Shake

Well, do ya? Huh? Huh?

I figure it's part of the way I pay for getting my newspaper in the first place. Although some grocers have gotten tricky of late. They only double the coupons that are 99� or less, so they've taken to printing more $1 off on two (or more) of certain items.

I've often told people that I'd still cut coupons even if I was a millionaire! I also figure if they're going to (basically) give me money for using skills I acquired in kindergarten (using scissors), then I'll take 'em up on it. I recently got to try that new Red Fusion soda because I had a coupon for a FREE 2-liter bottle. What the hell? If I hated it, I wasn't out any cash, and I was already going to the store anyway. If I liked it, then I just saved some cash!

Our newspaper also prints coupons for several similar style burger joints (Bill Grays, Tom Wahl's, etc.), for buy one, get one free entrees. We always use the coupons for the cheeseburgers! They're good, fresh, and bigger than what you'd get at McD's or BK!

Funny story: late last year my wife bought one of those Entertainment coupon books. They run about $20, but there's coupons for food, movies, shows, etc. It's not hard to get your $20 back. Come Xmas, we're opening gifts and my folks got us another Entertainment book. Gee, thanks ... we're all smiles, biting our tongues. Well, my uncle and aunt get us still another one! Mom and Dad think that's funny since they know that they got us one, but they don't know about the one we got for ourselves! My sister and her husband also receive two, but turn around and very shortly re-gift one of them.

So how 'bout y'all? I go through the paper every Sunday and cut coupons. On big shopping trips our savings have been around $20 sometimes!

wildernesse

Coupons were one of the reasons that we got the newspaper for a while, but then we got behind in reading it, so that ended up being a bigger mess than a help.

I use the store "member" cards that give you discounts, and now you can download coupons into your account online.

Clipping coupons reminds me of spending time with my grandmother, sitting in her lap while she clipped coupons with tiny scissors and watched soap operas. When I was big enough, I got to help!

--tibac

Kinross

First off its not real a "savings" if you end up buying something you otherwise would not have purchased.

Second it�s way too much of a hassle. You have to first cut out all the coupons and select which ones you are going to use. When you go to the store you have make sure you are buying the right size and that your coupon hasn�t expired. All of this is unpleasant to me and adds time to an activity, which I already find unpleasant.

I also don�t use the store cards. First you have to sign up for them and give them all your personal information, which they sell. Then they track your spending habits and sell that too. Next thing you know you are on every junk mail list out there and they know if your menstrual, sexually active, have diarrhea, ect. The coupons are usually for the competing product for which you bought. There is a reason I bought this product and not the other one and a quarter isn�t going to change my mind.

As for the Entertainment Cards, I used to work as a server through college and they are the bane of the service industry and would never inflict that that pain on servers having worked in the trenches.

Per

Coupons aren't really used around here. I have a strange feeling that I've used one once, but I can't remember what for. We did get a free 1.5 liter Fanta last time we ordered pizzas though...

snoiduspoitus

While I think it's wise to use coupons, I enjoy putting one of those Vulcan 'Spock O'Matic Shoulder Fainting Grips' on anyone who uses more than five at the checkout. Just ease them to the floor, and shout "This woman's dying!", then walk out amongst the commotion without paying at all.

Randi

Too damn poor to be bothered cutting coupons. I would spend more by buying the premium brands with coupons than I do by shopping the discount outlets around here. I did spend about 6 months faithfully carrying them to the stores before I had that figured, not to mention the discount stores carry a lot of out of region brands that I don't get coupons for.

BTW, if a coupon expires November 31st, does it ever really expire? I noticed that on many coupons when I was still collecting them.

JCS

The only reason for getting the newspaper here is the coupons. I canceled my Sunday only home delivery and now walk a block to buy the paper from a vending machine. If you subscribe you pay sales tax and if you buy from the machine you don't. Yes, I am that frigging cheap. I figure what I save each week using coupons and buying only what is on sale pays for my gas for the week.

wildernesse

True. But that's the first rule of coupon use--don't clip if you don't normally buy it.

[snip]

I used to be uncomfortable with the amount of personal info that I supplied to stores--now I realize that I can't even begin to imagine what info is out there about me, and who has it. If I cared that much, I would have all my money in a box under my bed.

I also am brand loyal to a certain degree and a coupon is not going to change that--but a coupon that is for my brand, I like if I come across it. Clipping coupons doesn't always mean you buy the cheapest thing out there--it means that you can get the things you like for less sometimes. I'm always on the look out for 10% cards for the store I buy my clothes at, but I don't look for coupons/discount cards for other department stores.

And I have no idea what Entertainment books/cards are.

--tibac

miss djax

i don't use coupons for grocery shopping, since mostly i go to the farmers markets or small asian grocery stores..im telling ya nothing is cheaper than those......loads of great produce and its 99 cents..ba da bing...

but im an INSANE on-line bargain shopper...my 2 biggest tips :

www.dealofday.com

and

www.fatwallet.com

the have forums where people post coupon codes *free shipping at gap.com, extra 20% of amazon.com, you name it*, and you can search by website, item, you name it....

for the past 5 years i have had all my families x-mas presents mailed to their house, and not once have i paid for delivery...and talk about bargains.....half off, extra 20% off clearance, free delivery, free overnite upgrade, you name it...

you should read what some of those people get - you can 'stack' coupons sometime *free shipping, extra percentage off* so that sometimes, entire orders are FREE...how cool is that????

miss djax

Giorgia

I'd say I'm an "extreme" coupon user: other than daily needs, like bananas and bread, etc. I almost never buy anything unless it's a) on sale, and b) I have a coupon. It takes a few months of very diligent shopping to get far enough ahead on salsa, peanut butter, soups, pasta, and such staples to always have enough in your pantry to shop this way; however, once you're in a position of not running out of anything, it's really fun to shop and get things like a name-brand can of baked beans for 9 cents, or a half-gallon of gourmet ice cream for $1.50. I've gotten to the point that I don't buy pasta unless the cost is under 55 cents/pound. (Buy one, get one free sales are the "holy grail.")

I certainly agree that grocery shopping isn't fun, it can, however, be made more pleasurable by making sure that you're not giving away any more of your money than absolutely necessary. With the money I save using store cards (which no longer require personal information, by the way: if you apply for a new card in many stores you'll find a little box at the bottom that lets you sign up anonymously) and coupons, I can afford to buy little luxuries, like a bouquet of flowers, for myself. In other words, shopping with coupons is like getting paid over-time: each hour spent in the store lasts just as long; I just come out with more goodies for the buck.

And, in my case, shopping with coupons actually pays for two Sunday papers -- as I get two copies of every coupon I like to use, plus two copies of every "free sample" coupon -- with the added bonus of two different editorial pages, and two different sets of Sunday funnies.

PS: With the advent of bar codes on coupons, checking out with a big pile isn't nearly as time-consuming as it used to be.