http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQTqZlMTJME

Eh...ya if this doesn't provide proof that TV shows are hitting the bottom of the barrel I don't know what does. What show to you made you think Hollywood and TV shows were running out of ideas?

X-factor season 9001

Needs more fake coupons.

I was behind a semi-extreme couponner a couple weeks ago. They racked up like $400 at the grocery store and only paid like $320. Not too shabby.

Meanwhile, I looked like a normal person with my two bottles of soda, bag of chips and apple pie (it was march 14th. Had to have my pie).

They also got the disdain of the cashier. $80 in coupons is no small matter.

The crazy thing is that this coupon stuff actually works pretty well. My mom's been doing it quite a bit, not as much as some people, but it's amazing how much money it's saved.

I use coupons, but I am selective about what I buy.
I actually clip not only for myself, but for the school Boy Scout troop, the local Catholic Charities food bank, and for friends who use specific products. I have actually gone on grocery shopping trips specifically for the food bank, and it's probably the only time where I bought twenty jars of spaghetti sauce, instant mashed potatoes, hamburger helper, and ramen noodles. Myself, I prefer foods with less preservatives and addtives.
You can save quite a bit by researching weekly circulars, maing a list, sticking to it, taking advantage of bogofs, downloadable/printable/or scannable internet coupons, oganizing your paper coupons, and not buying things you don't need just because they are on sale. Plan menus according to what you have on hand at home, and what is on sale.

I don't ever argue with cashiers, am always polite, and if I have a large amount of purchases, will ask others to go ahead of me so they don't have to wait.
Yes, I do save quite a bit. Last coupon use total came to $128.00 for $350 worth of groceries.

You would think so, but much of it is farce.

If you want a brand name item because generic doesn't come close in quality (or there is no generic alternative), the coupon is a big help.

However, for most everything else, you can just buy the generic version and pocket a bigger savings than you'd get from coupons.

You can get coupons for organic meats, eggs, fresh fruits and veggies, and some stores offer a "buy brand name get our generic free " promotion.
Stores also offer coupons for so many dollars off of a purchase , say $5for a $50+ purchase. You can also stack manufacturer, and store issued coupons, some stores also take competitors coupons. For example, had to get cat food yesterday, I had a $2 off Target issued ten Friskes canned cat food coupon, a $1.50 off Publix issued ten cans Friskies cat food, and a manufacter's $2.00 off fifteen cans of Friskies cat food. Fifteen cans cost $5, so $5.50 was deducted from the total.
If I have a coupon I am not going to use anytime soon, set to expire, I "coupon fairy" it, leave it right by or on the product as I am shopping. I ran into a man doing exactly the same thing in the grocery store last night, it was funny.

In the time spent looking for coupons, I could be doing more interesting things with my life :shakehead:

I just can't keep up with all those papers, I would rather pay full price then keep track of coupons.


Edit: Third Star! Yes! :celebration: :celebration: :celebration:

Working in a grocery store for 2 years, I have had my fair share of run ins with people who use TONS of coupons. I know people are trying to save money, but most of the time its such a hassle for the employees. The shoppers are our grocery store are 95% elderly (we are located next to a massive retirement community, basically its an entire city filled with old people), and sometimes they can be the rudest bunch of people ever. If they don't get their ONE can of soup can out of twenty for a quarter cheaper they flip and start yelling at us, its ridiculous. I understand that they are on a fixed income and all, and heck we even get the younger people doing it too, but most of the time it just holds up the line, which pisses off everyone behind them, and then those people take it out on us because we have to sit there and take it. What pisses me off even more is when people argue with me about a limit or something on the coupon, when it clearly states there is a limit. Sometimes, people get mad because we can't accept certain coupons due to company policy, and they can't seem to understand that. People always freak about because they say a product rang up as 3 dollars, but one the shelf it was 2.50. Even after I do a price check they STILL yell at me and tell me that I'm wrong, even though I've worked there for 2 years, and know what I'm talking about and how to do a price check. They're practically getting the product for half off, if not more and yet they STILL want to argue with me about the price?


I have had it where people don't buy something, just because they don't have a coupon for it, or the coupon expired, so instead of putting it back on the shelf, they decide to give it all to me at the register so I have tons of products that I have to put back on the shelf because they were too lazy to put it back, or can't understand the concept of reading. I would be more understanding if they were nice about it, but most of the time, they just tell me how to do my job which really pisses me off. I know how to do my own job better then you do.

[/rant]

When I worked briefly as a cashier in college, until I found better paying employment. We'd also get many people who used coupons. This was in the days before scanners, so you had to examine them carefully, and deduct, with a calculator the amount from the total. The cash register did not tell you what change back you had to give, either. I didn't mind it though, being on a tight budget myself as a student. Learned a lot from customers, the better prepared ones would group coupon items together by product, and usually last, so that the process of deducting would be quick and error free.
Nowdays of course, the upc scanners automatically deduct if the proper items were purchased, and the cashier only has to scan the coupon. I've even had Publix cashiers give me coupons for items I'd purchased, that I was unaware were offered by the store. When I apolgized for the trouble they'd gone to, they assured me they too were working people, and the company prefers to have my business. It's one reason I like to shop there, customer service is excellent, there are plenty of cashiers on the floor, and they pack my groceries correctly. Of course, they also pay their employees well and are considered a top tier grocer.
If it gets to where your customers become an irritant, it's time for a new job.

There was also a recent study done on the incomes of those who use coupons, and surprisingly, the more financially and well educated customers used coupons, vs customers with lower income.
As for coupons, they come in the sunday paper, and to an email account I have set up. I don't spend hours each week searching for them.
I spend maybe an hour clipping, printing, and organizing. Efficency pays off, last Thursday's shopping trip I paid $178 for $320 of groceries.

WTF, technology has a purpose, yunno.

We should have a thread for new TV shows that are actually good. (shotty not)

For instance, I was watching this reality show called Mobbed on Thursday on FOX called Mobbed. It was hosted by Howie Mandel, whos like a child meddling in peoples lives.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGljgwLtGx4

It was actually pretty moving..like watching extreme makeover home edition or undercover boss...

I struggle to even find one coupon in the Sunday papers on the very rare occassion I buy the newspaper (mainly for jobs), hard to imagine how these people find so many.

We don't really get coupons here. Not from the companies behind the product anyway.
Since we have a menmbership card with one of the big grocery stores we get like 8 new coupons a week though and every half year or so we get a 10% discount on one purchase.

Most of the customers are alright in my book, but its just those certain, few regulars that come and bombard me with coupons, but I do understand they are trying to save money, its just the attitude they give me sometimes, if they're nice to me and don't give me problems, I am more then happy to help them.


Basically, if you're nice and respectful, I don't mind you using coupons to the extreme, but if you hassle me about every single penny and glare at the screen thinking I'm trying to pull a fast one on you, then it annoys me. But like I said earlier, its always the elderly who hassle me, the younger people are much more respectful and are much more patient.

I had enough headaches being a register jockey in a gas station so I think my head would probably explode if I became a grocery store cashier.

The one thing I learned from my experiences as a cashier:

The average person is not sane! At least, the average customer is not sane, which may just be the main demographic who shopped there.