Tip #1: You DON’T have to be an “Extreme Couponer”
Please don’t think that you have to be an “Extreme Couponer” to save on your grocery budget!
In fact, I STRONGLY discourage you from being anything like the couponers on the TLC show “Extreme Couponing.”
If you’ve watched the show, don’t let it scare you or discourage you from looking into couponing.
I promise that couponing can be EASY, can take LESS THAN AN HOUR a week, and you DON’T have to eat junk!
Really.
Over the next several weeks I’ll be stepping you through my top 20 Tips For Surviving The Stores Through Couponing.
It’s doable. It can save you tons of money on your grocery bills each month. And you can cut your bills and STILL feed your family healthy food!!
And you can do it all WITHOUT being an “Extreme Couponer”. Isn’t that great? 
There are a few preliminary “mini-tips” that I want to give before we get started on the “big stuff”.
1. Chunk brand-loyalty. If you want to save the big bucks, you can’t be committed to only buying Lucky Charms cereal, or Heinz Ketchup. You’ll need to get used to purchasing what’s on sale when it’s on sale… and it might not be your absolute favorite.
2. Shop alone if possible. Bringing your kids (or your spouse!) along with you while shopping can be one of the absolute biggest budget-breakers. Try to find a time to shop where you can either leave the kids at home, or switch off with a friend to go shopping while she watches your kids and then give her time to go shopping while you watch her kids!
3. Be kind. It’s easy to get frustrated with cashiers, and even managers, who tell us that we are doing something wrong when we are not. It’s easy to get frustrated when a coupon that was supposed to print during checkout doesn’t print and it throws off our whole shopping trip. But the golden rule still applies when we are at the store, just like it does in all of life: do to others what you would want them to do to you. Treat others how you would want to be treated. I can promise you that even from a selfish perspective it will get you A LOT farther than being rude. If you want to read more on this topic, check out my 10 Tips For Surviving The Store Clerks and Cashiers!
| Tip #2: Cutting Your Budget Through Menu Planning >> |
I’ll be staying tuned! I’d love to start couponing and saving money more
I totally agree with you. You dont;s have to buy a 1000 of something to save. I went shopping today @ two grocery stores spent 90.15
Sorry didn’t post everthing. I saved $131.41 & had a almost 76% savings. I had a cart full of stuff & it was not junk food either!!!
I finally made a new record this past week at the store $175.00 and I only bought what we use. I only get one paper a wk and print out coupons. The show does make me wonder how they do it.
I did see P&G put a disclaimer on their coupons this past week with a limit of how many coupons you could use.
I totally agree, I think that show makes us look like greedy hoarders. It gives couponers a bad reputation.
I agree i am started to get strange stares at the check out i belive tha tlc show makes people like us look bad. I have and would never clear out a shelf or want a mini store in mt basement or an extra room. I like everyone need to save money i am working 60 hours a day then staying up all night on sunday clipping coupons for myself and family.
I think they have become Hoarders or addicted. It doesn’t make sense to have your house look like a mini grocery store. Sales come and go. You will get a chance to save on those products again.
i liked the savigs but dont want to stockpile that much but want to save and get stuff free like them
i know it gives you a great feeling to save alot of money, but are you ever going to use all the stuff? i want to save money on the stuff that i need not what i have a coupon for!! in my opinion your not saving alot if you didnt need it to begin with, seems like to me you have money to blow if you go and get loads of stuff you dont need!! but i do want to save money like they do, its amazing!!!
I don’t mind stocking up a little but these people on this show have issues and are making a BAD name for others who use coupons.
makes me sad that because of the coupon freaks we all get a bad rap.
Just absolutely nuts, bottom line. These were examples of incredibly greedy people…who in their right mind buys and stores 60 bottles of mustard? Ridiculous!
Lol by little I generally mean on the most used stuff in our house. I have 4 kids and a husband in the military we go through some stuff like crazy and it is nice to just say “grab it from the closet” rather then having to run to the store every day or so.
I do applaude the “extreme” couponers but I don’t think its for everyone to go that extreme. I have a feeling that this show may create stricter couponing rules at stores and by manufacturers.
I love being a moderate couponer. My frustration comes when I take time out to clip a few coupons, organize myself and then I go to the store and someone has cleared out the shelf of the items that are on sale that week. The show last night bothered me because who needs over 70 bottles of mustard?! I just want one for my family and they are gone! This show does make couponers look like greedy hoarders. And I hate the eye rolls and signs I get with my meager 20 coupons when I check out.
I’m with you, I get sooo frustrated with bare shelves as well!! And yes, I think this show is ruining coupon using! I hate playing these games to begin with. Why don’t the food corporations just make it the rock bottom price always? They would save in all of this advertising, printing of coupons, having to pay people to reimburse the grocery stores, etc… It’s to the point now where I hate to shop. Especially when I have to buy the items next week, not on sale, because they’ve cleared out the shelves the week before. I guess I could play around with “reign checks”!! I am frustrated. And yes, I think these people have some kind of disorder.
As mormons we would be proud to have a stockpile for a year. But i just dont space! I pricematch at onr store and use store!mfg coupons to at least cut our grocery costs down
I think the “coupon diva” had it right. She said she only buys what she needs….the others just came across kind of crazy!
I’m a couponer to heart. I love it! To me (and I guess for me), what these extreme people are doing is just not realilistic. I don’t time to cut through 20 copies of inserts. I definitely am not spending money on a coupon clipping service. I don’t have time to wait for 5 of my friends to come and rescue me at the checkout because I need them in order to use a coupon. I don’t have room in my home to store hundreds of bags of chips that are going to expire before we use them. I buy what we need, in amounts we will use, and call it a day. I am still getting stuff for free, but I don’t have a need to clear the shelves!
Haha, Robin, I definitely could go through 60 bottles of mustard in a year…I LOVE the stuff!
I’ll stay tuned i have been trying my hand at couponing the last month and its a slow start, so any tips are great!
I am all for saving money, but I would never spend 6 hours in a grocery store! Also, the stockpiles around the house would make me crazy. Homes should feel cozy & comfy, not llike a grocery store! Plus, many coupons are geared toward processed foods, which is not the heathiest to eat on a daily basis.
Very true, Deana, the coupons for fruit, veggies, and raw meat are few and far between.
I live in a state that does NOT have one store that will double coupon even though we have a Albertsons, Walmart and Safeway. I do not have any illusions on getting 500 dollars for free my first time couponing but I have read that double coupons are a big part of saving. Any thoughts on how to make the best of my shopping trip.
Although Extreme Couponing has thought me a lot, I could never be an obsessed coupon extremist. For the most part, I like to purchase healthy food. But on the other hand, I could see myself saving on paper & household products. In the end I appreciate all the tips I’ve learned thus far.
I love watching the show but I do believe that most of the people on it are borderline hoarders/addicts. Particularly the people who buy items that they will never use(like cat food when you do not have a cat). I am feeding 7 and my personal limit on my stock pile items is a maximum of 10. Everything is good in moderation.
I thoroughly enjoy the show. It’s very entertaining. The problem for me is that, as the owner of a personal training studio, and local fitness evangelist, I understand that you’re getting your items for darn near free, but the products you’re acquiring are gonna kill you in a few years. There’s never any mention of Produce or Protein. Everything they stockpile comes in a box. When you go to a supermarket to shop you stay on the outside of the store…you never go in the aisles. Produce and Protein are on the outside. The crap in a box are in the middle aisles. I mean what on earth am I gonna do with 50 boxes of “product in a box?”…aside from gain 50lbs and jack up my cholesterol. I understand it’s a show and you have edits etc to keep only the most exciting part, but ya have to show both sides. Then there’s the hoarding aspect of it. Why on earth would you buy a million boxes of dog treats…and you don’t own a friggin dog. Pure madness. I love saving in the store I just wish there was more focus on foods that actually spoil. As I say, if your food doesn’t spoil, don’t eat it.