Overwhelmed by all the good deals!

[amummert]

I've just started doing the coupon thing in the last few weeks, and am finding a lot of good deals, but I think I'm overdoing it, as I'm still spending too much on groceries each week. I really don't have a lot of "need items", since we have a lot of meat and frozen veggies in the freezer already, but I am finding too many good deals that I want to get each week, and I wind up buying lots of different "stockpile" items, only in low quantities (like only one or two each). Plus it wears me out going to 5 different stores every weekend just to pick up the lowest price items where I can find them!

Is it better to pick a few good deals, and buy as many of those as you can, as long as you still have money for your need items for the week? I'm having a hard time deciding which deals are really really good, and which are just "pretty good". I suppose that just comes with experience.

Or do you buy your need items first, then figure out how much money you have left to buy stockpile items and just figure it out from there?

I'm hoping it's just my excitement jumping into things and finding so many great deals, but it's also easy to get excited about deals that don't wind up being that great at all (for example, twice this weekend, I wound up spending more money than I planned because I picked up the wrong item, or didn't buy enough of the item to qualify for the discount). Gotta be careful about that!

[thriftymomintraining]

I felt that way too when I first started(3 months ago) I have a system now. but taht got thrown out the window this morning because of Target's razor deal... Anyway I usually go to CVS-1 block from my house and then to Walgreens and then to 1 maybe 2 grocery stores. I usually try to spend less than $20 at CVS/walgreens and the grocery store on non essential items. I add them to my stock pile but to me in the long run its working better because I am at the point where i dont need anymore of most things so i dont go and get every deal...once you are stocked you will find that you wont want to do every deal!

[Cin42382]

It really depends on you...Before I got preggo I would make runs to all different stores, but lately I have just been going for a good deal here or there. Eventually a deal will come around again so I can't drive myself nuts trying to make it to every store just to get 2 things KWIM?

[tmsmalley]

Personally, I don't have the time to run all over town for 1 or 2 of something even if it was free. I stick to one or two stores and focus on good deals there. If I see something REALLY great that I really want/need, I might venture further afield for it.

For example, DH goes through Equal like it was nothing. Equal is NOT cheap. If there was a really cheap ($1 or less) Equal deal, I'd go to a store I don't normally shop at and get 10 boxes. I wouldn't bother for 1 or 2, especially if it involved driving all over the place.

So, I suggest you make yourself a list of SUPER SPECIAL items. Things that you use a lot of that are on the higher end. If something on that list comes up on a great sale across town, then great, go for it. If the sale is on something that you don't use that much of, isn't that expensive to begin with or that you can really get anywhere at anytime, don't bother chasing around for it. When the sale comes to your regular grocery store, you'll get a couple boxes of it then.

Also, when I shop, I start with my must have grocery list. I get those items first (usually things like bread, milk, etc.) then I fill in to my budget with good deals after that. I focus with this kind of thinking:

MUST- things we HAVE to have
SHOULD- things I really should get if there's a good deal
NICE- things that are nice to get if there's a good/great deal and money left over

Poptarts will always be a "nice" for example, no matter how cheap they are. If they're not on sale, I'm not going to die (nor will my kids) if I don't get any. Apple Juice is always a "should". We go through a lot of juice so I should stock up every time there's a good deal. We need at least a loaf of bread every week, so that's a "must" even if it isn't on sale and I don't have a coupon, one goes into the cart. If I had to take Poptarts out to leave room for the bread, then so be it.

Hope this helps a bit!
Tess

[eyunka]

I am feeling the same way, glad you asked this question

[434Teresa]

I take my sales paper to walmart with me, because they price match that way I have less stops to make and use less gas, it is about saving and my gas counts. I got to Freds saturday to do my double coupons and then to walgreens for register rewards and rebates/or so on.

I always buy my needed/or out of items first. Then I do my stockpile items and how many I do depends on how good the deals are and so on. Like this weekend I plain to stock up on softsoap for with this weeks $2 coupon I will get a super deal on those, so if I get enough coupons in by then I will buy like 20 or more bottles for we use the stuff like crazy (large family)and it will be super cheap with the coupons, and I dont see that high of a coupon for those that often. So I put a lot of thought I guess you can say into what I stock up on and how much, things like tp that cost a few bucks even with coupons I buy less of at a time. In general I will spend about $20 to $30 on stock pile stuff a week. I know that dont sound like much but depending on what you are buying that will stock a bunch of stuff up, with the use coupons and sales.

I am still new to but I have been useing coupons for a long time.

[mycouponhunter]

I would just stick to a few stores and only go to the "not as many sale" store if it's a real good sale. I mainly only do Walgreens, Walmart, and Publix. Walgreen and Publix is where I shop the sales only. Walmart I do my regular shopping. I don't care if something is on sale there or not it's where I do my shopping or buy my need items. I think it would be exhausting trying to do all the stores. If there is a great sale then go and get the great sale items, but it would have to be close to free for me.

[amummert]

Great advice everyone, thanks! I just need to remind myself that some of these deals will come around again eventually (or they may be better). This week I'm shopping at one store (Harris Teeter has triples!), and I think I'll get out a lot cheaper just by not being tempted to buy EVERY sale/coupon item I find across town :-)

This is really becoming an obsession!

[vintageplumm]

I did the same darn thing when I started... a couple years ago or so.
I think for me it was that I was so used to paying regular price for stuff, that when I found a deal on say Shampoo that I normally would have paid 3 bucks for, and I find it for 1.50 I would jump all over it! Now I dont pay for shampoo, if I do its less than a .25 LOL After awhile I got stocked up on a few things I could sit back and be pickier about my good deals cuse I already had it.
So I guess how much Ill pay for something really depends on how much I have and or how bad I need it, but thats just me.
If I have 30 bottles of Shampoo and Conditioner, I'll pass on deals for it unless it's like free or close to it. Same goes for everything else, if that makes sense?
I thin it all depends on what you and your family buy every week and what is a priority and what is not.
I personally buy up to 30 juice boxes a week or better. I also buy 20 to 30 hunts snack pack puddings weekly aswell. I will do this with or without a coupon, I cut back if its not on sale, but Ill buy it none the less. So I found Juicy Juice at Albertsons last week for 1.25 per 8 pack after my coupon ....I bought 14 of them becuse I know Ill buy it anyways , and will pay over 3 bucks for it if I half to . So I dunno if any of this helps at all probly not, Ive been up all friggen night with my friends 9 month old I foolishly agreed to watch while her and her husband had a "night out", come to find out they ordered pizza and went to bed LMAO
I clearly see why now LMAO

Anyways, I think really it does depend on what you normally buy weekly, and where its at on the priority list for sure !