can expect to save week after week. For one thing, many of the stores on the show broke their own coupon policies for the sake of sensationalism. A normal coupon shopper would most likely not be able to duplicate those transactions because most stores will not allow overage, many have limits on the number of items and coupons you can purchase and so on.
Many of us do not have double coupons in our areas so that also limits the amount of savings. Finally, the reason some of those shoppers were able to get the transactions so low was by using free item coupons obtained from various sources, catalina coupons from prior trips, and in one case they even used a gift card to partially pay. You also didn’t see the cost of the coupons added back into the final total and many of the shoppers did spend money to purchase coupons.
One last thing to consider is taxes vary by state as well. I saw a show where one shopper had something like 70 liters of soda. In California, the tax on the soda alone would have been $7.00 which can really cut into your savings. Another episode showed a shopper purchasing $236 in headache medicine. In my area, even if those items were free with coupons I would still be stuck paying $18.94 in sales tax on those products. My weekly grocery budget is $50 so that would be a big chunk of my budget to purchase headache medication alone.
So while the savings are impressive, I just want to be sure people aren’t feeling defeated because they can’t save 93-98% week after week at the stores.
So I am going to walk you through what I personally feel is realistic. You will of course want to adjust this to suit the needs of your family.
::Time Investment.
I don’t have a ton of time to dedicate to coupons. I would rather trade off a deal here and there and spend more time with my family and friends. Some of the couponers on that show spend 30-70 hours per week on couponing. I can’t even imagine that sort of time investment myself.
I spend roughly 90 minutes a week. Now that includes doing my menu plan and shopping list which takes the majority of the time. I do not personally use a coupon binder because I don’t have the time to commit to maintaining it and I don’t want to carry it around with me. I just have a small pouch that I keep some coupons in and then I cut the rest that I need when I am planning my shopping trips. Yes, I do miss out on some deals by not having lots of coupons with me but I look at it as a trade off on missing the occasional deal versus saving myself a considerable amount of time.
So I suppose you might want to consider determining how much time you want to commit each week to using coupons. If you have a razor thin budget or a very large family to shop for or you are interested in really going gangbusters with donations, you will probably need to invest a little more time.
::Storage Space.
Another thing to consider about stocking up on products is how much storage space you are willing to dedicate. I don’t like to have a lot of things myself so I just have a few small baskets under the sink in the bathroom that hold the toiletries. A small pantry in the kitchen that holds all our food and cupboards in the laundry room that hold cleaning products. I have found those small spaces allow me to keep enough products on hand for our family. But again if you live in an extreme climate or have a large family you might need to purchase storage shelving and dedicate space to your products. Remember it is still a time investment to manage all that stuff, to keep rotating products out, to find creative recipes to use the items etc…
The one thing I do have is a small freezer in the garage. Mine was $100 at Home Depot and I feel it was a good investment because it allows me to purchase extra proteins in particular when they are on sale.
::Give Me the Bottom Line.
And now for the bottom line about what you can realistically save from week to week. I try to save 50%-70% each week. Obviously it is possible to save significantly more- take one of the Shop for Free lists to your store and you can save 100% on your bill!
What I have found is that many new couponers get very caught up in how much they save. Many people want to come out of the gates saving 96% or more. While that is possible, I think you might also consider the quality of what you are purchasing. We do see coupons for produce, dairy items, meats etc… but not enough coupons to get those products for free week after week. So if you want to purchase a lot of fresh items for your family each week, the savings are significantly lower. To save 90%+ on quality meats and seafood, produce and dairy items is simply not realistic.
To be honest I really don’t even notice the percentage of savings on my bill each week. I tend to focus more on what I purchased and how far I stretched our budget. One of my favorite deals recently was Horizon Organic milk for $3.49 (regularly $6). That is only a 42% savings but let me tell you I was more excited about that deal than coming home with 10 bags of free pouches of cookie mix. (Although a cookie might have made that milk taste even better….)
So in general, I have found that a small time investment each week allows me to save a significant amount of money for our family. I have found that you can absolutely save money regardless of your diet or your location. While you might not walk out of the store week after week with a cart of groceries for pennies on the dollar, I do believe it is very realistic to save at least 50% on high quality items.
One argument I do hear frequently is that coupons are just for junk food. I have to tell you that is a very valid argument. I see a lot more coupons for cookies, processed foods, candy and other stuff that might not always be the best choice. I can tell you that coupons for organic, gluten free, non toxic, and natural items are becoming more and more prevalent and the only way we will continue to see these types of coupons is by redeeming them!
***
Now I’d love to hear what you guys think. What is your average savings each week? How much time do you invest to get those savings?
It really depends on the store for me. My area does not have doubles except for one store, once a month up to 3 doubles in a transaction. My main grocery shop is at Safeway and I tend to save 40-50% unless there is an amazing store promotion (like the Frozen Foods coupon $5/15). Now, at Target, Walgreens & Rite Aid, I can get a 90+% savings week after week if I’m rolling my rewards and stacking coupons.
The important thing for me is cutting our overall grocery budget and now having a nice stockpile. I buy mostly the same things as before but I’m willing to try a new product or brand if the deal is right. I don’t need 50 of every item, just a cushion for my family of 4.
I save an average of 67% a week. I spend approximately 20 minutes Mon-Fri looking at websites, printing coupons, etc. On Sunday I spend one hour clipping coupons and getting organized. I spend another thirty minutes one day a week getting ready for my shopping trip (pulling coupons, working out deals). So all total, about three hours a week. It has taken me two years of stockpiling, learning the cycles, amassing coupons and getting proficient at making all the deals to get to this point. My grocery budget used to be $200 a week. Now it’s $50. What a difference! I have totally changed the way I shop and will never go back. Websites like MFA make all the difference – I am so appreciative of all the hard work! Remember, any savings is savings! Go for it!
Right Rachel. I agree totally. You can save 90% plus at drugstores and such and then maybe 50% at the grocery store and it sort of evens out. I think with doubles that could be even better but again it depends on the products you want to buy 🙂
Thank you for posting this! I agree that a lot of those shows make it seem like you can just run to the store on a whim and save 98%, when that is VERY unrealistic! I have only been couponing for 6 weeks or so, and I HAVE been saving quite a bit, but not 98% every time. I tend to do one trip that includes our weekly fruits, veggies, meat, etc, and that trip is never as high of savings as the “freebie trips.” One great suggestion though is to look for markdown meat at your local store, and freeze whatever you’re not using right away. And PLEASE redeem your organics/produce coupons, because I would LOVE to see more of those!!!
I am extremely happy if I save 50-70% per week. The television show definitely does not paint a realistic picture of couponing. Coupons for the staples, bread, milk etc, are hard to find so that cuts into my weekly budget amount. I’ve had so many people ask me about couponing since they saw that show and are disappointed to find out the truth.
I like a lot of “higher end” products for the taste (simply orange, peak tea). So while I may not get them for cheap, I get them at a reduced price. I stock up on meat. I’m happy with even 40% savings. I recently went to Albertsons, spent 142, and saved 92.00 and got a cart full of groceries, and kitty litter, and some last minute throw-ins thanks to my family calling me at the store and saying, “Can you get me ____”. I’m okay with that. I used to spend 150 for two people a WEEK, or hell, 80 a MEAL sometimes. I work full time, I have my son full time and a HH of 3 adults and 1 child. I let the couponers (MFA, Dealyo, Coupongal, Save at home mommy, CFO) find the deals for me, clip what I can. One of my friends is a great couponer, but I almost felt like it was “cheating” for her to say, “I only spent X” because she used gift cards – and while she might get those gift cards for free (mypoints.com), I can’t replicate that. Her income is significantly higher than mine so she can afford to shop online.
And BTW, I love you for this post.
This week I’m not sure my exact percentages but I started with a subtotal at Walmart of $110 and my final total was $80.50 with my coupons and I did have about $10 worth of clothing from the clearance rack on the bill. I also hit Walgreens and came out with around a 50% savings because I had $42 worth of stuff if you just go by the sale prices and then with coupons & $4 register rewards that printed at the end I got it all for $22. I am much more interested in organic and good food choice coupons than the junk foods and I follow any and all links to get them printed and I redeem all that I can find in my 3 grocery store choices here. I think your article here is an excellent description of what to expect for the regular person. I’ve seen the TV show and those people are working beyond full time and in most cases they are harming their family life. For them it seems to be more of a hoarders type of addiction than just needing to save money.
thanks for this info charlene! this is EXACTLY my thoughts on the ‘extreme couponing’ show. i have friends/family who think that i should be saving more b/c “the people on the show do.” but like you said, it’s not very realistic. like you, i do not focus on my % of savings….i like to just get the good deals (ie. your organic milk on sale). awesome job on sharing your thoughts!
I have a love/hate relationship with my grocery store. Only one time I was able to walk out with 90+% savings but that was with 8 items. My store has two different types of store brand products so getting name brand iteams down to store brand coast with coupons at many times is not worth it.
I do walk out everytime with a 50% savings on my bill and I am very happy with that.
Thanks for posting this…the savings on the show are unrealistic..I live in CA and we donot have a store that doubles all of your coupons..and we have to pay crv…I totally agree with you although you might not save as much as the show portraits you still save a lot of money…I would never imagine my life without coupons..
Hey Charlene,
I have been seeing your posts about couponing but just haven’t had the time to invest in really getting into them right now..(nonstop craziness….I swear I volunteer too much) but is there a link you have on this site that will show your recent posts about couponing 101 that you have posted over the past few weeks so when I get a couple of nights, I can catch up? Thanks!!
When I started couponing, I spent a couple hours a day “obsessing” over it. I have since learned to chill out, and it is ok if I miss a deal. Family time is much more important to me. Thanks for reminding us of that.
Jamie- the easiest thing is to click on the drop down menu on the blog under Giveaways (right side). Look for articles 🙂
Thanks for doing this for the newbies Charlene! I’ve been linking my curious friends here.
I’ve been couponing for about 18 months now. I tend to buy much more fresh food and organic milk/meat so I typically save about 60-70% per trip. I will often get the not-as-healthy foods when they are free or super cheap just to donate.
Now for CVS, I save 90% or more pretty much every time. I just will not spend money on most toiletries. No need to!
All the money we’ve saved has gone to savings and just being able to splurge on the little things. I used to wear Wal-Mart undies before couponing, now my husband is glad I can spend a little extra on the cute Victoria’s Secret ones now. It’s the little things!
Thanks soooo much for all that you do!
It’s completely unrealistic to save that much when you work full time, have an 8 month old baby and there aren’t any doubling stores in your state ha! I’m just happy to get out with $50-$60 saved on my bill every week at Winn Dixie. I only buy sale items, BOGO items, and use coupons on as much as possible. I hit Target every other week for baby items and price cuts. I am doing much better with it thanks to blogs like this! Trying to get my own little stockpile going, but you can believe there won’t be TP under my child’s bed!!
I’ve also started working the CVS system and will try Walgreens soon.
I average about 80% savings at Target but I only go once per month. CVS is about 90% but my groceries are only 60-70%. My son and I live on about $20 per week. Extreme couponing really upsets me. I coupon because I have to. I stock up once per month at Target. If I had a stockpile like those, I would donate it to a food bank or shelter.
I have one rule….stick to the list! I use the ads and previews and I know exactly what I am going to buy.
rite aid and walgreens are usually a 90% savings or more, depending on if i need diapers on the weekly deal or not. for my groceries i usually hit 65-75% savings. i spend about 30 minutes each reading some blogs during the week but to me that fun so i don’t count it as any sort of time sacrifice. other than that i spend about 1.5 hours a week clipping coupons and planning my trips and printing my shopping lists!
I routinely save 90%+ at CVS and Rite Aid (if not make money). But I’m also stocked up enough, I only need to hit them for the MM’s. And now that I can get diapers on the cheap via Amazon, I shop a lot less at the drug stores.
At Safeway, I routinely save 30% just by using the store card, and we don’t have JFU in our area. On average, I think I save on average 65% on groceries.
I took at look at my taxes last year vs the previous year. After comparing household, groceries, clothing, and entertainment, I found I saved $1800, and I had been couponing for only six months! I included clothing and entertainment because so many stores had gift cards on a 20% discount at the end of the year, or I picked up a groupon….
Yes unfortunately for me I think I have the world’s worst grocery store for using coupons (HEB) and that is the only grocery store in our area besides super Target and Walmart. That doesn’t allow me to save much on groceries alone. I can save around 75-90% on other things like toiletries and some grocery items at Target, Walgreens and CVS. Good deals are hard to find with the stores in my area 🙁
I save between 45-60%… the main two grocery stores I go to are WinCo and Safeway. I find that for a lot of basic things… dairy, eggs, cerals are really inexpensive at WinCo, especaily with coupons. Safeway has a special savings for online members….. I do find it nice to have stockpile of diapers (I have 2 in diapers) and toiletry items from stacking at CVS, RiteAid and Target….
Thank you for posting this and putting it into perspective.
only started couponing about 1.5 months ago. when i first started i did obsess and lost sleep cause i got too excited. i still do check the couponing sites several times a day to add deals to my list. other stores like cvs, i do not have to sweat or spend a lot of time making the list, i just follow charlene and other coupon bloggers. however when it comes to walgreens, this week was hard for me. i had to strategize how to use rr and etc… losing interest quick at wags because it’s inconvinient due to lack of stocked sale items. i do not shop at walmart, (i just had a nightmare during nap having issues with cashiers at walmart. haha..) i do love shopping at target as i did before couponing, except when i get not so good cashiers. cvs is lovely, rite aid also since now they know me,(surprisingly opposite at wags, so i am going to go to different wags then my regular)
and i had my first planned coupon trip to safeway and raley’s today, which was awesome. 🙂
so i still do spend quite a bit of time couponing, my goal is to make one trip to those stores a week like charlene does.
i have saved a lot of money couponing, starting to build a stockpile (lot of feminine items and toothpaste) but i also gave away to family/friends.
still new at this, so i do still spend bit of money to coupon, but i am sure in the future i can get everything in order to spend minimal amount.
but hey, i have lot of stuff that i didn’t have, couldn’t have now with spending same amount of money with i get to try different products without stretching my wallet.(i am loving the aveeno body wash! smells so good!) and learned to not to pay anything for shampoos and body washes!(which was regular sam’s club items i buy)
Thank you for your thoughts. We live in a small town on a Marine base and let me tell you there is 1 grocery store and the commissary. And 1 drug store. We don’t get to cash in on all the deals, it’s extremely tough to coupon out here, no one doubles and it’s a 30-90 min drive just to get to another store choice. Not worth the gas. Your website really does help me save though. I started 2 weeks ago and I’ve saved quite a bit. Thanks
I have to completely agree. I’m new to couponing myself. After my first shopping trip I saved apx 50%. I posted my excitement on my Facebook of getting $400+ of Groceries for a little over $200. My entire family was in shock. They heard of TLC’s new show and even thought that was great. As I kept getting message of how to do it, and TLC doesn’t teach you anything, I decided to make a Blog of my own. My blog is to teach that it is OK to only save 50%. In my latest shopping trip ( http://almostextremecoupon.blogspot.com/2011/05/42400-worth-of-groceries-for-18400.html ) I saved 53% including meats, dog treats and household goods that are usually high price items. I can’t tell you how many times my family is getting discouraged because of the stupid show and wondering why they can’t get a $500 bill down to $10.
Forgot to mention, I linked back to this topic in my post hope more beginners read this before they start couponing. Thanks again.
I agree with everyone above. I have been couponing for over 30 + years. Gone are the days of double and triple coupons in here in California. I also watch extreme couponing, but it is for the entertainment value only. As everyone above said…. I do not need to store 10 years worth of toilet paper….. 500 toothbrushes…. I saved the best laugh for last….. The lady who had years worth of diapers, and no child. Couponing is what you make of it and how much time you would like to invest in it. I am not looking to haul away half of the for free. Today for instance, I went to Walmart. My Husband only uses Right Guard Deodorant. I had a BOGO free coupon. The original cost was $3.44 a can. With the BOGO free coupon it brought the price down to $1.72 per can. Free… no! Happy with the price….YES! That is the best advice I can give anyone starting out. If you are pleased with your outcome. That is all you can ask for. Free…. sometimes you end up with a whole lot of…. stuff you really don’t need. I typically save 60% or so on my weekly grocery bill. Another good tip is; look on ebay for coupons you will need (that’s how I got the Right Guard). I also try and pick up the Ralphs $5.00 off of your $50.00 or $75.00 purchase that where in the Entertainment Books this year. People will sell them on ebay for cheap prices and you usually get 6 of them for the year. Of course Jan./Feb. and March/April are already gone for the year. I will take that savings and apply the savings to my Bread. It’s all in how you choose to look at it! Any savings is a savings! I also went to Old Navy today to pickup my Husbands Fathers Day gifts. I had printed several of the 30% off coupons for Old Navy that where on the website! Between the sale prices and the 30% off coupon, I got $180.00 worth of clothing for $70.00. Of course each item was paid for individually and the Cashier was nice enough to allow me to use the coupon multiple times. I was not sure if it would work when I went in there, but didn’t hurt to try. The cashier was super sweet and even asked me if I watched the show Extreme Couponing!
Happy Couponing All 🙂
As a new couponer who is picky with the foods he eats, and a wife who likes all regular foods, our food savings with coupons haven’t big as large. But after only a week, I have been able to start to create a stockpile of household goods for very very cheap.. I am good on body wash for 6 months & we are starting a stockpile of comet and toilet bowl cleaner and toilet paper, for about the same price we would have paid for one pack of TP, one body wash, one comet, and one toilet bowl cleaner. It is nice seeing these savings on household goods, even if the grocery savings haven’t been as big.
I have been couponing about for about a year, now and Charlene, I have to say if it wasn’t for you, I probably would not be couponing still. A lot of the other sites I have come across aren’t as user friendly..You shop a lot like me and I love that! 🙂
I started couponing for the “fun” of it. I am lucky that I don’t “have” to coupon, but I like that by saving money on our everyday items I can splurge on other items (like season passes to amusement parks).
I don’t hit the drug stores, but I think I should – I am intimidated for some reason…
My gripe about couponing is this: I live in the San Fran Bay Area and I am surprised to find how different my coupons are here than they are in Sac! 🙁
A well-written post.
I consider couponing a fun hobby, so I spend more hours preparing for trips simply for the joy. Have been doing this for about 20 years. Building stockpiles isn’t my goal; I only buy enough to last until the next deal. For health/beauty products, OTC meds, household cleaners, and some paper products, I only buy if it’s free or a MM. Favorite stores for those items are CVS and Rite Aid.
We do not have doubles here in the East Bay. For grocery shopping, my first go-to is 99 Cents Only Store. Amazing bargains, but it’s hit or miss. It is relaxing to shop here b/you don’t use coupons, everything is a dollar, and it’s a fun bargain hunt! I’ve found Earthbound Farms Spring Mix Salad (1 Lb), Portabello Mushrooms (huge 2-ct), whole watermelon, Oscar Mayer Turkey (1 Lb), Stacey’s Pita Chips, Cheezits… If you stick with name brands here & know your prices, it’s great. After gathering groceries from there, I can fill-in-the blanks with groceries from Safeway or Nob Hill. But those require the time-consuming task of checking the sales, the coupons, the eCoupons, etc. This system works for us because we’re flexible, and the menu sorta follows whatever I find.
Oh you know Michelle half the time I don’t even check the coupon inserts. I shove them away until it is time to plan my trips because I just can’t seem to find the time for everything 😛 So I only cross reference my inserts if I need to check the fine print- so some coupons you see on MFA I might not have received either.
My plan for next week is to do a drugstore vlog where I just tell you flat what I like and don’t like. I don’t want to do the same old- here is how the system works blah.. blah… I want to say what I have liked and not liked about each store. So 3 videos total. Maybe that will help because you are really missing out!
Candy- do you have any opinions on why the double coupons ended and if there is a chance they will ever come back to us? I hate that So CA gets them and we don’t 🙁
PS: The diapers made me depressed. That diaper heist at Walgreens was the end of the overlapping coupon books. She had hundreds of diapers- which tells me no one else in her community got them (and they probably had kids!) and that is the exact reason why they stopped the overlapping books too 🙁 I did that diaper deal with 2 babies in diapers and a SUPER tight budget and I went to 3 stores and got 12 packs myself. Shameful that other people who may have really needed that deal probably missed out because she cleaned out the county on diapers she doesn’t need.
Charlene, thanks for the post. I actually started a log sheet to have tangible evidence and accountability as to how much time I am spending on the coupons. I will post back at the end of the week when all the data is in.
Thank you for the gentle reminder…FAMILY is what’s important! : )
Thank you for all you do!
Andrea
This is a great post and something that I try to articulate (although I don’t do it as well as you) to others when they see me and my stacks, envies, paper clips of coupons in a store somewhere. Its not an instant miracle…its a slow and steady process that allows us to pinch that penny til it screams. I was too SORELY disappointed with the lady who hoarded all the WAGS dipes…it was actually embarassing for us ethical and honest couponers who just buy THINGS WE NEED. Not just any ol’ cheap and freebie. **Sigh**
Karma is a you know what I guess..and that lady shoulda been embarassed. Because I was embarassed for her.
Great Job again on the post!!
Love the post.
–CVS love that place! rainchecks are given and the people are cool
–Walgreens hate it! never have the deals in stock and no rainchecks
–Rainbow grocery store love it 2 miles down the road and they double up to 5 and sometimes 10 with a $25 purchase. on wednesdays and saturdays
–Trader joes love it! super prices on stuff i actually want to feed my family… organic meats, cheeses, spices, produce, nuts
–Target love it! great deals but not a fan when their prices are different from store to store
i try to save at minimum 40% with coupons
about the show. there was a lady that bought 35 bottles of i think maalox and they were priced at $5.67 and she had the $5 off q and her total at the end was less than $10 yet when u add tax and the 67 cents for each item that is at least $35 that makes no sense to me. does that mean she made that much overage from other products?
i also saw the lady with a family of 6 and she was buying 20 yogurts with coupons and she stated that “we eat that in a week” i have a family of 4 and we like yogurt but we do not consume 3 or more a day per person. that same lady had to do 18 seperate transactions in a row to gets the deals.
First off can I just say that I despise that Extreme Couponing show?! I have been couponing for 4 years now and have never run into the “out of stock” issues I am having now. I went to Walgreen’s on Tuesday this week and the manager said some lady went to all three stores Sunday morning and cleared the shelves of every.single.sale.item. I mean c’mon, if you’re gonna coupon please, please PLEASE have some coupon etiquette.
(((((Stepping off soapbox now)))))
Hey Charlene~
Just an idea about the no doubling coupons . . .I was talking to my brother in law today who said he heard that Safeway would implement a doubling coupon policy in Nor CA if there was enough demand but that they don’t do it in Nor CA because there’s never been enough interest. He thinks we should start a petiton and get as many signatures as we can. Whaddya think?
Courtney- I personally don’t think they care. This is my random opinion but I think the reason we don’t have them is because the big stores don’t feel the pinch of competition. I am voicing my opinion by supporting the other stores as much as I possibly can- like Sprouts- so Safeway might start to feel it a little in the pocketbook. I think that is the only way really 🙁
Awesome post! Although I don’t watch Extreme Couponing (no cable), I’ve watched some clips on Youtube and sometimes I think it doesn’t look much different than Hoarders. Especially the diaper lady with no kids. That’s why I love your blog (and a couple of others) because it’s realistic, and just helps us know right where to go for the great deals. I was doing ok with couponing before. I was consistently saving 25-33% at Safeway, now I am saving 50-70% there, and that’s without double coupons. And I had given up on Nob Hill as too expensive, but on my last trip I saved 64%. And I’ve learned (thanks to you) through drugstore shopping I don’t really need to pay much money for most toiletries, otc meds and household cleaners. Thanks for everything!
Charlene, this is a great post! So informative and you really tell it like it is. I have been an avid deal hunter for quite some time, but come to you for grocery & drugstore couponing breakdowns. I am glad to hear you don’t clip most inserts–I have a rubbermaid that I stack them in according to the month; and then begrudgingly hunt for the few I need in preparation for the grocery trip! My thing is menu planning around the ads, and then I use about 10-15 coupons on average (my main store is Safeway). I would say I save between 40-60% on any given week. Before I started to read your match ups, I was spending over $200 A WEEK at the grocery store! I know that is ridiculous but I just didn’t know any better. I planned my menus and shopped for what sounded good. No bueno! Thanks for your tips:)
Thank you for posting this. I live in SoCal and it’s impossible to spend next to nothing on groceries here, what with the 9.75 tax rate and no doubling coupons. Some of the stores here in my area like Ralphs don’t accept printed coupons as well. I also spend more on fresh produce, so my bill is at least $50 a week. A lot of the people on Extreme couponing seem to be akin to hoarders. Aside from the few who have donated what they bought, it just seems a bit greedy to me to stock up on way too much. 🙂
This is really nice to hear!! I started cuponing fairly recently and I thought I was doing good until this show started to air! then I suddenly felt as though I was no longer getting great deals! I shopped the other day and got $150 worth of stuff for $80 and I walked away discouraged. but after hearing from alot of you sounds like I didn’t do too bad. I have a young family and this just started becoming a need for me so I hopefully will even get better over time. but big thanks to Charlene to make it actually seem obtainable even with little kiddos attacking my cupons!! wish me luck in continuing and happy cuponing to all!!
Hurray Charlene!! Why can’t you do a show about couponing? You made all the right points!! I wish all the “normal” people could read this and get realistic expectations of what to expect at the grocery store instead of the trickery TLC is offering up on their show. If EC had not made most people think they could save 95% at the grocery store, then they would have been thrilled with 40-50% they could save on most of their trips! CRAZY! I’m happy with what I’m saving without cheating the system or breaking the rules!
I visit your site at least twice a day and I must say that I love it. However I generally don’t leave any comments, but this topic definitely warrants one. I’ve watched several episodes of that show and have told others that it’s very unrealistic. As you said most stores will not allow you to purchase the entire stock of items or even receive overages. I think that I do pretty well on an average saving about 40-60%. I work and attend school full time so my schedule only allows about 2 hours of couponing per week.
Thank you for exposing the truth!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! You put into words my thoughts exactly. I have been an avid couponer going on 6 years, and totally know the realities of what you can actually save on a regular basis. I think shows like EC are sensational at best. If fact, I haven’t even watched it because I knew it would be unrealistic. I, too, live in CA, where the cost of living is horrendous, and I am VERY happy when I save anywhere above 50% on groceries.
Hi Charlene,
When I started couponing about a year ago, I was excited at the deals I managed to get and told others about it. Soon, my extra sets of coupons came from others who just decided they don’t use them, so why not give them to me? (and I didn’t ask them, they just started giving them to me – yea!) When the Extreme Couponing program came out last year, I told my boss (who is one of the people who give me coupons), if he hears of me doing things like dumpster diving for coupons or creating a stockpile that’s more than my family of 4 needs, please stage an intervention!
My husband also keeps me in check – he’s ok with my getting him 6 deodorants or body washes, if I get them for free, or next to, but more than that – he balks. We just don’t have the space. But he is very supportive when I’m trying to figure out what we are looking for this week – and since I don’t drive, doesn’t complain when I ask him to take me to multiple stores to pick up the deals I’m really wanting to pick up.
I try not to take too much time to do my planning, and my system isn’t a system, but when I see a good deal that works for my family, I hunt down the coupons to see if I have them & then that weekend, go pick it up.
I thank you for all that you do, Charlene. Without finding this blog, I probably would not still be couponing as actively as I do – you are the only one I can find that does the Northern CA grocery stores that I have available.
My Ralph’s will double only 5 coupons per trip, my CVS will take Target coupons, and Target will price match. This has helped me a lot. I do find that coupons are mainly for junk food. I get excited when I see coupons for cheese, meat or produce. I also have a n American Express card that gives me 5% cash back on all grochery store, drug store and gas station purchases. This has really added up. A extra 5% has made a big difference. We save up these ‘cash back’ rewards and use them to buy Christmas presents. They work just lije cash….you can use them on anything! I have only been couponing for a few months and have already changed my philosophy. At first any coupon with sale was amazing. Now, it’s got to be a great deal for me to go and get it. I got a huge rush from the free floss, scotch tape and reach toothbrushes. I stocked up for our family of 5.
Charlene –
First let me say Thanks for having this website. It has increased my savings 10 fold. So….. Thank you very much!
In answer to your question regarding the double and triple coupons in So. Cal., and mind you, this is only my opinion. The stores don’t need to offer them any more. You have a large population that will shop regardess of doubling or not. I should have been a little clearer on my post. Ralphs policy is they will double only to a dollar. That’s it, no more! And they actually will take that policy away from time to time, offering none. I was actually referring to the old days when a coupon that had a face value of a $1.00 or more could be doubled to $2.00 and so on. Some stores would even triple the coupon. That’s when I saved the most, sometimes 90% on my grocery bill. We also need to remember, the store only receives the value of the coupon back from the manufacter and a small handling fee. The fee used to be 7 cents per coupon. The only incentive they have to offering the doubling, is hoping you will buy more than what you have coupons for. Meat, bread etc. That’s why we rarely see coupons for those types of things.
I love all the comments that people have left regarding the show, Extreme Couponing. I agree with all of them. Since the show has aired, I too, am locally being cleared out of everything in the stores. Good luck finding a Nivea Body Wash anywhere in So. Cal. I personally just wanted 2 of them. One for my husband to try and one for myself. It is a brand I normally would not buy. The coupon gave me the opportunity to try their product for free. Remember…… that is the whole objective with coupons. They are not put out there for the consumer to save alot of money, purchasing multiples of 20, 30, even 100’s of the product. They are put out there hoping you will continually purchase the item, after trying and liking the item, coupon or not.
I still suggest people try ebay for coupons. As long as you can get them for a fair price and still save money. Some coupons are only placed in Sunday papers regionally. It gives you the opportunity to obtain them, when otherwise you would not be able to. And no, I personally do not sell coupons on ebay. Just lettin you all know that! I have also purchased some coupons from clipping sites. For example…. The Right Guard BOGO free I mentioned in my earlier post. I wanted to get at least 6 coupons for the item. This will allow me to save some money, while at the same time supplying my husband with a year of deodorant at half the cost. Also, deodorant is small enough that I will not need to store it under a bed or rent another house to store the product in. I bought 20 coupons from a seller on ebay. Now…. I don’t need those extra 14 coupons I purchased, so I will randomly, through out the next month leave 1 or 2 in the deodorant aisles of Walmart, Target etc. This I call, the “Coupon Fairy”. I know how happy I am, when I find that lone coupon sitting right in front of the item I need to purchase, and I did not have a coupon for it. Makes my day! In the end, this is all we are striving for….. Savings…. somewhere!!!!!
Charlene –
I almost forgot! I agree on the diapers… shameful!
Re: MFA Drugstore Vlog plans
I would love info about buying milk from NorCal drugstores. Often I’m stuck holding about-to-expire ECBs, RRs, or +Ups. Since milk is always on my list, I’d like to use my drugstore rewards to get milk. What are each store’s rules on this matter?
Re: NorCal doubles
Ralph’s in San Ramon used to double, but they closed maybe 6 yes ago. Fun! I actually looked forward to shopping there lol.