DISQUS

AMERICAblog: Coupon clipping halts 16 year decline

  • kevinbgoode · 1 year ago
    Unless I have a coupon readily available, I don't use them very often. Years ago, I used to clip them religiously, carefully put them in order and march off to the store to save between 15-21% of my weekly shopping bill. Unfortunately, I would also discover that, at the time, more and more coupons were to get people to try an expensive item I would normally not purchase, so I would invariably end up with thingsin my cart (buggy, if you are a southerner) that I just really didn't need.
    I know there are some real experts out there who can milk a file of coupons into an avalanche of food items, but I never got that good at it. . .:-(. I do look for specials each week at three different markets and plan my trips accordingly to save gas and run other errands, grab 2 for 1 events, check out the meat when it is just being marked down, and redevelop a taste for peanut butter. If you shop on the weekend, you can have a whole meal out of the free samples in the aisles. . .:-).
    I am steadfastly resisting the economic crunch by continuing to refuse to purchase a can of Spam. . .a dish from my childhood which still makes me want to puke. I suppose that is the one thing which keeps me from emigrating to Hawaii, where the poor natives seem to have made Spam the state (national) meat. . .
  • Sage24 · 1 year ago
    The ruthless Mugabe regime is going to wipe out the opposition.
    They will make false charges against these members, and kill them.
    Mugabe, will continue his murderous reign, while the wimpy African leaders
    stand by and say nothing, to save their African people.

    http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/afr...
  • martha · 1 year ago
    Oh, I've tried to use coupons, but so many times even with a coupon the product was more expensive than the one without, OR, the coupon was for a product my family won't eat., or use , or you get to the check out counter, and the coupon was for the 13 oz size and you had the 15 oz size - oh please! Now, I don't just drive somewhere. I plan out my trips during the week to save gas and money, and I do.
  • jr · 1 year ago
    tent city slickers
  • Andrew · 1 year ago
    Think it's bad now? Just wait a little longer. You'll need those coupons especially when it comes to gas rationing.

    July 2 (Bloomberg) -- New foreclosures almost quadrupled in Los Angeles and doubled in Miami in the second quarter, with as much as $5 billion worth of loans going bad in L.A. alone, the online real estate data company PropertyShark.com reported.

    The number of homes scheduled for auction in Los Angeles rose 14,505 compared with 3,797 in the same period a year earlier, PropertyShark said in a report distributed by e-mail. In Miami-Dade County, the number climbed to 2,677 from 1,282.

    ``The foreclosure chart for Los Angeles is unfortunately starting to look like a ski jump,' Adina Dumitru, a member of PropertyShark's foreclosure products team, said in the statement.

    The percentage of U.S. homes in foreclosure more than doubled since December 2006 to about 2.5 percent this March, according to the Washington-based Mortgage Bankers Association. Defaults among subprime borrowers with poor or limited credit histories are driving the increase, along with the rising number of people unable to make payments on adjustable-rate mortgages that started out with low ``teaser' interest rates that increase after two or three years.,
  • Heather · 1 year ago
    I actually use a service called The Grocery Game (link below) that gives me a list of sales and their coupons by store. I subscribe to two newspapers. I save an average of 55-75% each week off of retail prices. I stock up when things are on sale and use a Farm CoOp for veggies. I am a rare liberal with a large family. We have four kids so far so I am great at stretching a budget. We spend $150 a week on average and I prepare all the meals we eat. (And my husband takes his lunch to work) Who can afford to eat out in this economy?

    If anyone looks at the site and decides to sign up PLEASE email me first for a referral email.

    This is the site I use; http://www.thegrocerygame.com/
  • hardeknox · 1 year ago
    I'm one of the cheapest SOB's on the planet. I belong to a coupon exchange ring, so we can stock up when certain items are really cheap, such as the dozen Shredded Wheat deal a few weeks ago. Otherwise, it's off to Aldi for staples, or Costco. A huge Walmart just opened near the Costco. Not bad.
  • Heather · 1 year ago
    Are you confessing to being a liberal AND a Walmart shopper? I'm shocked! We are huge Costco fans too. They treat their employees with respect and fairness unlike Walmart. As much as I love to save I am proud to admit that I have never spent a dime at Walmart.
  • chandler_in_lasvegas · 1 year ago
    ♥
    I use the 99¢ Store for cookies and crackers and stuff. But even that has had drastic price increases in the past 6 months. However, any bread outlet store is a HUGE bargain. I love my little Entenmann's/Oroweat outlet. Huge regular savings with frequent 2fer1s on great stuff. Yesterday, two loaves of Health Nut bread for $1.29. Buy one freeze one.
  • mirth · 1 year ago
    Pats on the backs for anyone not shopping at Walmart :)

    I buy in bulk when possible, then divide into smaller portions and freeze. I save on non-food products - laundry detergent/dish liquid/shampoo/etc - by using 1/2 the usual amount, which works just as well as the full amount (true!). I use bar soap instead of bath gel, fat bars of quality soap at half the cost and which last twice as long as the bottles of gel. A mixture of 75% olive oil to 25% caster oil is the perfect face cleanser for all types of skin. I wash dishes by hand; I haven't used my dishwasher for one year. I use cloth towels instead of paper towels. At night I turn off electric lights and burn beeswax candles...wonderful aroma and ambiance.
    There are a zillion ways to cut costs. I do these things and more as much to live a simpler life as to save $.
  • AdmNaismith · 1 year ago
    Most coupons are for high-priced, name-brand prepared food items.
    Since I like to cook and I'm good at it (and I prefer what I eat not to be entirely corn-based fillers & sodium), I buy high quality staple items in as big a bulk as I can keep without spoiling, and fresh items (esp veggies) as I need them.
    Name brands are rarely any better than store brands, store brands are cheaper than name brands (even with a coupon), food packed in plastic and cardboard should be avoided.

    For other items like clothing, I take advantage of every sale and such that I can.
    I also find paying top dollar for well made items (like, say, shoes) will also save you money in the long run.
    You have to be a smart consumer, and chasing coupon deals is rarely the smartest choice.
  • Wisconsin Liberal · 1 year ago
    Using coupons saves me enough to get my newspapers for free. Also if you have a Walgreens nearby check out their rebate book. Many months they have FREE after rebate items. Also if you take a gift card instead of a check (good at their store), you get 10% extra! Our sales tax is 5% so you make 5%. Luckily the Walgreens is on my way home from work. Saves gas. In the early 1980's I was laid off for a year and kept track of my coupons and rebates and saved several weeks of unemployment checks.