Originally Posted by
iceblueraven
A year ago, I would have laughed if someone had said a .50 cent coupon was worth a lot. It's worth .50 cents...isn't it? And .50 cents off my grocery order wasn't a big deal.
And one day, by accident, I came across SC. And then I started creeping SC. LOL I admit it. I creeped you guys. A lot.
For whatever reason, out of the blue, I woke up and went to every store in the city and collected coupons (no not all of them, a few here and there :) ). The same day, I ordered coupons online. And then there was a smartsource not too many days later (redplum didn't thrill me as much).
So I was lucky and had a big pile of coupons really quickly. But I would never bring all of them to the store, just the ones I needed. Right? It only took about 2 missed opportunities for great clearance deals to put a stop to that. So I'd remain discreet and just have a little file folder right? Keep it in my purse, neat and tidy, nobody had to know.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Now I have a huge honkin 4 inch binder, organized by category, that I carry in a huge honkin bag that also holds my calculator, pens, wallet, envies, stamps and scissors (never know when you're gonna need to clip a coupon somewhere).
After I got my binder, the first person that asked "are you one of those extreme couponers" made me turn red, felt like I had to give this long explanation...etc etc. Now I just say "yeah, I do ok" and carry on with my life.
But I'd never need to trade. PFFFFFFFT. Yeah right. There are coupons I have now that I didn't even know existed. I can only say, "Aw, why didn't I get that one?" so many times before I say "hey, can I have that one?" So far, everyone has been more than fantastic and my trades have been not only productive, but fun!
Like I said in another thread, the first time I combined a coupon + a sale, I thought I was breaking the freakin law or something. Like sirens would go off and they'd kick me out or something LOL. Now I won't buy anything if I don't have a coupon and it's not on sale.
And I can price match like it's nobody's business, without taking up much more time than a regular transaction...until the cashier takes the magnifying glass to the coupons LOL.
Oh, and those Cranky cashiers? Used to be terrified. Now? Ok, still a little afraid of the cranky pantses. But it's getting better. :)
And I track each transaction with sale prices, regular prices and coupons used (I use a spreadsheet)...and I can proudly say I now save 50% consistently and have many good days with 60-80% savings. My stockpile is getting awesome too!! Right now, we could only buy nothing produce and milk for the next 3-4 weeks and be just fine :) YAY for stockpiling!!