Couponing

**5ft Diva** · #1 03-23-2007, 04:35 PM

Please explain to me what "couponing" is. I don't see how using coupons saves me money because the coupons are for products I would never buy in the first place. Help me understand how everyone is saving all their money using this method.

SMILEY · #2 03-23-2007, 04:54 PM

YOU KNOW THIS IS GOING TO BE
GOOD INFO FOR ME BECAUSE I DONT
UNDERSTAND WHEN I GET THE PAPER
OR GO ONLINE FOR COUPONS 99% OF
THE TIME ITS FOR THINGS I DONT WANT!

Dia Minha · #3 03-23-2007, 10:58 PM

Diva, I have always felt the same way.

Now there are a few basic items that I like certain brands on that I am willing to pay a little extra for to have the quality. I have tried on-line searches for coupons, I am just not usually succesful. So maybe somebody here can enlighten me too.

runamyrun · #4 03-24-2007, 08:40 PM

I LOVE COUPONS! I used to think that there were never coupons for things that I use. One thing I have learned is that if you aren't picky about brands, you can save a lot more money. If you decide to use coupons, the best thing is to get multiples of the coupons. I get 4 Sunday papers and one Tooele paper. I just get the Sunday paper for the coupons. A lot of times when a coupon for a product comes in the paper, that product is usually on sale somewhere, or it will be soon. Pinching Your Pennies is an awesome site that tells you what is on sale at each store, and how good of a deal it is. They also list any coupons that you can use. I love using that site. I have saved so much money doing couponing. For example, I doubt I will ever have to buy toothbrushes or toothpaste. There have been several times that certain brands of toothpaste and toothbrushes have been on sale for $1. I had $1 off coupons, so I got it for free! Another thing that is interesting, when a brand name item is on sale, if I have a coupon for it, I can get it for quite a bit cheaper than Western Family, etc. If any of you eat cereal, you can go online to [Only registered and activated users can see links. ] and print cereal coupons. Right now, until Tuesday, Albertsons is having a big sale on General Mills cereal. I was able to get boxes of cereal for 50 cents to 70 cents. I really feel like this goes right along with the prophet wanting us to get a years supply of food storage. If I am able to stock up and get a whole bunch of food or other things for cheaper, then I can save a ton of money. Then I just wait until it goes on sale again, and hopefully I won't ever have to pay for it full price. Can you tell I am passionate about this!

**5ft Diva** · #5 03-24-2007, 10:17 PM

Okay, nice idea, sounds overwhelming. I need baby steps. What is the first thing I should do to start introducing this in my life?

RAR, I'm very glad you're passionate about this and that you know a lot about it because you can help people like me. You have a lot of really good information but I am feeling so overwhelmed in so many other areas of my life right now that I really need just one tiny step and once I get that mastered then I'll do the next one.

Dia Minha · #6 03-26-2007, 09:16 AM

Yes, RAR, start us out slow. I really thought I had nothing to learn about coupons, because I had tried it and ended up with a whole bunch of items I normally would not have boughten except I saved so much money I couldn't pass it up. I just went to the website, that you posted a link for and found at least 4 coupons for items I bought just this last week. Even if I hadn't waited to find them on sale somewhere and just did my regular shopping I would have saved almost $5. Right now that is a lot to us, because we just recently chopped my grocery budget by $100.

I don't think I could do the 5 newspaper thing. I would go crazy with that much paper in my house every week. Recently I did a recycling unit over at the school and now every piece of garbage, even if it is going in the recycling, that I produce, gives me a ping of guilt. I don't think I could buy 5 newspapers, knowing that I was just going to throw them in the recycling bin. It takes energy to recycle too.

However, would anybody be interested in joining me in an adventure? I have often thought about starting a recycling project for the school, by going around to local hotels and asking if I could have their newspapers to donate to the elementary school recycling bin. If they would be willing to let me put a big box in their offices, I would swing by and pick them up every Monday afternoon. This way I would be getting their Sunday papers and would be able to pull out all the coupon inserts, before dropping them off over at the school. This way I could have all the coupons without creating any more waste then that has already been produced. (Yeah I know, I have issues.) Doing this by myself would be to hard and take to much of my time. However if there were a couple of others that would be interested we could rotate weeks and would only have to pick up once a month and then deliver everyone else inserts after dividing them up equally.

There would be a couple of things that would need to be done to pull this off. We would have to get permission from the school to use their name in the "fund raiser" project and then we would have to ask the hotels if they were willing to help. Then, we would need to set up boxes, probably smaller ones for the housekeepers to keep on their carts and larger ones in the laundry room for them to dump them in. Then we would have to work up a schedule for pick ups. I thought I would just start out with one hotel and see how it went before adding more.

So would anybody else be interested. I shared this idea with my sister-in-law that lives in Pine Canyon recently and she loved the idea. So that would be two. I think we would need at least four, before it would work.

This is really scary. My fingers are shaking has I type. I'm not sure why, but trying to pull something like this off is exciting to me, but so frightening. Any ideas on that one Diva? Afraid of failure maybe? Getting other people involved and then haviing it flop. I can handle dissappointing myself, but not others. Oh man is that arrogance? I have a lot of work to do.

Dia

runamyrun · #7 03-26-2007, 09:58 AM

Dia, I am interested in helping! If I can get more coupons for free, that would be awesome. I think foxyroxy and Laundrygirl have been picking up the Sunday papers from one hotel. Maybe you could ask them about it. And yes, I have been recycling all of my newspapers. I would feel guilty about it if I wasn't.

5ftDiva, maybe the easiest thing for now would just be to see what is on sale. You could go to pinching your pennies, see what they think are the awesome deals, and don't worry about coupons. If their site shows an internet coupon is available, maybe you could print that. That way it isn't as overwhelming, but you are still able to save a lot of money.

**5ft Diva** · #8 03-26-2007, 12:42 PM

Good idea, RAR!! I'll do that.

Dia, I don't think you're arrogant. You're not wanting to one up anyone. I can tell you're sincerely afraid you might let them down. I think that is your issue. Pray about this "fund raiser" (be specific), make sure it is what is right for you at this time, and then move forward and don't doubt yourself. Could your issue be trusting yourself??? This is a very big one to get over. One I think most people are still dealing with.

As a side note - when figuring out the issues, something that BS taught me, was that if you'll just make a list or run through in your mind a list of things that you think it could be, you'll eventually come up with the right one, and you'll KNOW it when you hear it. It resonates w/in me when I say it, think it, or write it down. I'll just be going along w/ a list of things like, "trust, selfish, unsafe......" and then BINGO! all of a sudden, I just know what it is. Make sense?

foxyroxy · #9 03-26-2007, 12:51 PM

Laundry girl and I are picking papers up from Best Western, we also asked the three Hotels and the far end of Town they didnt get tribune or Deseret News. We haven't checked with the New Hotel. I have acesss to alot of coupons and anyone who would like some I would be glad to give some to each of you. Just come by my house on Wednesdays and they will be available for that week.

I too am passionate about coupons. It takes alot of time but I think the savings are definately worth it. Pinching your pennies.com is my favorite site to go on to find out the deals for the week. It really is hit and miss sometimes there are really good deals and other times not so good. Happy savings

SMILEY · #10 03-26-2007, 12:53 PM

count me in! thats a great idea
i wish there was more then newspapers we could recycle.

Dia Minha · #11 03-26-2007, 01:09 PM

Thanks, Diva, I'll try that. Right now I seem to have a one track mind and everything I am coming across seems to take me back to the humility thing. I'm really working on it though. I did three things this morning that were really hard, but I did them. And I feel so good about it.

Thanks again for all your help.

Dia

**5ft Diva** · #12 03-26-2007, 01:23 PM

Good for you! Keep it up!!!

Dia Minha · #13 03-27-2007, 10:34 AM

Well, since Foxy already has something going, I think I will pass, on taking charge. I don't think it is something I could do right now anyway. (Thanks for the advice Diva.) I apologize and hope that those of you that would like to join in Foxy's adventure can work it out among yourselves. And Foxy if that is something you don't want to happen, then just let everyone know. We would all understand, right girls? Maybe someone can check out the new hotel, if your not collecting from there.

I think I am going to start slow like RAR suggested and work on obtaining on-line coupons that I can use and keep the paper mess out of my house for now. It wouldn't become I mess if I didn't let it, but believe me I would let it. Elder can attest to that. Slow and steady baby steps. The turtles were on the ark right along with the Cheetahs, you know.

Dia

Laundrygirl · #14 04-22-2007, 07:55 PM

Hi Girls,
I'm in the "couponing boat" like you. I just love coupon shopping. I really have saved so much by doing this. If some of you girls are too busy for clipping coupons, I would be more than happy to do it for you. I don't make a menu, I buy what is on sale, usually yogurts, fruit rolls up, cereal, the usual things my kids will eat. If it isn't on sale, I don't usually buy it. But like Amy said, I do alot for my food storage. When the price is right, stock up. Let me shop and save for you ladies who don't have time to clip. That would be my service to you. Any questions, FoxyRoxy and I are really good to talk to about this. Laundrygirl

smed · #15 04-23-2007, 04:28 PM

I'm also very interested in using coupons!

foxyroxy · #16 04-23-2007, 04:50 PM

smed come by my house on wed. and i will give you some coupons. i get them each tuesday.

**5ft Diva** · #17 04-23-2007, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laundrygirl

Hi Girls,
I'm in the "couponing boat" like you. I just love coupon shopping. I really have saved so much by doing this. If some of you girls are too busy for clipping coupons, I would be more than happy to do it for you. I don't make a menu, I buy what is on sale, usually yogurts, fruit rolls up, cereal, the usual things my kids will eat. If it isn't on sale, I don't usually buy it. But like Amy said, I do alot for my food storage. When the price is right, stock up. Let me shop and save for you ladies who don't have time to clip. That would be my service to you. Any questions, FoxyRoxy and I are really good to talk to about this. Laundrygirl

LG, you are one of the most nicest people I know. I can't believe you'd be willing to do that for someone else as it is looked upon as a dreaded task. You're awesome. (I don't need mine cut BTW, I just wanted to tell you how awesome you are.)

**5ft Diva** · #18 04-23-2007, 06:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by foxyroxy

smed come by my house on wed. and i will give you some coupons. i get them each tuesday.

If it's okay, FR, I'll go through my NP to see if there's any additional coupons I'm interested in and let you know how many I'd like to pick up on Wed. morning if they're available. Does that sound good?