Kimberlina
08-27-2006, 03:18 PM
I went shopping this morning and thought I'd post this here for those who have been questioning/thinking about using coupons.
By no stretch of the imagination am I a hard-core coupon user. I don't often hunt down multiple coupons, I don't do multiple coupon trains, I don't buy coupons from clearing houses, heck, I don't even buy the paper every Sunday. (I check couponmom.com to see what is going to be in it, then if it looks like I will get my money's worth, I buy the early bird paper on Saturday because it is cheaper than Sunday's paper.)
However, I do print out coupons from online sites like Boodle, Smartsource, and the like. I do swap occasionally to get coupons I will use for things that are on sale. I do rarely buy counpons from eBay if it is a really good deal on a sale item. And I do try to make sure I use coupons that will be doubled at the store that doubles them (IF the item will be cheaper that way.) I also use rebates if they are more than a dollar. (Less than that isn't usually worth my time and money.)
This AM, I went to Price Chopper and Super Wal-Mart to buy groceries.
My pre-coupon total at Price Chopper was $54.56. After sales, double coupons, and a $10 rebate, my total is $15.46. $2.70 of that was for bottle deposits that will be refunded. I paid $12.76 for $54.56 worth of groceries, and I got many products that are normally $3.50-$4 each. When all is said and done (rebates and bottle refund back) I paid only 23% of the normal cost for these items, and they are all items we will use or would have bought comparable items without coupons (only they were cheaper this way.)
I spent more at Wal-Mart because I bought some staples there that don't often go on sale, so my percent off isn't nearly as impressive, but it isn't about impressive- it is about saving a few dollars here and a few dollars there because it all adds up.
My total before coupons and sales was 81.09. After coupons and sales, I spent (including tax) $55.54 (and I'm not entirely sure the cashier rang up my coupons right, so that may be higher than it should have been.) I saved $25.55. I paid about 68% of the original price. Not bad for someone who only uses a small stack of coupons. (This includes clothing and toy gifts I bought on sale, as well as groceries, toothpaste, and OTC medicines.)
Also, last week, I got two free bags of pet food (for my sister,) 6 free bags of cereal, and two free toothbrushes.
So you can see that if you are careful, you will save money even as a casual couponer, but only if you compare the prices to similar products that you would buy anyway without coupons and buy the less expensive item. Using coupons to buy products you wouldn't normally purchase or won't use obviously doesn't save you anything.
By no stretch of the imagination am I a hard-core coupon user. I don't often hunt down multiple coupons, I don't do multiple coupon trains, I don't buy coupons from clearing houses, heck, I don't even buy the paper every Sunday. (I check couponmom.com to see what is going to be in it, then if it looks like I will get my money's worth, I buy the early bird paper on Saturday because it is cheaper than Sunday's paper.)
However, I do print out coupons from online sites like Boodle, Smartsource, and the like. I do swap occasionally to get coupons I will use for things that are on sale. I do rarely buy counpons from eBay if it is a really good deal on a sale item. And I do try to make sure I use coupons that will be doubled at the store that doubles them (IF the item will be cheaper that way.) I also use rebates if they are more than a dollar. (Less than that isn't usually worth my time and money.)
This AM, I went to Price Chopper and Super Wal-Mart to buy groceries.
My pre-coupon total at Price Chopper was $54.56. After sales, double coupons, and a $10 rebate, my total is $15.46. $2.70 of that was for bottle deposits that will be refunded. I paid $12.76 for $54.56 worth of groceries, and I got many products that are normally $3.50-$4 each. When all is said and done (rebates and bottle refund back) I paid only 23% of the normal cost for these items, and they are all items we will use or would have bought comparable items without coupons (only they were cheaper this way.)
I spent more at Wal-Mart because I bought some staples there that don't often go on sale, so my percent off isn't nearly as impressive, but it isn't about impressive- it is about saving a few dollars here and a few dollars there because it all adds up.
My total before coupons and sales was 81.09. After coupons and sales, I spent (including tax) $55.54 (and I'm not entirely sure the cashier rang up my coupons right, so that may be higher than it should have been.) I saved $25.55. I paid about 68% of the original price. Not bad for someone who only uses a small stack of coupons. (This includes clothing and toy gifts I bought on sale, as well as groceries, toothpaste, and OTC medicines.)
Also, last week, I got two free bags of pet food (for my sister,) 6 free bags of cereal, and two free toothbrushes.
So you can see that if you are careful, you will save money even as a casual couponer, but only if you compare the prices to similar products that you would buy anyway without coupons and buy the less expensive item. Using coupons to buy products you wouldn't normally purchase or won't use obviously doesn't save you anything.