Conference turris::cooks

    I do coupons, but I sort of have a system to it.  I will only
    cut a coupon for things that I already buy or something new
    that I want to try.  I will not buy something I don't want or
    won't need in the near future just because I have a coupon for
    it.
    
    I usually have between 2 - 6 coupons a week.  Really not many
    when you think about how many I passed up.  It does, however,
    make a difference over the long run.  Especially if your 
    supermarket does double coupons like mine does.  Besides,
    it's kind of fun looking through them on lazy Sunday mornings. 
    I've found a few good recipies that way.
    
    Gail

    My mother was a coupon freak.  So, when I went out on my own, there
    was no way in H#!! that I was going to clip those things.  Then
    I got my cats, and my grocery bill jumped $10 a week.  And my mother
    started giving me the cat food and cat litter coupons.  Then I decided
    to clip a couple myself, at first just the cat food/litter ones.
    Then I started getting practical - i.e. "I only buy Heinz ketchup
    anyway, so why not clip the coupon, it will save us a dollar". 
    Now I consider myself a coupon junkie within reason.  I only clip
    the coupons I will use.  But at the same time, I use the Ben and
    Jerry's coupons as an excuse to get some icecream.  How I'm the
    worst is that I refuse to use any of my coupons if I go to a store
    that doesn't double them!  I end up saving $5-10 per week, which
    gets spent at the wine store next to my usual grocery store.
    
    	-Nancy

    
    Any stores in the Southern NH area (Manchester,Londonderry) double
    	or triple coupons ?
    

    Are there any Victory Markets up there? I know they ALWAYS double
    the coupons.  Demoulas DOES NOT EVER double them (I just quit
    working for them part time). Used to work for Victory in High School.

                   I am also big on the things. I used to throw them
    out each week, but after I saved $15.00 on one shopping trip, I
    now keep a large collection on hand. However, I have started to
    notice that several of the larger stores are no longer "doing" double
    coupons; Purity Supreme for one. I guess that some of the stores
    feel that it is not economically practical to offer more than their
    face value.
                                                                  

    
    I too use coupons, but I only clip the ones that are things that
    I would buy any how..  When I make my shopping list I go through
    the coupon box (3x5 card file box), and pull the ones that are items
    already on my list. I then star the item to remind my self that
    I have a coupon (some times there are special conditions, like buy
    2 get one free or special sizes) and I only take those coupons with
    me to the market instead of a big box. I have found that markets
    that double and triple coupon values usually charge more to begin
    with so that some times it's a false saving.

    I used to make fun of my parents when they sat there on Sunday morning,
    clipping the coupons...
    
    ....and then I moved out....and learned to clip coupons!
    
    I also used to think Dad was silly when he'd go out and buy at least
    half a dozen of some toiletry just because it was on sale...
    
    ....and then I moved out....and learned to buy things on sale too!
    
    My pet peeve is stores that have "sales", and the sale price is equal
    to (or more than) the price that I normally pay elsewhere!
    
    
    Here's a cute story:  One of my friends decided to be consumer-smart,
    so she made up a list of all the good items that she purchases
    regularly.  She then went out with the purpose of finding out which
    supermarkets charged what prices for each of them.  One of the major
    supermarkets actually kicked her out!  First they wanted to know who
    she was working for, and then they told her that it was against their
    policy.  However, it would be fine, according to them, if she went into
    the store, memorized half a dozen prices, went outside, wrote them
    down, went back in, memorized more prices...  Makes you wonder what
    the store had to hide?
    
    --Sharon
    

    "However, it would be fine, according to them, if she went into
    the store, memorized half a dozen prices, went outside, wrote them
    down, went back in, memorized more prices..."
    
    I've heard of that before.  They're all spy conscious.
    
    What frosts me about supermarkets (Purity, for example) is when
    they totally screw up their unit pricing.  You konw, this container
    is 6.40 a quart and that one is 25.50 a gallon (not bad yet) and
    that one is 18 cents an ounce -- which is an avoirdupois ounce and
    not a fluid ounce so it's unrelated to 32 ounces per quart.
    
    ed

    I'm a coupon shopper too -- my problem is filing the @#$%^ things!
    I keep a 4x6 file box, complete with dividers [in an order that
    drives my husband nuts!], and bimonthly try to go thru and pull
    all the coupons that expire in the next two months.  Doesn't always
    work, and sometimes I end up at the end of the month buying things
    I don't really need right away because the double couponing makes
    it look good [in my area Finast and Stop&Shop double up to 99 cents, 
    most of the others are only 50 cents, and Purity and Star don't double 
    at all, so I tend to avoid them unless desperate].  Hubby doesn't
    understand why I won't carry the whole box with me when I go shopping,
    but I find it's more of a hassle, expecially when I have one of
    the kids with me, plus I tend to buy even more "because there was
    a coupon".  I hate the dumb things, but I "saved" over $10 yesterday.
    
    It's just that you get so caught up in the mentality of "saving" ,
    that you hestitate to buy something because you don't have the coupon
    with you.  But it does make it easier to try something new -- then
    if you don't like it, you say, oh well, at least it didn't cost
    me the full price!!
    
    p.s. where do you find the ben and jerry's coupons?  my husband
    would KILL to get his hands on those!!
    
    sandy

    One of those big envelopes of coupons (sent to Occupant) had an
    ad for a coupon wallet.  Basically a velcro closed wallet with 
    light-weight cardboard dividers with various product-types written
    on their tabs.  You put the coupons behind the appropriate tabbed
    divider and take the whole thing with you to the store.  That has
    saved me a lot of time!  I am rarely in the store without my coupons,
    and I can always find the one I need.  I think the wallet was under
    $5.
    
    I clip coupons for items I already use.  Occasionally I'll clip
    one for something I rarely use.  Usually I don't bother with ones
    that have expiration dates unless it's an item I use regularly.
    Those coupons go in the front of the wallet, along with the ones
    I know I need to use on the next trip.
    
    I'm having trouble finding coupons for cat-food these days.  Anyone
    not got a cat and have access to 9-lives coupons?  Either wet or
    dry food, not moist?  Send to ZK02-2/N53....
    
    --Louise

    Me, too - I save the coupons only for products we use, which is very
    few of the coupons found in a typical Sunday paper.  I store them all
    in the front of the silverware drawer, roughly sorted by "breakfast
    cereals" (there sure doesn't seem to be any reason to pay full price
    for that! - any kind we eat, we get coupons for, as well as tossing
    lots of coupons for kinds we won't eat, such as sugar-coated miniature
    ice-creamcones - ycch), "bathroom supplies" (tissues, toilet paper,
    deodorant, toothpaste, painkillers), "other food", "cat food", and
    "other stuff" (laundry detergent, bathroom cleanser, etc.).  We don't
    use much processed foods other than breakfast cereal, so most of the
    coupons we get I don't save.  There are seldom coupons for fresh fruit
    and vegetables, fresh fish, milk, eggs, etc.  Still, we use 5-6 of them
    every week, saving around $3 or so on the grocery bill.  I don't have
    time to shop at lots of different grocery stores (unless something I
    really need is out of stock - always happens on a real busy week,
    too!); I normally go to the local Victory Market since it is
    convenient; the other market in town was sold a couple years ago and
    went way downhill; I used to go there because at one time they had
    better produce, but they turned into a discount store with aisles full
    of stuff we don't eat (potato chips, soda pop, ...).
    
    When I make the menu and grocery list for the week's shopping, I pull
    out coupons for things on the list.  Every once in a while I go through
    the coupons and throw out ones that expired.
    
    One of my "yuppy" friends made fun of me once for cutting coupons - I
    guess he and his wife dropped in one Sunday and found me demolishing
    the coupon inserts from the Sunday paper.  He said that at what DEC
    engineers get paid per hour I was wasting my time, but I told him that
    I didn't get paid by the hour - the five minutes I spent cutting the
    coupons out would save me a few bucks at the grocery store, and DEC
    wasn't going to pay me for that time regardless anyhow.  I don't think
    he got the point though (the guy comes from a wealthier background than
    my family - we're a bunch of "string-savers").
    
    
    /Charlotte

  >>I'm a coupon shopper too -- my problem is filing the @#$%^ things! 
    
    I clip them out of the Sunday paper nearly every week, and carefully
    file them away under very organized categories in an index card
    box.  The next week, I 
    
    a) make an unplanned trip to the grocery store, and don't have the
    coupons with me,
    
    b) rush out of the house in the morning, knowing I'm going to stop
    on the way home, but don't have time to pull the coupons I need
    for the grocery trip, or
    
    c) forget them till I get to the check-out.
    
    Clip them, file them, use them - it's that 3rd step that gets me
    every time!  (^;}
    
    							Pat

    Louise's comment about not having access to coupons for cat food any
    more sparked an idea...
    
    ...I've heard about "coupon clubs" where people gather to exchange
    coupons they won't use for coupons that they do use.  What about a
    notesfile for that purpose?
    
    (I always get frustrated when there's this great coupon in the Sunday
    paper, and I only have ONE...and I have too much pride to ask Mom and
    Dad to clip theirs for me since they don't use the product!)  
    
    I'm sure I pass up a lot of coupons which one of you would want!
    
    

    Re .13  Asking mom and dad to clip coupons
    
    My dad is semi-retired, but still works part time in the press room
    for a Newspaper.  So, whenever I see a coupon I REALLY WANT, all
    I do is give dad a call, and he picks up 100 newspapers and clips
    the coupon out for me.  Dad says that most of the guys sit during
    their lunch breaks clipping coupons for their wives.
    
    Those Sunday circulars are kinda tough to come by though - he only
    gets to bring home about a half dozen each week.
    
    	-Nancy

    I, too, clip coupons but only for products I use or for something
    I want to try.  I then take it one step further and put the money
    I've saved in my vacation fund.  It's really nice to have that extra
    $50 - $75 to spend.
    
    The one gripe I have about coupons, though, are the ones that make
    you buy two or it has to be something like the 64 oz. size.  When
    you live alone, two of something or gigantic sizes don't always
    work.
    
    Terry
    

    RE. The Ben and Jerry's Coupons
    
    It actually wasn't a coupon.  It was one fo those rebate type offers.
    You send in 10 or 15 lids or UPC codes or some other proof of purchase,
    and they send you a free Ben and Jerry's T-Shirt, complete with
    picture of a cow.
    
    So you start justifying. . . .  The T-shirt is worth a minimum of
    $7.50, and I have to buy 15 pints of icecream, so it's like saving
    50 cents on each pint, so I'm really only paying $1.49 per pint.
    
    
    As my SO screams in the background "How come the only way you know
    how to save money is by spending it"

    
    While I'm clipping coupons on Sunday, I look the the store fliers
    and see what's on sale, if I have a coupon for toilet paper and
    it's on sale at Stop and Shop, I go there and save lots extra.
    
    Also, I highlight the expiration dates on all of my coupons.
    
    DMH
    

    
>>    I dread turning into one of those types who has a shoebox full of
>>    coupons in the front of their cart, but to think of all the fresh

    
      I didn't know I was so obvious :-).  I started filing my coupons
    in envelopes then graduated to the coupon organizers that Louise
    mentioned, then tried 3x5 boxes and then (oh no !) the shoe box.
    I made my own dividers and labeled them so that I can find things
    (as opposed to my husband who can't find anything in that box).
    
    I collect coupons for the products I use or want to try.
    
    I managed to leave my box of coupons in the store one day.  I was
    in an absolute panic when I couldn't find it at the house.  I called
    the store and sure enough, they had it in the office.  You should
    have seen the looks I received when I picked it up !!!
    
    
    - Terry

    Re: .0 & .18 -
    
    The reference to "those types" was *before* I knew how much the
    savings added up to!  Now I look at you/them enviously!  Similar
    to how I thought of "those types" who eat tofu!  (Could that be
    *me* who's now healthy AND organized???!)   
    
    Also to clarify my original note - I don't buy everything I have
    a coupon for - I meant that of the ones I've saved!  I would go
    to the store and shop based on the coupons I had instead of based
    on menu planning.

    Re: expiration dates - the store I usually go to doesn't check -
    in fact, they don't even check to make sure you've bought the item.
    A friend of mine says she gives them pet food coupons and has no
    pets and they've never stopped her.  I don't have the nerve!
    
    Terry
    

    RE: .3
    
    The only one I know of that doubles coupons in southern NH is Rozumek's
    Star Market in Simoneau Plaza, Nashua.  And since they are both
    out of the way and overpriced, it's not worth it for me!
    
    My roommate and I are the "coupon queens" of our neighborhood! 
    She clips them ALL as some sort of catharsis.  I sort through and
    say, are we really going to use this?
    
    My mother, grandmother, aunt, and sister all clip coupons for me,
    and I keep the ones for them.  My latest "beau" is in the habit
    now, too.  He couldn't be bothered until we starting dating.  Now
    he clip cat food and litter, margarine, and contact lens stuff!
    
    CVS (Consumer Value Stores) doesn't always have the best prices,
    but when they have a sale, it's usually good.  And when they have
    a coupon sale, LOOK OUT!  I've saved $15 dollars there during coupon
    sales.  And I just stock up on the necessities then.  I have lots
    of toothbrushes and toothpaste, but I use them constantly.  Don't
    forget CVS and pharmacies - they take coupons, too, and sometimes
    have food (cookies, candy, English muffins, soda, even B&J ice cream)
    at a lower price than the grocery stores they abut!
    
    Susan
    
    PS: Several of you have inspired me to go home and organize my coupons
    better.  Last time I sorted (still in the envelope stage), I got bored
    with it, and canned good and ice cream are in the same category!

    
    
    re: .22
    
    its on main street, downtown Nashua.  I wouldn't waste my time going
    there though.  The money you save in coupons will be spent in paying
    a higher price for everything.  I only go there in emergency, since
    its close to home, but usually I make the trip to Shaws or Demoulas.
    
    Rozmuseks seems rather dingy, maybe even dirty.  Produce is very
    poor, and the meat looks old.  Don't waste your money, or risk your
    health.
    
    Karen

    re.23
    Funny, I have always had the dilemma of whether the store in my
    area is worth the double-coupon offer because the proces are so
    high.  The only time it's worth it is if I ONLY buy the items Ihave
    coupons for, but then I have to travel to ANOTHER market to purchase
    the rest of the items on my list.  Does this happen as a matter
    of course, or is it just two isolated incidences?  
    
    Curious,
    
    Sarah
    

    I wonder if doubling/tripling is some sort of regional trend - I'm
    in Ohio and a lot of the stores here double.  I don't usually go
    to the one that triples, not enough selection for me.  Even if other
    prices are slightly higher, I go to Kroger's because they also have
    a liquor store in the store, so you can include that in all the
    groceries you're writing a check for (unusual in Ohio!), they have
    kids to carry stuff to your car and load it, and it's next to the
    dry cleaner and pharmacy I use.  Another thing I've seen hereabouts
    is bins or bulletin boards where other shoppers put coupons they
    don't use, so you can check there for coupons or rebates you want.
    
    Also, a local newpaper contains a column about couponing, so if
    there's anything of interest in there, I'll post here.
    
    TW
    

    An occasional trip to Rozumek's is worthwhile because they have items
    other stores do not, such as peanut brittle or malted milk.
    
    
    				-- edp 

    My apologies to earlier noters - my new Velcro-closure coupon organizer
    should be arriving any day now, in the up-to-the-minute stylish
    fashion color I've chosen...
    
    Hot weather hint - someone I know bought a cheap styrofoam cooler
    and before going to the store puts ice in it.  Then when she's loading
    her groceries in the car puts fresh seafood and meat in it.  When
    I mentioned that seemed like a lot of work, she said it only took
    one traffic jam and one load of spoiled fish to convince her!

    Another time-saver (and I hope I am not the only person who didn't do
    this), when you make out your grocery list, do it in the order in which
    the store is laid out.  I usually make one list with stuff I know I
    need, then stuff for the week's meals.  Then I will make the final one
    based on coupons I have (brand, size, etc) and the store lay-out.
    This takes a little more time up front, but I'd rather spend it
    in the A/C in my house than shlepping back and forth across the
    store, berating myself for having forgotten something else! 

    TW

	I keep a grocery list on line that contains all the basics that
	I want to keep on hand (ie lettuce, milk, tomato sauces, frozen
	vegetables, soups, cleaning stuff, kitty litter etc.)  The list is
	two columns set up the way my grocery store is set up.  Some
	of the topics are generic (ie. fish, sandwich meat), then I can
	pencil in the type I want or make the decision at the store.

	Then, when I go to make out my grocery list I grab that list
	and my highlighter and go through my cabinets checking to see
	if I need any of the basics.  I highlight those on my list.  Then
	I write down anything else I might need for the weeks cooking
	experiments.  

	To give you a start... here is my list...  you can taylor it
	to your personal tastes.  Try to keep the list shorter than a
	page because you do not want to be flipping pages when shopping.

	Karen

head lettuce                           1 kitty litter                          
4 tomatoes                             dobie pads                              
potatoes                               sponges                                 
onions                                 ajax                                    
fresh vegetables		       soft scrub                              
salad stuff                            dish soap                               
                                       dish washer soap                        
fruit                                  lysol                                   
raisins                                tylex                                   
                                       laundry soap                            
fish                                   bleach                                  
                                       napkins                                 
low-fat italian salad dressing         paper towels                            
low-fat creamy salad dressing          lunch bags                              
light mayonaise                        sandwich baggies                        
                                       foil                                    
tomato soup                            wax paper                               
cream of chicken                       plastic wrap                            
cream of mushroom soup                 paper plates                            
chicken soup                           trash bags                              
beef soup                                                                      
clam chowder                           bread                             

minute rice                                                                    
long grain rice                        low-fat butter spread                   
rice a roni                            eggs                                    
                                       1/2 gallon skim milk                    
spagetti                                                                       
egg noodles                            skim mozzarella                         
macaroni                               light cream cheese
ziti noodles                           cheddar cheese
lasagna                                                                        
parmesan cheese                        2 small orange juice                    
1 15 oz tomato sauce                   frozen peas                             
2 8 oz tomato sauce                    frozen brocolli                         
1 6 oz tomato paste                    frozen spinach                          
1 12 oz tomato paste                   frozen corn                             
                                       frozen beans                            
lg progresso crushed tomatoes          frozen chopped spinach                  
1 15 oz whole tomatoes                 frozen chopped brocolli                 
1 8 oz whole tomatoes                  
small canned mushrooms                 
water chestnuts                        
bean sprouts                           
                                       
juice                                  

meat

sandwich meat

    I'm not *that* organized, but I don't know how anyone can shop for
    groceries without a list (maybe they *like* shopping for groceries and
    so go to the store every time they run out of something??  I don't like
    it at all, and do it once a week only because I like fresh vegetables
    and milk.)
    
    The grocery list lives under a magnet on the refrigerator, and is
    organized by rough categories, since I don't always go to the same
    store anyhow (there are several within a couple of miles of each other,
    including one pair which are across the street from each other -
    although they are both mediocre, tweedledum and tweedledee).  So, I
    have a area of the list for produce items, an area for dairy items, an
    area for meat, and an area for other stuff.  I keep the fish separate
    because I make a separate errand to the fish store.  The menu for the
    week goes to the right of the list (along with notes like "thaw
    chicken" or "pick the beans").
    
    I always have piles of coupons, even though I only bother to clip ones
    for stuff we use.  After the grocery list is made out, I dig around for
    relevant coupons (if I have time).  It doesn't seem like there is ever
    any reason to pay full price for breakfast cereal, cat food, laundry
    detergent, toothpaste, or deodorant...  I don't buy something just
    because I have a coupon for it, but I might buy a brand of dishwashing
    detergent I have a coupon for instead of a brand I don't have a coupon
    for (only if I had time to search the coupons before going shipping).
    
    /Charlotte

This topic hasn't been touched for a while, but what the hey!  I haven't looked
at this note in even longer...

Re: .8 (I think, a potential rathole if there ever was one)

So how come something that pours (like ketchup (unless it's Heinz if you
believe the ads :-) )) is measured in av(you are welcome to complete the
spelling) ounces, and something that doesn't (like Ice cream (unless it's
melted)) is measured in fluid ounces????

Re: all the rest

Anyway,  add another to the closet couponers.  Just for the stuff I regularly
buy, or to cut the loss on something new.  Never "just 'cause it's there".

On higher prices at stores that double.  Maybe I only bought the exceptions,
but I always found Stop & Shop worthwhile, and the double coupons a bonus.
Sigh, but where I live now doesn't have one, and the drive to the closest costs
more than the savings.

W

    I was watching CNN the other night and they followed this one woman
    around the store who is a coupon queen.  Her bill came to 297. and
    change, and after coupons she only paid 7. and change for tax.  
    
    The newscaster mentioned she subscribes to a coupon magazine.  Does
    anyone have information regarding these? I'd love to subscribe.
    
    Thanks,
    
    b

    I think I saw her sister at Purity the other day.  She had a box that
    sat nicely on the child seat and was chock full of coupons!!!
    
    -sandy
    

    And I am proud when I save $14.00 from using coupons!  
    
    Really, I do do coupons.  I sit with the coupons, and the ad from the
    market and plan my strategy... right down to marking the sales price
    and (C) for coupon next to the item I plan to buy!  I also list things
    in the order that I know I'll come to them at the market!
    
    Rgds,
    marcia

    Wow, that's great that you all save so much money with coupons.  
    
    I also use coupons, but I find that most of the time the "generic"
    brands are cheaper by themselves than a name brand with a double coupon
    is.  (I'm talkin' generic toiletries/cleaners/fabric softeners here.  I
    don't normally buy generic food.)
    
    So even though I cut coupons and use them sometimes, I don't always
    think you're getting the best deals with them.
    
    Cara

    I find that the best buys are with laundry detergents which are
    expensive enough on their own.  Perhaps I am not that fussy, but I will
    use Tide, FAB, etc  who ever offers me a $1 off. 
    
    I very often save 10 - 15 dollars per grocery trip as well.  In fact,
    my mom mails me an envelop full of coupons at least 2x a month to help
    out as well.  I have a little box that is a coupon organizer and wehn
    it comes time to make out the grocery list, I pull out the box and get
    them organized as well.
    
    Many folks say they don't have time to do this, but I stack my coupons
    and newspapers in a basket in the corner of the kitchen and when I am
    on a phone call that promises to be lengthy, I pull out my coupon stuff
    and clip and file while on the phone.  It is a pretty mindless chore
    and is definitely worth the savings....
    
    dana
    

    Some generics are good and do save money, but some are really
    poor substitutes for the name brand stuff.
                       
    My best savings was $51.  I swap coupons, and my family saves
    me the ones they don't want.  

    By sitting with the sales flyer, and looking at what's on sale, what
    coupons I have, and using the three to five triple coupons the market
    gives with the flyer, I do well.  After the 3-5 triple coupons (your
    highest amount of coupons up to $.99 are tripled), then you get double
    coupons.
    
    And, when I find stuff on sale that is really a bargain and
    non-perishable, I stock up "big time."  Sounds funny, but I really do
    believe we save quite a bit at the market.

    I wish we could start a coupon swap....kind of hard via email, tho'!
    (0;
    

Triple coupons!!!!!!!!!!!!   What town/grocery is that!!!!!!!!!  I am moving.

    
    Almacs has in their flier three triple coupons each week, usually.
    On occasion, Stop and Shop has had some in their coupon.  Using them
    you can triple any coupon up to .$99.

    I wish that food manufacturers would get a clue and stop making
    $1 coupons.  I'd much rather have a coupon for $.99 since I can
    double that.  Its not like it costs the food companies any extra
    money.  I imagine that stores probably would have a fit though!

    Karen

    The stores and the manufacturers have deals going on.....
    Now I notice that the stores put on sale some of the same
    items that the coupon flyers have coupons for....

    
    	Does anybody know a good X-mas present for the coupon fanatic?
    
    	I'm buying for a sister-in-law who goes to the extreme (my opinion)
    	yet has some pretty extra-ordinary tales of savings $$.  She has
    	never attained a huge dollar amount like $297 for $7.  
    
    	I thinking maybe a book, or an organizer... Any Ideas ??
    
    	T_C

    How about a rotary cutter and a cutting mat to go under it?
    

    The Super Big Y I shop at with Triple Coupons is in Worcester on Route
    20.  There are others, but I'm not sure where.  They only triple *3*
    coupons (up to $.99) but sometimes they offer a total of *5*, which is
    real nice.  Anything after that is doubled.  They do take the highest
    coupon values for the tripling.
    
    I haven't shopped anywhere else since this market opened.  I am very
    pleased with them.
    
    Rgds,
    marcia

    The Sunday flyers always have this coupon carrier advertised
    that can be snapped onto the handlebar of the cart.
    
    Having dumped my coups on the floor a few times while fumbling
    for coupons, this sounded like a neat gift idea....

    Add one of the stanly small plastic handle retractable disposable blade
    knives... the quicker zipper outer.  I don't leave home without one.

I've seen these neat little coupon boxes that are all indexed, etc.  They
hook onto your shopping buggy handle so you can have them right there in 
front of you.  Don't ask where -- probably some mailorder things like Carol
Wright that comes in those throw away mailers.  That won't help for this
Xmas!

    The Current catalog had them, but I believe it has been discontinued.
    
    fwiw

    The Current catalog has the coupon holders ("backed by popular demand"
    or some such nonsense) but those are for coupon rookies only.  They are
    far too small for the serious coupon shopper.  :^)

    Have a look around the office to see if anyone has a leftover daytimer
    box.  (the brown plastic one with the fliptop lid).  It makes a decent
    coupon carrier.

    Looking for other COUPON FANATICS in the SHR3 (Shrewsbury, Mass) 
    facility who would like to start a common "left over" coupon area.
    I'm willing to leave my un-needed coupons on the top of my bookcase
    (I sit right near the cafeteria) and have other people welcome to 
    leave there unused coupons and rummage through what I have.  
    
    Any contributors/takers out there?
    
    Regards,
    
    Brenda