a beginner, sort of...help please

[lizbeth]

Hello everyone, I pray everyone has their empathy shoes on today. I started collecting coupons in Sept. 2011. Unfortunately, my efforts were derailed multiple times by a thief in our sub-division who steals my Sunday paper. During these first few months, I read an enormous amount of pertinent material regarding couponing. I STUPIDLY believed I understood the basic concepts of couponing. I did not expect to become an EXTREME coupon diva. But, I will admit, my dream was to experience at least one trip to one of my local stores and pay with nothing but coupons. This desire was based upon personal desire, I confess, but I had also hoped I would have the opportunity to provide my church's food pantry with a nice bundle of goodies.
I have couponed in the past, before couponing was vogue. I felt I did not save a significant amount of money.
At this point in my life, saving money is absolutely the only way I can survive financially. I am quite sure many others are either in the same position or at the very least can empathize with my situation. Given that I was laid off almost 6 months ago with no prospects for employment, I really need to make couponing work!
As I ponder my most recent couponing efforts, I do not understand why I am, despite great efforts, still not saving a significant amount at the grocery & drug stores. I am pleased that I have ALL newspaper inserts since 1/1/12.
I appreciate comments, encouragement from anyone who may have the time to respond.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
lizbeth

[lisabr]

Hello and welcome! Couponing takes awhile to get it really rolling. Like when I started I did feel like I wasn't getting a real good savings, but I'm so glad I stuck with it because now I'm seeing how I'm saving!! It took me a long time (to me anyway) to get my first "freebie". You just have to keep it up and you will see that you are saving money. It seems like at first you are spending more, but that is because you are getting things you wouldn't normally get when it's not needed at the time and when we start out we tend to spend more on things than we should cause we don't know what if the price the items are good prices or will they go lower.

[jenne64]

What the poster above said. I'll just add this. Couponing is a game of patience, the better you get the more you save in general. The bigger your stockpile gets the less you have to buy so the more you can save. I really have begun to view couponing as a challenge/game. It's me against the stores... I love the challenge and the challenges it brings, like not being the most organized woman in the world, at least not until I started couponing. Don't get stuck in the details is my advice, every deal where you save is a good deal in my book be it 5% or 100% it's still money in my pocket not theirs-))

Keep going and you will eventually see the bigger savings and try to have fun with it.

[Desert Debbi]

There are a couple of things I would like to share with you, if you have the time and patience to read it all =D

I teach others to coupon, and the very first thing I do is teach reality vs reality TV. The show Extreme Couponing often places unrealistic expectations in the hearts of new couponers. While you CAN have shopping trips where you save 100%, those are few and far between, and usually not in the $1000 worth of product range!

It is, however, realistic to seek savings of 40-70% off retail, and this is how you can go about achieving it even from week one, even without alot of coupons.

First, you need to set a realistic goal, say 40% savings. Then, you compare the sale price to the normal price. Is it already 40% or better? Good, then you are a winner already! Add a coupon and it only gets better.

Couponers shop and think differently then the normal shopper. We plan our meals around whats on sale, whats seasonal, whats in our stockpile, and we are NOT brand or store loyal. So, for me, this means I look in my advertisements before even hitting the store. I look for my fresh products first. Then I plan my meals around the fresh products. 4 green bell peppers on sale for $1.00, 4lbs red onions for $0.99, 3lbs roma tomatoes for $0.99 and pork chops for $1.59 mean carnitas in my house!

I never subscribe to a newspaper because I only want to get them when the coupons are right for me and my family. So, I use the following rule of thumb: I look for the value of the coupons I WILL use, and if there isnt enough value then I dont get it.. even if it means missing out on something free that I dont need or want, like toothbrushes or toothpaste. So if your paper costs you $2.00 then you would need $2.00 to break even and more than $2.00 to actually SAVE money!

[Sharkie1995]

Welcome! Yes patience pays off. I have only had one trip that I paid nothing and got back 13 cents. It was awesome but I doubt that will happen
again and I do not expect it to. If you are realistic, you will not be unhappy. I like to send new people a welcome envelope of coupons! And right
now, I am overloaded on smartsource inserts from 2-12. If you will send me a pm with name and address and what types of coupons you are looking
for, I will fix you a nice full envelope and will try to include things you need if I have them.
Take care and God Bless a.

[mnm'z]

Welcome to the forum,

I understand that things are tight and you want to see immediate savings, but none of us can go into a store without our stash of q's, a well prepared list, and our knowledge (learn, read, learn, read) and walk out with even $50 of merchandise for free. We've all learned, made mistakes, and learned more to get where we are. This is a process and a mindset change.

Like Debbie said, we think differently. My Spaghetti dinner that I serve was not purchased in one shopping trip, I picked up the burger, italian sausage, pasta, sauce, garlic bread, etc probably all in different trips. I have pasta in my pantry, I have sauces in my pantry, I have cheese stocked up, so I was able to put together a cheaply purchased meal with the various items in my pantry. I do menu planning so I use up my stockpile and since I menu plan far enough a head, I can still find the items for my plans on sale and hopefully with a q.

I'd actually start learning CVS or Wags and get your health and beauty supplies, that's where I (and many other couponers) produce THE most savings. I save anywhere from 90 to 95% on my H&B items and 40 - 70 % on my grocery bill, and once you've been actively couponing for about 6 months, that's when you really start to notice the significant savings. Until then you'll most likely be bringing in more food for the same $'s

[Desert Debbi]

Also one other thing I should have mentioned is savings is definately a regional thing too. Try as I might, I do not seem to get the kind of deals I see the Mejers people scoring, for example. I also seem to be stuck at 60-65% savings range. However, I am also trying to buy things we like and enjoy, like my wine purchase this month for which I will eventually get a $25 rebate. Its not just about food on the table, its about food you will actually like and eat! As an example liver, no matter how cheap it is, will NEVER find a home in my house. I loathe it. I wont cook it, so it would be a waste of money. Same with gizzards and other bodily innards like kidneys and hearts.

I am working on upping my game however, and found some lovely menu planning advice on another site. If you get yourself to 5 posts I would be happy to PM the link to it. This Hillbilly Housewife lady has some really practical advice on frugal dining and planning your menu to work with sales. She actually has me exited about menu planning!

[SC864]

My savings goes in waves, based on my stockpile. I was very serious about building up (and donating) last year between Jan-June, savings was usually around 40%, but I was building a full stockpile. Then in June-September we had a number of major family changes (moving, selling a business, college, surgeries, emergencies, everyone is fine now but it was hairy for a while!) and fortunately I had a full stockpile to rely on and I don't think I even spent $10 a week buying very little fresh food and feeding 4 people and still making donations! It was a huge load off my mind to be provided for by good planning. I had the emergency food, toothpaste, paper towels, laundry detergent, everything when I needed it most. By November I had depleted a good bit of the stockpile and I started barely picking up again on shopping, and just last month had to get serious again. Anyway I would suggest use the matchups on couponmom.com and plan, spend when you can, then when things get weird or get crazy you can rely on your planning and stockpile to carry you through until things get better. You'll still spend the same at first, but you'll GET more for the same amount of money, and that will come in handy later. For me I had several months where I spent almost nothing on grocery and drugstore stuff, thank goodness I had planned ahead when I did.

[Xtreme Q wannabe]

I would love to know more on menu planning. Can you pm me that info.
I too am somewhat new to this and am feeling a little discouraged at times but just stick with it. I get on here everyday and read so i can learn as much as possible. If you have any questions i will try to help as much as i can. I try to buy the bigest paper that is afforable in my area that way i get a good variety and higher value coupons for my money. Try and tackle cvs that is where i have my best luck and it builds your confidence back up. Good luck.

[Rooster]

My rule of thumb for newbies is that it takes a solid 3 months to build your stockpile of food, health & beauty, and coupons enough to see significant savings.
Welcome & good luck!