Jill Cataldo


Nationally-syndicated money-saving columnist
Blogger, workshop instructor & savings enthusiast
Read by more than 20 million people each week

Smart ways to save on shopping, home, travel and living well!

Jill’s shared her savings methods with:

New Super-Couponing Tips weekly column: “E-e-e-coupons! What shoppers need to know”

By:

ChicagoShopping.com has posted my new column for this week:

“E-e-e-coupons! What shoppers need to know.” Here’s an excerpt:

Dear Jill,

I think switching to digital coupons is a conspiracy to take coupons away from people who need them most! We are online but we don’t have a printer. No data plans, no cellphones, can’t afford it. We have a pay-as-you-go phone for emergencies. Companies doing all the switching to high-tech coupons are leaving people like us hanging. We need the discounts but can’t afford all the new high-tech toys to get them.

Read the rest, and enjoy what over 20 million people around the country read in their newspapers each week!

ChicagoShopping.com is the official shopping, deals and savings site of the Chicago Tribune.

Comments

  1. Just heard a commercial for your column at Chicagoland Savers on 101.9 (the Mix). Pretty cool! : )
    Congrats!

  3. i cannot find the one you mentioned “Coupon Craze”, how can i find it to read it. thanks for everything.

  4. I just read your coupon Q&A on the chicagoland saver site and now I am wondering which store sells the bags of coupons! sign me up! :o)

  6. Great article Jill. So far, I haven’t run into what some of your readers have with the cashiers at any of the stores. I have had more issues with the people in line more and still do feel very conspicuous when I am handing over all my coupons but am developing that thick skin!! I hope that managers at these stores read these things and take actions to minimize or eliminate this for all shoppers!

    Thanks,
    KC

  7. What a great follow up! It’s nice to hear these things from the other side’s perspective. It’s a shame that people do what this cashier said and she is the one that gets fired for it even when she was in the right. That takes “the customer is always right” to a new level, only it’s not a good one. I can admit that couponing is additcting and have found myself going to the stores almost daily to check for deals i havent been able to get. However, it uses up a lot of my time and I am learning to get rainchecks and if I miss this deal, another one like it will come along again! I always try to think of the cashier’s as they have a tough job dealing with all different people and if they tell me I cant use the coupon then i dont gripe. I do ask why but always ask nicely and most are nice back and tell me why and usually they are right! I hope people take heart to this article and put themselves on the other side of the register and ask themselves how they woukd feel being the cashier.

  8. I like hearing the story from the other side. I don’t envy the cashiers their job! I do find it very frustrating when I go to pick up items and the shelf has been cleared, and then you see that person with 52 boxes of whatever in their cart. If we all took what we need plus a couple extra for our stockpile we could all enjoy the great savings that we get by using coupons!
    Thank you, Jill, for all that you’ve taught me. My eighth grader never fails to tell all her friends that her mom is a coupon junkie!! Ha!

  9. So, I took your class & started following your blog almost a year ago (WOW! it went fast!) and even though the 60second tips are pretty basic things that you learn in your class, seeing you explain them on video brings back that initial excitement I had after I first started shopping with your method :) We’re preparing for Baby #2, due Jan 21, and at least this time around I know where to look for diaper/wipe coupons and how to sign up for mailings. Thanks Jill!!

  10. My column will also be on stockpiling this weekend! Of course it was filed long before I saw this. I guess with grocery prices headed up we are all thinking about our stockpiles right now.

  11. In the past I have always taken one day to shop for the month, this helped save money by simply not making numerous trips to the store, impulse buying and on gas. I always tried to purchase items that were on sale if possible. But now I see that with Super Couponing I will need to make several trips a month to get the best deals. I like to make my menu for the month and then go shopping then, I am done for the month, so helpful in organizing my time and planning my meals. How would you suggest this newbie begin? Should I still make my menu for the month and then watch for the sales each week accordingly? It sounds like most of those who are taking advantage of the coupons/deals eat what they have stocked up on already. But I am just starting out. Any suggestions would surely help. Thank you

  12. Help. I am new and trying to figure this out, but cannot print the computer coupons. Has anyone else had this happen to them. I used to be able to print, but have installed a filter on my computer. Does that interfere with printing coupons?

  13. Help. I am new and trying to figure this out, but cannot print the computer coupons. Has anyone else had this happen to them. I used to be able to print, but have installed a filter on my computer. Does that interfere with printing coupons?

  15. For the last 3 weeks I have been having trouble viewing the tips of the week the video pauses all the time anyone else having this issue…any help is appreicated :)

  16. Thanks for the article on Extreme Couponing– my mother watches too much TLC and thinks I am hoarding. I try to explain the difference between hoarding and stockpiling, but it really helps to have something in print to forward to her! Thanks for all you do, Jill.

  17. I just found a Campbell’s cookbook (2001) in my pantry with a bunch of coupons I never used. They do have a bar code, but say “no expiration date.” Does anyone know which stores will take coupons with no expiration date? Between my husband and me, we typically shop at Jewel, Walgreen’s, CVS, Meijer, Walt’s, Strack and Van Til, Target, and Kroger. Thanks for the help.

  18. Jill — I’m just starting out as a couponer. I can already see that I’m going to learn a lot from you! I have a question about your article on No Expiration Date coupons. Just like the person who wrote to you about this, I also have many old coupons going back to the 80s with No Expiration Date. I’m going through my coupons now and throwing away anything without a barcode. But are these old coupons that contain a barcode still usable?

  19. What manufactures give out produce coupons? I’ve been searching for them too!!! I agree, they are the “Holy Grail” of coupons!!!!

    Thanks you so much Jill for your help!!

  20. Alot of the walgreens in my area will clip some coupons out of the extra inserts from the papers that did not sell, and will staple them together and put them near the shelf price tag area for customers to take and use – I see this alot near me, are they setting themselves up for this whole gang-cut problem?

  21. Jill, thank you for your ideas! I have a small two bedroom house that I used to share with my mom and my son. My mom has decided to retire and move to Mexico I can use her closet as a storage area. Unfortunately, she won’t let me donate her clothing but I’m going to box it up and put in the attic.

    Thanks for the ideas!!!

  24. Do you know if the troops can use expired Walgreens RRs if they say manufacturer’s coupon?

    Thanks

  25. I always enjoy your columns in Chicagoland Savers. For quite some time you have posted promo codes for the Chicago Tribune in your ‘Deals of the Week’. I don’t see that this week which leads me to believe that perhaps they aren’t offering a good deal right now. Last January I attended one of your classes and I feel like you posted an excellent Trib promotion at the end of the class. Do you know if they typically offer a good deal around New Years/after the holiday rush? (One of my current trib subscriptions is about to expire and I’m wondering if I should hold off instead of renewing it.) My daughter sure enjoys the Sunday Trib she gets through that Groupon deal a few weeks back. Should have gotten 2 of those!

  26. I agree with you as well. For me, having 4 kids means buying 4 times as much. I have been looked at while having 40 propel bottles in my cart. But those 40 bottles last only 2 weeks when my kids each take one to school everyday. People think you’re a hoarder when infact you are only trying to take care of your family.

  27. I really enjoyed your article last week and this week on buying coupons online. It is so important to remember that this thing we do is only possible because the manufacturers allow it and distribute the coupons.

    You have said it before and I say the same thing every chance I get to other couponers – that couponing is a privilege not a right and as your last statement in the article states …”Another big reason to avoid buying or selling coupons: the coupon manufacturers ask you not to. Following the rules set by manufacturers is the best way to show respect for the savings they provide with coupons.”

  28. Bar-S announced on their facebook page that the $5 coupon will not be honored by them due to widespread fraud. This is one that was easy to duplicate and it is all over ebay.

    Just for funsies – I emailed the sellers of this coupon on Ebay about the decision of the company to not honor the coupon. Here is what one of them responded:

    “thanks for telling me know. all my coupons was purchase as a bulk with other seller and i resell them for $ , thanks”

    BULK???? “PURCHASE AS BULK”????

    To have “bulk” coupons like this, you either have counterfeited them or stolen them.

    But this same coupon has turned up in “bulk” on Extreme couponing.

  29. This is very interesting as in the UK unless otherwise clearly specified that it is not allowed for that particular coupon, printed coupons from online PDF versions of newspapers are accepted by the manufacturer, and again unless otherwise specified as being one per person there is no restriction as to the number of copies allowed to be printed. I think this is one area of couponing in the UK where we are very blessed, we have a lot more unlimited PDF coupons though the number of these are dwindling as manufacturers sign up to couponstar and other personalised coupon software.

  30. I spent my first year of couponing just learning the game. Now that I feel that I have that down I have started to do surveys and rebates. I was weary of rebates when I read on blogs about the issues people were having in getting their rebate checks. I am only doing rebates on items that I get for free whether it’s with coupons/ecb/rr or it is an item I would have purchased regardless. That way I am not holding my breath if something hoes wrong. I just see it as icing on the cake. Don’t get me wrong I would call to find out and try toto straighten out the issue but atleast i would not be purchasing just for the sake of the rebate.

jillcataldoheadshotI'm Jill Cataldo, founder of Super-Couponing® workshops and author of the nationally-syndicated newspaper column and video series "Super-Couponing Tips" enjoyed by over 20 million people each week.

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