coupons vs. store brand

[yabettershoparound]

I am just now learning how to do couponing and I don't understand something. For example...I have 1.00 off coupon for 2 tubs of Philadelphia Cream Cheese. How is this a savings when I could get the Walmart brand for a lesser price. Is this just a coupon that isnt beneficial for the "extreme couponing" to buy in bulk for a bigger discount?

[brittandan]

For me, I've found that you need to wait for a good sale to make a big difference. If it's something that you can't wait to get then buy the cheaper version. I've also noticed that coupon values change too. This month it may be 1.00/2, next month .75/1 or any other value. If you're planning to stock up on something you need to wait for the good sale and a good coupon. Sometimes something may not be on sale at the same time as a good coupon, but alot of times they'll match up eventually. When I first started couponing I'd already been tracking prices for nearly a year so I knew a good sale price. In the beginning a price book is very helpful. I did alot of extra work. I went to Walmart, Dollar General, and another (not so local) local store and wrote down the everyday prices. It helped alot to determine if a sale price was good at first. Cream cheese I bought a few months ago for 25 cents, so there will be a deal sometime. Also check out the posting on when to stockpile, it's very helpful to know when is the best time to expect a good deal. And this website has been a godsend.

Good luck

[$Saving!]

I am just now learning how to do couponing and I don't understand something. For example...I have 1.00 off coupon for 2 tubs of Philadelphia Cream Cheese. How is this a savings when I could get the Walmart brand for a lesser price. Is this just a coupon that isnt beneficial for the "extreme couponing" to buy in bulk for a bigger discount?

You have to think long term. When you find a very good sale on a product you like and you have coupons that match up - stock up! That allows you to bridge to the next sale/coupon match up. What you will find is that coupons repeat themselves, some products always have coupons coming out, may not be the same values but coupons are pretty regularly issued for various products.

For example, when there is a coupon out for a brand of item you like, and a store (or stores) has a good sale, you buy as much of it as you can use over a 4-6 month period. Now you don't have to think about that item again for a while and can watch for another good match up between a sale and a coupon to replenish that supply.

Currently I have 11 jars of peanut butter. Knowing the expiration on that product will last a year, I'm set for a while. However, let's say I have coupons for peanut butter and a good sale comes along and I can take advantage of that, I will buy a few more to replenish what I'll be using over the next few months, always keeping ahead of the use in our house on that item.

When you're first starting out, you need everything because you have no reserves built up. So yes, store brands might be the way to go one week on some items because there is no sale to go with the coupons. But over time you will find that you have coupons to match up with a good sale and then is the time to buy the name brand items, which you will find often are cheaper than store brand when purchased on sale/coupons.

So while you're waiting for those good match ups to occur, buy minimally and buy whatever brand is cheapest until the match up happens.

It takes a concerted effort on your part to build up the items you often use, usually over a 2-3 month span of time. If you make that effort, the savings climb rapidly as you are then able to pick off the best deals only each week just to maintain your supplies of items you need.

Those of us who have shopped this way for a while find we don't have to shop weekly at all except for perishable items like fresh fruit/veggies/milk.

Everything else is well stocked and affords us the chance to not shop if we so desire to ignore the ads

[39470]

what exactly is a price book? Is there one to see ? I don't do the extreme couponing (they scare me sometimes) I was thinking of a spreadsheet to put the stores prices on that I see in the ads and then if feasible to do the price match . Hope I make sense

[$Saving!]

what exactly is a price book? Is there one to see ? I don't do the extreme couponing (they scare me sometimes) I was thinking of a spreadsheet to put the stores prices on that I see in the ads and then if feasible to do the price match . Hope I make sense

A lot of folks feel more comfortable creating their own "good price" list on various products they buy.

I don't bother to keep a tab on current prices because prices change rapidly. I just know if, let's say, pasta is on sale for XXX and my coupon is valued at XXX and I'll end up only paying XXX then I am happy with that deal.

You know the basic cost of items you buy regularly, you also recogize that if a product regularly retails for $3.99 and it's on sale for $1.99 and you have a coupon that will bring that down to $1, that's a good deal - that's 75% off retail

A lot of coupon use and matching sales with coupons is common sense. If you know what you've been paying for a product, it makes it easy