Reader Dawn sent me this email, and I thought this was a great opportunity for all of my readers to pitch in with their opinions.
I have a question about couponing. I try to be very frugal as we have 5 children and only 1 income. Can you use more than 1 coupon per item purchased? Also, we live in the middle of nowhere, our closest Walmart and Walgreens are 20+ miles away and Target is 30 miles away with no other major chains around fro another 30+ miles past that. Do you have any tips on how to save even more money without having to drive an hour or more away? I use my comp ads at Walmart and clip and print coupons, sign up for all the freebies I can find, shop at resale stores, we don’t eat out, etc. Please help, I would love to be able to start putting money into savings as well but not sure how I can make that happen. Thank you.
Dawn – First place to start would be my Coupon Basics for Newbies post here. That should give you a good start. To answer your first question: You cannot use more than one coupon per item unless you are combining a store coupon with a manufacturer coupon. As to your other questions, I want to hear some tips that my readers may have for you. Hopefully this will help you and others who may be reading this blog post. How about it? Do you all have any tips for Dawn?
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Since most of your shopping requires a drive I would keep an eye on the store websites to watch their sales. I would determine where I was shopping each week based on who had the best deals to offer on items I needed right then or needed/wanted to stockpile.
I have stores close by but I’m on a medical driving hiatus so I have to plan carefully so I inconvenience the least amount of people. My letter carrier delivers the next weeks grocery ad’s on Tuesday’s and they go into effect on Wednesday. I’ll go online and double check the current week’s ad against the coming week’s ad to determine if I want to run out that night and stock up on anything else before the sale ends (especially for produce that I want as fresh as possible). If your letter carrier doesn’t do this, ask them about starting to do so. My carrier recently got rerouted and the new person wasn’t doing this, I spoke with them about reinstating this practice.
Use your crockpot or if you don’t have one, get one and use it. There’s a blog dedicated to using the crockpot everyday. It’s a great money and timesaver. Here’s the link to the blog: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/
You could always find another mom in the area that wants to save money and carpool so you are saving money and have a buddy with you! Sometimes you can get good deals online (minus the manufacturer coupons, but you may be spending your mfg “savings” on gas money otherwise). Or try websites like Alice.com, shipping is always free and they have coupons on the website!
Hey Dawn, What are closest grocery/drug stores?
I have a small locally owned grocery store about 3 miles away but you have to pay the price to shop close. That is the absolute closest store we have. Dollar General is about 7 miles away 1 way and Walgreens 20+ miles in another direction. There is another local grocery about 20 miles away but the are higher too. Aldi is about 30 miles.
Dawn,
a lot
I am in your same boat with being in the middle of nowhere and having a limited income. I’m disabled and have a lot to deal with so I also know about having to keep your trips to a minimum. It’s tough to save a lot of money when you live in a rural area but it can be done! It’s all about organization and time management, girl!
First thing is to decide which stores are truly feasible for you to shop in. It is worth it for us to go to our nearest Target and Publix, along with a couple more stores that are an hour away about twice a month. They have such great deals on items that we can get for free or so cheap with coupons that we just pick a day out that we go and do all of that shopping. You can combine store coupons and manufacturers coupons at some of those stores, including Walgreens, and there’s no limit to how many items we can get as long as we have coupons so we can really stockpile when we go.
The next tip is to let go of some brand loyalty. We honestly don’t have more than one or two items that we just have to have certain brands of, and one is Kraft cheese. If need be I could easily let go of that but so far I can keep it. Talk with your family and decide what they can let go of in terms of brand loyalty, and stock up as much as you can on things you can get for free. There are freebies at Walmart but you have to look harder for that.
Get your store fliers every week as early as you can, and find a blog that matches those store ads to coupons so you’ll know what you can get that week. Once you get a stockpile you can just buy produce and dairy and fresh foods on those weeks that the deals aren’t that good. Stock up on meat whenever it hits the cheapest price, too. Find out how to set up a price book if you don’t have one so you’ll know the cheapest price on that stuff.
There’s tons of ways to save money in a rural area but it takes more work and patience because they’re harder to come by. It gets frustrating! Do you have someone you could split baby-sitting duty with so you can shop without kids? Maybe that way you could get a day where you can quickly get all of your shopping finished and have them keep your children for you. Then you’ll keep theirs another day so they can run their errands.
Sometimes the only way to save is to drive to the far off stores but if you plan it right it can REALLY be worth it! I don’t know what I’d do without my Publix, but with it being an hour away the best I can do is plan my trips so that they pack a huge punch so I don’t have to shop again for a long time.
If you’re new to couponing you need to read everything you can. Just being organized and finding freebies with coupons can save you tons! If I can do anything else to help you just e-mail and let me know
It’s hard to get it all in one comment but like I said, I live in rural Alabama and it’s hard but it can be done. You’re lucky to have the 5 kiddos!!
.-= Kristin T. @ Making Cents Out of Life´s last blog ..Product Review: Pop Tarts Popsters =-.
Hi Dawn! I too live rural- 40 miles from the nearest grocery/Walmart. I have only recently started combining coupons with store sales in order to build up a years pantry. It is definately tougher when you live out of town and don’t run in every week. (I try for once a month, but honestly we end up going 2-3 times a month).
I am finding the blogs to be very helpful in educating me. I am also researching my stores ads online. Now, my grocery list doesn’t just include the usual milk, eggs, bread it has a listing of specifically what I am going to buy at Albertsons, Walmart and Walgreens with quantity, coupon (or coupons if more than one apply) and end price. I used to take hours shopping. Now, it is so much quicker because of my list. All my spending decisions are already made before I ever go into town. And I can tell you, a quicker trip to town is a happier trip to town for me!
Thanks for the information! I didn’t know you could use a manufacturer coupon and a store coupon together! I usually just try to sneak in extra coupons! LOL Thanks for downloading the BlogFrog widget on your blog!! We really appreciate it!
Girl, you are just gonna have to move closer to the stores
I’m not in a rural area, but we’re on a limited income and I try to save in whatever ways I can.
In addition to subscribing to blogs that match weekly store circulars to coupons, I also subscribe to blogs that give previews of the coupons that will be in the coming Sunday paper. If there are going to be many coupons that I’ll use, it’s often worth the $ to buy more than one paper.
I also keep track of prices and sales on my most frequently purchased items, and now I know when to stock up. The bread we like goes on sale every three weeks or so…instead of buying it every week, I buy 6 loaves on sale and put them in the freezer- that will hold us until the next sale, and I never pay full price.
I always check for deals at http://www.amazon.com. Many times they have better prices than Walmart. If your order is $25 then delivery is free right to your home.
Dawn,
One suggestion I thought of is to order more manufacturer coupons from coupon clipping sites such as thecouponclippers.com or thecouponmaster.com. For instance, I knew that Birds Eye veggies were on a temporary markdown at my local Wegmans (who doubles coupons) for .99 each. I purchased 20 manufacturer coupons valued at $.50 each and was able to obtain a freezer full of free veggies (after doubled coupons). We are blessed to be near to many stores, so I can’t provide much on that challenge, but to make the most of good deals that you find, order more coupons! ebay is also another great resource for coupon ordering.
what about shopping online? delivery? can you use your coupons that way TTM? Personally I haven’t tried it but I do get a ton of emails for % savings for online CVS shopping etc!
I know in my area, scratch and dent type grocery outlets tend to be located in lower-overhead rural areas. Check around for a United Grocery Outlet, Save-A-Lot, or local discount grocery outlet.
Also look for good deals on amazon.com and alice.com. If you aren’t able to get a big city paper with good coupons, order inserts online.
Combine trips, so when you have to go to town for a dr. appointment or something, check online for the best deals at the stores you’ll be near on your trip. If you shop at CVS or Walgreens, plan your trip so that you spend your Extra Care Bucks or Register Rewards right away and don’t have to worry about them expiring before you get back to that store. Get rainchecks if stores are out of something and don’t let them put you off with the “we’re getting a truck on Thursday” line.
Hotcouponworld.com has a forum dedicated to Dollar General (http://www.hotcouponworld.com/forums/dollar-general/). Dollar General accepts manufacturer coupons, but not internet printables.
Use the same type of approach at your local grocery as you would at the bigger stores. Ask if they accept coupons, what their policies are, if they offer store coupons, etc? Then wait to use your coupons until you can pair them with a good sale. I’ve not tried it, but I know keeping a price book can be a great way to make wise grocery purchase decisions.