Open Mic is a post every Thursday that is a mini-version of a discussion board. You can leave a comment with whatever coupon, money-saving or debt reduction tips or questions you have and other readers chime in and answer.
When you leave a comment you’ll be able to choose whether you’d like to be emailed follow-up comments or not. Getting comments via email is a great way to stay connected without having to visit the site a bazillion times (although I don’t mind if you come a bazillion times).
As always, I look forward to hearing the voice of the Pocket Your Dollars community. Read through the Open Mic archives here.
Your turn: Leave a comment with your money-saving, coupon or debt reduction question, thought or suggestion.
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Up & Up diapers from Target, pretty sweet deal that was listed here on PYD in January. I bought 4 boxes for diapers from Target online January 29. Unfortunatly I completly forgot about them but I just recieved notification they are shipping yesterday. So. If anyone else is waiting on them they should be on thier way soon :) of maybe it’s just my order that was delayed.
Still can’t beleive I completly spaced out the fact that I bought 4 bid boxes of diapers online. ugh.
Mine are coming as well. I called a few weeks ago and they gave me an additional 20% off for the inconvenience. The only reason I remembered is that we were leaving for vacation and I needed the diapers for the grandparents!
Mine are on their way too! (I just feel sorry for the UPS person who has to deliver the diaper load!)
Sounds like in previous posts a lot of people had part or all of their order cancelled. Big bummer that Target.com couldn’t fulfill all orders. It was a little bit of a downer that it took about a month to have them delivered (I just hope we can still squeeze into those size 3′s!)
When I called Tuesday about my order they said they were only shipping part of it. I ordered 1 box of size 3’s and 3 boxes of size 4’s. It has taken so long that my little one can’t use the size 3’s and that is the box that is delayed until April. I asked if I could change it to 4’s or 5’s and they said they were out of both of them. They did say I could exchange the box at the store so you could try that.
I’ve read a lot about people needing to get rain checks at Rainbow when products run out. How does that work? You can use the rain check later with the doubled coupon and everything? I haven’t had to do it yet (only been at this one week!) so would like a little more info for when it happens to me! Thanks!
The cashier at Rainbow can write out the raincheck and the check out. I always ask if they will still double the coupon, and they will add a note to the raincheck for the coupon to be doubled. I don’t know if they actually will, because I will just go back on a Wednesday or Saturday, when I am picking something else up.
Thanks for that tip, Christine! I wonder if you’ve had an unusually nice cashier that would make that special note. I was told they couldn’t do that; but then I have just re-used the raincheck on a double coupon day. And like Nikki said, their rainchecks don’t last very long, and although my SLP Rainbow is very nice, they wouldn’t take an expired one awhile back.
Maren,
Ask the cashier for a rain check. You have two weeks to use it. If it is one that you want to double you have to use it the next wednesday or saturday. Word of Caution: Make sure plan to use it the next week…I have had several expire.
I agree, try to use it quickly and try to use it on Wed or Sat so the coupon doubles. Also if it is busy (a lot of customers in line behind you) it is more courteous to ask the Customer Service desk to write one for you instead of stopping the cashier and holding up the line.
Does anybody have suggestions for good magazines for pre-school kids (ages 4-5)? And, if you knew of a good deal for any of those magazines, even better! :) Thanks!
My daughter has been receiving Highlights (for the younger kiddos) since she was 2 1/2–she is almost 4 now. . She loves the stories and poems at bedtime. The mag has activities too–she sits down and completes many on her own. She also receives National Geaographic for kids–it is better suited for K and up though.
My older daughter loves National Geographic for Kids and I see now that they also have National Geographic for Little Kids. I have not ordered it yet for my younger daughter, but their web site says it is for 3-6 year olds.
My daughter receives a subscription for birthday every year. And she loves it.
our kids enjoyed Clubhouse Jr. (through Focus on the Family) and then, when they got a little older, they switched to Clubhouse magazine. Lots of fun and good stuff in there.
My daughter likes Club House Junior. It is from Focus on the Family.
Does anyone have any ideas for me for throwing a frugal, yet festive, graduation open house for my very deserving son? June will be here soon and we want to celebrate but we are big in the battle of getting out of debt. I am looking for ideas so I can take advantage of any deals between now & then, especially on non-perishing foods that I could start stocking up on. Also, menu ideas that are inexpensive to purchase & fix? Best places to buy the perishables (meat, cake, etc) in large quantity?
My folks did a brunch open house for me when I graduated. It helped because breakfast food can sometimes be cheaper (think egg bakes, muffins, waffles, sausage, etc) The most expensive part was probably the fresh fruit. You could probably get ham cheap at Easter time and freeze until June which would be good to serve with brunch. Not sure about alcohol but I don’t think we had any- for sure no beer because of the time of day which also helped cut costs.
Another benefit of brunch (with so many open houses that time of year) people said they liked having one in the early hours of the day instead of one more to get to in the afternoon. I think we did 10:00-1:00 if I remember correctly. We also heard it was nice to have a change of food from the usual burgers, sandwiches, sloppy joes, pasta salads, etc.
We are in the same situation. We are doing a taco bar, the meat is a little more than the pulled pork I was originally planning, but it will be just as easy and almost a wash by the time I consider the buns and condiments. We are purchasing our beef from Sams club I don’t know yet which is the cheapest option for our cheese and I am making the cake myself. Just a large sheet cake scored with rose bud on each piece in her school colors. She wants her photo on the cake, in the middle but I have not priced that out yet.
If you are making your own taco meat for your taco bar, have you considered doing half ground turkey with the ground beef to help bring down the cost a little? Since I have been following PYD and have gotten a ton of ground turkey for little or nothing, I have started to do that with all my ground beef recipes. It has really cut down on the amount of money I spend for meat and my picky-eating family has no idea I have been doing it so I am certain the mixed in ground turkey is not even detectable.
Thanks for the idea of suplimenting the beef with the turkey!! I never would have thought of it though at home I have been mixing it as well (don’t tell my husband)
thanks again! :)
Ice Cream Social… You don’t need a big meal. You can nuts/toppings/sprinkles when you have coupons and on sale. I would try to go to Sam’s Club or Costco for the cake though. They have very inexpensive cakes. Drinks can be lemonade, iced tea, water. My Dad and step mom did something similar for one of my younger brothers a few years back.
Funny you should mention this topic, both the grad party and the ice cream social idea, cuz it’s definitely on my mind. I have a son graduating this spring, as well. I have one grad party under my belt two years ago and found that pulled pork was very economical. Still, I’m sure we spent a total of $500, including purchasing a reusable tent for $100 (which we will use this year). I am considering pulled pork again, even though my son has requested a BW party (Buffalo Wild Wings!). Yikes! I seriously think I will start pricing out an ice cream social.
A wealthy family I know had an ice cream social last spring for their senior. I thought it was refreshing to see someone who could have spent much more, spend much less and still have a great party. Of course, they chose to have it catered from Ben & Jerry’s (and it was more expensive than what I might choose), but it still was cheaper than a full out meal. After having one party, I have to admit that lots of food is left uneaten and you do a lot of running around, even with a couple of friends to help.
Another great idea from other parents this year: if you live in a neighborhood with more than one senior and very similar friends, go in together on the party! Makes lots of sense, even from more than just a financial one.
I second the ice cream social. Since so many parties are food, don’t people appreciate dessert only? You could combine the ice cream and toppings with either cake or cupcakes. I feel a long ways from throwing this party (my oldest is in 6th grade), but I heard this idea last spring and thought it was super clever. You can fill a second freezer with ice cream and just keep replenishing the buckets, right?
I also like the taco bar idea! You could even do Frito bags for taco-in-a-bag idea for kids.
We do tacos in a bag, or a nacho bar, for most of our gigantic family gatherings (my husband has 5 brothers, all with wives and children). The nacho bar is a huge hit! Buy the big can of nacho sauce at Sam’s – put in a crockpot with a ladle. Then do a crockpot of chicken taco meat and one of beef taco meat. And then just dishes of all the other toppings (onions, tomatoes, black olives, black beans, etc), . You never realize how good nachos are until you make these!!! AND you can make the chicken and beef ahead and freeze it. Easy peasy!
for my sisters grad party they did a taco bar! with the good sales on meet/cheese i am sure this could be pretty inexpensive!!!
We went to a grad party last spring and they served Pasta dishes – you don’t need much variety – just maybe one red and one white sauce,some noodles, bread and salad. She had everything in crockpots and/or roasters. Was very nice to have something other than the traditional ham sandwiches and chips. HTH
I wouldn’t be shy to ask close relatives if they’d like to bring something…we haven’t had a graduation yet, but whenever we have a family birthday party at the house for one of the boys the grandparents, my aunt, etc always offer to bring something to share, and I always take them up on it!
Thanks sooooo much for all the graduation party tips! My brain is on overload but I’m having fun sorting out all the ideas and will get my husband & son’s opinions on which ideas to use.
Thanks again for taking the time to share them!
cricketmag.com has magazines for kids. We really enjoy these. We get Ladybug for my youngest and he loves it. I read them over and over and he looks at them on his own. There is no advertising in any of their mags.
Lane, my niece graduated last year and we went with shredded pork, you can buy big pork shoulders at sams or costco, they are around $20 but each shoulder is about 15 pounds once you cook it down, shredded it and seal it all u have to do is throw it in a slow cooker with bbq sauce. We bought 4 pork shoulders and once cooked down we had about 25 lbs of pork and we easily feed the 200 people plus had leftovers. We bought a pork shoulder every other week to save on the expense. We also did a taco salad which we bought the ground meat ahead of time and cooked it all ahead of time. Sams/Costco are the cheapest on cake by far. good luck!
It is okay to buy a cake but one that we went to they had cupcakes which was neat and homemade! Cake mixes have been reasonable but if not on sale then Aldi has them and no coupon required. They were decorated in school colors and piped on them was a letter and I think it was the graduates name. It looked great and tasted good. It didn’t require a small plate just a napkin and no forks.
I like the brunch idea as well as so many have in afternoon and breafast foods are cheaper. Could do a coffee cake vs grad cake or still cupcakes.
Does anyone know of cheaper sources for Boston Contact lens solution, specifically Boston Simplus® Multi-Action Solution? I rarely find coupons for it and Walmart and Target rarely have have it on sale.
There may be a reason why you use that solution, but have you ever tried the generics at Target or elsewhere? The Up & Up brand is significantly cheaper than the name brands and my optometrist told me once that it’s actually made by one of the name brand companies. I forget which it was though.
Mary I use to use the opti-free but its like 8 dollars a bottle so I switched to the walmart generic brand equate. I get 2 huge bottles for only 4 dollars that double the amount for half the price and it works just as well.
If I print a coupon from the Target website, but it says “Manufacturer’s coupon” on the top, can I use it at other stores – e.g. Rainbow?
I have not had any luck in using my “Target” manufacturer’s coupons at Rainbow or Cub.
Actually a lot of the Target manufacturer coupons DO NOT have the target logo anymore.
I have used mine at Rainbow and Walgreens with no problem.
You can use the manufacturer ones anywhere. There are 2 sets of barcodes though so if it doesn’t ring up at first, tell them to try the other bar code. One might be Target specific.
I haven’t had any luck using the Manufacturer’s coupons from Target at other stores, because they put the Target logo on it. All other stores have refused them. Plus because they are manufacturer coupons you can’t double up with coupons, which you could do if they were Target coupons.
Thanks for your quick responses. That is what I thought…
I had a coupon with a Target logo and used it as CVS. At first they wouldn’t take it, but then I pointed out that it said manufacture coupon then after reviewing the coupon the clerk took the coupon. I don’t know if this would happen again or at other stores, but it worked once for me. I guess you just have to try.
Aerie’s giveaway this month is Coconut and Vanilla Bean hand lotion.
When my oldest graduated a few years I used 4 or 5 recipes from the cake mix doctor cookbook. I made and iced the cakes the day before , all but the Boston Cream . It was not that much work and people were really impressed!!
Ok I have a question. I read Pocket Your Dollars through e-mail. At the end of a subject there is a question. How do I reply to it? I am not on tweeter.
Kitty, I think you just answer here in the comments.
Kitty,
There are instructions for that right in the email! Look around a bit.
I just clicked on the link for the greeting cards & it says $1 for of for 3. Also says not valid for cards under $.75.
Has anyone gone in on a purchase of a whole cow? I am going to be trying this out this spring to see if I save money on meat or not. My only thought is I will still be buying chicken and pork but hoping that we will save money because we eat beef the most.
Also does anyone know how much ground turkey is normally. I noticed that someone said they got a good deal but I don’t remember seeing it any where. I like to use ground turkey in things like tacos, sloppy joes, anything that has a sauce/seasoning with it. I have also made turkey burgers but you add a bunch of seasonings so it tastes good.
Chrissy-
We have a butcher that we use between 4 of us and bought two sides (basically the whole cow) We were able to get that for $1.99 / lb. Cut wrapped and frozen. A great deal we thought for the price and have always bought our meat from them. We have done this now twice inthe past couple years and filled in on chicken and pork when on sale so have saved many $$$ on meat over the years.
Thanks for your input. I think it is a little more then that a pound. But I think it all averages out when you are buying the different cuts.
My family always bought part of a cow growing up and my husband and I do now as well. We either call a farmer we know and put in an order for a 1/4 of a cow (the smallest they can usually do) and then we get a phone call when the cow is going in for processing once the rest of it is sold. Sometimes we split the 1/4 with other family, which helps keep the initial cost lower. I think the last one we bought was around $3 something a pound, which is pretty good considering that it includes T-bones and ribeyes as well as roasts and everything is wrapped for the freezer for you. It’s also processed one cow at a time and frozen immediately after processing, so it’s a little safer from a bacteria standpoint because it isn’t kept around thawed. If you need a farmer to contact, let me know and I can pass on who we have purchased from in the past and been very happy with!
I also know of people who have bought a whole pig – not sure if you eat that much pork/bacon/ham/sausage.
I have thought about the pig too… I suppose I could go as far as getting chicken too. I should look into it. You know freezers are more efficient the more full they are…ha!
We live on a hobby farm with 3 acres. We have raised chickens before where they are free range. That is the best meat ever and I believe not any higher price per pound than at the store because we butcher them ourselves. If anyone is interested in having us raise some chickens for you, please let me know. From baby to butcher it is about 4 months.
Carrie, If you need to take this post off because it’s not appropriate, I understand and will not be offended. I didn’t know how else to do this.
Linda,
I might be interested in that… how can I get in contact with you?
Chrissy,
My e-mail is linda @ byron.com (remove spaces) or look for me on facebook under Linda LaDuke.
I buy ground turkey at Sam’s Club and it is $1.89/lb. It’s the best everyday price I have found and it’s 93% lean.
It can be a great way to by meat especially if you know the farmer. Keep in mind that when you buy a whole cow , side or quarter from a butcher you pay for hanging weight and is not the weight you end up with after it is trimmed and cut. Not all of the cuts look the same as in the stores. Make sure you talk to the butcher about how you want the meat packaged to avoid frozen meat in bigger packages then you might want. also discuss having some of the cheaper cuts that generally don’t cook up real well made into ground beef.
My father-in-law raises cattle and hogs, so we get 1/4 steer every other year and 1/2 hog as needed. I love it!! You can tell the locker exactly which cuts you want and what size packages you want. We get ground beef in 1 lb pkgs, 1/4 lb pre-made burgers in pkgs of four, 2 lb roasts, beef bacon, steaks, etc. The locker charges a fee to process the meat and my father-in-law charges the current rate of beef, usually about $1.50/lb. I think it averages out to a little over $2/lb. The pork is very similar in that you can get ground pork, burgers, bacon, ham roasts (fresh or smoked), bratwurst, etc. It’s so convenient to have a freezer in the basement and you just take out whatever you feel like eating. It may not be rock-bottom price, but I don’t feel guilty eating steak because mine only cost $2/lb rather than $10/lb. We do still buy chicken as I prefer the boneless skinless kind.
I highly recommend buying beef and pork from a farmer!!
Thanks to everyone that takes the time to share good deal tips on this site – it has been incredibly helpful! I’m always looking for information about deals on salt for water softners. We are Costco shoppers, but they just carry one of the higher end types, and the Culligan guy told us years ago we could use the cheapest kind with our softener (and we’ve done it for years and years now with no problems). Cub used to do 5 bags for $10 pretty often, but it’s gone up considerably. I know Commers (sp?) has a Saturday sale, but it didn’t seem too impressive when I called for pricing. If anyone has great deals, please post!
If you are Costco shoppers, I found an amazing deal for those of us that like to make homemade bread. They carry a 2 lb thing of dry yeast for $3-something. Can you imagine how many little envelopes that would equal!!! I’ve shared some and am keeping the rest in the freezer. Costco has also started carrying Quinoa and Organic Blue Agave which is really nice because I’ve never seen a coupon for those types of things and although Trader Joe’s price is great on those 2 items, Costco’s is better. Lastly, we got our first “reward” back from our Costco American Express card. It is a no-fee card. Per our training from Dave Ramsey, we pay for most things in cash now, including most of our Costco purchases. But we always purchase our gas at Costco and use that American Express/Costco card and also for bigger purchases. Our reward was over $200 and Costco just let us get it in cash. Hooray!
Thanks again to everyone that posts and shares information. My husband and I eat pretty healthy and much of isn’t coupon stuff, but we have a teenage son still in the house and all his various friends. So I use tons of coupons for the types of foods I keep in the house to lure the groups of boys into our home : ) Thanks Carrie and Laura for all you do!
I get my softner salts at Aldi – their bags are never over $4. Cub had salts on sale with a coupon a few weeks back but I was too slow/late – didn’t feel too bad since Aldi’s everyday price was only a few dimes more.
At one point the best price on salt was at Fleet Farm but since I’ve been married my husband has been in charge of buying the salt so I haven’t priced it out in awhile.
I had a friend get food from Arby’s once for their graduation party. They said it was really a good deal when you factor in all of the costs. I am not sure since I have not done it, but it is worth a look into to see if it would save.
For those that keep their inserts complete and only clip your coupons as you need them what do you do with the ones you clip and don’t use. I have been putting them in a file folder labeled unused clipped coupons but it is getting rather full. Do you keep a separate coupon book? I am just trying to figure out the best way to handle my “strays”…
I just started running into this as well. I grabbed a small accordian folder (the typical coupon folder the size of a wallet) and then labeled them (baby, health and beauty, grocery, frozen, etc – I also included Rainbow, Cub, etc.) Now I just put them into these categories. I try to go through these every week before I head off to do grocery shopping. I’ve also thought about clipping my “common items” and putting them in the coupon wallet. (How many times have you thought “I know I found that a couple of weeks ago…”) It’s easier to take along to the store if you happen to see something on super sale. Still trying to figure things out, but seems to be working for the most part.
I keep my inserts complete and in a hanging file tote and only clip the ones I need (using Carrie’s suggestions and also the database on http://www.couponmom.com to find coupons for things I may need that are not on sale.) I have leared to write the insert name on the back of each coupon that I clip (2/28SS) so that way if the store was sold out or if it wasn’t the exact item on sale then I can re-file this coupon with the original insert. It does get overwhelming if you don’t stay on top of it/re-file right away but it works for me. If you forget to write on the back you can always find what insert it was from using the couponmom database.
Military families can used coupons that are expired. I have been saving mine and when I get a great big stack of expired coupons I am going to mail them. You can even adopt a base to regularly send to. http://www.ocpnet.org or http://thekrazycouponlady.com/2010/03/help-military-families-and-send-in-your-expired-coupons-now.html or google and you will find a lot of information.
I got a small photo album at Target and labeled each section, so I could flip through it easier. I had more areas to break it down (instead of just household, I have separate place for laundry/TP/Dishwasher etc)
I clip like you do from complete inserts, but also cut one of each insert apart each week and put it in my binder. then I always have at least one of every desired coupon if I need it on the fly. I am desparately behind on clipping though!
HTH. Oh and BTW, it took trying 3 different systems before I found one that worked for me. lol
Sarah Beth, great idea on labeling the back of coupons with dates. Then you know where to go for them.
Julie W
When I was at the Customer Service counter at Rainbow yesterday getting my rain-checks she told me that the CURRENT Roundy’s Rewards Program will be ending on April 1st. I thought I heard her tell the lady in front of me to “be sure” she used up the $$ on her card before April 1st. When it was my turn I asked her if the card was going away completely and she said no but it was “changing” and they had not received the specifics yet.
Sure hope they announce something/warn people so that any $$ left on our cards on April 1st is not lost (if she was even right about this). Anyone else heard rumblings??? This is the first I heard of the March 31st *deadline* so-to-speak of using your $$ on gas or losing it.
I saw on the news that BP was rolling out the program nationwide and Rainbow stopped advertising in there ad the end date so I just assumed that they were continuing on with it. Lets hope they don’t stop. I save so much money on gas too!
There was an article in the Sunday paper about the success of the BP partnership with Rainbow and Roundy’s a couple of weeks ago. http://www.startribune.com/business/84276007.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU The article did not address the matter from Rainbow’s point of view, as Rainbow wouldn’t comment, but sounds like its been a huge success for them. I heard of a local BP station getting new gas machines to deal with the new rewards card. My local manager (SLP Rainbow) also claimed to not know anything. I’m not panicking. Just spend down your FuelPerks by 4/1, like it says. We probably get new cards or else a new system. I can’t imagine Roundy’s walking away from a win-win like this one.
I have been told that there will be changes to the system that should make it easier and more friendly for everyone, but that it isn’t going away. Of course that’s all unofficial scuttlebutt (sp?), but that’s the buzz I’ve heard (and from a source I consider reliable)
A few weeks ago someone had a couple of address’s for sending coupons to the Military. Does anyone have a web address for them or phone# or mailing address? I really want to start sending them the coupons I won’t use. I’m sure they would use them.
Thanks Everyone.
http://www.ocpnet.org
or
http://thekrazycouponlady.com/2010/03/help-military-families-and-send-in-your-expired-coupons-now.html
or
google and you will find a lot of information.
Yes! This is one website: http://www.grocerysavingtips.com/expiredgrocerycoupons.htm
Personally I send mine to a college friend stationed in Germany with his wife and 3 kids. They are VERY appreciative!
I stopped at Cub today to take advantage of their 79 cent sale on black beans and found a couple of unadvertised specials that were helpful to me. 3 day sale on Hershey chocolate eggs – $1.88 per bag – so if you have a coupon…. The gallons of non-fat chocolate milk were $1.50 and I found some dated to March 11, so my son will be happy. And lots of people were purchasing their “price shocker” of 80% ground beef in packages of 2.5 – 3.0 lbs for 1.48 lbs. This was at the Knollwood Cub – I’m never sure if those sales tend to be just at the indivicual stores.
They also had easter Reeses pieces for 1.88 and there is a 1$/1 Reeses pieces coupon linked on the Rainbow list, so it would be 88 cents.
Julie W
I went to Cub last night looking for the $1.48 beef and was told by the meat stocker that they start at $1.98 but only have a shelf life of 2 days so they drop to $1.48 if they are still on the shelf. So sounds like hit-or-miss based on how busy the store has been.
Does anyone know where I can donate blood glucose monitors? I have several that I got a Walgreens from a few weeks ago and cannot find anyone who wants them. I have called the American Diabetes Association, a few shelters, nursing homes, etc. They have all said “thanks, but no thanks”. Anyone have any other suggestions?
Thanks!
What about a food bank/food shelf maybe?
Randy
my daughter is a type 1 diabetic and I am on a chat board called Children with Diabetes. I know of a mom that lives in Ghana who is coming back to the states to visit her family and had put up a post asking those of us who can get any extra meters together so when she go back home from her trip here she can give out the supply to the kids in need there. Most children in developing countries don’t make it past their 1 year anniversary of being diagnosed with diabetes. So if you really want I can take the meters from you and send them to her when the date gets closer to her visit time. Just message me at deadhead1942 at yahoo . com
Okay posted this last week but was late so wanna repost and see if i get more of a response! I am thinking of doing a clothing swap in lakeville area…would there be others interested in this as well? I would like to do clothing for everyone but could focus just on kids if that is where the focus is. I also would like this to be a FREE event so if anyone has any suggestions on where i can hold this for it to be a free event…all extra clothing would go to a local shelter of some sort. I am thinking I would like to do this either end of the month or beginning of next month. please email me if you are interested in this kierstienafetzek at gmail dot com hope to hear from you! THANKS!
what an awesome idea… Lakeville is to far for me but I think it is a great idea!!
I do not have smaller kids, but love the clothing swap idea! I am in Lakeville and would tell my friends about it! You could try a church…they might let you use a room for free, especially if you donated any leftovers to a charity they support, or if you have a church connection in the area, or have a friend who is a member somewhere in the area. We go to church in Bloomington or I would try and help you get a place. Also, you could try a school but they might charge a fee.
So, I have been collecting and using coupons (the PYD way) for a little over a month (a coupon here and there for a very long time). My problem is that the prices in the store aren’t always as low as Carrie mentions. Is that because I am in the Mankato area and you are in the cities? Also, every week I have been making a Target, Walmart, Cub, Hyvee and sometimes Walgreens run only buying the things on Carrie’s list that we regularly use to stock up. I am still spending a lot of money. I did a Target run this week and still spent $60 (but got $85 worth of items and $10 in giftcards). I only bought things on Carrie’s list and had all the correct coupons. Just wondering if I am missing something?
Use the gift cards right away on some of the sale priced items that you would have bought in the first transaction. I think also once you establish some sort of stock pile your spending will go down drastically!
When I shop at Target I usually break my items into 2 transactions. Transaction #1 – items that I know will generate gift cards and transaction #2 – all other items. I will use the gift cards from #1 to help pay for #2. HTH!
I have had trouble with some of the info being incorrect also, but I guess some of it is second hand and she is just passing the info on. There are many, many blogs out there, St. Louis Mommy is a good one also http://pinchthepenny.blogspot.com/ , Money saving Mom to name a few. So one or more of these will maybe have info you can use. The more the better I say.
jackie,
Your comment sounds like criticism of this site, but maybe I’m misreading it. Just because prices differ in other cities doesn’t mean that Carrie was incorrect. I think most of us know that Target prices vary from town to town. Thankfully, the Target (and most other stores) ad is always online and anyone can check before heading to the store.
Angie,
I always have problems with Walgreen’s. The deals rarely proceed correctly for me, even though I follow the script. I think I just haven’t gotten the swing of the deals in that store. However, I’ve mastered Rainbow! Couponing truly is an art form and a part-time job, with lots of studying involved!
No if you noticed I did say that she passes on info sometimes from others, and they may be incorrect. I have personally had this happen. I also meant that getting info from many sites can only help not hurt a person.
Jackie:
I have not read all the repleys to your concern/question so if I say something that someone else has I apologize.
I think that it can be overwhelming. It can take a while to stock up and you, at first have the feeling you don’t want to miss a deal. This is how I do things — and it’s how Carrie herself suggested it (I did a one on one session with her which was fantastic). I start with a monthly budget — and try very hard to stick to it. It’s not as low as I would like, yet, but it’s getting there. Set aside part of that money to stock up and get the ‘deals’ the rest you use to keep your family feed etc until you are at a point where you are stocked up and can just do deals as they happen.
It takes a while and some weeks I don’t do the ‘deals’ to stock up because I don’t have money in the ‘budget’ for it. However, where I usually use that extra is at Rainbow — I buy the weekly must get items to help get to the $25 for the deal items. I also tend to shop Satuday’s and normally they are out of one or more of the deals — then I just get a raincheck and push the deal to my next trip. That also helps.
As for reported prices, most of the lists are prices on sale in the adds, so they should be good at all stores. However, regular shelf price can vary. For example I love Celestial Seasons Tea. they have had great coupons lately, but at my Rainbow I have seen THREE shelf prices for the tea in the past month. I also see different regular shelf prices at the Targets in my area too!
I agree with Chrissy. When you start the stockpile process, your costs typically do go up. You will see the savings after your stock pile has grown and you start “needing” less things when you go shopping. Pay attention to the point that just because it is on sale and you have a coupon doesn’t always make it a good deal. That’s why there is a lot of discussion on Rock Bottom prices, shopping at Aldi, etc. Name brand products often just cost more.
Kimm,
I love Aldi… if it isn’t on sale with a coupon I buy it there.
Each week I compile 4 lists: Target, Walgreens, Cub, Rainbow….based on Carrie’s suggestions, my own needs and preferences, etc. I then weigh whether the trip to each store is worth it. For example Week 1 I did Target and a small trip to Rainbow, Week 2 I did Rainbow and a small trip to Target, week 3 I did Walgreens, and by the end of the week I plan to make a trip to Cub. Eventually you notice you are stocked up on certain things and wont need to do as much shopping. I think the key is to buy when it’s on sale , not when you need it, then when you need it you have it…and try to stick to the list unless you have specific needs that can’t wait. I’ve only been at it just over a month. February I Spent $409 between the 4 stores and saved $315 in sale/coupon matching. Now I do daycare so my grocery and household goods bill is normally around $800/mo.
How much time do you typically spend on compiling your shopping list and coupons? I am fairly new to doing this seriously, but I’m spending hours. Is it going to get better? On Monday I spent a good share of the day and it looked like a paper tornado had hit by the time I printed out coupons, clipped the ones I needed, etc. All that to find that the last couple times I have gone to Rainbow they are out of a bunch of the stuff I went for. That’s the one that makes my head hurt. Yes, I save, but it’s starting to feel like it’s not worth the time. Honestly, I feel like Target is just as good a deal because many of their prices are lower to begin with and I don’t have to worry about thresholds and the number of coupons.
LOL — this sounds very similar to a post I made when I first started reading PYD :-) Let me say that I think it does get easier, but there are still some weeks where I share your sentiment exactly (and where my table looks like the tornado and my head hurts!) I have always been a careful shopper and have almost always used coupons. After reading PYD, however, I’ve gotten more diligent and even more careful to really leverage the sales and coupons. I’ve been using the savings tracker spreadsheet someone linked to a while back, and am happy to report that as of today, I have spent $477.88 on groceries, pet food and toiletries since Jan 1, 2010, “Shelf Price” of $1127.88 (loosely calculated because Cub receipts don’t show the shelf price). We’re a family of 4 (2 growing boys Teen/Tween), a big dog and 1 cat. My cupboards are packed, and I’m stocked on so many things that I probably could stop shopping other than to supplement with milk/bread/produce for quite a while. So, I do think it is worth it. However, make sure you give yourself permission to not do this perfectly, to not hit every store for every sale (I primarily shop Cub, Rainbow and Walmart — and not each of these every week), and to give yourself a week off here and there. There really will be another sale and another coupon… ;-)
Kimm- would you mind sharing the savings tracker spreadsheet link you use? Thanks Kindly
Shani ~ I have been using this one that was posted by someone on PYD a while back. http://www.thecouponproject.com/files/2010savingstracker2-1.xls
It works great! Not sure if that is the same one Kimm was referring to or not, but if not, you can choose which one would work better for you.
Kimm- That would be great if you could post that savings tracker again. It was great, and I didn’t get it downloaded at the time.
For new people, I do remember about 3-4 weeks ago there was an open mic on rock bottom prices that had tons of good information.
Shauna, it does get easier with time. But I agree with what Kimm said, give yourself permission to not do it perfectly. Maybe tackle one thing at a time. I have been doing this only since Nov, and struggled with your same thoughts initially. I remember a defining moment where I was SO FRUSTRATED with myself that I forgot to submit a Rainbow in-ad coupon in addition to the Manufacturer’s Q on a product. I was about 3 blocks away from the store and almost went back to get the refund-. Then I paused, took a deep breath and told myself it was only 2 dollars! Not the end of the world! And not worth the stress!
Anyway, keep plugging along. It does get easier.
Julie W
Shauna – It gets better. I used to spend hours, when I first started, now in less than 30 minutes I make one list, cut my coupons and can split my stuff into multiple transactions on the fly.
I just looked at the Cub website and saw their three day sale is for Hershey’s easter kisses, chocolate eggs and Reese’s eggs, each for $1.88 a pkg. I seem to remember seeing coupons on one of the websites recently but can’t seem to find it now that it would useful. Can you help??
Can anyone tell me how to easily find expired coupons that you can still use at CUB? It seems expired coupons disappear from couponmom.com database, (which makes sense) so I don’t know how to find certain coupons, or check for available coupone when I want to use them at CUB. Carrie, do you have a great resource you use to find expired coupons to put together the CUB list? Today I needed soy sauce and could swear I had la choy coupons from last Nov or something but couldn’t find them!
Julie W.
Julie, I usually go here: http://www.organicgrocerydeals.com/forums/coupon.php and set the filters to Source: Insert, Expired: Is. It’s not perfect since it lists coupons that we didn’t get in our inserts, but it does work. Carrie might do something else.
thanks so much!
Not sure if it is too late, and I don’t have them in front of me, but for LaChoy check the 1/17SS and the 2/7SS
Thanks, I appreciate the effort! (although had already bought the soy sauce). thanks anyway, love the new advice on finding expired coupons.
Julie, I print the coupon database to a PDF (using freeware) periodically then use the old files to search for expired coupons. Not perfect…but it works for me.
Getting ready for the graduation celebration – you can make cakes a month in advance, freeze them in a way that they retain their taste and remain moist, then frost them right before the celebration.
Here’s how you do it – bake the cake and cool it completely. Wrap it in 2 layers of plastic wrap, next wrap the cake in foil. Place the wrapped cake in the freezer flat until one day before you plan to serve them. One day before the celebration, take them out of the freezer and let them defrost completely. (Unwrap the foil but keep the plastic wrap on during defrosting so the cake doesn’t dry out) After defrosting, remove the plastic wrap and frost/decorate the cake.
It works every time! – Kathy
When I called Tuesday about my order they said they were only shipping part of it. I ordered 1 box of size 3′s and 3 boxes of size 4′s. It has taken so long that my little one can’t use the size 3′s and that is the box that is delayed until April. I asked if I could change it to 4′s or 5′s and they said they were out of both of them. They did say I could exchange the box at the store so you could try that.
Anyone have a rock bottom price for rice? For example, Minute Rice? Thanks!