I Was Kind Of Interested

Re: I Was Kind Of Interested

I only buy brand names for a couple of items. If they sold off brand Lemon scented bleach, I would buy it rather than Clorox. I also buy All Free and Clear laundry soap and Aquafresh toothpaste because of various allergies in the family. I mainly save by buying on sale and off brands. i have never been one of those super coupon clippers. One thing I would love to get rid of is pull ups. Those things mount up even if we buy the off brand!

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the MUST have brand names we use are, Duke's Mayonaise um...um.. and toilet paper doesn't matter the brand name, but it cannot be generic. A-1 steak sauce, Hidden Valley Ranch ( I HATE off brand ranch) Diet coke or Pepsi, but George drink the generic brand mountain dew stuff.

That's it, and because we spend well over $600 a month on groceries, we try to go with generic in most brands. There are other things I would rather do without than eat off brand, like.. Spaghetti Os but that's not due to name exactly as much as just taste.
And we buy first at Walmart and then Bi-Lo. Unless Food Lion has something major going on sale wise. I would rather shop at Lowes, or Piggly Wiggly, but.. we cannot afford to shop those unless there is a major sale ( and George and I get lost in Piggly Wiggly) ( or as Kyan says is Piddewly Widdewly)

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I'm a terrible coupon clipper. I don't seem to have the patience no matter how much I try too. I just can't get myself organized enough to make it worth it. Plus, I will NOT shop at 10 different stores. And if I do stop at multiple stores, they had better be close to each other.
, Cott,
I buy brand names in certain things. I have to buy Heinz, Cottonelle toilet paper (after using cheap stuff in the military, Den is VERY picky on what we use. I had to ship it to him in Iraq....LOL) Most condiments HAVE to be name brand. I'm with Shona on no off brand ranch--I use Hidden Valley because I don't even like Kraft Ranch. Some things it just doesn't make any difference and some things there is a BIG difference.

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I like Hellmanns mayo, Heinz ketchup and Marzano's Ranch (the one in the refrinderated section by the veggies or Marie's Ranch also in the refriderated section, Coke, a Paul Newman's Lemon Vinegrette dressing. There are a few other things. I buy some organic things too so they are more expensive and I try to buy dye free in foods when I have the choice. My ids eat a lot of fruits and raw veggies so those are costly and I eat raw veggies and nuts. It's so hard to save. I try to not use disposable bags but only reusualbe containers and not juice and milk boxes but refillable cups.

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Like Wendy, I am not organized or patient enough to coupon. Lately, with money so tight, we have been buying off-brands and sales for almost everything.

Name brand we HAVE to have:

Heinz Ketchup
Contadina tomato sauce and paste
Blue Plate Mayo
Hidden Valley Ranch
Coffee Mate Creamer

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LOL I just realized how messed up my post looks.....I swear I can't get the hang of this laptop keyboard...I'm always moving words around without realizing it

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$100 worth of groceries for .25c is just incredible!! There are a few good coupon sites on the net to learn about that kind of thing to.

But at the end of the day it kind of depends how much your time is worth (some of the coupon fanatics spend hours and hours collecting and swapping coupons).

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well we have an HEB here and I usually only get the store brand products, they usualy are the exact same as name brand and I am not a fan of paying more for the name of something. What I usually do is compare ingredients in a product the the off name product and they are usually the same. The hubby and I are doing well on money but I am still a penny pincher.

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Angel Soft toilet paper is my big one. There used to be a Save-a-Lot just up the road and there was an off-brand of ketchup that was AWESOME!! better than the name brands.

Toothpaste for me, like Lenora, is difficult. I'm allergic to mint.

We buy the discounted-day old meats and freeze them. Even the flavored burgers our store makes. Two burgers is enough for a double-box helper for us.

We buy on sale and use coupons when the brand name would be cheaper than the off brand.

Oh, deoderants. I sweat ALOT so I usually have to get Degree. And Hubby likes a particular one. The kids get whatever we can get super cheap.

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I use coupons, have for years, can't imagine shopping without them. I have a method for organzing and using them, and I always shop with a list. ALWAYS. I am not saying I don't buy things that are not on the list, because inevitably, I go to the store and find good buy one get one free sales (and I usually have a coupon for those items) or I find good sale prices on certain items (and I usually have a coupon for those, too). I only shop at Walmart or Publix.
As for name brand items, I don't buy store brand ketchup. We buy only Hunt's or Hienz. Emily is the big ketchup eater and she likes either one, so I buy whichever one is on sale and/or the one I have a coupon for. I do not buy store brand mayo, and I prefer Blue Plate, but will buy Hellman's if I have a coupon and/or it's on sale. Canned vegetables have to be Del Monte, and I am with Shona about Ranch--Hidden Valley only. Ragu spaghetti sauce. I buy only Bounty, Viva, Scott, or Sparkle paper towels, though Kroger has a store brand kind that my mother in law buys sometimes, and it's pretty good. My two must haves are Shout Color Catchers (though I almost always have a coupon) and OxyClean (blue spray bottle) laundry stain remover. I am not really picky about name brand stuff really. I will usually at least try the store brand, but honestly with coupons, I can usually get name brand stuff as cheap or cheaper than store brand.

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I forgot Spray - n - wash. I will use the Oxy stuff though, but I can by the BIG HUGE bottle of Spray n wash at Costco for like.. $7 and sometimes i can get a $3 or $4 coupon for it. I use in store coupons a lot, but I am not a coupon clipper. Most of the coupons wwe get, is for stuff we won't eat.

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i usually buy whatever is on sale and stock up on it. being in the grocery store pretty much every day makes it easy to get the great mark down deal on meat and bakery goods.

i wish *sorta* as a customer that we had coupon deals like you all do down there. but as a cashier i am happy that we don't they sound like a ton of extra work

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Oh wow Shona that is a huge deal. We go through a lot of that in the spring and summer once ball season starts....practice is VERY hard on our jeans...LOL

Ugh Tammy---lists! You sound so organized...LOL. When I write a list, I forget the stupid thing at home. So if that tells you why I don't use coupons. I try...really! Last month I clipped two Sunday papers and forgot them! Some were for wonderful deals too!!

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Oh wow Shona that is a huge deal. We go through a lot of that in the spring and summer once ball season starts....practice is VERY hard on our jeans...LOL

Ugh Tammy---lists! You sound so organized...LOL. When I write a list, I forget the stupid thing at home. So if that tells you why I don't use coupons. I try...really! Last month I clipped two Sunday papers and forgot them! Some were for wonderful deals too!!

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that and toilet paper, we buy at costco LOL

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I love costco! we buy tp and paper towels in bulk from there.

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It's just a habit you have to develop, and it's the only area where I am organized, trust me!
I started out with a very small coupon organizer that would fit in my purse. It had labeled sections (breakfast foods, frozen/canned foods, cleaning supplies, snacks, condiments, etc). I would cut my coupons out and immediately sort them into the organizer and then put the organizer back in my purse. I also invested in magnetized notepads (usually have these at the dollar store) and kept one on the fridge. Whenever we ran out of something (laundry detergent, deodorant, saline, milk, etc) we wrote it on the pad. When it was grocery shopping time, I took the pad, went through the kitchen and added to the list, then I would sit down and go through my coupons, and if I had a coupon for something on the list, I would write a C next to it so I knew to use the coupon. Also, in the coupon organizer, I had a place to put the coupons I would be using at the store for that shopping trip, usually labeled "Today's coupons." Once I finished with the list and the coupons, I put the list inside the coupon organizer with the coupons I was going to use at the grocery store, and then I PUT THE ORGANIZER BACK IN MY PURSE. The key for me was to always put the coupon organizer BACK in my purse so I could not or would not forget it at home. It sounds like a lot more work than it really is to do this.
I still do it this way, with the list written on the magnetized notepad that is kept on the fridge, except now my coupon organizer is a notecard box so it does not fit in my purse. I made my own sections using note cards, and it works great. I would say making the list and going through my coupons takes no more than 15 minutes--and I really think it takes a lot less than that. I cut my coupons pretty much every week, and I sort them and put them in the organizer on Sundays, usually while I am at the kitchen table eating breakfast and having coffee. This doesn't take any time really--a few minutes, and to me it's worth it because I do big grocery shopping once or twice a month, and I always save at least $40 in coupons per trip. Then when I pick up a few things here or there or do in between shopping, I still save $5 to $20 a trip. Also, if you live in an area where you have Kroger, and they have gas stations, if you shop there, you get extra savings because you get gas discounts for every $100 you spend. I said earlier that I shop only at Walmart or Publix, but I do shop at Kroger once or twice a month (not for my main shopping) to get the gas discount.

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Oh, and now I usually keep the coupon organizer in my car. I run out or send Kyle out to get it from the car when I cut my coupons or make my list, but I keep it in the car so that if I need to run by the store on a whim, I still have my coupons.

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Oh that sounds like a great idea to mark the list with what you have a coupon for. I used to help my grandma with her coupons and I don't know why I don't do it....well I do...it is call LAZINESS!!! I'll have to fix that

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I forgot about laundry stuff. Stain remover we don't care. Brian is sensitive and we use Era. I can't handle (allergies SUCK) scented stuff, but our grocery store has scent-free dryer sheets we use.

Since the kids over-use the cleaners we get the super duper cheap stuff and cut it with water.

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I spend about $600-$700 at Costco every month, and another $200 or so a month on items I don't need in bulk at a regular grocery store. That's not including household items which I usually spend around $400 a month at Target for(that's diapers, wipes, soaps, etc).

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Wendy, try writing your list on an envelope and putting your coupons in the envelope, then in your purse. That's how my mom did it for years.

Me? I am an avid coupon user! I spend between $250 and $300 and month on EVERYTHING; food, cleaning, HBA, pet stuff, toiletries, etc. There are so many thing ou can use coupons for that don't include food. In fact, MOST of wehat I save on is NOT food. It just bothers me so much to hear people say they don't have time, or it's too much trouble or they just "don't get it" when it comes to coupons. It's as time consuming as you want to make it. Personally, I spend about 2 hours a week doing coupons, but that includes my lists/shopping for CVS, Walgreens, Kroger, Walmart, Target adn any other stores I need to go to. I have a "circle" I make when shopping - one store to the next. That way I can get it all done in one day if i want to, but I usually split it up into 2 days. I get approx $500-$600 worth of goods for $300 of less (usually much less) every month. To me, that is more than worth the little bit of time I spend doing coupons.

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We don't subscribe to the newspaper so we don't get coupons. Where do you all get your coupons from? I would love to use coupons and save money at the grocery store if I had them. My mom used coupons a lot but she just got them from the newspaper.

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Cheryl you can Google "Free Coupons" and a bunch of websites will come up where you can print coupons. The ones I use is coupon.com and thecouponmom.com.

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We get coupons in the mail...the same ones in the Sunday paper come free in my mail every Wed or Thurs.

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You can b uy coupons from www.thecouponclippers.com I know it's weird to buy them but if you buy a lot it's worth it. I always try to get the Johnson's coupons so I can get free Buddies soap!

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Ok..thanks for the tips on where to get coupons!!

Liz, that is great and sounds like you get some good deals there!! And what a deal on that chocolate!! (I didn't even know Starbucks made chocolate bars. ).

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They make chocolate covered espresso beans that I want to try really bad but I'm not allowed to eat the dang things!

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well... I shop at the commisarry, because that is my only option. Actually that's not true, I shop on the economy (German Stores) for some items, but most of my groceries come from post. My key is to make a menu plan for the week, then a list, and stick to it unless it's a great deal. We don't do off brands, but only because the commisary doesn't carry generics. I always price compare on the unit price, and buy the cheaper brand. I do prefer to buy All laundry detergent, and I don't like powdered detergant at all. I don't know if it was the machine we used or what but it used to leave residue on my clothes (this was years ago though) so I stopped buying powder.
I'm sure that when we get stateside we will shop at the local stores based on their sale ads, I hope they have an Aldi near where we are moving, they were always good for cheap groceries.