Coupons: Your questions answered!

I asked you all to ask questions in a previous post, so now I will do my best to answer them!

Can you use the same coupon multiple times for the same product? For example, I have 50 cents off 2 jars of spaghetti. Can I use two coupons for that?

If you have 1 coupon that says “save 50 cents off 2 jars of spaghetti sauce” and you buy 2 jars then you can only use one coupon. You can only use one coupon per item (or two items if that’s what the coupon states). However, if you buy 4 jars of sauce you can use 2 coupons. The only exception to this rule is when you have store coupons. You are able to “stack” store coupons and manufacturer coupons. So, if you have 1 manufacturer coupon that states “save 50 cents on 2” and you have a store coupon that says “save 50 cents on 2” you can use both together. You just cannot use 2 store or 2 manufacturer coupons on the same item, it has to be one of each.

What are your best strategies for finding coupons…what websites do you use, if any?

My best strategy, by far, is looking at other blogs that do the coupon match ups. Also, there is an alphabetical list of coupons that gets updated each week with current, non-expired newspaper coupons, that I use very frequently. So even if there is something that’s is not on sale, but I still need to buy it I can see if there is a paper coupon for it. This is that site (bookmark it!!)! This is a site that lists all printable coupons available (bookmark it too!!) Next post I’ll have a list of all of the sites that I use.

My Meijer doesn’t double…is it just my Meijer or do I have to do something special to get them to do it?

Most Meijers do double coupons, that being said most of the Western side of Michigan’s Meijers DO NOT double. I know Kalamazoo’s does not, but when we lived in Jackson theirs did (Ang-I think you’re in GR and I’m pretty sure none in GR double, but it wouldn’t hurt to call around). It is up to each store’s manager whether they participate or not. If you don’t know if your store doubles or not, I suggest calling and asking. Also, at the bottom of their ad it will usually state whether or not they double coupons (you can find their ad online or in the store).

I’m nowhere near the weekly/monthly budget you have! I’d love to know how you spend so little.

I’m spending less than $30/week (or about $100/month, which includes groceries, health and beauty and household items) and almost all of my budget goes to meat, milk, fruits and veggies. We don’t drink pop or alcohol and I know a lot of people spend a lot of $$ on those two things alone. Also, most of the reason our budget is so low is because over time I’ve gotten such a huge stockpile of food that I have enough to last me until I can get it for free again. I think the biggest thing I’ve learned in couponing is don’t just buy what you need for that week, but buy what you can get a good deal on that your family uses often. For instance, this week I bought 20 bags of cheese for under .50 a bag. Will I use that much cheese this week? No. BUT, I will definitely use it before it expires (and it can be frozen) and now I don’t have to worry about buying it at full price because I can wait until another good deal comes along.

Also, if there is something that I know I will use a lot of and only have 2 or 4 coupons of but I know I want to buy more I buy coupons. So when I could get frozen vegetables for free at Kroger last week I bought coupons to get a lot of them. So I ended up with 44 bags of frozen veggies for 4.o0 and our freezer is stocked. Also, over the summer I ended up getting about 50 lbs. of ground beef and about 30 packages of fresh chicken breast for FREE (with coupons, of course) so I had enough to last a year. (Although, I stored most of it at my mom’s when we were moving because I couldn’t take it all and their freezer got turned down and EVERYTHING thawed out and was ruined–I almost cried!! I still have a little left though!) I also do this often with pasta, pasta sauce and other non-perishables so I can donate them to the local food bank. I was always donating food to charities in MI-I know how much they need the food and I can give a lot without spending a lot!

Another way I spend so little is many times you can get what is called “overage” on an item. So if an item costs 1.00 and I have a manufacturer coupon that is .50 off and a store coupon for 1.00 off (which you can combine) that gives me an overage of .50. I always put that extra money towards something I don’t often have coupons for (ie. milk, fruit, veggies). I will never clear the shelves and if I want 20 of something I’ll go to 3 or 4 different stores. I think that’s so rude and hate when I want something but it’s gone because someone has cleared the shelf.

Here is part of my food stockpile in our garage and the deep freezer which is very helpful (yes, things are still in boxes so this isn’t it but I have to find room for it all):

Okay, I hope you’re not all thinking OMG she’s a hoarder…haha. That’s totally not it at all, but it does help to stockpile–there is a difference :)! I got everything you see here for free or for pennies!

Do you plan our your meals for the week based on the coupons you find/what’s on sale for the week?

Before I had a stockpile, yes, I used to shop according to what’s on sale…now I have almost everything I need except for the fresh stuff. So, I still try to, but I don’t have to make as much of an effort anymore. I do, however, plan my meal for each week. It helps us eat out less often and I don’t get frustrated at 4:30 when I don’t know what I’m going to make. I use this website which is awesome and keeps me very organized.

How much time do you spend searching for coupons on a weekly basis?

I’d say I probably spend a total of 2 hours a week cutting coupons from the paper and searching for deals. I explained in my previous post of what exactly I do before I shop, it is not very time consuming once you get the hang of it. Once I get my list of deals, I put them in a word doc. then either get out my binder and pull the coupons or I print them offline. I always shop on Monday (or Tuesday) so I have enough time to get all my deals together once they’ve been posted. Most of the websites I follow post their match ups on Sunday so I have a day to get my coupons cut and list made.

Where do you find your coupons?

The newspaper or online (the blogs will point you right to where you can find the online coupons usually) and Ebay if I need multiple coupons.

Do you buy things when you need them or do you hold out for when you can get a really good deal on them?

Like I stated before, I always buy things when I can get a steal on them…that is, unless I need them now. Then I’ll buy one or two and wait until a big sale to come along. We, as a family, are not very brand picky, except for a few items (like ketchup :)). If you are brand picky then you may have a more difficult time finding great deals often. One HUGE misconception is, is that store brands are much cheaper than name brands even when you use coupons–this is not usually true. I NEVER buy store/generic brands unless there isn’t a sale on a name brand item. All of the things I get for free are always name brand and never generic.

I usually find that when I get coupons, I spend MORE money because I’ll buy things that I just don’t technically need right away just to get the deal. Help me!

Do not stock up on an item or buy an item your family does not use just because it’s inexpensive. If you won’t use it, even if an item costs 10 cents, it’s still 10 cents down the drain. There is at least one thing per week that I can get for free at the grocery store, so if we use it that’s what I stock up on. If you do this every week soon you’ll have a big enough stockpile that you won’t have to buy things when they are not on sale. You don’t have to buy 20 of something, but even 5 will help your budget!

Also, I make a list of what I need at the grocery store every week and I stick to it! I also never go to the store hungry, especially now that I’m pregnant because then I want to buy everything I see :)!! If I have .50 off of lets say crackers that are on sale for 2.00, I know that at some point if I am patient I can get those same crackers for FREE somewhere so I will wait until that deal comes along! That’s my motivation for sticking to my list! I also don’t take my husband or my kids…EVER. I would spend double what I spend if I took them!

You always seem to get good deals on diapers and wipes from there (Walgreens)…how?

If you are patient enough, you can get great deals on diapers and wipes anywhere. Just this past week I got 24 packs of Pampers diapers from Target for 3.25 a package. I have never paid for wipes, you can always get those for free and I won’t spend more than 3.00 or 3.50/pack of diapers. I’ll admit it, I am a diaper snob. I only use Pampers because that’s what works/had worked for my kids. I used to buy a lot of Huggies and I almost always got those for free or close to it. I use my food stockpile mentality the same way I do for stocking up on diapers. I am going to use them and they don’t have shelf-life. Plus, if I don’t use them all I can give them away to friends/family who will use them and it hasn’t broken my piggy bank.

Here’s a small hint too, it is almost ALWAYS cheaper to buy the smaller (jumbo) package of diapers rather than the big box. What you do is you wait for the jumbo size to go on sale then you also use a coupon. So, even if a big box goes on sale you can only use 1 coupon on it. Whereas if you wait for the jumbos to go on sale you can use one coupon, but you’ll get more for your money because there are fewer diapers in the package. So just buy 2 packages to equal one big one. This is when your calculator comes in handy. Before buying diapers you should calculate how much each diaper costs. Does that make sense? Angie, from babycheapskate.com, has an awesome resource you can print and take with you to the store so you’ll know when you’re getting a good deal. (I, however, will never pay more than .10 a diaper because I have enough to last me until that AWESOME deal comes along)

Next post I’ll give you websites and links so you can read up on how couponing works…

I think I’ve answered all of your questions (in either this post or the last). Now that I’ve answered them, do you have more…ask away!? I just hope this was helpful and hasn’t confused you more!!