evolution of a couponer ....part 2

[weasy71]

I have noticed that as I save more and read more about the amount of money people are saving, that there is definitely an evolution that goes on......what was your first coupon experience.....and compare that to your best experience so far? I find the stories sooooo encouraging!!

[MillieH]

My first purchase was a free skinny cow personal serving and $5 off any ice cream off cereal.

My most recent purchase was 18 regular size tins of Gillette Shaving foam, 6 Aspirin, 4 Litres of Natrel Milk (12$ in coupons) 1 x $4 chocolate & a bottle of water. OOP -4.81

[redhdlois]

I'm still fairly new to couponing, yes, I agree, it evolves....initially I was just happy using a coupon for something that was on sale! Now my challenge is to try to get things for nothing...not satisfied for just using a single coupon anymore!

[weasy71]

Great job Millie! I enjoy reading your posts and seeing that picture everytime you comment on something...lol

[MillieH]

I'm still fairly new to couponing, yes, I agree, it evolves....initially I was just happy using a coupon for something that was on sale! Now my challenge is to try to get things for nothing...not satisfied for just using a single coupon anymore!

I'm that way too.. now at the least, it has to be on sale, price matched and then the coupon but unless its something I plan to use, I wait for free.

In the beginning I also bought the trial sizes, now I'm going after the full size product for free..

[MillieH]

Great job Millie! I enjoy reading your posts and seeing that picture everytime you comment on something...lol

lolll.. would you be terribly disappointed if this wasn't really me?

[khunter1980]

I started with using a few coupons here and there then progressed to using multiple coupons and went a little nuts. Now I am back to using coupons on sale items and lots of them whenever possible. I only stack occasionally as it is just too stressful and I feel too judged by cashiers and other shoppers. I can deal with people looking when I am using one coupon per item especially when the majority of my purchases have coupons on them down the belt but it doesn't seem to stress out the cashiers as much when I'm not stacking. I have also found that it is much better if I plan to stack that I go on a separate shopping trip for that item and get just what I need for that one stack. I have learned that the cashiers are not so judgmental when I'm not trying to get multiple items for free in one trip. Besides I really don't need 20 bottles of shampoo, lol. Not judging btw I just can't handle the pressure. I would rather go to 5 stores for the deals than try to get everything in one place and be upset when I leave.

[sparklecoupons]

I was once a casual couponer but it has evolved into much more now. Keeping a spreadsheet of the money that I save is the key my success (and reading SC posts of course)! I am a very systematic person and that helps.

[SavyWriter]

My first purchase was to use a charmin coupon to get the charmin with $20 of coupons inside. Then I started checking the coupon board at RCSS and keeping the coupon inserts that came in the newspaper (if you can believe it there was a time when I used to throw these out) Now I try to get as much as I can on sale + coupon and if I have to pay full price or don't have a coupon I feel slightly dejected and ripped off!

I think the last hurdle to get over is the way people in line and cashiers react to coupons. I had a rough experience at shoppers last night. The cashier was really talking down to me like I was stupid and below her.

My last purchase was at shoppers to get the mystery gift card (which ended up being only $10) It was hard for me to get to $60 dollars because of the sales + coupons so I had to go back through the store to get more things.

I got 3 All Bran Jumbo size on clearance for $3.99 with the $8 coupons inside
4 Dial hand soaps on sale for $1.59
One level 2000 citrus $2.49 - $1
La Coupe shampoo (giant size) $3.99 - $2
Canadian living with the $2 oasis
(Maybelline fit me makeup but she wouldn't let me use my $5 coupon so I didn't take the makeup)
and one La Roche Posay $25 - no coupon but it had a bonus face wash and
one Essie nail polish on sale for $8.99
It only came to $59.70 but she gave me the gift card.

Evolution is still on going for me! lol!

[GeorgiaK]

I never used to use coupons and used to throw away the coupon inserts. Then I went on maternity leave and we had to make the dollar stretch farther, especially with baby stuff. The first time I used a coupon was on Pampers diapers at WM; one coupon on one item not on sale. Then I found this site and everything changed! A whole new world opened up for me. Now, I use $40 to $50 worth of coupons on an average shopping trip every week and try to never pay full price. I still remember the first time I scored free stuff; wow, that was a high. This couponing thing is addictive and, you are right, you evolve. Couponing is a skill that is learned and then honed through experience.

[Taurus]

I used to grab bunches of coupons in store but I pretty much ignored flyers. Which is kinda sad since I worked at a newspaper & had access to extra flyers & papers that would get recycled but I rarely rescued any. I was also really bad for forgetting my coupons at home, or forgetting to give them to the cashier.
Now I go with a plan, -thanks to the info on this site I'm not as brand loyal, I go to multiple stores to maximize savings, I PM often, and I just sent off my first coupon trade envie!

[Miabee]

Before couponing, I wasn't even aware that coupon inserts existed. I never used to look at flyers unless I was bored. The only coupons I would sometimes use were from the Clip N Save booklets from subscription magazines, but even those I rarely used. I rarely took advantage of SDM or other store promos. I mainly shopped at No Frills because it was the "cheapest", and if the brand stuff cost too much I'd opt for No Name. I went with a list, but it was a list of things I needed - not a list of things on sale.

Once at No Frills this past year, a man fairied a liquid egg coupon to me (it was a one per customer coupon and he happened to have multiples - nice man! If you are on SC, please say hello! And sorry if I gave you any weird looks at the time, I was naive!). I ended up getting a tiny overage on the carton, and still I wasn't aware of how to use coupons properly.

After I learned to coupon, my first trip involved going to Walmart armed with a whole bunch of printable coupons. I got two boxes of Ziplocs, a Glade Sense & Spray + free refill, free Finish dishwasher detergent, Physician`s Eye Booster and Jumbo Lash Mascara (both free after rebate)… all for $10 and change. (And I just cashed in my rebate cheques last week!) The next day I went back again and price matched a lot of meat and veggies on sale. Then stopped over at SDM to get NasaMist (still waiting on the rebate cheque for those) on 20x the points day.

Now I use coupons every time I go shopping. I cringe at having to pay full price on anything. I try to get things for free or close to free as much as possible. My family has stopped shopping for essentials because I can help them get everything for so much cheaper. I rely on flyers (once when I was away on vacay I didn't get my flyers and so I was store hopping to get all the best deals... wished I could've just taken everything to Walmart!) I'm also getting a lot faster at the cash-out. I line up my items so that the easiest ones to deal with go down the belt first, and the leave the harder ones for last. I also warn people behind me if I might have a tricky transaction and they always appreciate it. I look for coupons EVERYWHERE and my mailbox is constantly full of them. I no longer only shop at No Frills and when I go shopping, my list consist of all the best deals at the moment. Grocery shopping in general has become more fun!

[ellemnop]

I have been very casually couponing for several years. I even had another username on the site but totally forgot the username and password, but didn't do much other than check the weekly deals and sign up for freebies.

I refuse to pay full price now. My experience working retail and the knowledge that I can get discounts on just about everything has helped me with that. I shop in the US and Canada and I often walk away with free product.

[redhdlois]

Great job Millie! I enjoy reading your posts and seeing that picture everytime you comment on something...lol

...picture gives me nightmares lol

[GeorgiaK]

MilleH's picture reminds me of the grandma on Beverly Hillbillies. LOL