What should my goals be? & What is the secret??

[blicudin]

Up until last month I thought paying $6.79 at Costco for a 2 pack box of Cherrios was a fantastic deal.

Now that has all changed...

Since I have only been couponing for a month saving 50% seems like a great deal on a box of cereal but I know that some (more seasoned) couponers limit their cereal purchase to no more than $1.00 per box. What should my goals be?

For example, should I aim to spend no more than $1.00 on cereal, $0 on toothbrushes, $0 on toothpaste, $0.25 on Dish soap, $0.50 on canned baked beans, etc? Does anyone have a list that they abide by? I am in the process of creating a price sheet for the products that I purchase and the stores in my area but it will take me YEARS of couponing to come up with a list of what the lowest price I can aim for when buying those products. (And this is what I want to know)

Second question: Is there a secret to spotting deals on the circulars? How do you find deals like, "get $2 back when you purchase 2"? Where do you look?
Any help is appreciated.

[blicudin]

Here are a few examples of my ignorance;

Walgreens is having a BOGO sale on Colgate 360 toothbrushes. They are selling for $3.99 per brush, I have (4) $0.40 coupons = $15.96 - $1.60 = $14.36 for (8) toothbrushes bringing them to $1.80 per toothbrush.

Is this a good deal? I don't know...

[$Saving!]

Here are a few examples of my ignorance;

Walgreens is having a BOGO sale on Colgate 360 toothbrushes. They are selling for $3.99 per brush, I have (4) $0.40 coupons = $15.96 - $1.60 = $14.36 for (8) toothbrushes bringing them to $1.80 per toothbrush.

Is this a good deal? I don't know...

No, that's not a good deal at all. What you need to take the time to do is watch the sales for a while, only jump at items that are free or near free to start with.

Learning the best deals and prices for items takes time, watching the ads and remembering what goes on sale and what those prices are so that you'll know you can get a better deal.

It's hard to tell you what is/isn't a good deal though, it depends on what you need. But if you're building a stockpile, that price isn't it!

[ELLE-TN]

Agree that is not a good deal on toothbrushes....unless you NEED it now.

[Chevelle]

Here are a few examples of my ignorance;

Walgreens is having a BOGO sale on Colgate 360 toothbrushes. They are selling for $3.99 per brush, I have (4) $0.40 coupons = $15.96 - $1.60 = $14.36 for (8) toothbrushes bringing them to $1.80 per toothbrush.

Is this a good deal? I don't know...

Toothbrushes should be free or a MM (money maker). That is not a good deal. Remember that most HBA stuff (shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, etc.) you should be able to get for next to nothing.

[Chevelle]

Since I have only been couponing for a month saving 50% seems like a great deal on a box of cereal but I know that some (more seasoned) couponers limit their cereal purchase to no more than $1.00 per box. What should my goals be?

This all depends on what you eat and brands you buy. My favorite cereal is Cocoa Pebbles. There's hardly ever any coupons so I usually pay full price. But full price at a grocery store and full price at Wal-Mart are completely different. I wouldn't buy any GM cereal without a sale and coupon because they go on sale all the time. I go off food prices for what I would pay at Wal-Mart.

Second question: Is there a secret to spotting deals on the circulars? How do you find deals like, "get $2 back when you purchase 2"? Where do you look?

Check out the store deals forums. They have people who post all the deals for the weeks ads and tell you things like "get $2 back when you purchase 2" and what coupons to use to get the best deals.

Click on this link. It should give you the info you need.

Couponing 101: Complete beginners start here!

[JulieDB]

I only eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Yes, I do get coupons for it but often have to buy 3 or 5 boxes and it's often tied to a store where even by using the coupons, I would pay more than I would at Target, Walmart or Winco! So I just try to buy it at one of those stores and I buy 2 or 3 boxes at a time so I am never out.

Toothbrushes? I just donated about a dozen of them. Daughter and I only use battery operated ones. I have since gotten coupons for those. Regular ones we get free at the dentist or sometimes in buying a tube of toothpaste.

Shampoo? Mine comes from the salon. It's expensive. I can get it for a little less online. Daughter prefers Pert Plus. We did just have a coupon for that. But she is willing to try other things.

I won't be needing any antiperspirant or body wash for a very long time. Bought them at Costco. But I have seen many coupons for those recently.

I will not stockpile things at this time of year unless they are what I want and I can get them for cheap. During the winter I want to keep extra of all things around in case I get snowed in.

We are probably not typical couponers. We have food allergies. So there are a lot of foods we can't eat and even cosmetics we can't use. So we look for what we can use. But using a coupon doesn't always get us the best price. I let daughter use one yesterday for Sargento cheese. Even doubled I was paying more for that dinky package of cheese than I would at Costco (if you figure price per ounce) for a block of cheese or even a bag of Tillamoos. I can also get a very good price on cheese at Winco.

I just figure I'm not often going to get something for free. But I do sometimes. Just got a free cup of yogurt the other day. So when I get something for free or very cheap, I rejoice! Otherwise I don't worry about it.

[ldregallo]

I read somewhere that when you are starting out your overall goal should be 45-60% savings until you can get a store of coupons and a small stockpile of food.

You can't expect to get everything free, and you will be a while getting to this amount of discount. I see people using coupons to get some of these deals that are from Feb or March. I don't have those coupons.

I am (buy watching sale ads) averaging 44-60% savings at grocery store. I also frequent Rite Aid and average 75-100% savings there.

Take your time and start small or it gets overwhelming. I know in my area I will rarely get free items. When I see posted prices for deals here I know I will have to add almost a $1 to that price. Our stores don't have prices that low. Even my Kroger and Walmart prices don't match the ones shown on the online deals pages.

Lynette

[lunapotter]

I have only been couponing for a few months as well and I am already starting to realize what a good deal is. Toothbrushes for over $1? Not a good deal. This week at Rite Aid I got 4 for free with NO COUPONS. They were $2.99 and I got $2.99 in +UP rewards so they were really free. I could have chosen to get 4 tubes of toothpaste for free instead but I was already getting 6 tubes at another store for free with a $1 off coupon. Since I didn't have ANY toothbrushes stocked this seemed like the best deal. These are the kinds of things you have to think about when you are shopping.



As for the weekly circulars, I would suggest you go through them with a magic marker and circle ALL of the deals that you know you have a coupon for. Then go back through the ad and figure out how much each item will cost with the coupon (General mills on sale for $2 and do you have a $1 off coupon? Great deal, you should probably stock up) But the deals may not be that great even if it is on sale and you do have a coupon. For instance, if a 6 pack of soap is on sale for $5 and you have a $1/1 coupon that is still $4 for only 6 bars. You could always take that coupon and use it on a single bar of soap for $1 and get it for free. Then you just have to find multiples of these coupons and you can end up getting those 6 bars of soap for free rather than at $4 which initially looked like a great deal. Finally, if you need help finding these multiple coupons I am talking about then consider becoming a trader in training at HCW and you can trade others for the coupons that you need. Hope this helped a bit :)

[MOMOF3GREATKIDS]

I may get jumped on but If you just started couponing and you were paying full price I would say that saving anything and starting slowly is good. Buy what you need and start saving up coupons, what are you trying to do? I guess would be the question? I do not stockpile so I do not buy 100`s of any item at a time, and only buy what we use and need. I am not an extreme anythinger! I think that if people start thinking they will get everything for FREE and wait to buy it till they do they could be in their bathroom without one very important item. You have to still buy what you need, now however You know that you can save money and ANY savings is a savings.....DO NOT just buy to buy....that is wasteful. I hate seeing people buying 1000`s of items that we all know will go to waste before they are ever used....
I would advise you to make a list of what you use, check the ads, then see what coupons you have and shop for what you need, soon you will start getting more and more coupons and have a stockpile of them....to go to when you see something you use on sale.
Try to go to stores that double. Find out if they double all the coupons or if there is a limit.
I have been couponing since the 70`s so I am always happy when I get about a 50% or more savings I buy a lot of items that there are never coupons for my kids eat a lot of vegetables, and I buy meat. So I am happy with that...good luck to you.