This reader question comes from Nicole which she posted on the LRWC Facebook! Her question is regarding getting overwhelmed by all of the deals out there. Do you go to different stores to shop? How many deals do you do each week?
Question:
I love that coupons save me tons of money, but does anyone get overwhelmed with going to different stores for all the deals?
Any suggestions for Nicole on how you simplify your couponing.
Also, you might like to check out some of these posts: Don’t Fry Your Brain and Don’t Be So Extreme. And, Organize Your Shopping Trip is a great post to help you prepare your trips.
If you have a questions you would like to ask the LRWC readers, you can send it to questions@livingrichwithcoupons.com. Put, “Reader Questions” in the subject line.
Cindy Livesey is the force behind Living Rich With Coupons which provides its readers with all the resources they need to shop smart so they can get life’s luxuries for a lot less. Her family of 5 has saved over $11,000 a year in groceries. And you can too.
{ 40 comments… read them below or add one }
It is impossible to get all the deals, you will exhaust yourself. I try and stick to the same three stores, Shop Rite, Target and, A&P. They are all within 10 mins or less from my house. All of them I pass on my way home from work. Places like Acme and Pathmark are about a 20 minute drive from my house so I don’t even bother looking at those match ups, it just isn’t worth it.
I was going crazy too, but I try to restrict myself to only a few stores. Plus if there are only a few items on sale I want I skip that store completely.
I usually just do CVS, plus a few grocery stores depending on deals (Shoprite, Acme, Pathmark). If you do too much you’ll get burnout. And even though I have a ton of Walgreens and Rite Aid, and at least 3-4 other grocery stores/dollar stores I just don’t even let myself look at the circulars because it’s too much. If Cindy posts a really great free deal I will sometimes make a ‘special’ trip to my off limit stores though
I feel the same way. I happen to be lucky enough have everything by me and its so overwhelming. I always do Shoprite and CVS. Then some weeks i throw in wlamart target and rightaid…
I like to do wlamart and taget cause i use the overages towards clothes for my daughter or other items we may need but its toooooo much lol
I certainly don’t go for all the deals. I’ve got three littles and one on the way, so loading up and going into a store takes a bit of effort. I try to limit trips to two per week (one is even better). I pick one store out of a few I keep an eye on (Target, Shoprite, Safeway, Wegmans, Aldi) according to which has the most good deals for me that week. I picked only one drugstore, based on convenience and location. I don’t even look at the others anymore! I only go if it’s a deal on something I really use (not just cause something’s free) and I try to keep the amount I’m rolling from week to week from getting too high. If time and energy were not such a premium I would coupon for a cause–but this is not the stage of life for me to do that!
I have 3-4 stores I go to every week, depending on how many deals there are in each store. Luckily, most of the grocery stores are in the same area which is 10 mins away from my house (and right next to my husband’s office).
I don’t tempt myself to look at Rite Aid or Walgreen’s, I don’t want to over burden myself.
Choose 3-4 stores that you frequent and follow those deals. And try to only go to each store once a week!
I go to the stores in my immediate area. Although I live the chase and most times end up at rite aid, Cvs, target or Walmart everyday. I enjoy hunting for the deals and as long as I feel I have my other ” chores” done for the day or week ill venture out and have some fun! It should be fun, not like work, enjoy it!
I try to only stick to my “favorite” stores….Shoprite and Rite Aid. Otherwise i’d go nuts!
I was like that when I started. But once I built up my stock-pile I found that it was much easier. I can skip weeks of shopping when there are no good deals. But I also keep my eyes open for deals that pop up during regular shopping too.
I would focus on the big items like TP, paper towels, laundry detergent, shampoo and deodorant. In the supermarket stock up on pasta, sauce, drinks and frozen. Then you can relax and work on filling in a little at a time.
I would go crazy going to all the stores just to get the best deals. I only do about 3-4 stores. Depending on their sales. I might only go to 1-2 a week. I mainly look for my freebies. Then the deals that are going to save me the most money. I look at all my circulars. then i find the best place to go. If one store has it cheaper the stores that i go to regularly will have it on sale within a couple of weeks
i get up early sunday am and go to cvs & walgreens…..then shoprite around 8 am…then thats it for me..i limit myself to those 3 for weekly stuff. If i am going to walmart or target for other stuff, then i will look up those deals/coupons etc just for those stores
i find myself making mistakes if i try and tackle too much at once
plus my brain tricks me and mentally i double the coupons at walmart when they dont double (that has messed me up a couple times)
I started off trying to get everywhere and everything at first too. It was confusing and exhausting but it did help me pick the places where I could keep my deals under control, places I liked and actually have fun couponing instead of getting stressed. I have 2 grocery stores I shop at each week – ShopRite and Pathmark, both within a 10 minute drive of each other. And one drugstore, CVS. I was doing Walgreens as well but I was getting too confused with having to buy fillers to cover the coupons; CVS is much simpler!
I agree with Jessica- I stick to mostly ShopRite since it is close to my home and in general, I think they offer the best prices in my area. In the beginning, I did lost of CVS deals too. But, I find those to be cumbersome after a while. I will occassionally still do a CVS or Target deal for a good deal. I think to be successful, you need to pick a store or 2 and not stress. Like Cindy always says, there will be more deals!! Good luck!
I usually do one grocery store, and one drug store – whichever two have the BEST deals that week. Besides, next week, there will be deals, too! Don’t go crazy! Takes the fun out of it
I used to go to every single store thinking that I needed to buy every single deal I could get my hands on. But doing that only wastes your time & money – even though you save a little or alot! Find the stores that are closer to you or near eachother. I like to go to Shoprite (because they double coupons and have better sales & the shelves are ALWAYS stocked) and occasionally I will go to CVS for all my other needs. When I do go to Shoprite, I try and swing by Target/Walmart which are in the area. The more frequent you are a shopper, the cashiers will get to know you as well and wont give you a hard time for your coupons and give you the maximum savings! Good Luck!
I am VERY new to couponing and stick to two stores–Shop Rite and CVS. I don’t even look at the other ads or posts of Cindy’s. If I have to go to Target for something I will grab my coupons to take with me, but I try and avoid Target for the most part!
I used to go seek out all the deals when I first started out because it was new and exciting, but it quickly started to feel like a chore. Now I just do the 3 grocery stores near my house, ACME, pathmark, and shoprite- and unless ACME has something on a good sale in the circular, I skip them completly.
I got out of the habit of doing the drug store deals just because I didn’t have the time and I was “wasting” the store rewards. Although if you do it you can really save a lot of money, but for me all the free things I won’t use wasn’t worth my time. Now when I do go, I use all the store rewards that day.
I like that they recently opened a Bottom Dollar grocery store near me. The store posts all the competitors flyers on the bullentin board(i.e. Shoprite, Acme, Pathmark and superfresh) and matches their prices
I always go to cvs first thing sunday bc my store doesnt have that big of a selection.and usually monday for shoprite and wednesday for shoprite(4 day price break.)and walmart and target each once for freebies.I dont work and my kids are all in school so its easier for me.
Same here, I focus on looking for deals at the stores I know I can get to easily. Shop Rite, CVS and Walgreens. Rite Aid if its a killer. I don’t even look at other stores’ deals since it will make me crazy. We repeat this constantly, but don’t kill yourself over deals, since there’s good ones every week. Going everywhere for every deal will just waste time and gas, the antithesis of the couponing life. Simplifiy!
I stick to Shoprite and CVS. they are both 10 min from my house. once in a while I’ll do Target or Staples if there are some good deals.
I don’t bother looking at the match-ups so I’m not even tempted.
Being organized with all the coupons is also a big help. its worth spending a little on supplies (like I have clear envelopes where i put all my coupons for the trip in. then while shopping if i need to double check the coupon is easy to access and my trip is quick) Wait for good deals on stapes things to get organized!
When I started couponing, I was trying to go to every store, which was just crazy. Now I just do CVS and ShopRite, unless there is some crazy good deal at another store (like the free baby food & razors at Stop&Shop over the summer). Once I had a small stockpile, it got a lot easier to figure out what to get each week. Now, I only shop at CVS with ECBs and/or only if I’m getting more ECBs in return. I haven’t paid for pasta or toothpaste in a long time…
I pick one grocery store a week whichever has the best sale (usually shop rite or wegmans) and then Target or Riteaid for HBC stuff.
I have a 15-mile commute to and from work every day, and so I pass quite a few grocery stores along the way (ShopRite, Target, Stop & Shop, etc.) I try to focus my coupon deals among those stores, and hit them on my way home during the week. With those stores, I can also buy the non-coupon essentials like produce and won’t have to head to another store.
I always check Cindy’s weekly match-ups for all the stores, making sure to note the savings and if it’d be worth it to use the time and gas to get to an out-of-the-way supermarket. Pathmark routinely has deals that are worth the extra few miles, but even then, I limit myself to once a week at most, because it is out of the way. The same with the pharmacies (Walgreens, CVS, RiteAid). I rarely play around with register rewards and pharmacy catalinas, so getting a coupon to double at a grocery store means more to me than getting RRs at a pharmacy.
With all the recent closings of A&Ps, the closest one to me–even though it is “technically” in my town–sends me smack through New Brunswick traffic during rush hour. I’ve gone to A&P so infrequently lately that I’ve lost their savings card.
Since I live Uptown NYC and there aren’t many stores (if any ) that double coupons I am very limited to Stores I can shop at. I usually stick to Rite Aid, CVS and Target. The closest grocery store told me they can not accept a coupon for a sale item. (ugh…terrible) There is a Pathmark about 15min drive that I sometimes go to. (no Double q). So If the sales are good I’ll drive to Stop and Shop or A& P about 30mins away maybe twice a month. Since my mother lives in Goshen, NY, sometimes on a visit to her, i’ll run to Shop Rite, and PriceChopper
. I realized that after 3months of trying to catch every deal. It was exhausting and not worth the gas money, tolls or parking fees. The heavy price of city life.
I use an excel spreadsheet to track store deals at local stores (cut and past Cindy’s deals). There will be overlap and you can weed out deals. Then I look at the great deals left on each of my pages and determine if it is worth going to all the grocery stores (I track 3…shoprite, pathmark and shop n stop). Typically I shop 2 stores in a week. I have done 3 for great deals and things I REALLY needed. Other weeks I just go to one and forgo a few great deals bc they weren’t essential or I didn’t have the time. I shop pimarily at CVS…don’t really track or look at the others unless I see something I absolutely need. I don’t always visit CVS weekly.
Couponing to this capacity can be overwhelming. There are constantly deals. Constantly coupons, and freebies. Every day is like the week leading up to Thanksgiving with that big Black Friday haul. But with some planning, it’s not that bad. On Black Friday, you don’t go to every store. Some stores just don’t have what you’re looking for. Other stores are not going to have enough stock to waste your time on the trip. You have to find what’s reliable near you. And while some stores advertise that something is a deal, an experienced shopper will know that it is not a deal. Couponing is the same way.
Start with stores you can count on. Add in other stores only if they have something interesting that week.
I find it difficult because I have 2 little ones at home, and I will not take them couponing with me. I am at home with them, and I watch them play as I print coupons and put deals together, but finding the time to actually go to the store is hard. It’s difficult knowing that I could just run out the door and hit some stores because I have everything ready, only I can’t because of the kids. I’m not rushing them off to school, because you never get this back, but it would make shopping easier.
When I do get time, it is limited. I can’t take a binder and do a 3 or 4 hour trip like you see on TV. (That’s the first tip – don’t try to do what you see on TV). I may only have a 2 hour slot to shop. So I have to get a lot done. Before couponing – a trip to the grocery store would easily take 2 hours. But now, since I have my trips all planned out and all coupons pulled at home, I can do 3 or 4 stores in that 2 hours. Of course, that depends on the stores I go to actually having what I want. If a store only has 1 or 2 deals I am interested in, I can be in and out in 5 to 10 minutes. The thing I love about grocery shopping in the winter, is that it’s so cold outside, you don’t have to rush home with the fridge and freezer items. It certainly makes things easier.
It also helps that the grocery stores are open from 6 a.m. to midnight. Plus, at those early and late hours, you don’t have other shoppers in your way. May CVS’s are open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (I find that the 24 hour ones are more picked over). A Target by me is open til 11. and Walmart is open til midnight. The trick is not letting the girls wear me out during the day so that I am too tired to shop at night. Easier said than done.
Some people will say that it is not worth it to go to multiple stores, because you are paying for gas. But, you are paying for gas 2 times per every item you buy. You have the cost of your gas, and the cost of the trucker’s gas. So, you might as well hit up multiple stores getting items for cheap or free to help offset that. If you’re picking up items you need anyway, and you don’t hit up multiple stores – you might run out when that item isn’t on sale. I’d rather pay for gas than pay retail.
I find Walgreens exhausting, plus none of mine are coupon friendly. I only do deals there if they don’t involve RR. I do like Rite Aid, but they are a little far and have a short turn around on +UPs. CVS is my go-to drug store. I don’t go every week, but with a month to use ECB’s – I don’t have to.
Ultimately, you just can’t do everything. Even if you do get to every store on your list, it doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be able to get everything you want. I see people getting so upset that they missed a deal. You just have to let it go, because there’s always another deal down the road. And if it makes you too crazy, take a break.
I only shop CVS & ShopRite. If there is a really good deal then I’ll let my husband know and he’ll get to the other stores if he gets a chance. If he can’t, and we miss a sale, then oh well.
Well I understand that couponing can be a bit nerve racking. I sure don’t coupon like the people on tv. I find that I buy certain things at certain stores so I keep mini photo books with coupons for things that I buy at those stores. They fit great in my pocket book and I can pull one out easily when I see a deal in a store. Hope this helps!
Where I am I have CVS/Rite aid/ Walgreens/Target/ Acme and ShopRite all within about 1 1/2 from my house. I tend to explode when the match ups are posted. Getting there is not an issue but keeping all the policies/rewards straight is! I suggest picking a favorite Supermarket and Pharmacy and learning their policies inside and out. Deals will come and go and you will begin to see what store has what items on sale and when. Just have fun with it. When i get overwhelmed coffee (bought with a coupon of coarse ) tends to help
Good Luck
I have tons of grocery stores around my house but I stick with ShopRite, Stop and Shop, and sometimes Big Y for the occassional awesome sale item. My drugstore of choice is CVS, I LOVE CVS. I don’t even bother reading the matchups for the other drugstores because it’s just too much! And I do Target sales because it’s close by.
I did get myself way overwhelmed in the beginning running out to snatch up each deal at various stores as soon as I knew about them. Now I lump trips together and skip deals if it’s not something I really need because that got overwhelming fast.
Listen, Relax…. breathe… I promise the stress and time consuming-ness of coupons will both decrease. I’ve been couponing for over a year and I can remember during my first 6 month being stressed beyond belief! I was going to school, working TWO jobs, and trying to coupon. I spent at least 6 days a week in a store and spent hours a week checking websites, organizing coupons, cutting them, etc.
It will get easier. Eventually you will have a stock pile with enough toothpaste to last your a couple years and you won’t NEED to run to walgreens and get free tooth paste. Your freezers will be full and you’ll only be stocking up on free stuff that you NEED to replenish what you’ve used.
Get what you need…. or what you don’t have enough of to hold you over… don’t stress yourself out of getting items that you just store on shelves and not use…. it’s not worth it.
Tink, well said
I think most new couponers go overboard trying to get all the deals out there. I think mostly because a new couponer hasn’t been couponing long enough to realize sale cycles and the deals WILL come back around. Stick to what stores are closest, easiest, and buy only what you need and will use and you will save big! You don’t have to spend 30 hours a week to save your family lots of money with coupons.
When I started couponing I was going crazy. So many deals, stores… and so many of the things I needed free or almost free. I subscribed to 2 newspapers and I started going to Walgreens, CVS, Shoprite, Stop & Shop and Walmart. I tried to do Target and Rite Aid as well. Here’s what happened: I lost some Up rewards at rite aid because they were rarely stocked on sales and coupons would expire before the shelver were stocked. I started buying things I did not need telling myself that I could donate them if I needed to. I was not having family life and did not see my friends for a while. I got sucked into the awesomeness of having so many great deals. It’s not worth it.
Now I only go to CVS and Shoprite, I do not even bother looking at match-ups for other stores unless I need to go to Walmart or Target. I have donated everything I do not use and have not bought anything else that we don’t intend to use.
I have a family life, I have friends and lots of playdates for my LO.
I also changed from clipping coupons to just storing the inserts and clipping as needed. It saves me lots of time not having to clip coupons I might never use.
I used to check 3 websites. Now I only check LRWC because I love the way Cindy encourages responsible couponing.
Have fun!
This was a wonderful question and the feedback from everyone is great. I am still a bit mew myself and I too became overwhelmed by the excitement of saving and clipping. I have stuckcto one drug store (Walgreens) and watch the match ups for Target And Safeway and occassionally Albertsons lately. I used coupons for the first time at Walmart and I must admit I will go back despite it being a bit out of the way…their prices were lower overall even without coupons and I found other deals orproducts I couldnt find at a grocery store closer to me. I have a ton of tp toothpaste deodorant laundry soap and razors to send off with my daughter to college in the fall along with other personal care items…all of which are very easy to stock up on so I try to ignore those sales until I need those items…but ita going to be awhile haha just have fun and start off small until you get comfortable…then gradually branch out and you will find what works best for you.
One thing I didn’t really see anyone mention is using “Price Matching”. This is a fantastic way to get ALL the deals you want, but you only have to go to one place.
Walmart is a very good place for this, but you can only use one coupon per item. The nice thing is Walmart keeps pretty well stocked up.
I also really like Target for their Price Matching, and because you can use both manufacturer and store coupons there. Target often has really good store coupons, freebies on a regular basis, and I even see clothing coupons pretty much every month. I bought 4 shirts for $0.88 and 3 for FREE using their store coupons in the last 2 weeks. The downside of Target is they have a limited stock so you can’t always get the deals unless you get there early in the week. Plus my local Target carries very little groceries, so I often can’t use some of their coupons or get deals that people can in other areas.
As for how I keep my sanity while couponing, I have set up my “routine” just like anyone else. I only do 2 major grocery trips each month. I wait until the Albertsons doublers come out and I go there first and get everything for free or really cheap that I can. In the same day I then go to a local store we have called “Winco”. Winco is an ESOP (employee owned) and they genuinely have rock bottom prices. They only allow one coupon per item, but their prices are often lower before coupons then they are at other stores after I have stacked 2 coupons. They have the Price match guarantee, which means they adjust their prices each week to be lower then other local competitors.
I do at least LOOK at all the ads, and since I only do my major shopping twice a month I can hit other places that look good once in awhile if I feel like it.
I’m lucky that I work in a city so all of the drugstores are super close to me. However, I always have trouble when it comes to grocery shopping at Shoprite or the Super Walmart. I always try to figure out the best deals and head over to whichever one is the best that week. Sometimes, I make pitstops at Wal-Mart if I can. What drives me crazy is the deals at Target. Target is a little further from me, so if I’m going to go there I need to get some super deals to make it worth it.
When I started couponing back in August, I would take my coupon book and try and figure out a match up while in the store to many of the coupons I had. I have gotten used to looking through the ads and blogs for the best deals and having an envelope full of coupons in order of the aisle I will go down for each store. I normally go to several stores a week, CVS (being the first because their stock is not plentiful), Wegmans, Target and Walmart. I live close to these and have the time, otherwise, I would not do it. I find this as a hobby for me. The better you know the stores policy, the better you can matchup your own coupons and come up with great deals that aren’t even listed on blogs (no offense because blogs are extremely helpful) but it starts to make you feel good when you do find deals unlisted in ads and blogs. Good luck, you will find a stradegy that works best for you!
If there are sales at a bunch of stores, I’ll go to all of them. I luck out because they’re all within 10 minutes and right next to each other.
Did anyone notice that most of the comments stated that they go to the Shop Rite as I do myself. Apparently they have very good deals. With Cindy’s help it makes saving money so much easier. Thanks Cindy.