Coupon usage

[elessar78]

So my wife has become awesome with using coupons lately. But my worry is that it hasn't really saved us money.

For example, let's say we used to spend $100 for groceries before we started using coupons. But now that we are, we still spend $100 but just get a lot more. Is it just me, or does that defeat the purpose of using coupons? Like I'd like for our outlay for groceries to drop to, say, $75 with the help of coupons.

Does anyone know if there's any psychology to the fact that using coupons just encourages people to buy things they may not necessarily need?

[ktmarvels]

Its true that using coupons may encourage people to buy things that they do not need. Many companies use coupons as forms of advertising or give their product away for free to get you hooked, so when the price goes up you still "need" their product.

However, if used to their best potential, they can save money. For example, only use them for items you already buy, or for products which will be substituted for products you already use.

One possible reason for the scenario you provide is stockpiling. If for instance, you use a lot of cream of mushroom soup. Then if it is on sale and you have a coupon you maybe buy 2-3 (or more!) cans over what you typically buy. So this time you may spend your entire budget, but next time and possibly for a while, you won't need to buy mushroom soup so your outlay will be lower.

[annalaurab]

From my experience the only coupons usually worth using are those you get from loyalty programs at the store. In other words they are in store coupons.

[marvholly]

Stokpiling is probably the reason your costs have not gone down. Once this is established you should see a savings. It takes 3-6 months to get a good stockpile built up.

A regular poster in this forum PMed me about my couponing. I am reprinting my answer to him here:

I am a user but I do not trade because as a single person household I generally do not need a lot of extras so I would have postage costs w/no gain. For the once in a while 2nd set I just get them from my Dad.

I probably use about 50%-never figured it out

I tend to use coupons on my regular purchases or comparable items. Example: just printed Athenos $2 coupon. I regularly use humus and feta and coupon is good on either although I have not used this brand before. I always clip coupons for Colgate Total, Crest Pro Health & Listerine BUT only use on a really GREAT sale. I clip coupons for certain brands of shampoo & conditioner I/family use and again wait for GREAT sale. Since cat is not picky I clip all cat food coupons and use what I need when that brand is on sale.

As stated above, I mostly clip coupons for things I use or comparable.

If it is on sale (at a good price) and I have a coupon I will/do buy name brand items.

I do buy some store brand items. There are a bunch of things I regularly buy at Aldi (plain FF yogurt is $1.69, tortillas, rice…..). However, when I was in a store for other things this week they had the Mission brand on special & every pkg had a $1 off coupon. I most often buy Kroger bar & shred cheese at Food4Less as their sale price usually beats everything else. Some items I do not like the store brands.

FYI: Many items have a specific quality standard that MUST be met. These are usually listed in AOAC and include most dairy products, orange juice and???? This is where store brands work.

I have never track my savings because w/o the coupons I would probably NOT bought the item.

[disneysteve]

So my wife has become awesome with using coupons lately. But my worry is that it hasn't really saved us money.

For example, let's say we used to spend $100 for groceries before we started using coupons. But now that we are, we still spend $100 but just get a lot more. Is it just me, or does that defeat the purpose of using coupons? Like I'd like for our outlay for groceries to drop to, say, $75 with the help of coupons.

I think you are missing the point. If you used to get $100 of groceries for $100 and you are now getting $120 of groceries for $100, you have saved $20. Those "extra" $20 worth won't need to be paid for in the future because they have already been purchased.

The exception might be if she is using coupons to buy more expensive items that you didn't used to buy. For example, has she gone from buying store brands without a coupon to name brands with a coupon. Coupons are generally only available for more costly national brands and even with the coupon, those items are still usually more expensive than the generic equivalent.

[marvholly]

Another possible reason for the lack of actually lowered grocery bills is that if your wife is saving several dollars/week on various items she is spending that savings on better meats/fish or treats (desserts, snacks, extra fresh fruits & veggies) that she was not buying before.

Generally, fresh veggies cost more than frozen or canned, especially this time of year.

[elessar78]

I think you are missing the point. If you used to get $100 of groceries for $100 and you are now getting $120 of groceries for $100, you have saved $20. Those "extra" $20 worth won't need to be paid for in the future because they have already been purchased.

The exception might be if she is using coupons to buy more expensive items that you didn't used to buy. For example, has she gone from buying store brands without a coupon to name brands with a coupon. Coupons are generally only available for more costly national brands and even with the coupon, those items are still usually more expensive than the generic equivalent.

I get that. We're still spending as much but getting more, but I would rather spend less. Is the hypothetical $20 worth quibbling over? Probably not, but just from a philosophical standpoint, if we're using coupons to spend less then I feel we should be accomplishing that.

[disneysteve]

I get that. We're still spending as much but getting more, but I would rather spend less.

If she just recently started the couponing thing, I think you need to give it some time. One issue with coupons is that they sometimes require you to buy a larger package or larger quantity of the item than you might need at that moment. For example, I had a coupon for X amount off two bottles of Gulden's mustard. It was a good deal on a non-perishable item that we use regularly but we've never bought two bottles at once. This time, we did because with the coupon, the price was quite good. It raised our bill at that moment but will lower it down the road.

Some coupons are also only good on certain sizes of an item. Maybe she usually buys the 4-roll-pack of Bounty towels and had a coupon good on an 8-pack or larger. Buying the bigger pack with the coupon lowers the unit (per/roll) price but raises the initial outlay. It saves money in the long run, though.

[elessar78]

Ah good point. I'll take the long view and see what happens overall.

[marvholly]

Re my point about getting 'better' stuff. DD2 emailed me about a deal w/coupons at a local grocery chain on individual filets. Filet is NOT something I normally can afford to buy but I do LOVE them. here is the deal & what I did/used:

Here's a deal on Chef's Requested bacon-wrapped beef filets. Two-packs of filets are on sale for $7.99, Buy One Get One Free (four steaks for $7.99.) To bring the price down on each, we're going to use one coupon on EACH package (since we're buying TWO!)
Here's where the fun begins. Register at Chef's Requested's website to print coupons for the filets. You'll either receive a link to print a $1 coupon OR a $3 coupon! There's another $1 printable coupon here (can print 2 from this second link.)
Actually I did better than her deal because Jewel also had Tribe Origins Humus on sale for $1 and I had a $2 coupon. The cashier did NOT (for once) argue w/me about using/getting full value for that coupon. I left the store w/4 fillets and humus for $2.99 + tax: Savings of $16 on a total order of $18 = 88.8%. I admit, this is rare but boy does it feel good. Wish deals like this came along more often and/or on fresh produce too.

[Numbers Made Simple]

So my wife has become awesome with using coupons lately. But my worry is that it hasn't really saved us money.

For example, let's say we used to spend $100 for groceries before we started using coupons. But now that we are, we still spend $100 but just get a lot more. Is it just me, or does that defeat the purpose of using coupons? Like I'd like for our outlay for groceries to drop to, say, $75 with the help of coupons.

Does anyone know if there's any psychology to the fact that using coupons just encourages people to buy things they may not necessarily need?

Yes, there is definitely a psychology at work here ... and in much the sane way that people will consume the same amount of calories when eating a low-calorie snack because they eat larger portions. They rationalize that they can do that because it is low-calorie food, but in the end, they haven't "saved" any calories.

With coupons, as other postings have commented, you might not see the $20 savings because you are stockpiling extra items in the pantry, you are purchasing more food, or purchasing higher priced items than before. It doesn't really matter whether you save $20 or continue to spend $100, the point is to decide which outcome you want. Either will put you $20 ahead, though one approach won't put that cash in your pocket.

[Ksunw]

Coupons are great if I am buying that particular product. I saw a program the other day where a lady had $600 of items in her cart and ended up paying $2.00 after everything was all said and done. That's great for her, but my life doesn't revolve around coupons. If I get them, great, but it's not life or death for me. Do whatever works for you!

[tbri491]

I have a stockpile of certain coupons for things I use and often need but I tend to wait it out until the item is absolutely needed or on sale or can be stacked with a store coupon. This often pushes me to wade through all the items I could purchase and distinguish needs and what will last me until I can use the coupon. This method along with making a strict list helps me stop buying too many items or buying items that could have waited.

[cjscully]

Coupons can be tricky. Particularly manufacturer's coupons. Seventy-five cents off of a bottle of body wash sounds good, for example. Let's say it's a product you use anyway and it's on your grocery list this week so you decide to use the coupon. You have the coupon so you grab that brand without thinking and go on your merry way. You saved yourself seventy-five cents on a product you were going to buy anyway. Or did you?

I always take an extra step or two before grabbing a particular brand just because I have a coupon. (A) Does the store having a sale on another brand for a price that beats the coupon discount? (B) Is the regular price on another brand or a store brand of the same product lower than the discounted price of the brand I have the coupon for? If the answer to either of these questions are yes, the manufacturer's coupon can actually cost you money instead of saving it.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

Depends. I use coupons on non-perishables like laundry detergent, tp, bounty, shampoo, etc. Stuff that doesn't go bad. I don't use it much for food because I don't buy food. It was an investment in stockpiling stuff at first then I barely purchased anything for the past year! Thankfully since I barely shopped in 2010 for anything.