Hi squarefour, We worked directly through our local plumbing supply house for all faucets and plumbing fixtures, but we had to make it clear to our GC (who had to let his plumber know up front) that we would handle the purchase of all fixtures. Our local plumbing supply saleswoman gave us about 40% off retail (maybe partly because it was the 2nd whole house remodel we did w/her). We bought mostly Kohler fixtures with some Hansgrohe and Grohe. I price-checked against several online retailers and found, on most items, she was giving us a comparable, or sometimes better, price as those found on efaucets.com. You can save even more during the efaucets free shipping or 10% off promotions, which they run quite frequently. In a past remodel, we had a plumber get quite upset about the fact that we intended to buy fixtures directly through the supply house because (unknown to us) he had bid the job with the expectation that he would also get a markup on the fixtures. We ended up working it out with him and paying him a bit more, but our GC had not explained this process to us (it was a cost plus contract) so we assumed it was okay for us to do our own thing with fixtures. During our most recent remodel, we knew the question of who buys plumbing fixtures was one we should specifically ask the GC before the contract was signed (both for plumbing and electrical). It was fine with him and was perhaps different because we were on a fixed price contract and maybe that makes a difference, but I don't really see why it would, as long as you make it clear to the GC and his plumber that he should not assume he'll get any fixture mark-up on the job, and his bid numbers need to reflect that. Also, some plumbers will try to convince you that it's important for them to buy the fixtures because they will then stand behind them, but I've never understood that position because the fixture warranty is what matters on the fixtures, and the contractors' work is supposed to also be guaranteed, so if there's a problem with either within the set period of time, you should technically be covered. If, for example, there's an issue with a faucet and you have to pay a plumber to come back and fix it, you'd probably have to pay for the plumber's time (unless you get the manufacturer to agree to cover it all) so you'll have to weigh the risk/benefit of getting the lower price on the fixture. I'm sure others will disagree with this strategy, and of course, I'm speaking from the homeowner's perspective, not the contractor's. Regarding light fixtures, as it turned out, I wish I bought these online. My electrician told me he and many of his clients have had great luck using online retailers. Instead, I used my local lighting showroom, after researching the types of fixtures I wanted online. They did give me a fair price (which I, of course, doublechecked against online retailers), but actually, the local showroom service left a lot to be desired. We had a few fixtures that came in damaged, and they did not "pre-check" them so they sat in my garage unopened yet damaged and then when our electrician came back to set fixtures, we found several of them were broken and, as it turned out, were on backorder so it took about another 4-5 weeks to get them in and could have delayed the final building inspection. The electrician claimed that it was the lighting store's responsibility to check the fixtures for quality control when they arrived in the store before we picked them up. We also paid one of the lighting showroom "designers" a $100 fee to come out to the house, give us design advice for proper fixture sizes, review our order and make sure that our downrods were correctly sized for chandeliers, etc. As it turned out, when the fixtures were delivered, she had not ordered long enough downrods on the DR chandelier and two of the ceiling fans. Again, another 3 week wait for these with another return trip by electricians! Very frustrating. So, you can get poor service either way, and who knows, I may have been better served by going online. There are some excellent lighting retailers online who offer good phone support, as I've since found out. Here are my favorite online retailers for both lighting and plumbing, all of which seem to offer excellent prices - For lighting - www.1800lighting.com (the store is actually called Capitol Lighting, but this is their website address) www.lightinguniverse.com For plumbing - www.efaucets.com - they seem to offer around 40% off retail, but I don't have any experience with their service. Also, do a google search for ongoing coupons for all of these websites and you may find they have a weekend sale of 10% off or some such thing frequently. Best of luck on your project!

Yes Annie! Don't bargin shop for cat food. Cats have tender tummies and do best with one flavor of food. One local grocer probably thinks I'm nuts because the only thing I buy in his store is catfood... and I clean off his shelf of my cat's favorite when I'm there. Sometimes when people ask how many cats I have I tell them just one but he is big and very hungry. I buy all my cat litter at Walmart because I can get 100 lbs for $10... yup big kitty (most regulars know I have several small adorable kitties with names like Annie and Jessy). I so seldom use coupons. I've made the cashier shake her head when I turn to the customer behind me and give away the register coupons. I think of myself as a value shopper. If a product has quality and I'll enjoy eating it then I buy. Even being single I'll buy a 10lb roast and cut it into usable portions. I like beans and rice so my grocery budget is not big enough to worry about. Meat and fresh fruit seem to be the big hitters on my bill... and of course beer is almost a budget of it's own. We have a super bargin meat market 20 minutes down the road but I hate using that much time and gas. When I do go I fill the freezer... beef tenderloin is currently $7/lb, lake perch $9/lb, any kind of beef steak between $3-4/lb, ground chuck normally $2/lb. They probably only make pennies a pound but they sell meat by the ton everyday. I've been working with a very nice lady that enjoys coupons so I give her my Sunday paper. Last week she saved $11 with them. She enjoys it so I was careful not to rain on her parade but when I asked what she bought she said "junk food and a couple things I normally buy". I'm a terrible shopper and usually just buy the same things over and over. I noticed I now have three bottles of my favorite vinegar in the pantry. At least I've done a fair job eating down the pantry and freezer so I can see what I have in there. Just picked another quart of tomatoes out of my garden. People were telling me a month ago to pull up the vines but they keep flowering and putting out new tomatoes so I'll hold back until the frost kills them. Hard to beat "free" food. : ) lyra

I think a lot of these people resell the products for a profit, of course the aren't going to say that on TV then the tax man will hunt them down. They will buy 90 bottles of mustard (or whatever) with coupons and work it so they make money on the mustard. i.e. Mustard is on sale for $1. They have coupons enough for 90 bottles that add up to a savings of $1.50 on each. So, they make 50 cents on a bottle which in turns, pays for their meat. Then they either resell the mustard or give it away, or some just hoard it, why, I don't know. I love couponing, and on Friday I had a nice haul of a savings at $80. Far from the extreme couponers but for me a huge and exciting deal! If I get coupons for stuff like free baby formula (and there are no babies in this house anymore) I will either get the formula and drop it off at the food bank or leave the coupon on the shelf where the formula is, so that whoever sees it and buys that product can benefit from it. I also do that with coupons that are getting close to expiry, just leave them on the shelves for someone else. I do "hoard" some stuff, because I just can't refuse the great deal, but it's great to have for all the food drives that come around a few times a year, I always have lot's of stuff for them. I would love to coupon on a bigger scale, but it is so time consuming. But it's nice to be able to save every a little something every week on stuff that you would generally buy anyway. No one leaves this house to get something without asking Mom if she has a coupon for it. Usually I do! Then there is groupon, omg, in love....!

I'm not a big coupon user, mostly because they are more often than not for things we just don't need or use.... like highly processed convenience food, puffed and extruded cereal products that are more air than food, expensive namebrand laundry detergent/softener, etc. The ones I do use are for TP, toothpaste, and occasionally there will be frozen whole fruit, Tyson chicken or other meat products, 100% frozen concentrate juices, etc., and I try to use coupons along with a sale on that item to maximize savings. That means you plan ahead, and you buy ahead. Tyson chicken was buy one package, get one free this week, I just happen to have a coupon and saved an additional $1. We have 3 stores where I can get groceries, Dillons (4 of them) - which have double coupons everyday, but only up to 50 cents, Wal-Mart - face value, and Aldi - no coupons. I don't believe the "Coupon Queen" actually save money over all - but that it's more like a disease - or an addiction - similar to gambling. I believe they spend much more time, energy, and gas to get freebies, collect coupons, print coupons off the Internet, than I would using my simple system based on being frugal and reducing waste and expense to begin with. I'd like to see their complete expenses for food and non-food items for a year and compare bottom-lines. How much is wasted in storage; how much is tossed because it's out-of-date, spoiled, or unused; and how much is empty calories and void of nutrition; how much is really not needed at all? Here's how I save money. 1. Have a set amount for food PERIOD (mine is $50 per week for 2 adults). You'll always save if you don't spend more than your budgeted amount with or without coupons, and keep your budget as low as possible. Use food dollars for food only. Budget another amount for non-food items. You'll soon see how much money is wasted on non-food items. 2. Purchase whole foods for better nutrition and learn to cook from scratch. Avoid buying junk food, snack items, and soft drinks. Snacks are whole foods like popcorn, peanuts, almonds, pecans, homemade granola, homemade yogurt or kefir, fruit and vegetables. I have been getting 25# of wheat at Wal-Mart for $5, which is close to the same amount as ONE high-priced loaf of bread. I can make 90 1-pound loaves of whole wheat bread from a bushel (60#) of wheat. I make all our breads for around 25-50 cents a loaf - as well as all our other baked goods. 3. If something comes in a bag, box, or can, you pay for the packaging and processing, not just the food inside. Always keep track of unit pricing. I've found the smaller container of peanut butter is often cheaper when it's on sale than the larger one, when you figure unit price - per ounce price. The price of frozen orange juice concentrate (add 3 cans of water) is much cheaper than ready-to-use in the refrigerator case (approximately twice as much), and the highest price is individual juice boxes. You don't need a coupon to save there, just make better choices when considering unit pricing. 4. Make your own "convenience foods". I make a wholegrain version of Bisquick, wholegrain pancake mix, "instant" refried beans from milled pinto beans, pudding mix from a powdered milk product, and occasionally I'll make up some "Gifts-in-a-Jar" mixes to keep in the pantry as convenience foods. 5. Plan meals/menus based on loss leaders from the meat and produce department from the grocery store. Plan meals so you don't waste food. If you have a head of leaf lettuce, how many meals do you plan on using it? Or do you randomly forage for food for a meal and the head of lettuce dies of loneliness in the crisper drawer? Wasted food, wasted money. 6. Laundry and cleaning supplies. I've made homemade laundry soap for many years for approximately 8 cents a load. I use inexpensive white vinegar (from Sam's Club) in the rinse instead of expensive and toxic softener. I can find Borax (part of the homemade laundry soap recipe) on sale, and I'll stock up on it for later use. I clean the bathroom sink/counter with 1/2 water and 1/2 alcohol solution in a spritz bottle and a microfiber towel. The kitchen counters are sanitized with 1 qt. water and 1 t. bleach. Toilets are cleaned with Borax, then a spritz of alcohol/water. Floors mopped with vinegar/water. 7. Shampoo - I purchase a gallon of shampoo from a beauty supply outlet (for hair dressers and barbers) - usually on sale. I mix it with water and have enough shampoo for years. No coupons, but a fraction of the price. No other hair care products necessary. 8. Bath soap - a 14 oz. bar of ZOTE laundry soap costs 70 cents at Big Lots. I can use it to make homemade laundry detergent for pennies, or I can slice the bar into 3/4-inch slices and use it for body soap in the bath/shower. If I want liquid soap, I can make it with a bar of bath soap (or the slivers of soap that get tossed into the trash) and water. I guess the difference between me and the "Coupon Queen" is I'm frugal in order to save money. I only use what's necessary to get the job done, not what's available with a coupon. I'm not impressed and influenced by commercial products and unnecessary items. I've seen a "Coupon Queen" in action. She brings a truck load of food and non-food items to the neighbor's garage sale twice a year. She sells them for pennies on the dollar so that she can feed the habit all over again. You know she has to spend something getting this hoard of goods. -Grainlady