Many of you have emailed and messaged asking if I would post the link to last night’s Fox 13 news piece with Chris Chmura about Couponing for the Troops and I am happy to oblige! (The video should appear above. It looks like the video is only showing in Explorer. If you don’t see it, go HERE to see the segment.) The news segment talks about the decline of couponing as well as Couponing for the Troops. If you are interested in donating expired coupons to send overseas to Vincenza, Italy, read my post HERE for details.
I want to hear from you! Leave a comment and share your thoughts:
- What do you think about the decline of couponing?
- Have you found yourself using less coupons when you go shopping?
- Do you find that using coupons is worth the time it takes to cut them and write your grocery lists?
Thanks for coming to Addicted to Saving! Here’s a little bit about me so you can know who’s behind all these posts!
My name is Liza and I began my money-saving journey in the Spring of 2009 as a way to stretch a limited household income. I had lost my job and my hubby was self-employed. I launched Addicted to Saving in November of 2009 and it has grown by leaps and bounds. Since then, my hubby and I have struggled with the ups and downs of two failed adoptions and are now LOVING being parents to our little man Asher who we brought home from Ethiopia in August of 2013. I feel incredibly blessed to be able to help you save money. My goal is that you will have FUN and become empowered to save more and more money each week..
When the show “Extreme Couponing” aired, I drastically reduced my coupon usage. Why? I was accused of cheating the system, stealing and being dishonest at multiple stores. What’s worse is that I wasn’t stacking bogos or mfr coupons + store coupons, I was just using coupons on sale items. Also, I would plan out my trips to nearby stores for a few items and find shelves cleared and unhappy customer service people when I would ask about rainchecks or when the next shipment would come in (all I wanted was 2 of something 🙁 ) I decided that I would start couponing again after the hype from the show died down.
I agree – Samnang – Extreme Couponing really placed a magnifying glass on couponers as more and more people got into couponing who 1) didn’t know what they were doing and 2) were unethical. It made it more difficult to coupon for average couponers. Hopefully you are getting back into couponing 🙂
I think the xtreme couponing show hurt all of us….our expectation is to do as well as they do, which, without a ton of FREE coupons and the stores bending the rules, we rarely do that well. I have also noticed that the deals just don’t seem to be as good as they were in 2011, many coupons are forcing you to buy 2 of something, when in 2011, we could use 2 separate coupons on bogo items. I am still hard at it, but it is more difficult out there to stir up the GREAT deals. I figure every dollar I do save, is a dollar they didn’t get! Do I think the time is worthwhile, I sure do.
I agree Rhonda! Coupon values have decreased the past few years. I’m with you in that each dollar I save is one more dollar in my pocket 🙂
I am still couponing but I have noticed over the last two years that the number of fellow couponers in the stores has declined. I agree that the quality of the coupons has declined but I am still saving money so I keep at it. None of the stores double coupon where I live so I knew when I started that I would never get deals like they do on tv.
That’s a good point Katharine. I have never personally experienced double coupons, so my expectations have maintained the same, even with the reduced value in coupons.
My 4 Orlando papers just expired not that long ago. I wasn’t going to renew them but I just got an email today saying I could get them for $5/year! For that cheap, why not? The reason why I haven’t been using as many coupons is because I felt like the majority of the sales were on junk food or items I didn’t use (aka, no one in my family would eat it so no matter how cheap it was it was still going to go to waste.) At the height of my coupon use, my family was soooo poor (not poor enough to get assistance) that my mom was paying for our groceries and I had to get the most food I could for the cheapest price. My husband is making $24,000 more a year now so I can afford better quality food that costs more. As far as toiletries go, I’m so stocked up that I could probably go a year without buying more.
I’m so happy to hear your situation has improved Lauren! One of my favorite items I have stockpiled is paper towels and toilet paper. I too remember what it was like to barely be able to afford groceries back in 2008 and so it feels so good to know that in my garage I have enough paper towels to last me at least 10 months if not more whereas before I started couponing, I would have had to pay full price (which I couldn’t afford) for one roll. 🙂
I only spend around $45-$50 a week on ALL food and toiletries for a family of five, including three teenagers (14,16 and 18). I only get four sets of inserts (but have noticed that I use a LOT more printed coupons than clipped these days).
I don’t have a room of stuff, or even a closet. I just put my items away where they would normally go. I try to keep 8-10 of each item and no more.
I do have a shelf in the garage for cleaning supplies, dish soap, ziplock baggies and stuff like that….BUT no store for sure!!
Four inserts seems to be the average # of papers/inserts to collect now. I get 4 as well. When I first started couponing, I would get more papers (8) but now I’m finding I don’t need as much of every item and that the insert coupons are just not good enough for me to spend money on more than 4 papers every week.
I am hoping to continue clipping! I have never had the option of the double coupons either. The way I see it, if I found a quarter laying on the ground, I would pick it up! No different than using a coupon for .25 for an item I will purchase anyway! I don’t save as much as some posts I see, but it is still worth my time and effort.
From Parrish, Florida
Thank you for all you do! You are so appreciated!!
Thanks Karen for your kind words! I’m with you – I couldn’t walk by a quarter lying on the ground either! Coupons are free money 🙂
Karen – I’m just west of the Parrish zip. Nice to know a fellow addicted follower is so close!
First off, you rock Liza! Its an awesome thing you are doing for our men & women overseas!
Second, Sissy, I agree with you! i print a ton more coupons now than before. Buy 4 papers per week as well. Now, if you would share…I would love to know how you do it for all those teens for $40-$50 per week living in FL. ( assuming you do ) Its 5 of us here too with 2 teens, and I am lucky if I can stay at $100.00 per week. Most times its alot more.
We moved here to Lakeland almost 2 years ago from VA, where we had double coupons. It was a shock at first to get used to having to pay for things here that were always free there with doubles…i.e…toothpaste, tooth brushes, deodorant, cheap OTC meds…etc. But I am finally “over” it, regardless if it was free or not we are still going to need all those things and if I can save just a quarter, its still a quarter. I do much better at Publix than the other stores here. CVS…fuuugetaboutt it! Never any stock, it became a big time/gas waster. So I just quit going.
The cashier at Publix and I were having this exact conversation a few weeks back. She said its “died down alot from what it was when that show was on”. I agree. For the first time in ages, Publix’s shelves arent cleared when I get there Thursday morning. I love it! Its becoming fun…like it used to be….before the show from H#%L came on! =)
I find myself doing more couponing lately. I only started about a year and a half ago after taking one of your classes. I was buying 10 papers a week and had built up a good stockpile.Then my husband lost his job but I was able to live off my stockpile for about six months when fortunes improved. Now I only get 6 papers and most of my excess goes to the food pantry we have in my mobile home park. Last weeks shopping trip was 3/4 for the pantry($180 of groceries for $37). As for the show from H#%L, I never could figure out why anyone needed 100 toothbrushes or 200 deodorants. Thanks for all you do Liza