Consider using coupons
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Some frugalites love coupons, and some consider them a waste of time. Both camps have good reasons for their convictions, and since it mostly comes down to a time vs. money priority, I think they can both safely assume that they’re right. However, there’s a full range of coupon use (definitely not all or nothing), so I think it’s important to talk about what’s out there so that you can find the balance that works for you.
As I mentioned above, using coupons is usually a question of whether your time or your money is more valuable. If you are a highly paid professional just looking to cut your expenses back, you’re probably not cut out to be a die-hard couponer—your net worth will likely be better served by working during work hours and getting what leisure you can find during non-work hours. However, if you have more time than money (particularly if time is what you bring to the household equation by being a stay at home parent), you can get a good amount of money for your investment in time spent on coupons. There are several ways that people use coupons:
- Active clipping and methodical use. This is stereotypical coupon clipping at its finest. It involves devouring the Sunday ads and arming yourself with a good pair of scissors in the saving battle. Real coupon pros tend to keep their clipped coupons well-organized and actually know what they have coupons for as they hit the grocery store. This type of coupon clipping can yield good results based on the sheer number of coupons, but it can take a lot of time to clip and organize.
- Occasional clipping and somewhat random use. This is how most people use coupons. When I happen to be browsing the paper and see a good coupon, I’ll tear it out. Same with things that come in the mail. Then I stick it in a pile of coupons that I only look at occasionally, and sometimes I remember to use it before it expires, but usually not. This takes next to no time, although it could benefit from some organization (even just an area for restaurant coupons/grocery coupons/etc.), but the cost savings aren’t that great either.
- Hiring out the clipping and moderate use. This is my preferred method when I’m being organized enough to use coupons. I go to The Coupon Clippers, order (for a small per-coupon fee) the coupons I know I’ll actually use, and when they arrive in the mail, I organize them by expiration date. Then I flip through them as I’m meal planning and making my grocery shopping list. This is about in the middle of the time-put-into-it scale, but I’ve had excellent savings—taking into account the cost of obtaining the coupons, usually between 10 and 20% off the cost of the grocery bill. In addition to not having to locate coupons myself, I can also order several of one coupon if it’s something I’ll buy a lot of.
With coupons, sometimes you can get really great deals—like the time I got some shampoo coupons for my sister. The face value was $1.00 off one bottle, but Wal-Mart sells the shampoo for slightly less than a dollar/bottle. She used five coupons on five bottles and with tax, her bill came to one penny. These deals don’t come along all the time, though, so it’s up to you to decide how much time you want to invest in finding them.
Do you use coupons?
This post is part of the “Smart grocery shopping� series.
If you really analyze what the coupons are made for, then you’ll notice they’re all for food we don’t really need and isn’t healthy for us–consider the healthiest foods: fruits/vegs, meats (or alternatives), and dairy (or alternatives). I’ve never seen coupons for fruits or vegs IN THEIR NORMAL STATE, or very few for meats (only processed) or dairy (again, processed).
In other words, coupons are marketing gimmicks to get us to buy foods we don’t really need, and shouldn’t want.
The best, healthiest foods don’t come with coupons, and can be grown at home for less than a farmer’s market price. If everybody focused on the healthiest foods and left the rest to rot on the store shelves (coupons or no), then we wouldn’t have a health care crisis in this country!
Coupons are a clue as to what NOT to buy…whether it’s cleaning supplies, food products, or anything else. Do you ever see a coupon for generic bleach, generic baking soda, or drinking water jugs? That’s because they’re cleaning products reduced to their basic elements-nobody can profit off them.
Coupons are anathema to true frugality–otherwise, you’re just posing if you rely on them. Our true basic needs can be filled without the use of coupons or products requiring them…but this is a lofty topic that you might not be ready for.