Clip Coupons For Nearly-Free Food
Filed under: Frugal Living
The subject of clipping coupons has always been a subject of contention. Some people believe their time is worth more than the $0.30 they would save for redeeming a small piece of paper for a jar of pickles. What these people don’t know is that collecting and using coupons doesn’t have to be a time sink and can actually end up quite profitable.
On Sunday afternoon, after eating lunch and putting our toddler down for a nap, my wife flips through the ads in the Sunday paper. Keeping an eye out for products we commonly use and other items we might need or want, she usually spends about 30 minutes gathering coupons and marking sales ads for great deals.
After all of the coupons are clipped, she sorts them into their general categories (e.g.: vegetable, personal care, household, etc) and then slips them into an small, separated accordion file built for holding coupons. Since reading an article this weekend on coupons, she has expressed interest in taking advantage of an idea she read: using a sheet of baseball card pockets
But clipping, storing, and using coupons alone doesn’t gather much savings. When you do use them, you have to use them wisely.
First of all, it’s best to store you coupons in the car you most often take to the store. Clipping coupons is great, but if you don’t have them on hand when you’re out shopping, they’re worthless scraps of paper. If you use a binder to store your coupons, store it under the driver’s side seat. Otherwise, you can throw your coupon envelope in the glove compartment so it’s always there when you need it.
Second, avoid using “fresh” coupons. Many times, a manufacturer will put out coupons for a higher-priced item that isn’t selling well. Rather than drop the price, they assume you’ll use the coupon blindly and still pay more than you have to. Your best bet is to clip a coupon and then wait at least a month before using it since the item will commonly be at its highest price in the week or two after a coupon is released. If you also keep a price book, you’ll know immediately if the price in the store is the lowest they’ll go.
Third, don’t use a “bad deal” coupon. Coupons are a great way to save, but many times a purchase with a coupon isn’t the best deal. In a recent shopping trip, we left the store with as many coupons as we entered because the price for a competitor’s item was less than the coupon item’s discounted price. If we had simply purchased what the coupon directed us to, we would have wasted money instead of saving it!
Finally, combine coupons with mail-in rebates and grocery card discounts. I have heard many horror stories of rebate companies “losing” or fraudulently denying claims, but they’re worth the risk overall if you’ve already gotten a great deal with a coupon. By using manufacturer’s coupons alongside store coupons (that may also be subject to doubling), you’ll save quite a bit; and if you take advantage of mail-in rebates and grocery card discounts, you can potentially earn money on a purchase!
Yes, some coupons are a waste of time, but with a little experience, you can easily tell which are deals to chase and which you should leave on the table. With smart purchasing habits and a keen eye for deals, you can really rack up the savings!
August 19th, 2008 at 1:38 pm
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August 20th, 2008 at 2:01 am
I never could get excited about clipping coupons, and when I did, found that I purchased items I didn’t use. We buy a lot of generic foods or go to Trader Joe’s that doesn’t accept coupons. TJ’s just has really great deals. I also found that when I did get a coupon for milk or some other staple, I always needed to buy something else too, like oreos. Love oreos, but don’t really need them, just the milk.
August 20th, 2008 at 5:52 am
We buy a lot of generics, too. That’s where shopping smart comes in. There are times, albeit rare, when the “name brand” is low enough that, with coupon, beats the generic price. Usually, we end up going home with most of the coupons we started with because the deal wasn’t good enough to beat the generic’s price.