Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Does clipping coupons or buying generic brands at Walmart save you more money?

i'm trying to save money, and i keep hearing to ';clip coupons';, but often i find that the generic brands are cheaper than the name-brand items, even with the coupon.





what has been YOUR experience with saving money on groceries? Does buying generic save you more, or coupons?Does clipping coupons or buying generic brands at Walmart save you more money?
I have found that for the most part the store brand or generic is usually always cheaper than a coupon. Of course if you go to a store that offers ';Double Coupons';, then you can save some money. Also, Walmart does price match other stores ads and this is a great way to save money as well.Does clipping coupons or buying generic brands at Walmart save you more money?
1) Coupons


WalMart only redeems coupons at face value, no double or triple. If the face value is 50 cents or less use your coupon at places like Kroger. If its higher than 50cents you can use it at WalMart.


2) Store sales ads


Check these religiously, including the drug stores. Sometimes the more expensive stores have items on sale for less than WalMarts regular price. A bonus...the drug store ads frequently have in-store coupons in them.


3) For generic OTC meds...go to Walgreens. Excellent products for not much more than WalMart's generic. Each week they have at least one product on sale buy 1 get 1 free.


4) Shop more than one store. We shop 3 stores regularly including WalMart. It's a pain to shop that way but it does save money. Besides that WalMart doesn't carry everything we use.


5) Get those $2 something freezer bags you see hanging up in the stores in the freezer area. These are wonderful and will keep your frozen goods frozen (including ice cream) until you get home. Also handy for carrying hot items as well. My sister and I are armed with at least 3 of them when we grocery shop.
The best source of coupons is still the sunday paper, although alot of companies have started putting coupons on their websites.





Yes, usually prices for generic stuff are lower than name brand items, but if you watch sales, you will find that clipping coupons can certainly be worth the price.





Like someone said, Walmart will price match competitors for the exact same item, as long as the price is specifically stated in the ad. They will NOT do a price match of a certain percentage off, like 25% off all shampoos or something of that nature.





As for me, I have become a loyal CVS shopper, and often get free items like makeup, shampoos, and razors (all of top quality that otherwise I couldn't afford).





You should check out hotcouponworld.com or find a Y! Group in your area that is into coupons. Good luck!
My household has poor luck with coupons - even in the Sunday paper, you only see a small portion of how many you would see in the 80's/90's.








My advice is to stock up during sales, whether at a grocery store or wal-mart.





My household has spaghetti at least once a week. Normally a jar of sauce costs $1.50-2.50 - I saw the brand we prefer, which happens to be the store brand, on sale a few weeks ago for $1.00 a jar and bought 50 of them.





I only buy spaghetti when we're actually going to use it, b/c why stock up on it if it's not on sale - if spaghetti goes on sale, I'll get enough of it to go with the sauce, but it doesn't make sense to get even one extra box when it could be on sale next week.





That's my tip.
Buying generic brands saved me about $400 per month. The hardest part was getting my doctor to give me the generic brands. Good coupons are rare today. I don't even bother with the Sunday paper. As suggested, if the store has a good sale, just stock up.

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