I'm not too much of a clipper. I tend to either cook from scratch, and buy in bulk or buy just ingredients, or go out. I do try to clip coupons for things like toiletries.
I can afirm every reason you listed & agree with you on the one you did not. I came to much of this realization not by choice but by disability. I never was much to waste stuff or hog resources, but I sure could accumulate a bunch of stuff! Having stuff is hard work & often expensive. Most everything not being actively used deteriorates quickly.
Not that much. For one thing, there's almost never coupons for produce and cheese, so they're pretty much useless. Even for the few packaged/cleaning items I buy, I often find that even with a coupon and the item on sale, another brand or the store brand is still cheaper. And I've never seen a store in my area that doubles. So yeah - coupon clipping would be useless, time-wasting activity. Reading ads for sales, and watching for two-fers on store brands really pays off.
We were $50k in debt and after rethinking our philosophy about money we made the million dollar (pun intended) decision. We will live within our means and, actually live beneath our means so that we can not just get out, but stay out of debt forever. Coupons were a tool that freed money for us to pay off all debt, except our mortgage, in 3 years. I am so passionate about it that I blog too about deals and freebies, like Carrie who was mentioned in the post, but as a means not as an end. Keeping a few bottles of shampoo on hand means I kept the money in my pocket for them and can apply to more important things than shampoo. Okay, I will slowly back away from my soap box...
A digital folder that simply jot down the type of coupon and expiration date- and that would become a reminder to get me to one physical folder that I store coupons
I purge the folder once a month
This is the quick way without having to spend some much time organizing it!
I only clip coupons on products that I use regularly. I put a higher value on coupons that are in the $.55 to $.99 range since they can be doubled at my local grocery stores. I very rarely clip coupons that require you to buy more than one of an item.
A girl I work with and I are firm believers that you should never have to pay full price on anything. A simple google search can get you a coupon/sale info on anything. I'll also admit that I even have an organizer for coupons I may use... yeah I'm a nerd.
Some schools and organizations sell gift cards as an ongoing fundraiser (they get a small percent back)- this could be a good way to buy gas, clothing, and grocery gift cards.
Great ideas Paul! Wish I had tried these strategies instead of signing up for all those credit cards in college. On the plus side, I have a ton of free t-shirts and posters of Che Guevera.
For me, I've found myself going of in spurts...doing it intensely for awhile and then completely abondoning it later. It always seems to be an on again off again sort of thing with me.
That's a good idea Lacey that way you could actually carve out your specific categories albeit at some narrowed shopping options. Although for me Costco is like my Achilles heal, gas, hot dog, reciprocating saw, 20 gallons of Ketchup, check.
I will clip coupons if I see them in the mail but do not go out of my way to buy newspapers for them. I find myself searching online for coupons and printing them out more often than clipping anything.
Being a mom of 3 (oldest just turned 5), I don't really have the time to clip coupons, organize them, and go through that whole system. Maybe when the kids get older. I used to do that for my family growing up, so I had a system....though I would have to admit it wasn't very efficient. Haha!
Great ideas! You could also buy gift cards from merchants. It does limit flexibility a bit, but if you find you always get gas from the same Costco gas station, get a Costco gift card for your gas budget! Most merchants don't have fees on their cards, unless you don't use them for a long time.
It's kind of hit or miss with grocery store coupons. Sometimes I get around to clipping them and sometimes not. Sometimes I can use them before they expire and sometimes not.
I do however try really hard to use my CVS extra bucks and Walgreens cashback (or whatever they call it).
I use online coupons and always google "(merchant or product) discount" or "(merchant or product) coupon" when I purchase anything online. I haven't had *much* luck with clipping, but I did get some cheap and tasty strawberries a couple of weeks ago with a coupon.
Subscribed to the Grocery Game to see what the good deals were. The whole thing didn't really work out for me. I tried getting a Sunday subscription to the news paper so I could get the coupons there, but for like the first month they didn't deliver it to my 2nd-floor apartment so I canceled. Which meant I had to buy a Sunday paper when I thought of it. Some weeks there was hardly anything in it I would use. Same thing for online coupons. I'm a little wary of installing random plugins just to print coupons, and some of these sites would only print one coupon per page, which is a huge waste of ink. And quite often I would buy things that, while I used them, I wouldn't have otherwise have bought if I hadn't had a coupon. In the end I think I save more just by stocking up when things are on sale, using the in-store coupons at HEB, and buying store brands instead of brand names for things I don't care about.
Check out this site they give away FREE games, consoles, and even PAYPAL CASH and other great prizes. All you have to do is try ONE sponsored offer and refer friends. After that you can get your FREE prize ship to you FREE.
I clip coupons. I save them. I sort them. I buy Sunday papers solely for the purpose of getting them. I sign up for free ones online. I buy coupon books from school kids. I match coupons to sales at stores. My 6-word obituary will be "I have a coupon for that."
That being said, I try to stick to coupons there's a chance I'll actually use, and I still compare prices when I get to the store. We don't do cereal, so $1 off three boxes of cheerios will get me nowhere. I do stock up when I get a good coupon and am able to match it to a good sale.
I <3 coupons.
I'm not too much of a clipper. I tend to either cook from scratch, and buy in bulk or buy just ingredients, or go out. I do try to clip coupons for things like toiletries.
I can afirm every reason you listed & agree with you on the one you did not. I came to much of this realization not by choice but by disability. I never was much to waste stuff or hog resources, but I sure could accumulate a bunch of stuff! Having stuff is hard work & often expensive. Most everything not being actively used deteriorates quickly.
I really try to just clip coupons for things that I already use, so I am not tempted to buy things just because I have a coupon.
Not that much. For one thing, there's almost never coupons for produce and cheese, so they're pretty much useless. Even for the few packaged/cleaning items I buy, I often find that even with a coupon and the item on sale, another brand or the store brand is still cheaper. And I've never seen a store in my area that doubles. So yeah - coupon clipping would be useless, time-wasting activity. Reading ads for sales, and watching for two-fers on store brands really pays off.
We were $50k in debt and after rethinking our philosophy about money we made the million dollar (pun intended) decision. We will live within our means and, actually live beneath our means so that we can not just get out, but stay out of debt forever. Coupons were a tool that freed money for us to pay off all debt, except our mortgage, in 3 years. I am so passionate about it that I blog too about deals and freebies, like Carrie who was mentioned in the post, but as a means not as an end. Keeping a few bottles of shampoo on hand means I kept the money in my pocket for them and can apply to more important things than shampoo. Okay, I will slowly back away from my soap box...
A digital folder that simply jot down the type of coupon and expiration date- and that would become a reminder to get me to one physical folder that I store coupons
I purge the folder once a month
This is the quick way without having to spend some much time organizing it!
I only clip coupons on products that I use regularly. I put a higher value on coupons that are in the $.55 to $.99 range since they can be doubled at my local grocery stores. I very rarely clip coupons that require you to buy more than one of an item.
A girl I work with and I are firm believers that you should never have to pay full price on anything. A simple google search can get you a coupon/sale info on anything. I'll also admit that I even have an organizer for coupons I may use... yeah I'm a nerd.
Some schools and organizations sell gift cards as an ongoing fundraiser (they get a small percent back)- this could be a good way to buy gas, clothing, and grocery gift cards.
i don't use em - the places i shop (chinatown for groceries and dollar stores for household/personal) don't take them.
I clip, but ONLY if it's something I'd buy at full price anyway.
Great ideas Paul! Wish I had tried these strategies instead of signing up for all those credit cards in college. On the plus side, I have a ton of free t-shirts and posters of Che Guevera.
Great Tip! The article was very informative!
For me, I've found myself going of in spurts...doing it intensely for awhile and then completely abondoning it later. It always seems to be an on again off again sort of thing with me.
I clip coupons if I come across one for something I already buy; otherwise I don't.
That's a good idea Lacey that way you could actually carve out your specific categories albeit at some narrowed shopping options. Although for me Costco is like my Achilles heal, gas, hot dog, reciprocating saw, 20 gallons of Ketchup, check.
I will clip coupons if I see them in the mail but do not go out of my way to buy newspapers for them. I find myself searching online for coupons and printing them out more often than clipping anything.
Being a mom of 3 (oldest just turned 5), I don't really have the time to clip coupons, organize them, and go through that whole system. Maybe when the kids get older. I used to do that for my family growing up, so I had a system....though I would have to admit it wasn't very efficient. Haha!
Great ideas! You could also buy gift cards from merchants. It does limit flexibility a bit, but if you find you always get gas from the same Costco gas station, get a Costco gift card for your gas budget! Most merchants don't have fees on their cards, unless you don't use them for a long time.
It's kind of hit or miss with grocery store coupons. Sometimes I get around to clipping them and sometimes not. Sometimes I can use them before they expire and sometimes not.
I do however try really hard to use my CVS extra bucks and Walgreens cashback (or whatever they call it).
I use online coupons and always google "(merchant or product) discount" or "(merchant or product) coupon" when I purchase anything online. I haven't had *much* luck with clipping, but I did get some cheap and tasty strawberries a couple of weeks ago with a coupon.
Subscribed to the Grocery Game to see what the good deals were. The whole thing didn't really work out for me. I tried getting a Sunday subscription to the news paper so I could get the coupons there, but for like the first month they didn't deliver it to my 2nd-floor apartment so I canceled. Which meant I had to buy a Sunday paper when I thought of it. Some weeks there was hardly anything in it I would use. Same thing for online coupons. I'm a little wary of installing random plugins just to print coupons, and some of these sites would only print one coupon per page, which is a huge waste of ink. And quite often I would buy things that, while I used them, I wouldn't have otherwise have bought if I hadn't had a coupon. In the end I think I save more just by stocking up when things are on sale, using the in-store coupons at HEB, and buying store brands instead of brand names for things I don't care about.
Check out this site they give away FREE games, consoles, and even PAYPAL CASH and other great prizes. All you have to do is try ONE sponsored offer and refer friends. After that you can get your FREE prize ship to you FREE.
CHECK IT OUT HERE
www.GiftMonkey.com/?s=126980
We have several sources for coupons and we save at least 5-8% each time we shop for groceries.
I clip coupons. I save them. I sort them. I buy Sunday papers solely for the purpose of getting them. I sign up for free ones online. I buy coupon books from school kids. I match coupons to sales at stores. My 6-word obituary will be "I have a coupon for that."
That being said, I try to stick to coupons there's a chance I'll actually use, and I still compare prices when I get to the store. We don't do cereal, so $1 off three boxes of cheerios will get me nowhere. I do stock up when I get a good coupon and am able to match it to a good sale.
I <3 coupons.