Some women save lots of money for their families by clipping coupons. However, at this point I’ve discovered that I’m NOT cut out to be an “extreme couponer.” This post explains why!
Image from pixabay.com
But right now, my family’s money-saving strategy has more to do with cutting cable than clipping coupons.
For coupon-free ideas for saving money on groceries, household items, and children’s activities, check out this index of Humbled Homemaker posts!
5 Days to a Fresh Start
For help with eating healthy food on a budget, check out this FREE eCourse, 5 Days to a Fresh Start! You can grab the free eCourse HERE.
Dollwood Farms
I love coupons, but I only use them if I normally buy that product. I don’t go crazy but I mostly buy on sale. Just found your blog. I love Mooresville. We have extended family up there!
The Humbled Homemaker
Glad to have you part of the Humbled Homemaker community! 🙂 I’ll have a post later today about how to save on groceries w/ minimal coupon use.
Sue
look forward to that post
Stacy Makes Cents
Great post Erin. 🙂 I used to be a BIGTIME couponer…..but now I find that I only want coupons for tp. 🙂 If you can make it at home yourself and you KNOW what’s in it – then why should you buy the artificial stuff?
Deb Berning
Right Stacy. I sue cloth TP for no 1 and save so much Tp and saves the OLD septic system. One load extra week. I never find coupons for single ply which is what we use. I only want food I know what is in it. I hesitate on potlucks too as much of the junk makes my stomach hurt for hours. Love homegrown and homemade. great post Erin.
Kristen San Martano
I am of the same mind as you… I rarely find coupons for food we eat. And often the items I buy at Aldi are cheaper than names brands with coupon discounts. Im not a name brand enthusiast anyway. I do like coupons for AC Moore!
lauren
I think you brought up a great point with the lack of coupons on unprocessed/less processed foods. Definitely harder to find. I will definitely be checking out SavingNaturally though! I do coupon but not in an extreme sense – in part because of space, and in part because of the concerns you mentioned over finding coupons for things I will actually use. I do sometimes find coupons for organic items, but not often. With all of the apps that have come out in the past few years I think that is a better approach. One of my favorites is SavingStar, you load the “coupons” directly to your store card and then a balance accrues as you make purchases which you can later cash in. I don’t obsess over it, just go on once a week or so, load the coupons and check to see my balance. They always have a healthy item of the week, which is a fresh produce item you can earn money back on (this week it is bananas, at 20% cash back).
Erin
Thanks so much for the recommendation of SavingStar!
carolyn
I had the opportunity to extreme coupon my husband was able to get me multiple coupons at his work, but here was my problem. The one store in my area that doubled coupons stoped doing so and you can only use 4 of the same coupons at my store which would mean you have to make extra trips! What works best for me is shopping at the dollar store for shampoo, deodrant, toothpaste and cleaning supplies. I use coupons on those items if I have them. I buy my paper towels and toliet tissue at Sams club plus a few spices and yeast. Everything else I buy on sale at Kroger and Super Dollar. I use loyalty coupons at Kroger and like you I buy house brands. I have two small well stocked freezers with on sale meats, butter, and frozen veggies. I average $50.00 a week for groceries and we eat well. My hubby loves drinks and I even stock up on them on sale. Last week Kroger had the 6 packs of diet mountain dew for $1.88 each. I bought 10 of them and I had a loyalty check for $10.00 off . I find I do well shopping sales its better then couponing!
Mary
I believe all couponing comes with self control, I coupon for things I need, or will use. And I understand the point you come to about only being processed foods, most diets tell you to stay away from the middle of the grocery store anyways. I believe it’s all self control, only get what you need.
Teresa
I agree with you and although I coupon, it is primarily on household and health products. I buy laundry detergent, toothpaste and such while on sale and only if I have coupons. I sometimes try new products if I have a coupon and find it on sale. But you are right, fresh food coupons are hard to find. I will say, I do use the IBOTTA
Teresa
Well I am trying to post this from my phone and hit the post button accidentally. Anyway, I use the IBOTTA APP and there seems to be a number of fresh foods on that. When I cash out, I used amazon or walk mart. The amazon credit is so my son can buy books and things for college. The walk mart one can be used for anything they sell.
Debbie
You’re feeling like most who have couponed for a few years and know how to pull up!…It takes sometime to find yourself…like writting, cooking, gardening etc…I am a couponer and I grow as much of my own food as I can because I like knowing where my food comes from… I go hard when there’s a sale on laundry pods $0.99 a bag or less after stacking. I follow healthy blogs like food babe and others to keep me informed. My binder tabs are items I dont grow or make yet! Like coffee, dairy, meats, cleaning supplies….It’s sad to see when become people addicted and what they’re doing to their families health with free snack cakes & instant noodles…
Chrissy @ Organise My House
Hi – I love this post – and I too think about it from time to time but am stopped by my healthier eating attempts. I am trying to eat better and I really feel that couponing would send me down a path of eating whatever was on offer. I try and eat healthy food thats on offer, and will probably stick to that for now. Thanks for sharing!
Tammy
You don’t have to coupon for food -but the more you save on all of your health and beauty products the more money you will have to spend on produce and other items. I have 50 bottles of shampoo and conditioner in my basement – they each cost me less than .50 cents each -most were actually free – that is one item that I don’t have to coupon for now unless it is free. The same for TP – I have 50 4 packs of TP in my stockpile – only get it now if it is free. Laundry detergent same thing – only if free. That is where couponing can save you a lot of money. Now I have that extra money each month to buy other things that don’t have coupons. My daughter got married and moved away – I still keep her stockpiled in TP, Shampoo, etc. She does not have to go down those aisles in the store. That helps her and her husband each month save a lot of money. My neighbors and friends are welcome to shop at my home free of charge if they are in need of something and are short on money for the month. I consider myself an extreme “Saver” not an extreme Couponer.
Ronni Walsh
While I agree with much of what you are saying, I am an avid coupon user and my family eats healthy. You have to learn how to use your overage and how to use Catalinas. These can allow you to get free or low priced healthy meats and produce for your family. Using coupons for toiletries, cleaning products (even supplies to make your own) , as well as paper good can save your family a lot of money.
Tracy
I love couponing, and I DO get healthy food with them, and I don’t cut anything me or my family can’t use. Your opinion.
Carole
As a working single mom and blogger, time is worth more than the few cents. I don’t have time to sort thru and cut out, and like you said, there are so few coupons that we can actually use. Then when I do get to the store, I only shop the outer perimeter so I’m in and out.
My niece was an extreme couponer for a while. It was an addiction. There was always the challenge of how cheap you could get something. She ended up with closets full of stuff. She’ll never have to buy shampoo ever again I don ‘t think. But it was like having a second job. Crazy!
Nope – we don’t have time for that!
Kristin P.
I’m just starting to get into more couponing. I attended a free event in my town recently, hosted by our local paper, and supported by the Extreme Couponing people. The essence of it is this website they put together (linked from our newspaper’s site) which lists each local store (groceries and pharmacies) and lists all the things that are on sale AND have coupons. The list tells you where to find the coupons and lets you print a list of just what you want to get so you can take it with you. That’s the summary, there’s a little more to it than that. It makes the whole thing simple, though. What I need to learn is what IS the lowest price I can get on any one type of main item so I know if a sale+coupon is still the best deal. But on my first major shopping trip I did save around $70 with this extra planning.
Angel
I do not coupon, mainly because I just do not have time since I work full time and have three kids. The brands I use rarely have a coupon so I just do not bother. I do however use other ways to save like ibotta app….you can save .20-.50 cents each on any kind of bananas, milk, orange juice, produce, etc. it adds up. I also use my cartwheel at target to save on other items like paper products and kitty litter.
Kate
I use to coupon ALOT. I loved that I could get most things super cheap or almost free. I also found most of those foods sat in the pantry. But, I did start donating to my daughter’s school or one of our local food pantries and still do when I find the free or money making items. I continue to coupon for household and cleaning items. But, I find using amazon subscribe & save works best for our family as far as toilet paper, baby wipes, and a few other items go. I do splurge on my K-Cups which I also get from amazon. Getting free shampoo, bodywash, toothpaste etc. allows me to buy the fresh veggies and meat my family eats. So, yes if me buying 8 shampoo’s at a time usually once a week considers me extreme, count me in LoL. Myself, my daughter, and husband all have long hair so we definitely use alot of shampoo and conditioner 🙂
Ann S.
I don’t extreme coupon myself. I tried it a couple times, but I agree, there just aren’t many coupons for healthy foods. Although what one person may consider healthy can be different than someone else. I have a friend who coupons and insisted she buys lots of healthy foods with coupons. She started showing me her “healthy foods” and while the food manufacturers market their foods as healthy, I personally did not agree. But in her eyes, she believed she was eating healthy. I wasn’t going to convince her that her foods were not healthy any more than she’d convince me that they were, so I just politely agreed that she did well with her couponing.
Ashley
I agree. Although, I go through the newspaper every week for coupons, it is not extreme. I only cut coupons for the things I would buy. I do buy a lot of store brand food, but for things like Heinz Ketchup I always cut the coupon and buy a lot of it when it’s on sale since that’s the best ketchup! Lol. I use coupons for shampoo/conditioner too since I use whatever brand is on sale that week. I find buying more real food versus processed tends to last longer because you can make multiple meals and can also be cheaper if you skip on buying the boxed food!
Samantha
I feel the same way, where I live we have organic natural food store called Mamma Jeans, they have points cards for every few dollars you spend you get points. Then money off next purchase. It has helped my grocery bill. You should check into those kinds of discounts.
Leslie
I’m a big couponer but not an extreme one I do try to focus on the things my family need than random stuff. I remember seeing a youtube video from hip2save she showed where you can find healthy product coupons. Also email the company of the product you like and some will send you coupons.