Who needs that much soup?

I received the following comments and questions from a Simple Saving Savvy reader. I thought it was a subject that affects and interests all coupon shoppers....

I carefully plan my trips and never EVER impulse shop!!! I shop early on Mondays and often the deals that came out on Sunday to the public for Walgreens and CVS deals are GONE. Today I was at Walgreens to get my 2 cans of chicken noodle soup for free and buy the Hershey bars. They were all out of chicken soup. Do people hoard this stuff? Who buys that much soup? The shelf was simply laid bare. What are your thoughts on this? Be blessed as you are a blessing to others!

Yes, there are people that majorly stock and hoard and they have no qualms about clearing the shelves. Also, there are people with access to several different computers so they can print out multiples of printable coupons thus taking advantage of deals multiple times. Some people also have numerous CVS cards and will buy the deal limit on every card.

What do I think of this? Clearing the shelves is one of my pet peeves. My philosophy is to treat others the way you want to be treated. So when I take advantage of deals, I always try to leave some behind. And if there's only two left, I only buy one, unless my coupon is for "off two". I also only have two CVS cards. One for my family and one for Coupons for Christ. I seldom use them both in the same shopping trip. I usually shop for my family one day and Coupons for Christ another day.

I'm not sure what part of the city you live in but another thing to consider is that there are many, many more people using coupons now than ever before. And they have access to the same money saving blogs and information that we do. I know the amount of coupon shoppers here in Edmond has increased drastically over the past couple of years. I think it's been hard for the stores to project and stock accordingly.

What can we do about it? I think this is always a problem we will deal with but here's a few ideas:

**Consider shopping at Walgreens & CVS on Sunday. I know, this presents a moral dilemma and a conflict of interest for many (myself included), but if you have your shopping list ready to go, it really doesn't take much time.

**If it's a REALLY hot deal, consider calling ahead and asking if the item is in stock. That way, if it's not, you can re-plan your deals before you go and avoid finding yourself standing in the middle of the aisle, gaping at an empty shelf and then frantically trying to re-figure your deals and items/coupons ratio.

**Get to know the manager and employees at the store you shop regularly. Many times you can call ahead and they'll hold a few items back if they know you.

**If the deals you were after aren't there on Monday, consider trying again on Friday or Saturday. Most stores get a delivery in toward the end of the week and restock their shelves. Know this information and plan accordingly.

**Know the store locations in your area and shop several stores. There's a better chance you'll find what you want.

**Remember what it feels like to find a cleared shelf and always leave some product for others.

Be encouraged. I know this sounds cliche but "back when I started using coupons" it was worse. The stores have improved quite a bit in keeping things stocked and ordering larger quantities of the better deals. I've especially noticed how great a job Walgreens is doing in keeping their monthly deals stocked.

And do like I do, before your shopping trip, pray. I always pray that I will stay on target with my budget and my lists, that the deals I need will be there and that I will not let myself become anxious over the deals I do not get.

There will always be another deal.