Our grocery bill has been trumping our budget number given the rise in food cost. We have gone organic as much as possible given the research my wife has done which has also been a factor on our increased grocery bill.

Does anyone have a good coupon strategy, website, club, etc that has good results?

I suck at couponing... I never have them when I need them...

I am terrible at it too since most of what I buy never seems to go on sale, but I got an awesome deal on Emerald Dry Roast Almonds at the store today... blew the store brand's price out of the water as well!

http://www.time2saveworkshops.com/

This is a great website. She conducts workshops, but issues alot of stuff on her site for free.

There's that Grocery Game website. I think you can try it for free before becoming a (paying) member. But don't expect to find much organic there, it's all name brand stuff. I did the free trial and found that even with the coupons, generic brands were almost always still cheaper.

::shrugs::

You should PM NotPerfect... she is a couponing master.

Ditto. It seems like the store brands were still cheaper than the name brand stuff with the coupon. When I used to have time, I would go through the grocery store sale ads and either go to each store or the local Wal-mart would price match, but it is so hard to do this when your "buggy runneth over" like mine usually does, and you are the only one there trying to get it all out of the buggy, let them scan it, and then get it all back in the buggy, and watch to be sure they're not overcharging you... I still watch the ads though.

1) Buy local newspapers cut out all coupons
2) Cut coupons out of free newspapers
3) sort and arrange coupons
4) Get a file case and store coupons
5) place coupons in file
6) go to store leaving coupons at home
7) go through file case and remove expired coupons as they were left home when you needed them
8) repeat

Thanks for all the feedback - it seems like there should be a site where you enter in your staples and it searches for coupons rather than vice verses....

Have you been spying on me??

Join a coupon club or exchange coupons with relatives / friends / church group, etc.

Go to local convenience store and ask for their left over Sunday papers (on Monday). (We get about 20 papers a week this way, and it is great on good coupon weeks) We asked them what they did with their left over papers and they said, just threw them out. So, now they hold them back for us, and we pick them up each monday.

beegee--Go to the site I linked above, hover over coupons on the top tool bar and click coupon database in the drop down. You can search by item type, brand name, etc.

EdAudit's advice is good. My wife is the master (mistress?) of coupons. She has a little plastic case about the size of a woman's wallet. It's always in her car.

We have a Sam's Club card that is a premium card. Not sure exactly what they call it. We pay a bit higher fee. But when we go in the store, we go to a kiosk and print out the specials that are available only to people with our type of card. The downside is we're buying pretty hefty quantities for two people.

Also try "hotcouponworld.com"

No registration required. It has a searchable coupon database and numerous forums for specific stores like Publix, Kroger, CVS etc

Is that work-safe? Sounds like some place Peepers would frequent, if ya know what I mean...

Coupon sites are notorious for carrying malware, so take care. There are tons of videos on YouTube on couponing. Some helpful and some just down-right hysterical.

An acquaintance of mine is also into feeding her family organic wherever possible. There are few coupons for organic. She belongs to some kind of buying coop where she can purchase fresh dairy, eggs, meat, and fruits/vegetables straight from local farmers.

try www.southernsavers.com She teaches you how to coupon and tells you what all the deals are for the week for ALL grocery stores, CVS, Rite Aid, etc.. so you don't have to hunt for them. She also tells you how to maximize your coupons and CVS bucks.

Again, sounds like...

I prefer barelylegalcoupons

If you like organic,see if there is a local farmers market. Georgia has an organization called Georgia Organics that lists local farmers markets. There is also a website called locally grown to help you locate farmers markets. They don't take coupons but it may help you staying organic. My wife found a local group of farmers that sell organic or near organic (not certified organic but follow organic principals). We use Cumming Harvest and like it.

Ditto the advice above to ask for the leftover, unsold sunday newspaper inserts (ads and coupons) late Sunday night or early Monday morning from your local gas stations/convenience stores. The store ads also have coupons oftentimes, so I just take it all and sift through at home and recycle whatever portions of the newspaper inserts I don't use.

Sign up for your store's "loyalty" programs, and "stack" loyalty special prices (or cash back offers) with coupons and sale prices to maximize savings. Turn it into a game.

For organic, go to MamboSprouts.com and sign up for their free coupons (and recipes).

I don't spend my money on organic anymore. I grow a lot of my own vegetables and wash everything store-bought really thoroughly (and peel some fruits before eating). My tastebuds notice no difference between the organic and non-organic (and it's eye-opening to do some reading on the internet about the lax restrictions of what "organic" labels actually mean) but my wallet definitely notices the difference. I simply can't afford to pay exorbitant prices for organic stuff anymore.

I hate the person who first dreamed up coupons.

It's a reputable site. I don't access from work only because they might think I'm not working

Thousands of members post deals and summarize sales on the various store's forums. If you shop at Publix its a great resource. Sales at Publix usually start on Wednesday. The entire ad is analyzed and posted with matchups (including links to printable coupons)the Monday before, so you can plan your menu & shopping.

Insert ham into pocket, run fast!


I'm of the "forgets the coupons" variety. I do some of the half-off internet coupon deals, and keep them in the glove box of my car so they're never far away! Just don't go crazy and buy everything you see every day or you'll waste a ton like some people I know. I get 3-4 emails every morning I think and buy things maybe 3-4 times a month.

I'm not a coupon person. Clip and forget it is what I call it!

Anyway, during the summer I try to buy most of my vegetables at the farmers market. Another thing (or two) that I did that has saved me tremendously on groceries is buying beef directly from a local farmer. While technically they aren't "organic" farmers, they are "organic like". I bought a 1/4 of a cow and it cost me (with processing) around $2.60/lb. I also bought chickens and bacon from a Hutterite community not to far from here. Well, actually that cost me more than store bought chickens but the quality is beyond compare.