THE MARCH 2011 GROCERY CHALLENGE THREAD

[nickyleey]

Mar 1, 2011 12:06:41 GMT -5 leanna said:

nickyleey -

When you're happily retired later in life, and they're scrounging, they might then get a clue that your frugalness has paid off.

It's always interesting how people will pretend to have more money than they actually do.

I was at Rite Aid on Sunday (of course ) and was talking to 2 girls who work there. One is dressed to the nine's with beautiful makeup. The other is dressed plain. The girl who was dressed plain is always talking to me to find out about how she can get more coupons and find out about the deals. The other girl doesn't coupon at all and although she doesn't say it, I can tell she sort of looks down on it.

Now, the irony is that they BOTH work at the same store so you know they have to be earning just about the same amount of money. Interesting...

Hi Leanna - Welcome!! I think you'll fit in well around here! ;D
You're right. I can't say that couponing is something I'll be able to keep up with (at the current rate I'm going) for each stage of my life, but I've always had a frugal mindset and I always will. Those little slips of paper have saved me so much money over the past few years, especially since I started "running" with this crowd! I'm always willing to help people get into it but, more often than not, I get the "whackadoo" look. And I'm not even an extreme couponer - not even close.

[mercee]

Murpath - I signed up for a gmail account - can I get on all the magical lists please?

mercee75 at gmail dot com

[leanna]

I read the opening post ooty, but now I'll go back & read the handbook. I have a lot of coupons that I don't have a use for (ie pet food coupons) that I would love to share with people who want/need them.

Thanks Suziq!

[leanna]

Nickyleey - I know what you mean. I happen to have some time right now to do more intensive couponing. I would normally not have this much time, so I'm hoarding (I mean stockpiling ) non-perishable items for when I get busier again.

[weaselfer]

I have to say that I always get a kick out of those who look down on Qs. If you saw a $20 bill on the ground, would you pick it up? Of course! But they don't see Qs as free money. This past weekend I took the kids to WalMart to pick up a few things that I had Qs for. I had DD hold them. I told her that she was holding $14 in her hand so don't lose them. You should have seen how big her eyes got. It adds up so fast and it was for things I use everyday. Some people just don't get it.

[misspt]

weaselfer and frugalsuz: Thanks you guys for the science diet coupons! They got here just in time, and I was able to buy 18 bags of dog food for $8 ($6 was tax). Thanks again.

[mercee]

I seriously need to get on the ball with pet food coupons - we have a dog & two (outside) cats so dry food is always needed!

[family legacy]

I totally understand the crowd who look down on coupons. That was me just a couple months ago before I started here. After all, generics are cheaper even when you have a single coupon for a name-brand item, so what's an occasional 50 cent coupon going to do for me at a store that doesn't even double them. I thought of Wags as a pharmacy with overpriced goods on their shelves, and with RA, I'd literally throw out the weekly circular in the paper without even looking at it because it wasn't a store where I shopped. The occasional 50 cent coupon for a product I use wasn't worth the trouble to me. The idea of getting things for free, much less making money on them, was not in my realm of thought. Trust me, had it been I'd have been doing this long ago. I'm having soooo much fun couponing! And the savings are going right to my debt!

I don't think of myself with a hoarding personality, but stockpiling is virtually impossible not to do with couponing. How much of a stockpile do you guys keep of your purchases before you say ok that's enough for now? 1 years worth? 2 years?

[suziq38]

Mar 1, 2011 13:47:53 GMT -5 family legacy said:

I totally understand the crowd who look down on coupons. That was me just a couple months ago before I started here. After all, generics are cheaper even when you have a single coupon for a name-brand item, so what's an occasional 50 cent coupon going to do for me at a store that doesn't even double them. I thought of Wags as a pharmacy with overpriced goods on their shelves, and with RA, I'd literally throw out the weekly circular in the paper without even looking at it because it wasn't a store where I shopped. The occasional 50 cent coupon for a product I use wasn't worth the trouble to me. The idea of getting things for free, much less making money on them, was not in my realm of thought. Trust me, had it been I'd have been doing this long ago. I'm having soooo much fun couponing! And the savings are going right to my debt!

I don't think of myself with a hoarding personality, but stockpiling is virtually impossible not to do with couponing. How much of a stockpile do you guys keep of your purchases before you say ok that's enough for now? 1 years worth? 2 years?

If it is perishable, it is 3-6 months past the expiration date, depending on what it is.
For example, I had about 30-40 bags of FREE Kraft shredded cheese. The dates were for at least 6 months. Then I froze a bout 20 bags, so this will last me a year.
I will eat yogurt 3 weeks past the date as long as I haven't opened it yet.
Milk...I don't play too much with the dates on milk. I buy it once a week.
toiletries...2 years worth. Ditto for cleaning supplies and other household goods.
Over the counter medication like Motrin I use up to 4 years past the date.

I am just waiting for freebies. Last night I bought 30 boxes of Hefty food storage bags. I bought them for $3.00 in cash, and I still received a $3.00 Catalina for a future order for spending the $3.00.

[ooty1234]

Mar 1, 2011 13:47:53 GMT -5 family legacy said:

I totally understand the crowd who look down on coupons. That was me just a couple months ago before I started here. After all, generics are cheaper even when you have a single coupon for a name-brand item, so what's an occasional 50 cent coupon going to do for me at a store that doesn't even double them. I thought of Wags as a pharmacy with overpriced goods on their shelves, and with RA, I'd literally throw out the weekly circular in the paper without even looking at it because it wasn't a store where I shopped. The occasional 50 cent coupon for a product I use wasn't worth the trouble to me. The idea of getting things for free, much less making money on them, was not in my realm of thought. Trust me, had it been I'd have been doing this long ago. I'm having soooo much fun couponing! And the savings are going right to my debt!

I don't think of myself with a hoarding personality, but stockpiling is virtually impossible not to do with couponing. How much of a stockpile do you guys keep of your purchases before you say ok that's enough for now? 1 years worth? 2 years?

If it is truly free....I get it anyway. yes I have 20 tubes of free toothpaste, but if it is free and EASY to get without rolling ups or rr's, I will get more. but I would draw the line at say 100 of something. I do not need that much of anything, but 10-20 is a good stockpile # for me.

[ohmomto2boys]

Leanna - Welcome! I LOVE talking about couponing too. Some people get it, some people don't.
There is a guy at work who is getting into it. Not because he has to, but because him and his wife want to save more $ and they are very involved in their church and are always donating things. He mentioned it to me and I told him about couponing. I told him he can get the HBA products for free or close to it.......he is loving it! Also, his wife works at a coffee shop and gets the Sunday inserts and shares with me. I in turn, give him the excess that me and DH can't use or won't use in a timely manner to donate to his church.

[leanna]

I inspired my sister recently to get more intense with couponing. I took her with me to Rite Aid, and I got about $35 worth of stuff for free.

She was really quiet afterwords - I think she was in shock. I gave her all the stuff and showed her how I actually made money by getting her that stuff.

She lives across the country from me, and now I've made a list of all the coupons she wants, and have already sent her 2 envelopes full. She wants to get a new kitchen this year, so that's her motivation.

[leanna]

I don't have an official stockpile, so it would be hard for me to estimate exactly how long the things I have would last. I keep my food in the pantry and my health & beauty items in the hall closet.

I can easily say I don't need to buy any cold or flu meds for 2 years. And I have so much shampoo & conditioner, that, unless it's absolutely free, there's no way I'm getting any more until I use some of this up.

So much of this is really individualized, depending on the type of products you use.

[kathyattraverse]

Ditto to SuziQ's comments. Welcome to the board.

However, if the HBA is free and you get a RR/UP with it, you can always donate the item and keep the rewards. The shelters, churches and food banks can always use the items. I know I could do more than I do but I just don't have the time. I depend a lot on this board to keep me abreast of the deals and where they are. This is a great group here at our disposal!!!

[leanna]

Hi Murpath,

Could you add me to the special list?

My gmail account address is lbergoregon at gmail

Thanks!

Leanna

[jdnstl]

HOUND ALERT - uncle ben's ready rice $1/1 coupons from the 2/20 RP!!

there isn't a sale but these were pretty high value & DH loves these. so if you have extras to spare please send a PM & i can send my addy. i'm in the google docs as well!

TIA!!

[misspt]

jdnstl: I didn't get this coupon, as madcoupons skipped me that weekend, but I did check for you.

[AJ CouponGG]

Mar 1, 2011 11:35:27 GMT -5 ohmomto2boys said:

GIANT EAGLE hounders.....

Load the new e-offers for Bounty, Charmin, Old Spice body wash and Old Spice deodorant.

Scenario:
1 - Charmin 6 pack (mega) = 6.50
1 - Bounty 8 pack = 6.50
$13
Use:
$3 Charmin e-offer
$1 Charmin (P&G Booklet)
$2 Bounty e-offer
$1 Bounty (P&G Booklet)
Pay $6 - receive $3 Catalina off your next order

Scenario - Old Spice - 2/$6
Use:
Buy 1 deodorant get 1 body wash free - 2/27 P&G
$1 Deodorant e-offer
$1 body Wash e-offer
$1 Old Spice Deodorant (P&G booklet)
= FREE
Wish I could do this multiple times, but the e-offers are 1 time only.

These deals are good today and tomorrow ONLY.

Also make sure if you do Upromise your giant eagle care is connected to your account and you loaded the bounty and the charmin coupons on there. So you get additonal Upromise $ from their ecoupons.

[rubyslippers]

Leanna, welcome to the Grocery Challenge! You'll find a lot of good deals here by reading these posts and you will have an unbelievable stockpile to either use or donate. I was like your sister once and wondered why I would cut out coupons for things I never used. After jumping in and doing a few deals, my whole outlook changed. I like earning rewards even if it's for things I'll donate so I can spend the rewards on things I need for my household. Rite Aid is pretty cool because you can earn rewards and they also have a rebate program. I like using the rebates to save in my vacation account. So far this year, Rite Aid has paid me to shop at their store. My sister and I love talking about our deals, but others aren't too interested. The people on this board are which makes it nice to share your stories.

[AJ CouponGG]

Welcome Leanna!

I don't think of myself as a hoarder. I have a reasonable stockpile-I have 6 months of perishable food items (canned, cereals, etc) and maybe about a year for all HBA items for 2 people. I use my leftover "free pharmacies dollars" no matter which one it is on food items like milk/eggs/bread if they are going to expire so they are not wasted. The nice thing is I was able to help my sister all through college she didn't have to buy a single HBA item because I got them all for free she would "shop in my stockpile" instead of walmart. Now she does deals as well because she's fresh out of college, newly married and she's a teacher also working to finish her masters up so she's too busy for a second job. But the savings she gets from coupon is almost like an extra paycheck for them. This community has always been great for me for moral support and helping you find a good deal on a particular item you may need.

[4hatsandfrugal]

Deepindebt,

Such a wonderful post! Those reflective posts are the best posts to read. Thanks for sharing that.

We take in account out "real estate" here in our home so secret not to go overboad with the stockpile. Depending on the size of the items, we either stockpile for 1 year or 2. Fit example, floss is a 2 year stockpile but large bottles of shampoo are only a year stockpile. Perishable items are continually stockpiled, especially if they are free or money makers. Any extra perishables we can't keep here are taken to the church pantry for the homeless shelter or if I have time to travel, off to the food bank.

[kathyattraverse]

Going to K-Mart. Will let you know how I make out.

[saveinla]

Mar 1, 2011 16:44:45 GMT -5 kathyattraverse said:

Going to K-Mart. Will let you know how I make out.

Kathy, Don't forget you Shopyourway rewards card. Scan that first and then scan everything else.

[mercee]

accountant4christ I got the envie today! Thank you thank you!!! I will have to keep my eye out for a sale on Bertolli & pick some up!!

[dancinmama]

Mar 1, 2011 13:17:47 GMT -5 weaselfer said:

I have to say that I always get a kick out of those who look down on Qs. If you saw a $20 bill on the ground, would you pick it up? Of course! But they don't see Qs as free money. This past weekend I took the kids to WalMart to pick up a few things that I had Qs for. I had DD hold them. I told her that she was holding $14 in her hand so don't lose them. You should have seen how big her eyes got. It adds up so fast and it was for things I use everyday. Some people just don't get it.

weaselfer: Would I pick a $20 bill up off the ground? Hell YES!! Yep, when I was using all those $1/1 Chex Mix Qs, it was just like having a wad of $1 bills to me.

I loved the story about your DD. How cute.

[dancinmama]

Mar 1, 2011 12:01:54 GMT -5 leanna said:

Hi. I just wanted to take a moment to introduce myself. I never really posted on the Women in Red thread when it was over at the MSN boards. But in scrolling around here on these new boards, I saw this awesome coupon thread and want to join in the fun!

I've been using coupons since I was a teenager, but it's only been in the last few months that I've ratcheted up my couponing from ordinary levels to extreme levels.

It's so much fun and I just love to talk about it, so I'm ready to join in on the fun!

leanna: WELCOME, WELCOME, WELCOME to the Grocery Challenge from me - dancinmama!! Oh my gosh, are you in the right place!! Couponing is fun all by itself, but you'll find that it's even more fun when you do it with this crazy group of coupon loving gals. So so glad you found us.

[dancinmama]

Mar 1, 2011 15:25:50 GMT -5 jdnstl said:

HOUND ALERT - uncle ben's ready rice $1/1 coupons from the 2/20 RP!!

there isn't a sale but these were pretty high value & DH loves these. so if you have extras to spare please send a PM & i can send my addy. i'm in the google docs as well!

TIA!!

jdnstl: I'll have to catch you on your next HOUND ALERT, but I've gotta say I love the purple.

[jdnstl]

Mar 1, 2011 15:52:03 GMT -5 misspt said:

jdnstl: I didn't get this coupon, as madcoupons skipped me that weekend, but I did check for you.

thanks anyway miss pt. i figure since it's a higher value one people will want to hold on to it but i wanted to put out the alert just in case someone had loads extra & was willing to share.

[AJ CouponGG]

Hey everyone I just got high dollar value kelloggs printable coupons off their website-so pop over if you eat that brand of cereal. I know my grocery store Giant Eagle will be having a big sale on Kelloggs cereal on the next ad- their currently advertising it for 5/$15 get $5 off instantly so 5/$10 but with these Q's you could get it much cheaper.

[dancinmama]

Mar 1, 2011 13:47:53 GMT -5 family legacy said:

I totally understand the crowd who look down on coupons. That was me just a couple months ago before I started here. After all, generics are cheaper even when you have a single coupon for a name-brand item, so what's an occasional 50 cent coupon going to do for me at a store that doesn't even double them. I thought of Wags as a pharmacy with overpriced goods on their shelves, and with RA, I'd literally throw out the weekly circular in the paper without even looking at it because it wasn't a store where I shopped. The occasional 50 cent coupon for a product I use wasn't worth the trouble to me. The idea of getting things for free, much less making money on them, was not in my realm of thought. Trust me, had it been I'd have been doing this long ago. I'm having soooo much fun couponing! And the savings are going right to my debt!

I don't think of myself with a hoarding personality, but stockpiling is virtually impossible not to do with couponing. How much of a stockpile do you guys keep of your purchases before you say ok that's enough for now? 1 years worth? 2 years?

deepindebt: Great post!! I'm curious as to how you found us and what exactly turned you on to giving coupons a try.

As far as how much I stockpile, it varies by product. If there is a freebie for something that we are able to stockpile for free fairly regularly, depending on the circumstances, I will often take a pass.

If, however, there is a freebie on something that we use all the time AND it might not be offered for free again for quite a while, I will "go for it". Example: It used to be that we could get smallish rolls of Reynolds aluminum foil for free at WAGs (Walgreens) with a $1/1 Q that was printed regularly in the coupon inserts. Although the Q said it COULD NOT be used on the 25 sq. ft. rolls, it said nothing about the 20 sq. ft. rolls which is the one that WAGs had on ad all the time. Then someone noticed that the latest Reynolds $1/1 IP restricted it's use on the 20 sq. ft. roll and predicted that the insert Qs would follow suit. So the next time WAGs ran the ad, I stockpiled like crazy cuz it was back in the day when I would 20 or more inserts each week for free (didn't know how long that would last either).

Some may have called it hoarding (even though I didn't clear any shelves), but I'd rather call it being a smart homemaker. The rolls were compact and easy to store and IF the insert Q followed the way of the IP, it would probably be the last chance to get free foil for quite a while.

Sure enough, the next time a $1/1 Reynold's aluminum foil insert Q came out, it came with restrictions on using it toward the 20 sq. ft. sized roll.

The info on the probable restriction came from a total stranger on HCW, but I am soooo grateful because now I have a great Reynold's stockpile and will not be paying high prices for aluminum foil for a very long time.

And that's my story for the day.