For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for May 08, 2023

I know the feeling.

I remember coupons in newspapers. That takes me back.

And before the expiration date.

Sort them by expiration dates, you’ll remember to use them better.

I used to have a great system for using coupons back in the day but it took so long to organize.

If possible, use them right away (before you forget).

TV show Extreme Couponing

I spent more with coupons. I always bought something just because I had a coupon thinking I’d use it later.

Wow! A whole 30 cents off a stick of deodorant whose purchase price usually hovers between $5.99 to $7.99 these days. (Although I am no Price is Right expert!) I’d probably burn up more than 30 cents in gasoline looking for an empty parking space at the grocery mall on a Saturday afternoon!Most likely these were 1994 coupons which I probably didn’t even bother with collecting even back in 1994.

I at least remember to put them in my wallet. Actually USING them is a whole ’nother matter.

I’m a coupon clipper. There aren’t as many now as there used to be. One year I saved about $250 using them.

We have digital coupons now.

I used to use a lot of coupons back when I had family at home. We had double coupons at one store every day and another on specific days. Saved a lot of money and never bought anything that I did not need. Then those double coupon stores no longer did that. Still used coupons where it saved me some money, but did not save so much. Slowly, as my family size declined, so did my coupon use. Now I only use the ones my favorite store sends me in the mail. Those are great. I no longer get the daily paper so there are no other coupons for me to clip. Getting the e-paper is OK, but they do not have coupons for anyone to print.

about 10 years ago, i was in the commissary line, watching the lady ahead of me. fascinating. she bought nearly $100 (2000s money, when you could pack your car with that amount) of groceries for about $7.80. the dead-stopped checkout was worth watching it happen. ie: asparagus, $2/per can, on sale half-off, plus a $1 off coupon. insane.

Coupons are only woth it, if they are for the things and brands that you normally use. Using something, just because you have a coupon, makes little sense.

We do a great job of clipping and using coupons. My spouse is the Champion of Coupons Clipper.

Actually, I can never seem to find coupons for anything I actually buy. I guess I’m supposed to buy what I have coupons for, and that helps stores get rid of the stuff nobody buys. Like me.

Or they’re for what you need.

My mom, bless her post Depression Era heart, would go to the market with a fist full of highly organized coupons, fist full to the point that the cashier would have to pay HER. Mom could get 6 cents out of a nickel.

You’ll need it, Elly. The way you are going through money with the new furniture when the basement repairs probably have not yet been paid. Not to mention the damage the mouse did to the car.

You need to purge those coupons, Elly.

I give my coupons to a neighbor who will actually take the time and use them. I rarely see one for things like fresh fruit, or even fresh anything.

Even more so, check to see if alternative items be cheaper than the same items with the coupon discounts.

It’s been years since we’ve had double coupons here…

That’s the main reason I don’t even bother to clip them ! ! !

Yeah. . . .

Before merging with Kroger, a certain grocerie chain would have their super mega awsome double couple coupons of up to $2 in value days and tripple coupons for under $1. It justified getting the Sunday paper. But now the chain only doubles up to $1 and I might save enough to cover the third of the cost of one single sunday paper.

In the modern age, Elle would “clip” the coupons on her phone and when she scanned her customer card, all of the appropriate discounts would automatically be applied to the total before taxes. Nothing worse these days, than being behind an old time coupon clipper as she sorts through her coupons..

Ultra Pit is a good name for a deodorant.

alas coupons seem to always be fore the over priced over processed stuff – not basics like fruits, raw veg, and eggs

Right now I’m waiting for locally grown asparagus, since it is the exactly right time for it. I’ve never, ever seen it offered with a coupon or as a special. You won’t see me buying asparagus in winter or the fall, imported from who knows where…

It is always regular price. I’ll buy it anyway, since we love it so much. We used to grow it in our garden. Our kids would go and snap it and eat it right then and there. The same with other vegetables that could be eaten raw, they are never on special or have coupons for them.

Now I KNOW this is a strip from the past.These days coupons are 95% pharmacy products and 5% food.

And tomorrow is LOST SOCK MEMORIAL DAY

I like the digital coupons.

I so have that problem of clipping and then forgetting and I even have them in my wallet

That’s why they don’t go in the cupboard, Ellie. Put them in your wallet with the money!

I rarely get any paper coupons that are useful to me these days. The digital ones for the supermarket and Walgreens are what I use these days. This week Walgreens had one for $10 in points for a $25 spend. Those are good because you aren’t locked into any particular product.

Nobody uses coupons anymore