Coupons to save but overdoing it?

I used to save coupons but I got so tired of hauling them around I quit. I forget to use them so why do it? And I would never save more than I would use if I would use them. I do use the ones that come right on the product and I am able to use them in check out.

I am not a couponer but I am a cashier. I see some of the avid couponers come in on weeks where the coupons triple (or super double) and I think to myself what in the world. There are some who buy oobs of toothbrushes and shampoo's to save a little bit of money. My feeling is where do they store them, and are they really saving? I suppose in that moment, in a way, they are spending more. As though they have coupons, they normally would not buy so many if they had not coupons. So to say if you only bought the items you needed, and happened to have a coupon for it, THAT is where I think you save. Not if you buy an item just because you have a coupon. You might save that shopping order, but in the long run of things you'd have saved more if you had waited until you needed it and used a coupon then (If there was one available). There was another point I wanted to make but I can't think of it now. Oh now I remember, for myself atleast, if I have more of something I am apt to use more of it. So if I were to buy three bottles of shampoo I'd go through it faster then if I was to say only buy one.

I only buy what I can store. If I have extras of a good coupon, I'll pass them along to a friend, because I know my friends will pass along any deals or extras they have to me.

First it depends on just how good the sale is now. I have 6 free rolls of paper towels in my closet and 6 rolls of bathroom tissue that I paid .50 for them. I stock pile bathroom tissue, as the normal price is high here. If I have to put it under the beds, then that is where it will be stored. I agree buying products you won't use is money I could use for something else. I have to make my money stretch like so many others today. If I can get frozen food cheap, then I would stock pile by filling the freezer; however, when its full nothing else will be bought.

The main thing is to watch the expiration dates on the coupons. If in your case of the toilet paper...they have a few months before they expire...buy couple now, couple later. But since the price of TP seldom declines...if they expire within the month, I will buy all I have. Under the bed is great storage for things like this! I used to live in an apartment and always found places to store stuff. You just have to remember where you put it! Paper stuff never expires so you dont have to "rotate" the stock. Canned goods and drinks are different things. YOu have to rotate. Out here in California, I always have an earthquake stock of stuff...and rotate that based on expiration dates. Just put what in there in the pantry and put new in the emergency stash. But like on that TLC show...it is so stupid to buy something just cause you can...cause you can get it for free. Then have to have the space to store it until doomsday cause that is how long it will take for you to use the stuff...and still have a stash left for the survivors!!! One family of 4 will never use 180 bottle of roll on deoderant! Those things dry up! So why bother with it? But then some sell the stuff on Ebay or at yard sales. I don't find to many useful coupons anymore (been a couponer for 35 years!) So no big deal. Just watch and use your brain..store what seldom goes on sale and pay attention to expiration dates and you'll do fine!

I wish I could use up all these coupons, but yep - I have to think of storage too. We have certain spaces in the closet for these items, so we only buy what we can store. It's enough to last us for a long while - and you figure a deal like that might come again by the time we need to replenish the supply. Plus I think when we have a surplus of paper goods here, we tend to overuse them because we know there's more than enough . . . it makes us less thoughtful - then we'd have to go and buy them sooner than expected.

hello everyone. interesting discussion. I seldom use coupons because they are usually for items I don't often uses or the store brand is cheaper. Also my living situation is such that I don't get to plan my trips to the store so I often forget that I have coupons. To me it doesn't make sense to buy a lot of something that you don't use right away. Ten tubes of tooth paste just because you have coupons is just tying up funds that can be used elsewhere..

I only use the coupons for things I need an you always need toilet paper. But I find it ridiculous to buy six large packages when you only have room for two. I did watch extreme coupon a few tmes and I wondered whether they planned to go into business since they used the coupons for things that they would never use. I do stock up when there is a bargain in frozen food, but then it is usaully the manufactuer's sale and there are no coupons. The thing is that it depends on how much moneyyou have to spend. Right now it is tight and I have to watch it.

i know what you mean. i found that coupon show on tlc a little excessive. i seldom use coupons because the store brand is often cheaper than the name brand even with the coupon and we don't have store loyalty programs here in Canada (i SO wish we did!) but if i do see a good sale. like at our grocery store, they often offer things like 5 for $10 or 3 for $5 and if it is something i can use like last week my hubby got granola bars and pop tarts for the 5 for $10 so he bought them (the granola bars will be eaten by everyone and my kids love poptarts as a quick breakfast in the morning. i have teens that don't get up til the last moment and alaways seem to be running late.) so in answer to your question. yes, if it is something i can use (we have a pantry in our basement) i will buy it (if i need it!)

We don´t get coupons here very much, but if I hit a good deal I will buy as much of that item as I can store and can afford at the time. Not if it´s perishable, obviously, but something like toilet paper would store easily. I am lucky enough to have plenty of storage space for things like that though, but if you don´t then buying them may prove a wasted economy if they end up getting damaged or in the way before you need them.

Good point. I guess I would buy only the things that I need at the moment. But then again, I have never been all that great about planning ahead. I mean, I guess with something like toilet paper - it will ALWAYS get used, it might just take a little longer. So it's not exactly like money wasted.

I'm not really a bargain hunter or couponers. But I do know quite a number of them and my girlfriend is one of them. So, in my girlfriend's case, she would buy more like two or three of the products such as tooth paste, snacks and fruits to stock them. Well, she only manages to save a few cents to a dollar or two each time we shopped. I do believe that you can save a few dollars perhaps but don't make your house a mess or a storage just for them.