How/Why did YOU start?

[Arie]

Hi everyone,

I'm relatively new to HCW, but not so new to coupons.... I do need some help though.

I'm 25 and just bought my first home last year. Although I'm very excited about this, I've recently realized just how good I had it when I lived with my dad for all of those years. (THANKS DADDY!) I find myself running out of simple things (paper products, juice, soup, tooth paste) and paying a fortune for it because I'm in a rush and wait until I have none left to go buy it. I realize now that Stockpiling would be a BIG help for me!

My problem now is that I don't know how to stock pile. Do most of you buy your coupons? Get a whole slew of newspapers? Wait only for double days? I don't know where to start or how to start, so I'm stretching out and hoping to reach some ideas here.

I've read the stock pile FAQ, but it gets a bit over whelming (sorry, but it's true!) It just seems like there are so many different ways to start...

How did YOU start? What is the #1 tip you'd pass on to someone who is just starting out?

[Tracy_in_Missouri]

My number 1 tip is when you dont feel like doing your shopping, make yourself get out and do it. Im always glad I did, when I get home with all my loot. The high of stockpiling/couponing wears thin sometimes and Im tempted to stay home and get something else done. Those are the days I have the nicest cashiers and the best finds and go home feeling recharged.

[faeryedark]

Network: Let all your friends, family, co-workers, religious peers (if any) know you're looking for coupons from the Sunday paper or "junk"mail.
don't forget businesses, restaurants etc. may be another source. Also the library may have a coupon exchange, if not maybe you could start one. if you use a laundromat, maybe look thru the mags. Ladies Home Journal. and those types often have coupons in them.
Don't forget if you stockpile and decide to donate, it could be a win- win for you. The pantry I donate to, saves me inserts.
Also Be on the look out in stores, (and convience stores) for tearpads, blinkie machines and such.
Hope this helps, and happy hunting!!!

[Arie]

I'm anxious to start stock piling, though I find myself getting frustrated because I don't know where the good deals are, and don't know how to 'stack' coupons. I guess I've always been the type of person who wants instant gratification, so this should be a test where my patience and organizational skills are put to test.

Tracy - I live in the cap. of NY, which unfortunately lives up (or down) to it's reputation. In order to have a 'nice' shopping experience, I have to travel about 40 minutes out of the city!

Faeryedark - Thank you for the good tips! I've started asking my family/friends to save their newspapers, but my friends (who are all in their 20's) laugh because they don't get the paper. They read the news online or their iphones. I'm sort of fighting an up hill battle there!

[isis]

#1 tip - Start slow. Remember, Rome wasn't built in a day, neither will your stockpile!

Sales come & go in cycles, so if you happen to miss out on a deal this week, it'll probably come around again in a few weeks. If you haven't already (and if I have a min. I'll come back and post the link) read the Sales Cycles threads. That will be a big help. With fall and winter right around the corner, you will see more sales on canned goods, esp soups and hot breakfast foods (grits/oatmeal) so as those sales start to peak, thats when you want to take advantage and start stockpiling. This week, Walgreens has cream of mushroom & cream of chicken soups .88 (with 7-day sales ad q). Using a $1/2 IP, makes them .76/2 or .38 each. I aim for .50 & under for canned goods since I have no double coupon stores in my area. I still have 6 cans left from last year, so 4 more brings my stockpile up to 10. If I can print more q's I'll go back since I use the cream of mushroom for several recipes and I make them more frequent during the winter. Depending on how often you use, will dictate how much to buy. And soups usually have a lengthy exp date, so I'd like to have about 20+ cans in my pantry so come spring, I still have some cans for when I'm in the mood for one of those meals that calls for cream soup.

Another tip is to stick to 1 grocery store. I'm not sure what stores are in your area, but listing them will help as you will get imput from other shoppers to tell you which store may be better.

HBA (health/beauty items) -- CVS or Walgreens is your best bet. Make sure to read the weekly sales threads to see what the good deals are. For CVS, Seedlady has a wagontrain thread for newbies and she will get you started with (I think) $10 and from there you will learn the ins 'n outs of rolling ecbs to get the most bang for your buck!
Before you know it, you'll have a nice stockpile of free toothpaste!!

Coupons -- I do alot of trading for what I need. Some of it is based on sales ads, but alot of times, its taking a shot that a good sale will come around before a q will expire. Depending on my dh's work schedule, he can get multiple inserts for me as well.
and I ask my neighbors & family for their inserts once they've finished cutting from them.

Lastly....try to be flexible on brands names. In my house, there's probably a handful of items that have to be X - like dh can only use Degree deo, but I'll buy whatever I can get cheap/free. I prefer Tide, but I'll use something else if I can get it cheaper.
Bodywash...whatever is free or cheap.

HTH :)

[Arie]

Melissa,

You're a gem. Thank you so much for the advice! My local grocery store is Price Chopper, but I just found out that one about 20 minutes from me does doubles up to .99 cents. I think if I start there, that I might have luck!

For HBA I always get overwhelmed! The kmart (almost an hour away) does double coupons sometimes, BUT - they are actually higher priced than the local walgreens. I just don't know - do I take the drive to get the double coupons, or do I save my gas and go to walgreens where they don't double? Do I stick to RiteAide only because they have better deals, or do I go to 839204839 stores to find the best deal? Ahhhhhh!

For brand names - I'm flexible. As long as it tastes decent and doesn't give me hives, I'll use it or eat it or whatever. The b/f on the other hand, is a brand snob!

I can't believe I'm about to admit this!:rolleyes24: Although he is a brand snob, he's not a taste snob! I have a box of stovetop stuffing, which has been empty for a long time! The b/f LOVES stuffing, so I buy the store brand when it's on sale BOGO. I take the store brand out of the box, put it in the stovetop box and pray he doesn't see me do it. He always comments on how "good the stuffing is, not like that store bought crap I tried to feed him once"....

[Tracy_in_Missouri]

Our Kmart doesnt double Qs but I think Id leave Kmart til last and tackle one store at a time.I treated Target that way since the super deals are few and far between if you compare them to the other stores.

Definately learn CVS and Wags. Remember that you dont have to get every deal on your first week out of the gate.

I began with using a clipping service and then found someone I could buy all inserts from reliably on a weekly basis for .25 each plus shipping. EventuallyI talked a friend into couponing and I split an order with her weekly. As I figure it. if I at least make the $ back ( which I always crush) then I cant go wrong. I can also get extras of the hot ones from him. When I first started out I would get things I didnt need and bring them to the older ladies at our church. After a few weeks of brining them all sorts of goodies, I explained that if they brought me thier coupons then I could do this more often. I still do this and a couple of the ladies bring me thier coupons faithfully. Its the reason I also have a CVS card for my husband and myself. Most of my doubles are given to someone else who cant do for themselves.

You really need to save all your store brand stuffing boxes, folded flat someplace for posterity. What a great story it will be and you'll need the proof !

I can give you the contact info for my .25 inserts if you are interested. He always gets the frees and candy coupons etc that I was missing when I bought newspapers. Just Pm me.

[anaj06]

I'd tackle 2 stores starting out. I'd fully understand one grocery store and one drug store. Your drug store (over time) will provide most if not all of your HBA items free/cheap. Your grocery store is obviously for food.

This was the advise given to me and it worked perfectly. For me it was CVS and Harris Teeter. I now venture to other stores for very specific deals but the majority is still bought at these 2 stores. My stockpile is massive though, so I can easily wait for the next sale.

It sounds like it might be WAGS and Price Chopper for you; at least that is what I see you posting. I can't imagine driving an hour for K-mart...with their limits and high prices I can't imagine you'd make your gas worth it or your time for that matter. I don't drive across town (7-8 min) to mine because I can get all the same items free at drug stores over time. My K-mart only has a very small food department though.

Once you pick your stores, spend a deal of time on this site reading in those 2 particular store forums...you will learn lots and get an idea for how the deals are done.

Good luck and welcome to the wonderful world of couponing....your life will never be the same!!!

[Arie]

Anaj - You (and other posters) are right. For some reason it just took a while for it to get through my head. I can't expect to conquor the coupon world all at once. (But I WANT to!!!!)

I think I'll stick with Price Chopper and Walgreens. Since this seems like it's going to be the last double days at Kmart (or so we expect) I'll probably make one last trip up there. The one I go to told me that they don't care how many Q's I use, as long as they're for the exact item I'm purchasing and I don't come in on their "peak" hours. (I always call ahead to make sure that manager is still there before I go!)

Sometimes I need people to reel me back in place. I tend to go overboard and get totally overwhelmed :wink7:

[anaj06]

Oops I answered the "how" but not the "why."

My first born did it for me. I have always been a cheapskate, so when I saw the formula and diapers hitting my grocery budget I was shocked!!!! I had to fix it! So, I dived in head first and attacked the problem. I am an "all or nothing" person and right now I am "all" coupons if you you know what i mean!

The benefit: I have a 2.5 and a 1 year old in diapers/training pants, both forumla fed for the first 12 months of their lives. I spent more on diapers/wipes/formula in the first 3 months of my oldest son's life than I have spent since on both kids. Actually after month 3 of formula, I never paid for it again for either child. And about month 9 of child one I figured out how to get diapers free and haven't paid for them since either....for either child.

You will get there too....with whatever your big spenders are!

[Arie]

I think my biggest spenders are (And I'm sure couponers all across the world will get the 'coupon signal' flash in the back of their minds when they read this)....

Ziplock baggies, bodywash and toothpaste, paper products and snacks for lunches. It's just me and my b/f in the house and we both pack a lunch to save on money in the budget, but we end up spending rediculas prices for lunch stuff. I guess I had no idea how expensive juices and soda pops were until I started packing a lunch. And lunch meat or lunchables? Forget it!

[anaj06]

I think my biggest spenders are (And I'm sure couponers all across the world will get the 'coupon signal' flash in the back of their minds when they read this)....

Ziplock baggies, bodywash and toothpaste, paper products and snacks for lunches. It's just me and my b/f in the house and we both pack a lunch to save on money in the budget, but we end up spending rediculas prices for lunch stuff. I guess I had no idea how expensive juices and soda pops were until I started packing a lunch. And lunch meat or lunchables? Forget it!

Oh, wow....I don't spend a whole lot on any of those items and I take my lunch almost everyday also!

Ziploc baggies - go to their website under "contact us" and write them. You can either complement their product or you can just ask for coupons. The usually send a free coupon for any Ziploc product. Ziploc also has lots and lots of coupons out there....you should never by them without some sort of coupon.

Bodywash and toothpaste will be free at drugstore periodically...buy the limit when they are.

Paper products - stock up when sales and coupons overlap. 2 recent ones were chinet...they were on sale at a lot of grocery stores for $2.00 and there was a $2.00 coupon out also...buy/trade for coupon and free Chinet. Hefty is another one you can get free lots. Wait for sale or BOGO and use $.75/1 coupons doubled.

Snacks for lunches - keep your eye out...if you are flexible they are always free one way or another. I love chex mix so I am always stocked on it. Usually there are $.50/1 coupons out (currently on coupons.com), wait for BOGO sale or another good sale and buy all the coupons you have worth of them. Crackers are free/cheap all the time with $1/1 coupons and sales. You just have to keep an eye out for what goes really cheap in your area.

Juice - hit the sales cycles again. Juicy Juice just put out a $.75/1 coupon, so most of us coupons have combined that coupon with a great sale or triples/double coupons to get free/cheap juice.

Sodas - they are tougher to get free/cheap. I wouldn't pay more than $2.00 ($3.00 without a stockpile maybe) for a 12 pack of cans. Coupons are harder to come by on these, but they are always on sale somewhere.

Lunch meat - always coupons on various brands...Hillshire farms and Oscar Mayer deli select stick out in my mind. Buy lots when on sale and freeze. For example this week at Harris Teeter Hillshire Farms were on sale 2/$7.00. If you bought 2 you saved $3 in instant savings. Then there was a $.55 IP coupon which they were tripling because this is their special triples week. Then there was a tearpad coupon out for free Sara Lee bread if you bought 2 Hillshire farms. So, for $.70, you got 2 Hillshire Farms deli meat and 1 loaf of bread. I did this 3 times for a total of 5 deli meat and 3 loaves of bread for $2.10. Watch, I am sure there is something similar in your area from time to time.

Bottom line...once you get a stockpile going you should pay more than $.50 or so per lunch. There is a whole thread on how to pack school lunches for less than $.40 per day. Do a search and I am sure it will come up...lots of great ideas in that thread!

[pasharain]

I switched to the "binder" method of coupon organizing and since then I am saving like a bandit. It involves cutting all the coupons you get on Sundays not just ones you use. The coupons are filed in transparent baseball card holders in a zippered 3-ring binder. In this way I am always ready for triples, super doubles and I frequently have coupons for clearance items that I may not need but can "stockpile" for later. You can easily see what you have in order to use your coupons before they expire. I also buy a lot of coupons on ebay. If I get word on a sale ahead of time, I will go to ebay and buy coupons for that item. I frequently search for free "printable" coupons using swagbucks.com (nice because you earn "bucks" for future purchases). Google.com is great too for those who don't feel like doing swagbucks.