Planning a couponing trip to somewhere in Montana...need some advice!

[susan.h]

Hello everyone!
My sister and I are thinking of traveling to Montana this summer, for a shopping (with coupons) trip, to stock up on essentials for the family cabin (toilet paper, paper towels, assorted food items, etc). We're from Calgary, wondering where the best place is to go in Montana. We're thinking of doing a 1-2 day trip.
Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreciated. We've never gone shopping in the US with coupons before, but we do know that the coupon inserts are in the newspapers on Sunday.
Thanks in advance!

[Junerose]

You should also sign up to be on the email list for drugstores like Walgreens, Rite Aid, CVS, etc. They'll send you weekly emails with printable coupons you can use.

[susan.h]

You should also sign up to be on the email list for drugstores like Walgreens, Rite Aid, CVS, etc. They'll send you weekly emails with printable coupons you can use.

Good idea...I never thought of that! How can you tell I'm still so new to couponing...

[philpott30]

I was thinking of doing the same but where can i get US coupons? and what are you not aloud to bring back? beware i have never couponed before so im dipping my toes into this

[susan.h]

I was thinking of doing the same but where can i get US coupons? and what are you not aloud to bring back? beware i have never couponed before so im dipping my toes into this

I'm planning on getting coupons from the Sunday paper (in the US, the coupon inserts are in the paper on Sundays). In addition, as Junerose said, I will research what stores I plan on going to, then sign up for their weekly emails. Also, I will bring some coupons.com printed coupons. That's my plan so far!
As far as what I can bring back, I'm not sure. I most likely will be bringing back more items that have a long'ish' shelf life (health & beauty products, cleaning supplies, toilet paper, canned fruit & veg, etc etc), or items that I can freeze once I'm home. I won't be bringing any fresh fruit or veg, because I know you can't bring that across the border.

[cheapcheap]

Kroger and Meijers are great places to shop. Kroger has a swipe card that you signup for (free) and it gets you in store sales. Cheese is something my mom and I always get when we cross the border as it is so much cheaper, and gas!!! Go on an empty tank and don't be fooled by the price, it is cheaper!

[mulock]

Get a good GPS so that you don't end up like that BC couple that got lost in the Nevada desert.

[susan.h]

Thanks Cheapcheap for the great tip!
And Mulock, I think we'll borrow a friends' GPS, as yes, we do not need to get lost! lol!

[Dihil]

Make sure you know your prices. I think we get better deals on paper products, and toiletries here in Canada (esp if you shop at LD and stack, or now SOF). BUT the US gets the better deals on food items. Dairy products are always a far better deal than up here.

[Poirot]

Thanks Cheapcheap for the great tip!
And Mulock, I think we'll borrow a friends' GPS, as yes, we do not need to get lost! lol!

Don't forget to take a map too.

[kanda]

For the $ amount that we can bring back duty free, is this based on before or after couponing? I ask because I can just imagine coming back with a car full of goodies but handing over a receipt for $10 could cause problems. Even if they can see the receipt that there were heavy discounts, they might ask you to pull over, no?

[southerngrrl]

Here are some more U.S. printable coupon sites:

http://www.pinchingyourpennies.com/f...d.php?t=115550

And you can use cellfire.com to add digital coupons to your store card (they sometimes stack with paper coupons):

http://www.cellfire.com/deals.php

[susan.h]

Goodness, thank you to everyone for all of the awesome info!

[LauraV]

Great Falls is fun. It is only about 5 1/2 hours. THey have a Target (not the nicest one, but hey it is still Target!!), the mall has a ROSS dress for less which I LOVE, I find they have way better deals than Winner's. There is also a huge Walmart open 24 hours, a Shopko, K-mart and a mall. You have to hit Sonic while you are there, they have the best Real Fruit Slushie drinks for around $2.00 during the day (Happy hour). They are HUGE and really good. Also, you should go to Jakers for dinner, great service, great salad bar. My aunt has a place down there so we try to go once a year or so. Happy shopping!! Oh and Montana doesn't have sales tax!!

[francaise]

Great Falls is fun. It is only about 5 1/2 hours. THey have a Target (not the nicest one, but hey it is still Target!!), the mall has a ROSS dress for less which I LOVE, I find they have way better deals than Winner's. There is also a huge Walmart open 24 hours, a Shopko, K-mart and a mall. You have to hit Sonic while you are there, they have the best Real Fruit Slushie drinks for around $2.00 during the day (Happy hour). They are HUGE and really good. Also, you should go to Jakers for dinner, great service, great salad bar. My aunt has a place down there so we try to go once a year or so. Happy shopping!! Oh and Montana doesn't have sales tax!!

Road trip!!!!!!!!!!!!