commissary couponing - i am new and need help bad!

[armywife83]

hi everyone,

i started couponing like 1 month ago. i have taken all the advice i could find, like printing out the coupons. using the P&G saver and the commissary coupons layout and also the store coupons - but i am still only able to save only between 10 and 18 dollars. so i know i still must do something wrong but i cant figure it out!

i mean i have my grocery list every time i go shopping and when i have a coupon for it i'll use it. but it seems like its not working right. i know other people save in the commissary $50 or sometimes even more - but how?!

i really would like to know! i have 3 small children and really could use some help here!

and:

1. where do i find meat coupons? are there any? cause the selection here on ft. irwin isnt the best but you have to drive 40 min to get to a grocery store and with the gas being pricey its not really worth going off post.. or is it?

2. does the commissary accept 2 coupons on one item, lets say i have a cereal MR coupon and a commissary one - do they combine or not? cause they dont double coupons i know that!

i would love to hear from you with tips and advice!!

thank you!!

[abond0017]

Commissary couponing works basically the same as for any other store. You buy mostly things that have coupons in bulk when they are also on sale. Not necessarily a 100 of an item or anything like that...but enough to get you through until the next time it is on sale and/or a coupon also comes out. That way you only buy what is cheap/free and/on sale or has a coupon...cause you already have a small stock of everything else.

Meat and produce and the like are different. Many, including myself, do not regularly save a bunch on these things. It's not often coupons come out for them, so the only way to really save a bunch on those kinds of things is with overage from other coupon deals.

One month isn't enough time to get a good stock of things so that you can narrow down your shopping list to only sale/coupon items...nor is it enough time to really learn the ins and outs of couponning. You will get there...it just takes time. Keep at it. Oh and remember trading for coupons or getting multiples of coupons in other ways is also a key part of successful couponing.

Good luck!

[JulieDB]

When we lived on OTIS ANGB (Cape Cod) the commissary doubled coupons. Even then I didn't save all that much. Why? Because I just don't find a lot of coupons I can use. We don't eat a lot of prepared foods. And now daughter and I have food allergies. So we can't eat things like regular pasta. I will however get the pasta and donate it if it is cheap enough or if I am in the mood to donate. I try to donate every couple of months.

I also found that the prices overall were not that much cheaper at the commissary and for many items, I could get them cheaper if I shopped elsewhere. The only benefit of the commissary for me was when I lived near it. It was convenient.

So if for some reason you are *only* going to shop at the commissary, you may be limiting yourself. If there are regular grocery stores around you or even Costco, go to those places and check their prices. I could go to the commissary in Marysville to get cheap cheese, but I have to factor in the cost of gas. Or I could go 6 miles in one direction or another to a Costco and get even cheaper cheese, but I have to buy it in bulk. Which isn't a problem because we love cheese! Also if I go to the Costco in Woodinville I can go to Target because they are nearby. There I can get cereal that is cheaper than at the commissary. Yes, the commissary does have some cereal that is super cheap! And husband will eat that kind. But daughter and I can/will not.

If I go to the Costco in Everett, Winco foods is nearby. There I can save on pretty much everything. Their cheese is pretty cheap too. Not quite as cheap as Costco but sometimes I will opt just to go there to save time. They do have the Hy Top brand and it is good. So I can save a lot by buying that brand.

Does your commissary have case sales? I don't know if they all do. The one at the Brooklyn Army Base did this once a year. Then we could save on certain things like canned vegetables.

[abond0017]

Oh, forgot to answer your second question. No the commissary will not take 2 coupons on one item. Commissary coupons are manufacturer coupons...not store coupons. The commissary's coupon policy is in the stickies at the top of the forum page if that helps.

I see the pp said she didn't save more at the commissary than at regular stores. I think this depends on where you live. FWIW, I have seen basically no price difference in other places I have lived, but where I currently live the commissary is CONSIDERABLY cheaper unless the regular stores are having a great sale/double coupon event. Today at the commissary my total AC was $102.xx and I saved $55.xx in coupons...so a savings of about 36%. 40% is probably my average savings for every trip.

Here are some specific examples of the buy in bulk method I posted earlier.

Last month toothbrushes, floss, soap, men's body wash and deodorant, and a couple other HBA items were on sale and there were good coupons out for them. I stocked up and got most of it for free after the sale price and coupons. Today, I was able to get some really cheap/free salad dressing cause my commissary had smaller bottles of Newman's Balsamic dressing for $1 and I had a bunch of $1/1 & .75/1 coupons. Also, today I picked up some French's brown mustard today...was .99 and I found blinkies at another store for .75/1. Now, I won't have to buy any of those items for a while cause I bought multiples of each, so they won't be adding higher OOP costs to my shopping lists until I can buy more at a great price or for free.

Off the top of my head, examples of 2 other recent deals I know have been at my commissary (unfortunately I wasn't able to partake) was for KC Masterpiece BBQ for .19 after $1/1 coupon, and Kikoman soy sauce for something like .33 after $1/1 coupon.

This thread is very helpful, but I also find a lot of my deals by just stumbling upon them by seeing things marked down, and then finding a coupon for it or knowing whether or not I already have a coupon for it somewhere in my coupon filer.

Couponing is a lot of work...but once you get it down you won't be able to go back to shopping like everyone else ;)

[armywife83]

thank you soooo much for replying everyone!

the problem is that we live right now in fort irwin, california. if you have heard of the place then you know its in the middle of the mojave desert - i am not joking. it takes 40 min to drive to the nearest town which is barstow which you dont wanna go shopping really cause its a ghetto. i avoid going there an into certain areas. so the only next town that is actually really nice is from barstow another 30 min away gives me 1 1/2h!! to do some shopping so couponing isnt really worth it considering the gas price..

so i am pretty much stuck with the commissary.. :/

i have to say though that - and that every time i go off post when we lets say visit my mother in law in boston area - when i go to a supermarket that its really EXPENSIVE!! i mean the commissary has by law to put the lowest price on things that they get it for (as far as i understood) so you never pay 4.50 dollars regular price on some stupid cereal! or on any other overpriced item. its nuts! i dont know how people can afford the grocery store without using copons especially when there are kids involved like in our case. so i am already very very very grateful that there is a place like the commissary..

@expiration date coupons and how to stock up:
the commissary coupons usually expire 1 month after you get them. means that i can only use them for a limited time and if there is no sale around - how you do that?

you just have to be lucky to have those coupons in the house for that or how does that work? cause regular MF coupons last a lot longer, around 2 1/2 months so you can actually stock up and wait your time and at some point you can use them..

@commissary changes prices soooo often!!
it drives me nuts! one day i go in there and a can of soup is $1 and the next day when its payday its $1.20 or evern $1.99!! how can they do that! and it happens ALL the time.. :/

@trading coupons:
i dont really know someone else who does couponing here on ft. irwin. i know there are 2 girls coming in from germany as well that i know that are doing it so we already said we will share coupons and do that togehter but other then that i dont know how to start this..???


@ costco:
we are members :) but the costco is at the town 1 1/2 h away so we only go there shortly after payday and that is every 2 weeks due to the fact that gas is expensive. i have coupons in the mail as well but again $3 on laundry detergent that is still after that $11 dollars isnt worth it even in bulk i think.

abond0017:
yes exactly, 1 month isnt a lot i have to say, this time they have a great coupon out on cereal - buy one get one free - so i plan to really stock up on that one cause i have 2 boys (5 and 2 1/2) and they not only drink tons of milk but have to have cereal so we go - no kidding - through 5 boxes of cereal just for them within 2 weeks. so if i can stock up on that next time i go shopping that is a big help cause some of those cereal cost $3xx! and thats a lot if you add it up!

but thats not always the case expecially with the coupons as i said being valid only for 1 month.


julieDB:
ok so i am not alone!! i have to say we dont eat a lot of can food either, when i go shopping i have 7 meals per pay check (14 days) planned so i go strictly by that plan and the only thing that the kids always want for lunch are those "chef boyardee" cans. they just love it! for almost as long as they have started tablefood. so thats i where i can safe but i havent seen any coupons in the commissary booklet or so for those yet, i just stumbled across some yesterday cruising different sites so i'll make sure i'll print those ones off as well.

so that being said, if you cook fresh every other night you reallly cant safe a lot cause there are not a lot of coupons for it.

the other thing that is expensive is laundry detergent. i usually buy the "extra" for $2.99 cause its the cheapest and even with a tide coupon for $1 you still pay $4 at least and since they go NEVER on sale - or not that i have noticed - i end up paying the $2.99 anyways...

[abond0017]

@trading coupons:[/B]
i dont really know someone else who does couponing here on ft. irwin. i know there are 2 girls coming in from germany as well that i know that are doing it so we already said we will share coupons and do that togehter but other then that i dont know how to start this..???

You can trade for coupons here at HCW. Just go here to learn how to become a trader. LINK

You could also buy them from a clipping service. There is also some info on here. LINK


abond0017:
yes exactly, 1 month isnt a lot i have to say, this time they have a great coupon out on cereal - buy one get one free - so i plan to really stock up on that one cause i have 2 boys (5 and 2 1/2) and they not only drink tons of milk but have to have cereal so we go - no kidding - through 5 boxes of cereal just for them within 2 weeks. so if i can stock up on that next time i go shopping that is a big help cause some of those cereal cost $3xx! and thats a lot if you add it up!

but that's not always the case expecially with the coupons as i said being valid only for 1 month.

I don't rely that much on commissary coupons, so I don't have to deal with the short exp dates that often. I rely mostly on manufacturer coupons from newspaper inserts and the internet, and they are most often worth more anyway.


the other thing that is expensive is laundry detergent. i usually buy the "extra" for $2.99 cause its the cheapest and even with a tide coupon for $1 you still pay $4 at least and since they go NEVER on sale - or not that i have noticed - i end up paying the $2.99 anyways...

Good deals on detergent come in cycles (as with most items)...again this is something you just have to stock up on when it is really cheap with coupons. But that being said...it is one of the things I am never able to get at the commissary for free or really less than $2 a bottle.



Also, another tip is it helps to think outside the box with coupons. For example, yesterday I found some smaller packages of Hungry Jack pancake mix for less than a dollar. Then, recently some manufacturer coupons came out in the newspaper for $1/1 Hungry Jack pancake mix or syrup. The picture on the coupon was a bigger size box of mix that retails for over $2 at the commissary, BUT the coupon did not specify a size...so I was able to use it to get the smaller package for free with overage.

Have you read all of the tips here on HCW about couponing successfully? LINK & LINK
You can learn all of these things by reading them and reading through commissary deal threads to see examples of how people are saving their money.

And, lastly, you also have to take into account the fact that you don't have other stores to shop at. A good (not necessarily huge) stockpile is really essential for obtaining consistently great savings on your grocery bill,and most couponers are successful at obtaining that stockpile by shopping at multiple stores (because multiple stores allow for more opportunities). Because you will have a harder time keeping an adequate stockpile...you then won't be able to save as much as a lot of people here at HCW do...'cause you will run out of things before the cycle of super cheap/free with coupons comes around again. That doesn't mean you can't still save a good bit. I do supplement my stockpile from other stores...but not nearly as much as most do. I still save a very decent amount IMO. SO if I save regularly 40%...I would think you could get to a point to where you at least save an average of 20-25% each trip. That still ain't bad

.

[dlearyous]

You have to keep in mind those that boast large savings and low final checkout costs are sometimes those that only buy things that are on sale and they have a great coupon to go with it. They aren't buying items that don't have coupons or overage to cover it. They also have multiple coupons for items so they can buy more and save more on a certain product.

Regular couponers are going to clip and buy what they need which it appears is what you are doing. You don't want to end up spending money on things you don't need just so you can say you saved money on it, right? In time you'll learn to spot a good deal and how to best use the coupons you do have.

Best of luck and keep learning! :)

[CouponNY]

I go to the commissary once a month for my "big" shopping, or for my expiring coupons, or items I know I can't find anywhere else for cheaper. Following many of the coupon tips given on this blog and others, I suggest logging on to the commissary website and print out their SALE AISLE. I use this when looking over sale prices at other local grocery stores and pharmacy stores to make sure the commissary doesn't have it cheaper. Some basic tips: Commissary changes their sale prices on the 1st and the 16th of each month - some items even with coupon doubling is cheaper at the commissary with just one $1.00 off coupon. I also try very hard to stick to the sale aisle items because this is where you get the biggest savings usually picking up items between .15 - .99 each (but of course I buy several at a time). I went just this past Tuesday and spent $417.00 and with coupons only paid $244 that is $173.00 in coupon savings. I also buy my monthly meats here and my husband's power shavers (and of course he prefers a brand that has few if any coupons!), so some of this cost was for both. I did earn a few overages, but not anything significant. Hope this helps.

[jenniferjackson1688]

hold on just a min... there is a commissary that doubles coupons? where are you bc im going to have my husband try to get orders to go there! our commissary is a pain! FT belvoir. no matter what i do i always get a hard time with the cashiers. for one their english is off and i cant understand them but the big part is they keep trying to tell me that it has to be the same as the picture even if there is big print that says "ANY" i had better deals at bragg where they didnt check coupons so if you were a dishonest person which some or you could put any coupon up and they would take it. here they count each item i put up ring them and count each coupon for that item and lord forbid there has to be a second item with it they just get so confussed. at bragg you can use 2 money off coupons and a bogo on the same 2 items which was great but here not so much its either the money off or the bogo. all commissarys are soposta be the same i wish i was at yours where they doubled them your so lucky

[jenniferjackson1688]

ok this is to help newcomers to the commissary shopping. dont watch extreme couponing and think you can do it at the commissary when you start. if you notice when they get stuff its mostly only a few different items in mass amounts meaning they use alot of coupons and get a lot of a few items not your usuall shopping trip. it doesnt show them getting meats and other items that we always get. i have used coupons in the past but not many. only after watching the show and my husband telling me that i needed to do that did i really get into it. and at first i was getting alot of stuff that i had coupons for and quickly relized that i needed to wait for sales to get the best deal. yeah it took me a bit but the aha moment was when i was at my mother in laws helping her shop for a weekend trip to the beach and took her with me with my binders. yeah i saved 80.00 for her in one trip and took about 50% off the cost but i relized while we were walking through there was items that we could use like pasta and cream potatoes and such that i got free. so yeah i got a second cart and got all the items i could with my coupons and got over 100.00 worth of stuff for less than 10.00. we were both suprised at that and it got her into couponing as well. not that she doesnt have the money to spend bc trust me she does. but bc thats when i really started seeing coupons as money. since then i have been getting a few items here and there adding to my stock pile but there are still items like meats and fresh veges that adds up quickly. heres my advice. look through your coupons and find items you use, then do a walk through of the commissary and write all your prices down. come home and do all the math. set a goal for yourself saying if its .50 or less or whatever you decide and set a budget. only 50 to go to your stock pile but remember if its cheap it still adds up. so if its .99 if you get 100 of them its still about $100. dont try to get a stock pile over night. it takes time and its not really saving if your spending all your money on it. try to seperate your transaction as well. get stock pile stuff and set a % of what saving you want. and then have a transaction of other itmes that you dont have coupons for. i make a spread sheet and usually end up with 2 to 6 transactions bc of the coupons that have limits to them and dont be afraid to let coupons expire. the man will put out more trust me its like a regular thing for them. when coupons expire they send out new ones soon after so just because you have a coupon that is expiring doesnt mean you have to use it when the item isnt on sale. i have and when i saw the same coupon in the next paper it kinda hurt bc that week the itme was on sale. good luck! message me if you need any help!