living in the dark ages with coupons Help !

whee! I found coupons for Krispy Kreme! (too bad the store closed)

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THE BEGINNING IS NEAR
5-star double-rated astronavagatrix earth girl

HUH??? I don't generally have to buy anything else to use produce and meat coupons.

The higher priced stores with rewards programs are the ones where you can get everything free to pennies on the dollar.

Here ya go: http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/sho...12#post4542112

Don't just look at the pics, read the text.

100% of my toiletries and OTC meds are free.

For that matter, all my cleaning supplies, laundry soap, toilet paper, paper towels, dishwashing soaps and detergents, etc etc are all 100% free.

And I do that without double coupons.

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ladycat thank you
I have found a few things I was looking for, and will keep looking for more.

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squashnut & bassketcher

Champagne D Argent, White New Zealand & Californian Cross Rabbits

I keep repeating myself, and you're not hearing me...I've been looking for coupons for an hour now...and I haven't found any for the STUFF I BUY.

I'm happy for you that you save an all the stuff YOU buy.I'm not saying you aren't getting saving on the things YOU buy like it's not really happening. Never have.

Just because something is free doesn't mean it's healthy to use, either.

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THE BEGINNING IS NEAR
5-star double-rated astronavagatrix earth girl

To be totally fair almost all the coupons were for "value added products" (besides a few and those were for "name brand" (i.e. more expensive) produce, like the specialty melons and tomatoes, I mean have you seen how expensive those are in the store? Just buying whatever is on sale at the time is a way better way to buy fruit) and the meats were all for processed meats. Really if you buy store brands, whole foods, on sale, we are not exactly talking earth shattering price differences (especially since many of us don't even shop most of our foods/toiletries at regular grocery stores). Even the frugality queen from the Tightwad Gazette wrote an entire article on why coupons won't save you money.

As far as free toiletries, nothing is truly "free", everything takes at least time, and for some of us time does equal money. I buy something like $10-$20 a month in toiletries (things like my laundry soap are bought from Costco -Eco- and I only use 1oz at a time -front loader- so $12 does something like 300 loads of laundry). For bar soap I buy "ends" from a local soap maker for .70 a pound. For me to "save" that $10-$20 a month would cost me double that to try and get it for "free".

So to be totally fair......for SOME of us, it truly (truly) is not worth it to get it "free". I mean, more power to the folks that really feel like it pans out for them, I mean very cool, but some of us HAVE done the math and it doesn't work out for us.

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Idleness is leisure gone to seed

Well that's another whole can of worms

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Idleness is leisure gone to seed

Start your search here:
http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/coupon.php

That's nowhere near a complete list (I don't think there is one), but it has most of the common coupons.

Here is what I buy weekly in the grocery store (with coupons).

2 bags of salad, -OR- 1 bag salad, one bag coleslaw -OR- plain lettuce
tomatoes
bananas
2 or 3 or 4 other fruits and vegetables, such as: cucumbers, squash, melon, carrots, potatoes, strawberries, grapes, apples, oranges, peaches, plums, kiwifruits, etc. Depending on prices combined with what coupons I can use with what.

I NEVER EVER buy the "specialty" fruits unless it's on sale or marked down cheap. Can't afford it otherwise, no way no how.

I never know "exactly" what I will get in the produce dept until I get there. I go in there with sales circular and coupons in hand, then price-compare the heck out of every thing until I get what works out the cheapest per pound.

Look again. And did you read the text?

90% of the meat I get (with coupons) is fresh chicken (whole fryer or parts), fresh pork (mostly chops), fresh turkey parts (mostly thighs and drumsticks), and ground turkey.

I get sausage or bacon or ground pork if the price is cheap enough.

I would be going hungry if I did that.

I've been hungry enough times in my life. No desire to experience it ever again.

Yes, I know it's not for everyone.

And we super couponers and extreme couponers DO NOT WANT too many people doing it.

Maybe a bit off topic, but your last statement about doing the math made me chuckle. A long while back a lady showed up at one of the coupon forums. She was belligerant. What we were claiming couldn't be done. She had done the math. The time wouldn't be worth it. Fortunately most people were nice back to her derogatory comments (some not so nice). She had come there to bash us and tell us how stupid we are (although she wasn't quite that blatant).

This is what you call a troll. She was flitting about from thread to thread.

Funny thing. What she was reading started making sense. She started asking questions.

Before you know it she was an avid couponer. She began saving 70-80% off her grocery bill and because of that started getting her debts paid down much more rapidly.

I like sending skeptics to the following thread (this is NOT the above person I mentioned, and I won't say what forum it was, either).

http://www.weusecoupons.com/upload/m...454-works.html

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But the math doesn't work for me? I know it works for you (obviously) but that doesn't mean it works for everyone and I'm talking MATH here. Like I said even the frugal queen wrote a long article (years ago now, I know) about how the math doesn't work out. I'm not making this stuff up you know

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Idleness is leisure gone to seed

I can promise, if the math didn't work out for me, I'd be in pitiful shape.

Wouldn't be donating, either.

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I have absolutely zero doubt that the math DOES work out for you but you just have to understand that it doesn't work out for ME

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Idleness is leisure gone to seed

I DO understand. It doesn't work for everyone.

Which is good for me. If it worked for everyone, the deals would stop. Manufacturers not only don't mind that 0.1% of the population gets everything nearly free, they actually ENCOURAGE it. It's part of their promotional budget.

But if everyone started doing it, it would come to an end.

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I think LC has a talent that took her some time to polish.
She is willing to be flexable and generous with her time and talent.
Couponing isn't for every one. And it is what you want to or don't want to make of it. Simple.
I really appreciate her giving us all a good place to start so we can look into working on learning what she knows. I can only hope that I can get to be half as good at it as she is.

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squashnut & bassketcher

Champagne D Argent, White New Zealand & Californian Cross Rabbits

You do have to go through an extensive learning process.

It's NOT a simple matter of *just* using a coupon on a product. Although that's how most people do it. They see a coupon for a product they buy. They say, "cool, I'll save $1 next time I buy that. Instead of paying my usual $4, I'll only pay $3". That's called a casual couponer.

A power user sees that same coupon, and says, "cool, I'll be getting that for free".

But honestly, as I've said before, in previous topics in this very forum, it's not for everyone.

(I hate shopping so much that I wish I could chuck coupons and just have everything delivered to my door via mailorder).

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Actually Manufactures give out coupons to hook people on their name brands, they are hoping the next time you go you are so hooked you will pay full price (or the on-sale price which the stores themselves usually cover as a loss leader). Same thing with the loss leaders from the stores, they don't want you to come and only buy the cheap on-sale items and stock up, they want you to buy their full price items as well while you are there. I know our local market definitely try's to work deals with local distributors to do a loss leader, so they don't take the whole hit but don't think that they do it so you get it free, they are only trying to get people to buy their brands and then be "hooked". They would never do it just to give stuff away, it is part of their marketing budget. Like you said, if it didn't work, they wouldn't keep doing it.

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Idleness is leisure gone to seed

I think that is back firing on them as the economy gets worse, people I know are changeing brands with the prices/coupons offers ect..
One tv station said the stores were going to stop the loss leaders cause that is all people were buying. hard for me to believe but I guess it's possible..

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squashnut & bassketcher

Champagne D Argent, White New Zealand & Californian Cross Rabbits

Thanks LadyCat! I had never visited the weusecoupons site and I plan to spend some time there reading!! I do love coupons and finding a great deal!

Well, in a way it's good. It shows that people are getting more careful with their money, which is a GOOD thing.

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I stopped posting on the coupon threads for a reason. But I think I'll post on this one just to note that Purina does occasionally send out coupons for free bags of feed. I think I've seen Layena and maybe something for goats? At any rate, you really can find coupons for ANYTHING. I'm a major couponer and I am still occasionally amazed by the things that you can get coupons for.

(YAY COUPONS!)

Kayleigh

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http://kayleighjeanne.blogspot.com

How did you get signed up for those? I get them for dog and cat food through the Proplan website but I didn't know you could get regular feed that way.

I've gotten quite a few coupons for free bags of Purina chicken feed, and TONS of coupons for a couple dollars off a bag (even a few for $5 off a bag).

Me too!

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