The Hidden Cost Of Coupons

[jeffrey]

So you think that clipping coupons is saving you money? How could you not save money when you are getting 50 cents off here and $1.00 off there? The trap lies in the fact that many people give themselves a "reward" for saving money with the coupons they use which means they actually spend more than if they hadn't used the coupons at all. This is from a small piece in Money Magazine this month:




Tests of a new supermarket scanning gizmo in Syracuse, N.Y. last fall showed that people who used coupons spent 8% more than folks who didn't. This follows a 2002 study co-sponsored by Washington University in St. Louis that found that shoppers spent an extra $8 on unplanned and luxury items for every $1 coupon they used.

While coupons can save you a lot of money, you need to make sure that the process doesn't lead you to reward yourself with items that cost more than the coupons saved in the first place. Coupons are free money if they are for items that you would have purchased anyway, but be aware of purchasing yourself something extra because you used coupons since it will likely cost you more than not using the coupons at all.

[sdc2027]

Isn't 8% of a dollar 8¢, not $8? If it were $8 that would be an 800% increase. The math doesn't seem to work for me.

[Fern]

I think there are more effective ways to save money than clipping coupons. Using a half dozen coupons good for a dollar so off may make you feel as if you're saving, but that's nothing compared to taking a single step to say, lower your car insurance or buy an fuel-efficient car, or drinking tap water instead of bottled, etc.

[Lori63]

I am a big coupon user, and it does help us out alot. I also am frugal in just about every other way (except my Chinese food addiction). The money I save from using coupons truly enables me to get more for my grocery dollar, and with three growing boys every penny counts.

[marjorie]

I am also a big coupon user, but I only buy products we would probably get anyway. If I find an excellent deal, on a non-perishable item I don't mind stocking up. I once lived in an apartment building that caught fire. When the emergency personnel saw my apt. foaming water where everyone else's apt had streams of water I had to explain my 37 boxes of laundry detergent in a closet. I had 2 little kids, babysat during the day and worked until midnight every night. I stretched a penny until it screamed, and that laundry detergent cost less than $.19 a box... It really helps if you aren't brand loyal.

[PrincessPerky]

I find I hardly ever see coupons for what we buy. Though we did find a good deal on laundry detergent and have a few spares. But generally my list is milk, bread, eggs, cheese, and meat. NEVER a coupon for any of them!

[jeffrey]

Originally Posted by sdc2027

Isn't 8% of a dollar 8¢, not $8? If it were $8 that would be an 800% increase. The math doesn't seem to work for me.

They were two different studies - one showed that overall spending increased 8% for people who used coupons (no specific amount, just those that use coupons).

Another study showed that for each dollar used in coupons, $8 in extra purchases are made.

So for example, if you spent $100 and used 3 coupons that totaled $1, then it would work out with both studies (8% of $100 = $8 and for every $1 used = $8).

[rob62521]

I can see where coupons can be a big temptation to buy something because of the rationale of saving, but like all money saving habits, one has to show control. If you are going to buy that item and can save 50 cents more by using the coupon, then it is a wise use of the coupon. I comparison shop and if an item is cheaper using the coupon, then I use it, but if another brand is cheaper without a coupon and I like it, I buy the more reasonable of the two. It is just another example of using one's head.

[cicy33]

Sometimes the coupons give me the opportunity to buy things I couldn't normally afford. That is a special treat. Generally I use mine for our regular stuff.

[rob62521]

Yes, coupons can provide the means to treat yourself, especially if you were hoping to buy the item in the first place. I appreciate it when restaurants have coupons for items I order when I dine. Saving 50 cents or a dollar here and there does add up!

[toys]

Originally Posted by rob62521

I comparison shop and if an item is cheaper using the coupon, then I use it, but if another brand is cheaper without a coupon and I like it, I buy the more reasonable of the two.

I never shop at less than two stores each week... usually around 4. I take ALL of my coupons with me. I tend to only use coupons when the store's savings card also has a special on the items I need that week. Otherwise, if there's no special, I save the purchase and coupon for another store, or week.

Originally Posted by PrincessPerky

I find I hardly ever see coupons for what we buy... But generally my list is milk, bread, eggs, cheese, and meat. NEVER a coupon for any of them!

I always find coupons for some of these... just never your usual brands: Silk Soy Milk, canned bisquits, free range organic, Sorrento's, Pilgrams' Pride, hot dogs, etc... I have to say the soy milk makes a great coffee creamer (and with whatever else you can cook it). But only when: the store has a special... and it's even lower than another store's sale: coupon.

[cicy33]

Originally Posted by toys

I always find coupons for some of these... just never your usual brands: Silk Soy Milk, canned bisquits, free range organic, Sorrento's, Pilgrams' Pride, hot dogs, etc... I have to say the soy milk makes a great coffee creamer (and with whatever else you can cook it). But only when: the store has a special... and it's even lower than another store's sale: coupon.

Now, I am the opposite, I also never find coupons for milk, eggs, meat. The cheese sometimes. but the only milk ones I ever find are for soy milk and I know that some people like it, but ewww! I hate it! We don't get winetags here and one time I traded for some Yellow Tail ones and the cashier thought it was a brand of hamburger.

[mom-from-missouri]

I use my coupons when I find the item on sale and can get the item free, or near free. Walgreens and Dollar General often have shampoos for 75 cents or $1. I then use my coupons for 75 cents off-hence the explantion I gave the people who helped me move and wanted to know why in the heck I had 70 bottles of shampoo and conditioner in the bathroom closet. I trade my coupons to get what I know is always a sale item, and sometimes get coupons from the exchange clubs online. It also helps if you know a paper guy who will give you any leftover inserts!

[jmerinka7]

I cut and keep coupons but not use them offen due to shop in small produce stores. I take it to the big supermarkets only when whey accept it. But to keep 37 laundry boxes or 70 shampoo botle is no make a sence. It is not a saving: you need a storage/lite/ cleaning time and so many spending to serve it. To keep this money in saving will be move valuable for you. I can keep just for 1 maximum 2 month supply for all dry/can things.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I never coupon shop. It takes too long and doesn't save money, you buy a lot of crap that is unnecessary because you have a coupon. I only use it if I am buying it anyway. I pretty much stick to costco anyway for non-perishables.

[genmed]

I don't consider coupons to be all that bad. True, if you use them on items you nromally won't buy they add up, but when I see a coupon on something we usually buy (dog food, peanut butter, etc) I'll cut it out to use. I also use coupons if they will make something almost free (Like a brand of toothpaste on sale for 1.19 this week, and using a double .50 coupon). However, I spend only about 15-20 minutes a week looking at circulars, coupons and planning our menu.

[cicy33]

it always amuses me when people say coupons don't save you money. like the one above that basically says it makes you buy stuff you normally wouldn't have. Now it is true I have bought things with coupons I dont' normally but does that mean that the other people never buy anything new??? how boring. at least with the coupons I get to try something for much cheaper. today I bought a brand of something that normally I get the cheapest box. but because I had a 2.50 off coupon and the product was only 3.97 I bought it since it made it cheaper than all the others like it. another example. I went triple coupon shopping (up to .75) this past friday. I spent total before coupons 192.xx, after coupons: 62.xx. Now, some stuff was my normal stuff and some wasn't but hey with a savings of 130.00 I think I can handle it!!! I bought single serving juices and milks, tyson nuggets and various other products, all things I love to buy but can't normally afford. so to all that think coupon shopping is nuts and can't work, I say THANK YOU! more for me!!!

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Um, I spend very little on groceries, I just looked. To feed two people our groceries, taking lunch everyday and eating most meals in I can cook for $100/month without coupons. I don't buy cheap stuff either. I just cook a lot from scratch and don't snack on stuff. We don't buy potato chips, tyson nuggets, frozen foods, etc. What we do occasionally buy is frozen pizza from costco 3 pack, yogurt, and that's it. Everything else is scratch, DH usually makes bread and pasta too.

It's healthier and we don't eat processed foods which is where most coupon savings come from. You don't get 50 cent coupons for meat or fish or veggies. You get it for hamburge helper, pasta, etc. I don't do those foods and I don't do junk food. Occasionally we buy ice cream, but we also usually make that from scratch as well.

[cicy33]

actually you are wrong. I frequently get coupons for del monte and libby and green giant veggies, rarely do I ever get a good coupon for hamburger helper, so I don't buy it, I don't buy ice cream cuz it is very fattening so those coupons are no good to me. I get coupons for meat when I buy other stuff with it, still helps! and I get coupons for sour cream, frenchs mustard, frenchs seasonings, campbell soup, ketchup, bananas, flour, bisquick, (I have 3 of those that I paid .25 each for), butter, juice, milk. We rarely buy potato chips and if we do it is usually for an activity like a bday party. Why does everyone assume cuz we use coupons all we eat is junk? The tyson nuggets I do buy and those are used once in a while when we are running out the door to one of the four kids game, they are not used for an every day meal but an occasional one. Our idea of junk food in this house is usually tostidos and salsa. please don't make an assumption that everyone eats junk that coupons. we don't. coupons are a good way that helps me afford other items. But couponing is hard work. Sometimes I have to make myself sort them but in the long run it is so worth it. I also have a lot of hot sauce I got for free, marinades, miracle whip, taco seasoning just to name a few more.

[genmed]

I have to agree with ciyc33, although you certainly CAN get coupons for processed food -- I mainly buy frozen vegetables, soy milk, granola, lime juice, orange juice, sour cream, frozen fruit, no-salt tomato sauce etc. There's a lot of coupons for good stuff. Even if you make from scratch (Bread, granola, etc) you have to start with some ingredients -- whole wheat flour, yeast, dried fruit, etc.