Many people have the misperception that all this couponing takes a great deal of time. It doesn’t. Yes, it does take some time, and as I’ve said before, if you don’t enjoy it, don’t do it. But once you get into a routine, it’s easy. This is a rough estimate of how much time I spend doing this.

Thursdays & Fridays: I spend maybe 15-20 mins online, checking the various websites, to see what deals others have found. Thursdays and Fridays are usually the days that the following week’s circulars are out. Acme starts their sales on Fridays and CVS on Sundays. Those are the two main stores I’m interested in. Thursday is also the day I get my new circulars in my mailbox, so I spend about 15-20 mins perusing them.

Saturday mornings: My inserts are always in my driveway by 6 am. I get them and clip them, sort them, while I’m having my morning coffee. I also get my circulars back out, since my new coupons are fresh in my mind, and see what deals I can combine with what coupons I’ve just received.

Sunday or Monday: I go to CVS. When I’m working (Sept-June) I have to pass by the Landenberg CVS twice a day, so it’s not out of my way to stop. I also have written down on a notecard which items I’m interested in getting, so the whole trip rarely takes more than 10-15 mins.

Mondays: I pick up my extra inserts from Avon News (thank you!) and I clip from them. I usually do this in the evening after Kevin has gone to bed while watching tv. I clip all the coupons that I know I’ll use and file them, and I keep the rest of the inserts in a drawer in our office. That way if a good deal comes along, I can go back and get the coupons for it.

Once every 7-10 days: I grocery shop every week to 10 days. In addition to my list of things we need, I have a list of items that are super-cheap that I want for my stockpile. I have my coupons organized in a way that is easy for me to use, once you develop a system, it makes shopping with them much easier. I can grocery shop, monitor my coupons and feed Kevin his free chocolate chip cookie all at the same time!

I hate that some people think that moms who are extreme couponers are quirky weirdos who have no life besides couponing. That just is not true. I probably actually spend less time shopping for my family because I have it down to a system and am organized. Plus, having a stockpile means rarely running out of anything, so no extra trips to the store.

Ok readers, I want your opinion on this. I do most of my shopping at Acme, but want to know from the locals which you prefer–Acme or Giant. Please post a comment and tell me!

Here’s the story: Remember the deal I posted a few days ago about the Softsoap, how you can get it at Acme for $0.30 a bottle? Well, yesterday I picked up three. I had three of the $0.35 coupons and one $1 off 3 coupon. I mistakenly handed the cashier the $1 one, realized the error, and asked her to void it off and I would use the other coupons instead. The cashier-supervisor person was standing behind her (funny how they always come to observe whenever I’m checking out) said: We can’t do that, we can only void off one coupon per transaction.

I argued a bit, but let it go. And, I might add, the first coupon that was voided off was because the cashier made an error–it wasn’t my fault. Believe me, I get the big picture. I know that paying $2.00 instead of paying $0.90 for three bottles of handsoap is not a huge deal. But it’s the point. It’s the point that I called customer service when I got home, and what I was told was not true. She could have voided it off if she wanted to, she just didn’t want to.

As I’ve said before, I don’t do anything illegal. I clip coupons and bargain shop in hopes of saving my family money. And for some reason, this really ticks off some cashiers and some supervisors, I don’t know if they’re jealous, if they think coupons are deducted from their paycheck, or what. But it’s getting really annoying and I shouldn’t be hassled every time I shop.

So I’m weighing out the pros & cons of regularly shopping at Acme vs. Giant.

Acme:
~closer to my home
~I pass it twice a day on my way to/from work.
~I like the deals I get on Avenu, the e-coupons
~they double all coupons up to $0.99
~I usually like their meat better
~constantly hassled and made to feel like a criminal for using coupons
~I feel like overall, they offer better deals

Giant:
~further away and out of my way
~I like their produce better than Acme’s
~no e-coupons, but occasionally have transaction coupons, like $5 off $30.
~only double coupons up to $0.50
~if you have several of the same coupon, they only double the first one, the others do not double
~haven’t ever been hassled over my use of coupons
~overall I don’t feel like their deals are as good

So what do you think? Are the extra savings worth the hassle? Leave me a comment with your thoughts.