Extreme Couponing

MoochNNoodles · Apr 16, 2013

Dilly said:
I'm more interested in seeing what how much I save rather than how much I can get

Yes that makes sense to me. One example for me: there is an OTC pain reliever that I like for back pain. It's got a tiny amount of muscle relaxer in it so it has helped me more than your standard motrin. Well a coupon came out and I was so excited to find one for that of all things. But shelves were cleared at walmart and every drug store in town. You can't tell me people needed that!! Fortunately I haven't needed any in a long time either. By the time they all restocked the coupon had expired.

I think I save an average of $10 every week.

dejolane · Apr 16, 2013

I love to use coupons cause if you don't have that last 1.00 to pay for your items, that coupon comes in handy.

Thank God for coupons !

dejolane

Winchester · Apr 17, 2013

I used to do a lot of couponing and refunding, too. It was very time-extensive and believe me, I worked for everything I was able to get. Back then, there were a lot of coupons for milk, different meats, produce, all kinds of snacks, etc. Heinz used to have an annual summer promotion to get $5.00 in ground beef, Nabisco always had something going on for free milk, Borden's had stuff going on for free chicken. And so on. All kinds of free condiments. Cat food, cat litter, dog food, treats, etc. P & G always had some great deals going on. Carnation had good deals, too.

I remember going to a store in New Jersey that doubled coupons, no matter what the coupon was. I brought home huge free bags of cat litter....one of the bags had a small leak in it and the store paid me 50 cents to just take it home (they don't do that anymore). We taped the hole shut and threw it into the car. I had my ice chest with me and it was filled with meats, produce, and such. Lots of frozen foods. I used to bring home $200-$300 worth of groceries, sometimes more....for the tax. It was worth the gas to drive over there. We always came home with a car stuffed to the gills. I had a lot of $2.00 coupons and the store doubled them. I think it was a SuperFresh store, something like that, right across the NJ border. In Florence, NJ, I think.

We went for years without buying toilet paper, paper towels, and tissues, toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, and the like. Years! I didn't buy any cleaning supplies for years. We had soda (Pepsi, not junk soda) all the time.....Pepsi is a staple in my house, well, it's diet Mt. Dew now.

I used to get checks for $1.00 or $2.00 all the time. May not sound like much, but when you put them all together, believe me it added up. Nabisco had a refund out for a $25 check one time. I got one and my MIL got one.

Rick and I would go to refunding conventions.....huge places with hundreds and hundreds of people, all willing to swap UPCs and other forms of qualifiers for what they needed to finish a deal. We went to a really neat convention that lasted pretty much a whole weekend. Til I was done making all my trades and deals? The weekend was free, including the hotel room. I remember when our tv bit the dust, we bought a gorgeous new tv and I paid for it with my refunding stash.

There used to be all kinds of newspapers and such for refunders to find out about the best deals. I don't think any of them are still around, but they might. Refunding Makes Cents, Roadrunner, etc. I subscribed to them all, so I knew what was going on in the market. We had huge coupon swaps around here. People would get together with their gigantic coupon boxes and swap what they had for what they needed. I would swap coupons and such in the mail, too. I made a lot of friends doing that.

I had boxes upon boxes upon boxes of stuff in the basement, all labeled and properly cleaned. I had people saving their junk. Seriously. I had five people who literally saved their trash for me. They'd bring huge trash bags into work and I'd take them home. Cut off what I needed....sometimes I needed a UPC, sometimes I needed a weight label, sometimes I'd need the whole front label, or the whole back label. Sometimes I just needed to cut a chip out of the top of the jug.....Lysol, for example, always wanted a piece of the top as their qualifier. I always had plastic jugs soaking in the bathtub. It was a lot of work.

I was able to get a really neat Maxwell House 30-cup percolator....looks just like the old cans of MH coffee. That thing still works and it still comes out for huge family picnics and parties outside....I needed 100 2-inch squares cut from the top of a MH container to get that percolator. We have a gorgeous anniversary Monopoly game...it is just beautiful! And I'm sure it's probably a collector's item now. Lots of different cookbooks, cooking utensils. I was able to get some really nice stuff for Christmas presents, too. All from buying groceries.

We had to be willing to try new foods and new things. That was never a problem. There were just a few things we didn't switch around. We always had Crest toothpaste and Listerine mouthwash. Always Heinz ketchup. Things like that. But back then, it wasn't just junk food and a lot of convenience stuff.

I have no idea what's even out there anymore as far as coupons, refunds, etc. I think about it sometimes and Rick and I talk about it sometimes. But I don't really have a desire to start that back up again. We still use coupons, but now, it seems like a lot of the coupons are for junk. A lot of the coupon flyers that come in the newspapers are full of coupons for cosmetics, drugs, and things like that.

dilly · Apr 17, 2013

Winchester said:
I used to do a lot of couponing and refunding, too. It was very time-extensive and believe me, I worked for everything I was able to get. Back then, there were a lot of coupons for milk, different meats, produce, all kinds of snacks, etc. Heinz used to have an annual summer promotion to get $5.00 in ground beef, Nabisco always had something going on for free milk, Borden's had stuff going on for free chicken. And so on. All kinds of free condiments. Cat food, cat litter, dog food, treats, etc. P & G always had some great deals going on. Carnation had good deals, too.

I remember going to a store in New Jersey that doubled coupons, no matter what the coupon was. I brought home huge free bags of cat litter....one of the bags had a small leak in it and the store paid me 50 cents to just take it home (they don't do that anymore). We taped the hole shut and threw it into the car. I had my ice chest with me and it was filled with meats, produce, and such. Lots of frozen foods. I used to bring home $200-$300 worth of groceries, sometimes more....for the tax. It was worth the gas to drive over there. We always came home with a car stuffed to the gills. I had a lot of $2.00 coupons and the store doubled them. I think it was a SuperFresh store, something like that, right across the NJ border. In Florence, NJ, I think.

We went for years without buying toilet paper, paper towels, and tissues, toothpaste, shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, and the like. Years! I didn't buy any cleaning supplies for years. We had soda (Pepsi, not junk soda) all the time.....Pepsi is a staple in my house, well, it's diet Mt. Dew now.

I used to get checks for $1.00 or $2.00 all the time. May not sound like much, but when you put them all together, believe me it added up. Nabisco had a refund out for a $25 check one time. I got one and my MIL got one.

Rick and I would go to refunding conventions.....huge places with hundreds and hundreds of people, all willing to swap UPCs and other forms of qualifiers for what they needed to finish a deal. We went to a really neat convention that lasted pretty much a whole weekend. Til I was done making all my trades and deals? The weekend was free, including the hotel room. I remember when our tv bit the dust, we bought a gorgeous new tv and I paid for it with my refunding stash.

There used to be all kinds of newspapers and such for refunders to find out about the best deals. I don't think any of them are still around, but they might. Refunding Makes Cents, Roadrunner, etc. I subscribed to them all, so I knew what was going on in the market. We had huge coupon swaps around here. People would get together with their gigantic coupon boxes and swap what they had for what they needed. I would swap coupons and such in the mail, too. I made a lot of friends doing that.

I had boxes upon boxes upon boxes of stuff in the basement, all labeled and properly cleaned. I had people saving their junk. Seriously. I had five people who literally saved their trash for me. They'd bring huge trash bags into work and I'd take them home. Cut off what I needed....sometimes I needed a UPC, sometimes I needed a weight label, sometimes I'd need the whole front label, or the whole back label. Sometimes I just needed to cut a chip out of the top of the jug.....Lysol, for example, always wanted a piece of the top as their qualifier. I always had plastic jugs soaking in the bathtub. It was a lot of work.

I was able to get a really neat Maxwell House 30-cup percolator....looks just like the old cans of MH coffee. That thing still works and it still comes out for huge family picnics and parties outside....I needed 100 2-inch squares cut from the top of a MH container to get that percolator. We have a gorgeous anniversary Monopoly game...it is just beautiful! And I'm sure it's probably a collector's item now. Lots of different cookbooks, cooking utensils. I was able to get some really nice stuff for Christmas presents, too. All from buying groceries.

We had to be willing to try new foods and new things. That was never a problem. There were just a few things we didn't switch around. We always had Crest toothpaste and Listerine mouthwash. Always Heinz ketchup. Things like that. But back then, it wasn't just junk food and a lot of convenience stuff.

I have no idea what's even out there anymore as far as coupons, refunds, etc. I think about it sometimes and Rick and I talk about it sometimes. But I don't really have a desire to start that back up again. We still use coupons, but now, it seems like a lot of the coupons are for junk. A lot of the coupon flyers that come in the newspapers are full of coupons for cosmetics, drugs, and things like that.

Wow. Thats awesome. I don't think that's possible to do that these days. Compnaies are all about making money hese days.

dejolane · Apr 17, 2013

I just use some coupons when they come in the mail or my weekly papers. I don't print the ones I don't need. I look for free cat treats,litter,cans of food. I buy alot of can food at the beginning of the month.and when that is gone, I give Bella & Thunder human tuna.

dejolane

catsallaround · Apr 17, 2013

You reminded me how our local store had a refund wall. You would be told on shelf stick if there was a refund and after checkout you would pull down a rebate slip for items you bought(or planned to buy next trip) Wow have not thought of that is long time. That was mid 90s or so. No idea when they stopped.

Only mail in rebates I see now are for pep boys or car places.

dilly · Apr 17, 2013

catsallaround said:
You reminded me how our local store had a refund wall. You would be told on shelf stick if there was a refund and after checkout you would pull down a rebate slip for items you bought(or planned to buy next trip) Wow have not thought of that is long time. That was mid 90s or so. No idea when they stopped.

Only mail in rebates I see now are for pep boys or car places.

Menards does alot of rebates if you have one close and shope there. They're like a Wal mart and Home Dept put together LOL

catsallaround · Apr 17, 2013

To bad I am in NJ.

dejolane · May 28, 2013

If you had a chance to be on Extreme Couponing would you spend the time cutting coupons to get alot of groceries ?

-_aj_- · May 28, 2013

Coupons are few and far between here we get X amount off X amount

Ive seen some of the extreme coupon programs filter through onto our tv's and I wouldn't have the energy to coupon like that

nerdrock · May 28, 2013

I used to work in retail, couponers can either be a nightmare or pleasent to deal with - the majority are nightmares though.

If one cashier at the store had made an exception or mistake (go over the limit, give a product for free by accident, etc) the customer would argue every single time and would try to only go to the person that made the mistake. I suppose in the hopes that they would do it again. I had a 10 minute heated discussion with a customer one time over 10 cents! He had a coupon for a free power bar, value up to $1.99 but our store sold them for $2.09 or something like that, he refused to pay the 10 cent difference and I was so sick of dealing with him all the time (he would throw fits like this a lot) that I refused to override it - and I shouldn't have to anyways, if he would have actually read the coupon. He eventually said he was going to go somewhere else that actually honours coupons. He never did try that at my store again though.

I have also been behind people that price match before. I have a bone to pick with them too! They clear out shelves and are, IMO, worse than the extreme couponers because the cashier not only has to read all of the coupons, but also has to find the items in the flyers that they're price matching. 99% of the time around here the also go during the busiest times for the stores, so that slows things down even more. For someone like me that does a lot of little shopping trips, it's really annoying to get in the line thinking you'll be out of there in 5 minutes when all of a sudden the person in front of you pulls out all of the flyers for the area and a binder full of coupons. Then there's me standing behind them with a bag of cat litter and maybe 1-2 other things.

I think they should have a specific check out (or two) just for people with a lot of coupons or that are price matching. I could only imagine what it would be like here if we could double up on coupons like you can in the states, we also don't get cash back.

My cousin coupons a lot, I call her stockpile her hoard, lol.

luvmy4 · May 28, 2013

I wouldn't call myself an extreme couponer like on the t.v. show, but I do use coupons on everything I can. I do watch for sales and use coupons at the same time. I hate to pay more for anything than I have to. I use a combo of online coupons and ones that come in the sale ads. I do use coupons for cat stuff and household items. I can never seem to find many food coupons for myself because I don't eat much processed food.

I was able to score Tidy Cats Breeze boxes this weekend for $12 each for the starter kits. Petsmart had them on sale from $37 down to $22. I used $10 off manufacturer coupons on each kit. I am using them as sifter boxes for pine pellets and it seems like they are going to work out.

ETA: I don't have a huge stockpile taking over my house or anything. lol. I am also friendly to cashiers and haven't had any problems, I do read up on coupon policies per store and do follow them so there aren't any issues.

dejolane · May 28, 2013

If you don't have that extra dollar at the end of your purchase,coupons come in handy.

denice · May 28, 2013

I know I wouldn't. From what I have seen on that show people end up stocked up on a lot of junk food which I don't need, feminine products which I know longer need, or 10 years worth of laundry detergent and cleaning supplies. I doh't have room to store all that stuff. It really bugs me when they completely clear off the shelves. I remember on one of those shows a woman did that with protein bars. She had her cart 3/4 full of protein bars. A guy called her on it because there were none left for him. She got this snippy little attitude about he should've gotten there ahead of her. She really thought she was being cute.

dejolane · May 28, 2013

I saw that show too. I just wish if I could do all that cutting coupons and organizing I would use everything.Laundry detergent especially.

journey2heaven · May 28, 2013

I watched the show and was really impressed however, as much as I love to save, that was just more like working a full time job with lots of overtime. I cut coupons, I shop sales all the time. I am one who believes in never buying anything at regular price. But extreme, I can never dedicate my life to that. Just not enough time in my day.

dejolane · May 29, 2013

Journey2Heaven said:
I watched the show and was really impressed however, as much as I love to save, that was just more like working a full time job with lots of overtime. I cut coupons, I shop sales all the time. I am one who believes in never buying anything at regular price. But extreme, I can never dedicate my life to that. Just not enough time in my day.

Me too. If I can get just 1 or 2 dollars off an item, I'll cut that coupon.

Extreme Couponing

MoochNNoodles

TCS Member

dejolane

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Winchester

In the kitchen with my cookies

dilly

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Thread starter

dejolane

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catsallaround

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dilly

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Thread starter

catsallaround

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dejolane

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-_aj_-

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nerdrock

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luvmy4

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dejolane

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denice

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dejolane

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journey2heaven

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dejolane

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