134 replies to this topic

[Rockfordmom]

Post all your Extreme Couponing tips, hints, comments, questions... here

[chr05angel]

Is this the place to post deals? There are two good target deals this week and next with coupons

[Rockfordmom]

Is this the place to post deals? There are two good target deals this week and next with coupons

Here's a thread I started to post great deals at Target. Please share them in this thread:

http://forums.gottad...ighlight=target

[kardomr]

wondering-- does it matter which you hand over first at drug stores? the bucks or the manus? what do you all think?

[Rockfordmom]

at cvs give your manuf coupons first and then your bucks so you don't give more in bucks than you need to, at walgreens give manuf coupons first then walgreens coupons then rrewards, you want to use coupons first to get your total down as much as you can before you spend your bucks or rrewards

[amyers12345]

Why do you say that about WAGS coupons? Their store coupons auto adjust, so use them before your MQ's for overage.

[Rockfordmom]

so that the register doesn't beep or not accept coupons when there's an overage & the cashier doesn't catch that it's an overage the manuf coupons come off at the end of the sale, the wags coupons adjust the price down, if the price is lower than the manuf coupon it won't accept the manuf coupon if they take the manuf coupon off first and then it doesn't matter what price the wags coupons auto adjusts the price to because the manuf coupon already came off your total and the register and the cashier doesn't question it I don't like registers to beep at my coupon usage and I don't like cashiers questioning my coupon usage, I get the overage and no one questions it not the register or the cashier I still get the overage, they're still coming off my total

[Rockfordmom]

and if it's b1g1free manuf coupon the cashier checks the register tape for the price and takes the full amount of the product off and then you use a wags/store coupon at the end you get more off your total you can't do it if you are buying only one or two things

[Rockfordmom]

I really want to know how all of those people have so many bottles of Tide! Some of them have like 30+ bottles in their stock. It's never on a great sale anywhere here, other laundry soaps are but never Tide, and you wouldn't apply overages to such an expensive laundry soap you'd get something cheaper. And the coupons for it aren't ever high values here. Can anyone explain any Tide great deals they've gotten? Walgreens hasn't had Tide in their BF ad for the past 2 years and those were smaller bottles.

[kardomr]

i stocked up on tide when harris teeter had it as an e-vic special during a week when they were doubling $1 coupons. but you're right, gain (and others) are regularly less expensive than tide.

[amyers12345]

I really want to know how all of those people have so many bottles of Tide! Some of them have like 30+ bottles in their stock. It's never on a great sale anywhere here, other laundry soaps are but never Tide, and you wouldn't apply overages to such an expensive laundry soap you'd get something cheaper. And the coupons for it aren't ever high values here. Can anyone explain any Tide great deals they've gotten? Walgreens hasn't had Tide in their BF ad for the past 2 years and those were smaller bottles.

Are you talking about the show? It's because they are fraudulently using coupons, both fake and on products they aren't intended for. Several parties featured, including stores and TLC, are under investigation for major coupon fraud.

[Rockfordmom]

I don't get how you keep track of that many coupons either, how can you make sure the cashier scans all those coupons and the register accepts them? I split up my orders into several trips when I'm using a lot of coupons so I can make sure every coupon is getting scanned. I've started counting my coupons and making sure that if I give the cashier 15 coupons that 15 coupons get scanned, I've been burned too many times and haven't noticed until I got home. I could never hand a cashier over 100 coupons and trust that they would all get scanned. And one episode talked about the woman getting papers out of garbage dumpsters and another women said she got coupons from angels (??) and another walked around collecting them from neighbors but for the most part they don't take into account how they are getting that many coupon inserts. If they are buying multiple papers or buying coupons from a clipping service then that cost should be taken into account when they give their total spent. Someone mentioned before, not sure if it was on here or not, that they bought the Sunday paper from the dollar store on Sundays. I went to Dollar General on Sunday and the paper was the normal $2 price, and they usually only get 1 in the cashier said. Does anyone know which Dollar store sells the Sunday paper for $1?

[lilquiet]

Dollar tree usually has the Sunday paper for $1. My 7-11 will sell the Sunday paper on Monday just in case you missed it. Not sure if it is reduced though.

[riven3d]

im guessing it depends on how much your local paper is, our Sunday paper is only $1

[tinkrbel]

Dollar tree usually has the Sunday paper for $1. My 7-11 will sell the Sunday paper on Monday just in case you missed it. Not sure if it is reduced though.

does your dollar tree sell the daily paper too or just Sunday? I've never noticed papers in mine

[Rockfordmom]

I will have to check the other Dollar stores here, the Sunday paper I'm wanting extra copies of is normally $1.99, even the local one is more than $1 now.

I have another question after watching too many Extreme Couponing episodes this weekend - most of the people talk about watching the registers to make sure everything is scanned correctly, but a lot of them give their shopper card after their coupons are rung up, how do you check if the items are scanned correctly if you don't give them your shopper card first?

I've just caught too many things not ringing up correctly, too many times, to buy 100's of items all at once and hand them 100's of coupons! I am lucky though, at the end of my street if I turn right on the main street there is a grocery store (and a Walgreens) a mile down, and if I turn left at the end of my street there is another one (and another Walgreens) a mile down that way. So I can go to the grocery store several times a week and make several smaller purchases so I can keep track that things are getting wrung up correctly and all my coupons are getting deducted off my total. They do a lot of the 'buy 10 items and get $5 of your order' sales lately and it gets confusing keeping track of the items that I am purchasing 10 of when I buy more than 30, especially if I am buying other items and have my kids with.

I started fanning my coupons back and forth (like a +) instead of handing them in a pile all facing the same direction and it seems to have cut down on them not scanning a coupon or two when I have a bunch. I started counting how many coupons I was giving them and realized that more often than not they missed one, so I went to smaller orders and fanning my coupons and that works. I will even buy some items, put them in my car and go back into the store to buy more because they only double 2 of the same coupons per order.

[canfleece]

I too could never keep track of so many items and coupons, I tend to buy smaller orders at a time with coupons and have also taken it out to the car and come back and do another order ...I guess I just can't think. I give my store card first too, it is easier to see .... I go crazy trying out how to unload the cart, watch the register, watch the coupons, watch it all getting bagged etc. I love coupons but sometimes I am completely exhausted at the end of it all. I also started making envelopes for the shopping trip for each store and the list written right on the envelope (I have even used envelopes from mail I opened and was going to throw out anyhow). I have seen people use zippered notebooks with baseball card sheets inside but I don't have that many coupons and it seems to heavy and bulky to carry....Do others have tips?

[tinkrbel]

I'm with you guys these huge purchases seem messy and very time consuming. Our publix runs "store only" specials which don't reflect sale price until total has been calculated to further add to the confusion. I expect the store card being given at the end is for dramatic effect on the shows so that actual total before coupons is even more inflated. I was at macy's this week and bought $100 worth of clearance clothes for $60 after coupons. However looking at 1 of 2 receipts I saved over $250 on that order alone. It's more impressive to reflect saving over MSRP instead of sale price, in my case nearly 90% vs 40%. I guess my chances at extremeness is slim since every store here is UBER suspicious of coupons, A lesser (or more occupied) being would just give up and walk out. Some of these cashiers act like you're trying to steal from them. My mom got some coupons from Pampers (for free megapacks) since she tried a different kind and they gave my nephew major rash and even taking the coupon(with her name printed on it) and her accompanying letter explaining situation BJ's had us waiting a good 5 minutes for the go ahead. I spent over 5 minutes waiting for home depot checkout girl to "get the ok" for a coupon I had emailed to me (with my own email address listed on the coupon and a barcode to scan). To make it even easier, the coupon gave instructions IN CASE it didn't scan. The lady looked at it without bothering to scan and tells us "I'll need to get the ok", probably expecting us to say don't worry or something. It was a 10% off coupon and order barely came to a hundred, I could understand if maybe we'd bought special order doors or we're getting a substantial discount but for $10?!

[mom2monkiesx3]

You guys should shop at my store. I used a measily THREE coupons at the only store in my town..One was for a FREE bottle of Silk milk that one was easy enough. But the other TWO were for $1/off 2 boxes of cereal and $1 off mouthwash. I got home and checked my receipt and there were SIX $1 coupons scanned??!?! I am guessing the cashier scanned each coupon 3 times because I only handed her the 2....and I only bought enough items to use it once anyhow. So can you imagine if someone walked in with a TON of coupons ??? I guess it can always go either way.....if your not watching, I was busy loading six watermelons into the cart.... This was WALMART BTW, I'd think that their system would be more up to catching things like this but I guess not always...these were regular clipped from the newspaper coupons too....WEIRD

[AndreaInNC]

I caught a few minutes of this over the weekend. I didn't realize that some stores had coupon limits. The one lady had 300 coupons, the cashier told them the store's maximum coupons per order was 250. Yikes!!! But she let her break up her order to be able to use all the coupons. And the shopper said that she was going to donate some of the 100 bottles of pain reliever she purchased.

[tokanm]

I think it is great when people use their extreme couponing for good...donating to those in need.However why does a couple or small family need/want 60 bottles of mustard or 40 boxes of cereal? I mean one lady bought 129 boxes of pasta, wth? I think some of them are hoarders:eek:. I use coupons but I only use them on products we use and need.

[mom2monkiesx3]

At least some of the hoarders (yes hoarders absolutely!) I've seen are calling AHEAD to preorder things they are getting deals on. Like the lady who bought 60 or whatever full sized bottles of powerade. At least then the rest of us have the hope of getting the sale items even if we are not using coupons LOL

[Ryan's Mom]

I think it is great when people use their extreme couponing for good...donating to those in need.However why does a couple or small family need/want 60 bottles of mustard or 40 boxes of cereal? I mean one lady bought 129 boxes of pasta, wth? I think some of them are hoarders:eek:. I use coupons but I only use them on products we use and need.

I watched a couple of episodes and I agree with you. Most of these people ARE hoarders! When someone has shelves and shelves full of dry goods, even if they rotate religiously, there is no way they can use these products by the 'use by' date. If I remember correctly, one was starting on her third room devoted to her backstock! I coupon pretty heavily, but don't get that many items free. And I can't see going nuts on stuff that you can't use up in the next couple of months. I just try to hang on to coupons for items I use all the time and then catch them on sale. My big scores are when I have BOGO coupons for things, usually HBA items, and CVS or Walgreens is doing a BOGO on the same item. The item I get free most often is toothpaste as it is a common loss-leader at Kroger and CVS often gives the full price in ECBs. My kids and grandkids haven't bought toothpaste in years! LOL! Other that that, about the only things I get free are the items that the manufacturer puts out a free coupon for to get you to try them, like the recent Cottonelle wipes one.

[afancyfeline4u]

I've been quite fascinated with this show and have been somewhat successful with my small coupon trips. Nothing on a grand scale like they have. I would love to know where they are getting many of the coupons. I have never saw a coupon in my area for Gatorade or other sports drinks. I never see any soda coupons. I never see a lot of these coupons where the value and the sales would match up to free. All I ever come out free or extra cheap on is HBA , condiments or crappy products I don't like...lol

[Rockfordmom]

I've been quite fascinated with this show and have been somewhat successful with my small coupon trips. Nothing on a grand scale like they have.

I would love to know where they are getting many of the coupons. I have never saw a coupon in my area for Gatorade or other sports drinks. I never see any soda coupons. I never see a lot of these coupons where the value and the sales would match up to free. All I ever come out free or extra cheap on is HBA , condiments or crappy products I don't like...lol

I can find one or 2 items a week that are pretty inexpensive with coupons at the grocery stores here but not usually free. This week chinette paper plates are $2 and they double the $0.55 coupon so the plates are $0.90 a pack (I have multiple coupons because another member from here sent them to me), and the weber grill seasoning is on sale for $1 and I had ONE coupon for $1 off so I got ONE for free, and Kraft salad dressing is $1.38 and I had a $1 off 2 coupon which I was happy about salad dressing for $0.88 but a guy that works for kraft came up to me and asked if I wanted some coupons so he gave me a bunch of $0.50 coupons which they double so the salad dressing is $0.38. I've been to the store 3 times this week now because they only double 2 of the same coupons at a time.

I agree that it's usually HBA products that are free, there's the occasional free small bag of cat food, and I don't get toothpaste anymore unless it's a money maker, but I thought the same thing when I saw that episode - I've never seen gatorade coupons before. Someone above mentioned free cotonelle wipes ? not in my paper.

That guy on the show (it was his second time on, he wanted to outdo his first time) now has a "toothpaste room" because he recently got so much toothpaste for free, and here I thought my 15 tube stock was extreme.

And why has no one on the show shopped at Target yet? Walgreens or CVS? I don't recall seeing anyone find something on clearance and pulling out a coupon for it.

[tinkrbel]

I got some chinet napkins at publix last week for about .15/pack of 90 after BOGO and 2-$1 off coupons. I got wishbone dressing for $.8x for two bottlles after publix and manufacturer coupon. I'm loving the site xxxxxxxxx they have a forum where they match up store ad with all available coupons to show best deals.

Edited by Rockfordmom, May 30, 2011 - 5:40 am.
removed link to other deal site

[canfleece]

I too just found that site. I love it as they post Giant Eagle's ad a day earlier than I get it in the mailbox....helps me plan! I love too how they match up coupons with the ads, I don't know how they do this, it saves me sooooo...much time and I thank them for it:) Looks like you have some good finds..

I got some chinet napkins at publix lastweek for about .15/pack of 90 after BOGO and 2-$1 off coupons. I got wishbone dressing for $.8x for two bottlles after publix and manufacturer coupon. I'm loving the site xxxxxxxxxxx they have a forum where they match up store ad with all available coupons to show best deals.

Edited by Rockfordmom, May 30, 2011 - 5:41 am.
removed link to other deal website

[tdanette]

xxxxxxxxxxx is another good site for those of us in the south that lists weekly specials by store and what coupons to use to get the best price.

Edited by Rockfordmom, May 30, 2011 - 5:42 am.
removed link to other deal website

[Rockfordmom]

I too could never keep track of so many items and coupons, I tend to buy smaller orders at a time with coupons and have also taken it out to the car and come back and do another order ...I guess I just can't think. I give my store card first too, it is easier to see .... I go crazy trying out how to unload the cart, watch the register, watch the coupons, watch it all getting bagged etc. I love coupons but sometimes I am completely exhausted at the end of it all. I also started making envelopes for the shopping trip for each store and the list written right on the envelope (I have even used envelopes from mail I opened and was going to throw out anyhow). I have seen people use zippered notebooks with baseball card sheets inside but I don't have that many coupons and it seems to heavy and bulky to carry....Do others have tips?

I will sometimes pick a register that has someone in line already instead of an empty one because if the cashier starts scanning my stuff as I'm unloading it I can't keep track and haven't given them my shoppers card yet... and I go crazy trying to watch the register screen.

I have 2 makeup zippered pouches that I carry in my (large) purse at all times. One is filled with HBA coupons and the other with grocery / food coupons. Each one has coupons organized by sections (laundry, refrigerated...) and the sections are divided by a large index card. (I need to make new dividers and get them laminated because they are getting flimsy and falling apart!) They make my purse heavy, but I always have all my coupons with me all the time so if I run in somewhere and find something on sale or clearance I have my coupons with me, I have to look through the section but that doesn't take too long.

[canfleece]

Thanks. That is a good idea to use a makeup bag with index dividers, I will have to see if I have some or it will be something to keep my eyes open for in my bargain hunting:)