Couponers Anonymous
Hi. My name is Manda. I’m a couponer.
I’m going to be honest, when my mom first suggested that I look at coupons to save money I was like pbbbbbt. Pffffffft. COUPONS. I generally don’t like things that require effort. Coupons require a lot of effort. You have to cut them out, find them on websites, remember to use them before the expire, and half the time they’re for crap that you won’t even use. When would I ever touch these things?
Ohoho, ohhhhhhhhhhohohohoho how I was enlightened.
See here’s the thing – most people I’ve talked to, when they hear about coupons, they always assume a couple things. Generally the consensus is that people occasionally use coupons for things that they’d be buying anyway – say you drink soymilk and a $1 off Silk Soymilk coupon comes your way, you’ll probably use it. They don’t really go out of their way to get stuff.
And then there’s the people who follow the Extreme Couponing show. A complete… well, I want to use the word “farce” here but I’m not sure it would be appropriate; anyway, it’s basically a three ring circus of pre-planned hundred-mustard-bottle, low out-of-pocket payment, coupon-abusing insanity. It’s a fun show to watch. It’s great to get ideas. And it’s also vastly unrealistic.
However, the facts are these -
- You can absolutely get stuff for free with coupons.
- You can eat BETTER with coupons and actually afford to buy name brand products.
- You will save. A lot. Of money.
I typically save about 40%-60% when I shop. Sometimes more than that. Sure, we still have to buy things like milk and bread, but those are the only things I pay retail price for. Everything else gets couponed. EVERYTHING.
So here’s what I’m going to do – because I like talking coupons and I like getting other people involved, once a week or so I’m going to post one of several Guides to Couponing. I’ll even do it on Sunday so you can read it and then get all pumped up about going to get your newspapers. Get it? Got it? Good?
While I’m at it – anyone out there use coupons? What’s your experience with couponing been? Have any coupon related questions?
Throw ‘em at me. Manda is here to help.
The ‘adult’s in my family are very hardcore couponers. My uncle in particular. He has this amazing ability to save 60%-70% on everything he does whether it is groceries, tech shopping, eating or going on family vacations. Simply amazing. I used to be a pretty avid couponer when I was younger (helping my mom), but not since… though now that I am starting to want more stuff I’ve realized the value in those hours my mom taught me to coupon hunt as a kid ;P
I am getting back into couponing after an extended absence. I used to save $40 – $60 on $100 grocery trips. I often used CVS extra care bucks as well to get toiletries for free and sometimes even for additional ECB’s.
It does take time to organize and match up deals…but I find it was worth it, especially if you have tight finances.
I don’t use coupons a lot, but I DO regularly check retailmenot.com for online store deals. I very rarely pay full price for anything I buy online (other than say, eBay items). I even got half off my web hosting with a coupon code on that site.
I am just getting started w/couponing and I’m wondering which are the best/safest websites to use for finding coupons. Are there any sites to stay away from? Thanks!