How to do extreme couponing?

[Anonymous]

I am a couponer and a clearance hunter.

Cons first:

1) It takes hours and hours of my time.
2) I spend way too much gas looking for the sale items running from store to store looking for clearance items or sale items
3) I have to deal with cashiers/other people who look down on me for using coupons.
4) My house is always cluttered because my free time is spent couponing.
5) I start losing space in my house
6) I am turning into a hoarder


Pros -
1) I save money on household products - Tide pods or detergent - I pay only $2 a pack, sometimes even less. Eucerin - $4 for a 13 oz bottle. Toothpaste - Free, Mouthwash - Free, Kleenex - Free. Persil - $1, Arm and Hammer - Free. Cheerios - Free. Stores pay me to take toothpaste off their hands if I play the rolling extrabucks game well.
2) Sometimes I am able to flip some of this junk and get money to buy my kids something I wouldn't have bought otherwise.
3) I get a high by doing all the math in my head.
4) Its the thrill of the chase.

I have to take breaks whenever it consumes me and I find my house full of crap. I am on a break now since Halloween. I have around 10 Halloween costumes. It will occupy space until next Halloween when I can flip them for maybe double what I paid, which isn't much. So I lost use of my space.

If it wasn't for the high I get I wouldn't be doing this. It is an addiction. I find myself enjoying the clearance hunting (Holiday, Valentines, Easter etc) more than the couponing.

I have spent hundreds of dollars on clearance merchandise I don't really need, which is just occupying space in my house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks everyone, I didn't realize what a time commitment this would be. To be honest, I wasn't sure exactly what extreme couponing was, just that a few posters mentioned it as a way to save money. I'm not interested in stockpiling items, just getting stuff I'd already buy for a better price. We're facing a huge drop in income and I'm just looking for ways to save money. Maybe I need to just start small and look for coupons for the stuff we would buy anyway.

I'll check out the Totally Target site, see if I can get a Sunday paper from someone, and pay more attention to my CVS receipts. This should at least help some.

In this case, I would just start using coupons.com for internet coupons for things you would normally buy. Remember that each coupon is unique and you cannot make copies of them (unless you want to be accused of fraud and go to prison for using coupons). You are limited to 2 per computer.

Coupons.com has coupons for many frozen foods and cereals. I always check if I need to buy icecream or burger patties or cereal. If you buy Nellies or Pete and Gerrys eggs, check their website for coupons. Basically go to the website of the brand and print coupons if they have any.

Sign up online for CVS, Giant, Harris Teeter,Safeway, Rite Aid and load the digital coupons for things you use. That is another way to save money. Even that can get time consuming since they update coupons often. I do it once a week for the grocery stores but only on a needed basis for drugstores (if I have any of their extrabucks/bonuscash to roll, I load coupons). Drugstore shopping is like a game and you have to be on top of it and clip coupons. Do this only if you have the patience/time for it. It can give you lots of stress.

A lot of couponers use ibotta app, savingstar, checkout51. The thought of scanning receipts or entering info gave me a head ache so I don't do those. Savingstar you can link your cards.


When you get your Sunday paper, if you find any coupons of use, buy more than 1 paper. P&G coupons save you money on Tide, Crest, Pampers, Head and Shoulders etc. They are out the first week every month so buy more papers then if you need household products like Tide and Charmin. The coupons will cover the cost of your paper and you will still save money. Match the coupons to weekly sales (that is another painful chore).

Bottomline - You need to invest your time for this. Whenever people say I got all those for free - I ask if my time is not worth anything. Free is not really free when you factor in the time and effort.

[Anonymous]

I try to coupon, but I haven't figured out a way to share them with my husband when he shops. There really needs to be an app for this! I will clip, but he won't know and will just run to the store and get upset when I say "ugh, we had a coupon for that!"

We generally use coupons for restaurants and I am pretty good at using the Target stuff. I have a RedCard debit card (5% off entire bill), I use the Circle/Cartwheel app and I love to get things that give me a $5+ gift card to use later. We all got our flu shots at Target just to each get that $5 coupon for that!

I sometimes find discounts on RetailMeNot, too.

I have tried those cashback apps before and it takes me forever to get anything for it (like 4 months for a $5 Amazon card), so now I just scan my receipts for the school boxtops program and call it a day. I got the school 80 cents the other day after my Target run!

I will check the Totally Target site, though. I am a sucker for their generic brands of so many things - hand and dish soaps, lotions, razors, paper towels, toilet paper, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a couponer and a clearance hunter.

Cons first:

1) It takes hours and hours of my time.
2) I spend way too much gas looking for the sale items running from store to store looking for clearance items or sale items
3) I have to deal with cashiers/other people who look down on me for using coupons.
4) My house is always cluttered because my free time is spent couponing.
5) I start losing space in my house
6) I am turning into a hoarder


Pros -
1) I save money on household products - Tide pods or detergent - I pay only $2 a pack, sometimes even less. Eucerin - $4 for a 13 oz bottle. Toothpaste - Free, Mouthwash - Free, Kleenex - Free. Persil - $1, Arm and Hammer - Free. Cheerios - Free. Stores pay me to take toothpaste off their hands if I play the rolling extrabucks game well.
2) Sometimes I am able to flip some of this junk and get money to buy my kids something I wouldn't have bought otherwise.
3) I get a high by doing all the math in my head.
4) Its the thrill of the chase.

I have to take breaks whenever it consumes me and I find my house full of crap. I am on a break now since Halloween. I have around 10 Halloween costumes. It will occupy space until next Halloween when I can flip them for maybe double what I paid, which isn't much. So I lost use of my space.

If it wasn't for the high I get I wouldn't be doing this. It is an addiction. I find myself enjoying the clearance hunting (Holiday, Valentines, Easter etc) more than the couponing.

I have spent hundreds of dollars on clearance merchandise I don't really need, which is just occupying space in my house.

Sounds like the cons definitely outweigh the pros. I am all for using coupons - I clip them every week and use them at every shopping trip, but buying items that I don't need and won't use is a waste of money, even if the item cost very little. Not to mention the potential for hoarding. No thanks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do extreme couponing. It takes about 4 hours a week for prep work and then the time it takes to going to different stores for the best deals. I typically shop at 3 grocery stores and CVS on a weekend night.

You stack coupons (get coupons through the newspaper like the Post), and I try to get two/three inserts if I can. Also ExtraCare bucks. Also online manufacturer coupons directly from websites or calling the company.

PP is right that not a lot of "fresh food/meat" is going to work but all toiletries like bath products/cosmetics, cleaning supplies, and yes some processed items but things that you may typically get like canned tuna, condiments, snacks for the kids (or yourself lol), and some frozen items like vegetables/fruit/snacks.

It works and it saves me TONS of money. i have knocked off $300 from a $400 bill. Bu it does time time and perseverance and most importantly - you can be a brand snob. So I have all kinds of toothpastes, shampoos, detergents, cleaning supplies, etc. I am NOT choosy with most items.

Where do you keep all that stuff?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Please explain how to do extreme couponing to me. Where do you get the coupons? How do you get the types of deals where things are either free or cheap, or even free plus extra discounts for other items?

I'm very interested in learning how to do this. Thanks in advance!

I used to be an extreme couponer. I only slowed down because I had A LOT of stuff even after donating. I haven't had to buy personal toiletries in over two years.

Tips:
1. Focus on two stores - not traipsing all over DC for the "best deal". Choose a drug store for toiletries, detergent, and paper goods and choose your normal grocery store. I like CVS and Giant, but choose where you would normally shop. Every store has some sort of coupon policy and often posts sales to correspond with manufacturer's coupons. I'm considering Harris Teeter because they have "super doubles" which can save you up to $4 off each item.
2. Download the store apps and add digital coupons from your phone. There are often free items that they give away as well (usually yogurt or oat milk)
3. You can get paper coupons from the Sunday paper. Pro tip - buy the newspaper at Dollar Tree. You can also order some coupons from sites like https://www.thecouponclippers.com. I only recommend ordering coupons when you really know what you're doing and want to save on multiples of a specific item
4. Organize your coupons. I used a binder with pencil pouches to separate the categories, but some people like envelopes or baseball card holders. You'll discover what works best for you as time goes on
5. Join an FB couponing group. Most post tips, lessons, and deals that already tell you how to save. I suggest joining groups that focus on your chosen stores so that the tips will be relevant. General groups can be overwhelming at first.
6. For those who are concerned about fresh products, not only do I have room in my budget for fresh food since I save so much on everything else, but there are coupons for fresh meat and produce. Every quarter Giant has all Perdue chicken 40% off. Usually right before that the newspaper will have $0.75 off coupons (that double to $1.50 off each). I usually get 2 pounds of boneless chicken breasts for about $3. Also next week Giant has a store coupon for a 2lb bag of Halo mandarin oranges for $2.48. There is also a coupon for $0.50 off (which doubles to $1.00 off). Now I'll get 2 pounds of oranges for $1.48.

Couponing can be worth it if it fits your temperament and needs. I find figuring out the deals to be relaxing, but I can see how someone else may be overwhelmed. I also like watching the total (and the cashier's jaws) drop when I shop.

[Anonymous]

When we were in high school, my sister and I were into shopping for the family with coupons and would save our family a bunch of money. We loved the thrill of saving so much.