Comments on: Coupon Basics: Barriers To Getting Started

By: Cheryl

Cheryl — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:32:42 +0000

I just starting couponing, and how are you able to buy numerous items at one time. Exp: I have ten coupons, but the store only limits one coupon per item per transation. This is krogers limit 4..Randalls limits one. So how is everyone buying in bulk?? Please HELP!!!!!!!!

By: Catherine

Catherine — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 08:03:14 +0000

I am a stay at home mom for now. I get a few hours while the baby naps to work on organizing and planning my shopping trip...but I get all this crap from my family that I'm wasting my time. Also they are very embarrassed to go shopping with me. But it's so funny because when they need something they come to tell me. I don't mind using coupons to shop especially when there is a bugdet of $150/month on groceries and everyday necessities. Some barriers being faced are printable coupons. Of course like everyone else it gets scrutinize and most managers think I photocopy coupons because they are in black in white. At target they tell me to do separate transactions if two of the products are the same that I will be using coupons for. For example 5 sobe life water equals five separate transactions. CVS has said that they will only accept one printable coupon per transaction. Walgreens thing is the number of coupons can't be more than the number of items I'm buying. Got to keep in mind all this while I'm shopping where I'm shopping. Plus I have so many extra coupons that I don't know what to do with.

By: Virginia

Virginia — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 21:41:54 +0000

The best way to coupon is to stockpile items when they are cheap or free, so you really need multiple sets of inserts. You can buy them on ebay by 5 or e-mail madcoupons@live..com and ask to be added to her mailing list. She will email you the preview of what coupons are coming and if you want them will ship you 10 sets of insert for $10.50 shipped. I am splitting this with a friend, so it's $5.25 total for 5 sets of inserts. If there are 3 sets of inserts in the paper, you will get 10 of each insert. If there are no inserts or nothing interests you, skip that week. It will end up saving you the most money and building your stockpile. There are also other coupon sites that sell the whole uncut insert. I believe http://www.mycouponhunter.com has them.

By: Maria S.

Maria S. — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:59:48 +0000

You don't have a problem with what sounds like faded internet coupons being accepted?
With the way stores here are inspecting every single internet coupon I hand them, I no longer print in b/w and wouldn't even think of printing lighter because then I know I will be accused of something.
Already went through it at Target when they said loudly in front of a long line of people that my coupons were a "security issue" and they wouldn't accept the 3 or 4 that I had, regular and Target, none for the same item.
Since then, and every other store tightening their acceptance of internet printed coupons, I print in color and don't mess with any settings that would lighten them.

By: Virginia

Virginia — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:33:01 +0000

I absolutely HATE using coupons at Walmart... their employees are not very nice about them. I also hardly ever find good deals there and if I do, it's usually not worth the hassle of getting in and out of that store when I can pay a few pennies more at Publix or Kroger.

By: Cristina

Cristina — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 17:26:11 +0000

Help! I have a couple questions that I have posted on the forums, but haven't gotten a reply. My biggest obstacle is finding the coupons .. so many of the deals and freebies on this blog require you to get the sunday inserts (which I don't). I keep wondering if I should subscribe just for the coupons (it would be about $150/yr)?? Also, do you couponers take the time to search the pages and pages of online coupons? It seems to take forever to scroll through dozens of pages (I wish there was a "view all" button!!). Or do you just follow blogs like this one to point you to the good online coupons? Thanks!

By: Sheila W

Sheila W — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:56:12 +0000

I hear a lot from my friends that they do not have enough time to do couponing. So one week I sat down adn charted all my time and the amount saved to see what my time was worth couponing. On average I make $50.00 in savings per hour. Now I have worked full time all my life and I have never made $50.00 an hour. It is worth it to me and I consider couponing my second job. And I am so lucky to have two jobs that I enjoy doing.

By: Sheila W

Sheila W — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 14:52:08 +0000

I wanted to let you know what I do about the issue of holding up the line. I have one store that I shop at all the time (Publix). The managers and most checkers know me. When I have a large amount of coupons to use and I am ready to check out I go up to the service desk and show them what I have and the amount of coupons. The service desk will normally call the manager up to watch the service desk and the person working the service desk will open a new register just to check me out. Doing this has helped my relationship with the store and they now watch for me to come and have bets on my savings.

By: Virginia

Virginia — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 12:47:11 +0000

I am in the metro Atlanta area and we have some great libraries that have many, many computers and all services are free. I never use it myself because between my husbands office and our 3 home computers, I have plenty of coupons, but it is a great way to use a free service. :)

By: AC4

AC4 — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 12:36:09 +0000

The internet and printing is free at libraries in Northeast Ohio. Its a great option. I normally make a donation a couple times of year because they have such fantastic services.

By: Irene S.

Irene S. — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 11:37:47 +0000

I have been a couponer for a little over a year. I consider this my hobbie now because if I'm not working or doing homework for school, I'm tending to my Q's and shopping for deals. I cut every coupon out and file it. I find that works best for me over the just cut when you need it. I don't live in town where I can run back and forth to the house because I found a deal for a coupon that I know I have at home filed. I think my biggest problem is the organization of it all. Since I'm going back to school, the coupon clipping gets shoved aside sometimes, and I wind up with 3 weeks worth of clipping sometimes. OMG is that tedious to do! It is so gratifying, though, when I come out of the store with so much stuff for so little money!

By: Eleaves

Eleaves — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 11:23:53 +0000

I'm a mom of 4 and am homeschooling our oldest two (the other two are 3 and 2 so life is full). So time is a definite issue. I like the idea of just organizing the inserts by month in a file folder though. I was trying to figure out how best to organize because if I can keep organized it will keep the time spent to a minimum when it's time to organize a shopping trip. I've only been couponing since May so I'm trying to figure out a system before school starts back up in the fall. Any tips on how to organize and find coupons would be appreciated. Thanks.

By: Audra

Audra — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 03:57:49 +0000

I've been couponing for about a year. Before I got started, I honestly didn't think it was worth the effort to save $.25 here or $1 there. I didn't believe my friend when she told me how much she saved. I still feel like I'm blundering about especially when it comes to groceries. I can handle Rite Aid and CVS, but I make so many mistakes at grocery stores. I'm still saving money though!

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 03:24:30 +0000

I'm still pretty new to couponing, so I'm sure it will get better with time, but... 1. I feel like I have awful timing. I don't really like to stockpile, so when I find I need something, I'll buy it (with maybe a $0.50 coupon if it's handy) and then find the item on sale and a $1.00 coupon in the following week's insert. Very frustrating! I know that's still $0.50 saved, but if I had just waited a few days... 2. I'm afraid I will buy something just because I have a coupon for it. I've gotten better about this mindset, but it's still difficult to resist sometimes (because I -could- use it in the future maybe... right?), and then I just end up spending more money than I would have by not buying the thing at all. :(

By: Desiree Torres

Desiree Torres — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 03:16:37 +0000

I am trying my best but I too dislike holding up the people behind me. People hate to be on line with someone who has coupons! Checkout cashiers also give dirty looks, long pauses, and call over other people. Sometimes it's embarrassing and they have a way of making you feel ashamed! Also, I work hard to research, print coupons, organize, print out a shopping list and get to the store. Finally, I find what I am looking for and it's the wrong size or wrong amount. OR, worse yet, it is NOT there at all! Other times I go and pick it up only to see that the sale price is STILL too expensive. And, yes folks, paper and ink are not cheap. For some reason websites feel like they have to use up every inch of the paper to further advertise with a large photo which ends up going in the garbage anyway! I always end up with a zillion pieces of paper and wandering down the aisles for hours trying to find the stuff on the coupons. It's extremely time-consuming. Ok, thanks for letting me vent! I'm done griping lol

By: Laurie

Laurie — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 02:16:31 +0000

I was doing great w/ coupons for about a year, and in the last few months kinda fell off the wagon. The obstacles I've found are that #1 I'm pregnant and trying to eat very healthy, little canned or processed food, mostly organic produce, and that stuff is rarely free or cheap, and you can't stockpile fruit and milk. #2 obstacle is time: spent running after papers every Sunday and then clipping all the coupons and weeding out all the expireds. (A home-delivery is much more $ than buying the paper at the dollar store- just $1vs. $2+ but running out every Sunday for a paper sometimes gets forgotten or isn't possible.) I do have a binder w/ all my coupons and I do clip them all, and it takes awhile. Then I file them (under categories, like the store is set up- not alphbetically) which takes awhile longer. I've tried the method of clipping "as needed" and I find I miss so many clearance deals, or just don't have the coupons I need WITH me when I need them. And then all my internet printables were SO disorganized when I tried the file/ clip-as-needed method. So, for me, it's so much more time consuming, but seems I get better deals when I have my binder. #3 obstacle: I hate when the "rewards" deals don't work... (ie at Walgreens, "unadvertised" deals, etc) and then remembering to use the rewards before they expire can be frustrating. There is nothing more sickening than finding a stack of RR (like $17 worth) that expired! I've found that our Target and Jewel Osco in town will take Wag's RR though, so that's been great. I like being able to buy necessities like fruit w/ my RR.

By: Twyla

Twyla — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 02:11:40 +0000

My biggest hurdle right now is me. I tend to want to go to every blog and get every matchup for all the stores in my area (Walgreens, Walmart and Target), I show up at the store with my file binder of coupons and my matchup list. Too much brain power. I am thinking I need to get everything ready before I hit the stores. I also find too that I might not go to any store because it is so difficult ot hit them all and get all the freebies out there. We shop for grocery at Woodmans and I cannot find anywhere any advance notice of sales so it is hard to show up with matchups. And my husband refuses to follow a grocery list. I hate the $300 grocery bill. I am also an impulsive shopper :-(

By: Liz

Liz — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 02:11:11 +0000

Would you please tell me the name brand and model of your printer?

By: Anne

Anne — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 01:25:21 +0000

Two things come to mind. First, there are days I feel like I have to have money in order to save money. Alot of times I have pretty good coupons/deals but I don't have the cash to do it. That is very frustrating to me.

Second, kids! We are a one car family. I am at home with them. When we do go shopping we usually go as a family. Well it's not working. My kids (who are 6, 4 and 2) turn into little devils in the store. I can't concentrate on what I am trying to do and my husband can't get them to straighten up.

So this afternoon, we decided I would go out by myself. Probaby on Sunday mornings or after my husband gets home from work. But my husband is going back to school this fall and will be working. So I may have less of a chance to go by myself then.

By: Crystal W.

Crystal W. — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 23:51:02 +0000

I'm new to the "Coupon Game" lol, but I love it! I'm a single mom of 3 ages 4,5,and a 3 month old. Any money I can save helps out a bunch. It can be time consuming, however I have managed my time well enough to browse, print, and search for coupons. My most recent trip to walmart i spent .80 on half a bag full of merchandise ( shampoo,baby wipes,pantyliners and etc.). So now, I'm always on the lookout in the clearance sections, rollbacks and great deals at Walmart. I personally haven't had a problem with the Internet coupons out here in Longview, Tx, but I have read on many sites where people always have problems at walmart, when it come to the printables.