What would you do??? Advice please!!!!

[agilmer2002]

That's the joy of CW. We "look" mean, but we're ol' softies.

Which is way better than some sites, where they look friendly, but will stab in the back with scissors just for sport.

By the way, when people ask me about couponing, I usually tell them the secrets are 1) buy lots of Sunday papers 2) keep the inserts ('cause the coupons rarely match the ads from the same week and 3) take time to match up coupons to ads before shopping.

Yeah, it ain't rocket science but it takes work. Which is the main reason people don't want to do it.

I tell people the same thing that Jo does and I also walk them through one catalina deal. After that, they are on their own or they can bring down a case or two of beer and go shopping in my stockpile.

I understand the overwhelming feeling so I tell people to start with one store.

 

[Jaime]

First, I think donating to the B&G Club was a great idea. You are absolutely right. They know who's hurting AND the restrictions our pantries place on eligibility don't apply so you are helping the truly needy - those who fall through the cracks, so to speak, when it comes to getting assistance.

As to should you teach?? Ummmm ... no, no and NO!!!!! Tell them it's too complicated & time consuming, tell them you got all your goodies on a fluke, tell them you're too busy chasing the deals to teach, but don't teach a class.

People tend towards the lazy side when they first learn about couponing and rely on others to "give" (whether in person or on a website) them the deals. When handed fish, they will keep on eating non-stop. When they have to fish on their own, most only stay in the game long enough not to starve.

The shelf strippers nightmare in Chesterton & MC didn't start until after Jill's class in Westville. Why? Because there are no copy & paste lists online for Old Time Foods or Al's Supermarket, the nearest Kroger sucks & they read nothing but ugly regarding Walmart & coupons.

So, rather than apply the lessons to other stores they headed off to Jewel. Do you really want to add more competitors in the race to deplete Chesterton's shelves? 'Cause that's where they're going to go. Not Wiseway or T&C for the same no C&P reason as the stores previously mentioned, not Meijer (Jill's list is too late for Indiana) and they won't drive all the way to Highland for Ultra -- they will only go to the nearest store that someone else provides the details for, which, in this case, will be our stand alone, frequently ravaged, Chesterton Jewel.