Are coupons REALLY worth it?

Do you ever wonder just how much value is in cutting, organizing, and remembering to shop with coupons are each week? Even though I see how many free or nearly free items I am able to get each week using coupons, I still have had moments where I have wondered if it was really worth it. I have wondered if I just shopped at WalMart if it would be nearly the same without the hassle.

I had an opportunity to see just how much value they bring to my life with my recent illness. I went at least a month where I did not use a single coupon. I didn't even shop. I made lists and sent my husband or my two teens to the store to keep us going. They picked up a lot of easy to prepare items, $4 boxes of cereal, pizzas, burgers, chicken nuggets. I had a lot of tests during this time and couldn't eat, so I would stop for something after my appointment. My husband bought lunch out because I wasn't making him anything. In 40 days time we spent $1400 on food. My normal budget is $600 a month. We blew it! We wasted a lot of money and let laziness and sickness take our money. Thank God we are not so tight on a budget that it made us go in debt or caused us to go hungry later.

I am going to focus on making up more items for the freezer. Cooked chicken for casseroles, grilled chicken, grilled pork chops, a cooked roast, cooked hamburger meat. Also stock up more soups and some more things in cans like spaghettios, beef stew, etc. I can't get enough cereal. We were going through over a box a day. I have a lot of frozen and canned vegetables. I ate a lot of crackers since I wasn't feeling well.

I truly believe that the coupons are a big money saver. They allow me to keep my pantry stocked and if I cook from that I can feed my family economically and healthier meals. It is good to have some of the prepackaged items for illnesses or emergency situations, but I wouldn't want to eat that way most of the time. I also don't want to eat out as much as we have. My family has been a blessing to help out so much and I really appreciate them, but I also got a little validation to what I bring to the family with my coupon shopping and using what we have for meals.

How Stores Handle Coupons

There is an interesting post with a lot of information that I did not know about how coupons are profitable for the stores. A lot of cashiers act like we are stealing from them When I get stuff free or am paid to buy something I sometimes feel like that. But, it is nice to know that they are not losing a cent. Check it out here.

Money Maker at Walgreens

Buy 2 Olay Regnerist moisturizers or cleaners that are buy one get one 50% at Walgreens this week. The starting price for the sale items is $9.99. Use the $5 off 2 coupon from the 12/14 Proctor and Gamble newspaper insert. Then use this rebate form and you can get a $15 gift card when you purchase any 2 Olay Regenerist moisturizers or cleansers.
You'll pay $14.99 and use the $5.00 off 2 coupon to make it $9.99 and get back $15 - a moneymaker of $5.01.

Thanks to BeCentsAble for this deal alert!

Honey Buches of Oats coupon

Click here for a $2.00 0ff Honey Bunches of Oats Coupon-look at bottom of page to find the coupon! Wait until stores put the cereal on sale for free cereal.

Free Buddies soap

Print the new Johnson's coupon to Save $3 on 3 products and pick-up some free Johnson's Buddies soaps! Hit the back button to print it a second time. They are priced at $1 or just below at several stores including Target, Walmart, CVS, and Kroger. My kids are a little old for this but I always pick up the free bars and give as shower gifts or to my new niece and nephew. You get 6 free bars with the two coupons!

Betty Crocker coupons

If you haven't signed up for the Dinner made easy weekly newsletter you can do that here. They will send you a coupon booklet with $10 in coupons. If you have already signed up the offer is not available again. They will send you a weekly email newsletter with 30 minute recipes and access to print internet coupons.

Coupon Clipping Service

Common Sense with Money did a post today on using coupon clipping service. It lists links to different services you can buy coupons from. They also explain the price per coupon.

Where to get coupons

I had someone ask in my comments section where I get all my coupons. I thought I would post it instead of answering in the comments section because I figure that it may benefit more people who have the same question.

1. The first place is the Sunday paper. Once a month Procter and Gamble puts in a coupon insert so I usually will go pick up another paper that day so I will have extra coupon inserts.
2. Magizines always have coupons. Walmart has a magazine that is only sold there called ALL YOU. It has a ton of coupons in it. The magizine just increased their price to a little over $2, but it is still worth paying for it because you make it back in coupons.
3. Publix has a seasonal booklet found up front with coupons in it. Kmart and other stores also will put out booklets found at the front so check as you go in. I always pick up a few. This week at Publix they had the College Inn 32 oz. stock on sale $2.79/2 with BOGO. In the Publix winter booklet they had a $1 coupon. I saw it and picked up 4 booklets. When I walked out I got 4 more. I ended up doing 4 transactions (at different times) buying 4 cartons each time- paying $.40 each carton. In the booklets some coupons are for that store only- but some say manufacture coupon and you can use them at any store. Publix also accepts competitors coupons. I took coupons out of the same booklet to Walgreens and got Scotch tape for $.15 each. I took coupons to Kroger and got free Scotch Brite scrubbers.
4. Sign up for all reward/loyalty cards. CVS will e-mail coupons for $5 off $20 purchase. Walgreens also does this regurlarly. Kroger mails me a sheet of coupons about every 3 months and it includes free items like eggs, produce up to $3, 12 pack Pepsi.
5. The majority of my high value coupons are printed off the internet. Coupons.com, Eat Better America, Eatingwell.com, Home solutions news, Smart source, Target, and many manufacturer's websites.
6. You can load coupons onto your Kroger card from Proctor and Gamble , Shortcuts, Cellfire. You can use the loaded coupon in combination with a manufacturer coupon for extra savings. The loaded coupons do not double.
7. Free Samples from Walmart, Costco (You do not have to be a member of the store)They will usually include coupons with your sample when it mails to you.
8. You can also trade for coupons at Hot Coupon World or buy them off e-bay or couponclippers.com.
9. Always look in boxes or bags of products you buy. Chex had a BOGO coupon on their boxes earlier this year for El Paso taco seasoning. I always have coupons in my hair color. Glade candles will have coupons. Sometimes coupons are printed on the inside of a box so you have to look.
10. Blinkie machines and tear pads: In the aisles of the grocery store they will have the machines that have coupons that come out, or tear pads with coupons. I always pick these up and save for when the item goes on sale.
11. A lot of times the product will have a free after rebate or $1 off peelie on the item. You are to peel the coupon and use with the purchase. If you have another coupon that expires earlier you can save the peelie to use later.
12. Don't forget rebate items. I buy everything from Rite Aid and Walgreens that I get free after rebate. I make money when I use a coupon to pay then get the full amount of the item back. I also get all the CVS items that they offer each month that you pay for and then get the ECB (extra care bucks) back. Occasionally I will find rebates from other sources and purchase that product for a rebate.

To keep up with the deals the best place to check is Hot Coupon World- this is a link to the forums. You can then either search per store or click on the bar at the top for new posts. If you look at the new posts section it will bring up the whole thread for a subject. I find it easier to go back that way than going the other way to the store and starting from the beginning. They have a preview with photo of sales add that comes in Sunday's paper for Walgreens and CVS. They also have preview threads of what will be on sale in coming weeks. Then, people will post coupons that match the sales. They tell what coupon insert(SS=Smart Source, P&G= Proctor and Gamble, RP=Red Plum) and what date the insert was in the paper. EX: Tide $1 P&G 11/2 means $1 coupon for Tide in Proctor and Gamble insert that was in 11/2 paper.

I have been putting the whole insert section in divided sections per date in a 3 ring binder. I just cut the coupon as needed instead of cutting every coupon. You will find a lot of free or money makers so I don't like to throw away coupons until they expire. I am still working on this way of clipping coupons and still have my old small divided file organizer filled with coupons that I have to search through. I don't take the binder to the store, as some do. The advantage of having all your coupons with you is you can take advantage of deals. I am so focused when I shop I am not really searching for extra hidden deals. I may see some but mostly I have a list and my coupons and I am in and out quickly.

WFMW- Expiring coupons

Around the beginning of each month I go through my coupons to weed out expiring coupons. I pull out the ones that will be expiring for that month and put them into a business size envelope. I then make a list of the items that are either a high value coupon or a coupon that when doubled would be a good deal. I also note items that are for basic products that we would need to buy anyway. This leaves a lot of coupons that I do not note on my list. They are things that I would only buy as a money maker or if almost free, not my normal products to buy. Then, I take this list and envelope shopping and from the list check prices at the stores when I shop. Since they are expiring I am trying to benefit from the coupon, but only if it is a good deal. At the end of the month all the coupons that you didn't use are already in an envelope to send to overseas military. Overseas military bases allow members to use expired coupons, so they love to get them.

Rocks in my Dryer has more Works for me Wednesday tips here.

My coupon organizer!

A couple of weeks ago I won a coupon organizer from 3 Princesses momma and it arrived a couple of days ago. I am excited to see if this way of organizing and storing my coupons will speed up the time that I have been spending getting ready to shop. It has a pouch to keep your scissors and other items, then it is divided into sections that you just file each weeks circulars and only cut the coupons when you need them. Not only did I get the notebook and tools I got 3 weeks worth of coupons! More deals for me.