I focus on things that my family normally uses, brands that we like. $1 off one kind of deodorant isn't a seller, if I know that it doesn't keep me dry or if I smell like I haven't showered in a week. To me, they can keep their dollar. I don't want their product.
But I am a pretty avid Sunday morning newspaper clipper. I'm also a coupons.com clipper. I watch other couponing sites for things we might need. I always turn over my Schnuck's receipt to see if there's an oil change or a lunch coupon that might come in useful.
I am, in the last 3 months, noticing a trend in couponing. Vary rarely (my major exception is when I clip from County Market's penny pincher listings) are the coupons for actual food-related items. Instead, most of them are for household items like toilet paper, shampoo and cleaners. This is fine, except I only buy those things once every 4-6 weeks. So, I'm wondering, where are all the food coupons? They used to be everywhere.
And why, instead of getting coupons at stores for products I don't use (hello, Tidy Cat) can't I get them for products I do use?
Every 4 weeks, I have a $150 bill at Meijer that I watch deplete to around $115 with the household coupons that I saved. I'm grateful for it. I always apologize to the cashier for the madness of that many coupons. His or her response is always one of encouragement, but the person behind me in line is either impressed or annoyed. And I'm no couponing master.
But the other 3 trips during the month are painful. They're all food based for recipes I'm cooking. Sometimes I get lucky and hit in-store specials. But I cook so much with fresh fruits and vegetables now that those savings are few and far between.
Has anyone else noticed a depletion of food coupons? Or maybe it's just the brands that I use?
Oh -- and just a little plug. Karen's Kloset is having a sale on Saturday. From 8-10 a.m. everything in the store is 25% off, from 10-noon it's 20% off and then from noon until 6 p.m. it's 10 percent off... just in case you're looking for any fall clothing!
3 comments:
You're so right. The food coupons that are there are for mostly very packaged foods and often, new expensive products. The one exception is soup. Canned soup is convenient and with the right selection, very healthy. And there is NEVER a shortage of soup coupons. I usually wait until there is a sale and then use coupons too, to stock up.
I try to stock up on pantry basics when there is a 10 for $10 sale.
I would love to see more coupons for the brand name turkey and chicken products. I can never ever find ground turkey or ground chicken on sale. The one time they had a sale, the store was sold out by 9am.
I agree too! Although I haven't really gotten in to the whole coupon thing, I feel like it's mostly a waste of time and stuff I don't buy anyway. We do like the county market coupons too- and the ones they mail out. I'm impressed w/ your Meijer savings!!
I also see a lot of blogs w/ the Walgreens/ CVS deals, I just don't get the point of it. I'm sure some stocking up is good, but some of the stuff just seems ridiculous!
I need to introduce you to my friend Shawna, the Coupon Queen. http://www.couponladyonline.com/
She has been on WCIA3 numerous times for her couponing. She gets LOTS of toiletries and food for free or almost free thanks to coupons.
Also, if you do the couponing and get free items you don't need (like toothpaste) you can donate them to local charities. This is my fave part of couponing!
Post a Comment