Simply Thrifty Poll: Do You Use Coupons?
January 23, 2008 by Deborah Ng
Filed under Around the House, General
I was reading recently how people are now becoming more cautious with their money and more are clipping coupons and looking for other ways to save. I used to be a major coupon clipper but I no longer buy the Sunday paper and don’t have access anymore. Sometimes if I spy a coupon book in my neighbors recycle pile, I’ll take it home.
It goes either way with friends and relatives. Some don’t want to be bothered with taking the time to clip coupons, while others appreciate the savings.
How important are grocery coupons to you? Do you take the time to clip coupons or is it not worth the time? Please take the poll in the right sidebar.
Even with a coupon a store brand still might be the better deal. I buy the better deal either way.
I live downtown, where there are lots of little markets within walking distance. I find that the stuff offered in coupons often requires me to get on a bus or into my car to travel to somewhere to make use of it, thus eliminating any savings I might have had. So, while I’m not opposed to the use of coupons, it just doesn’t make sense given my current lifestyle.
I find I either collect a pile of coupon fliers to be clipped or clip them and never use them. Either I find a sale or store brand price that’s better or the coupon requires me to buy a greater quantity than I normally would just to realize the small savings. I’ve always wanted to be a faithful coupon clipper/user because I hear that people save loads of money!
I generally buy the store brand – it’s usually the better way to go. I also shop a few different stores to maximize my savings.
Feeding the army I do, I have to find the best deals.
I don’t clip coupons, mainly because I don’t get the paper. Also most of the coupons available are for products we don’t use, so using them would actually not be a savings for us. Most stores now have you use a member card that gives savings now.
I also don’t read the paper in print. It’s much easier to just get what you want to read about online. Plus the coupons seem to take up more time searching through the ads and clipping them and create more paper waste. And I always end up buying things I wouldn’t normally buy so I spend more.
I use my member card and buy whats in season or member specials mostly.
I use taskbin.com to create my grocery list (from recipes I want to make that week) and then try not to get more than 2 things that weren’t originally on the list.
Not only do I not get the paper, but I try to limit how much prepared/packaged food I buy. It is nearly always cheaper (and healthier) to prepare meals from scratch. For the items that I do buy that way, the store brand is frequently – as dh noted above – still the cheaper choice. When I have a coupon for something we actually use, I make use of it.
Unfortunately I don’t see many coupons for the sort of groovy, organic stuff we like to buy from our local co-op. When we do, we clip away.
My favorite are coupons for dining out. We usually won’t eat somewhere unless we have a coupon/gift certificate. Why pay full price when my wife’s such a good cook?
I have a love/hate relationship with coupons. When I remember to get the paper and cut them out, I tend to forget to bring them or it ends up not being worth it. I will also get annoyed when I find a coupon I could have used but way after the fact and it’s no longer an option. I want to use them and get the great savings some people get but it doesn’t happen. I do well at CVS and coupons but I’m there alot getting the girls’ meds so I have more chances to remember. I get $1 for 2 presc so it adds up.
I must agree w/the other comments. I don’t get the paper (save $, save a lot of paper by reading online), and most of the time I buy the store brand or I have something organic or natural I’d like instead. I will say that for while I clipped coupons to use at our Double Coupon Daze!! That was awesome. Some things were on sale AND I had a coupon to double. Unfortunately soon after that the big brand names started to figure it out and I noticed a shift in the expiration dates. GRR…oh well. Like I said, I don’t really use them, unless it’s for eating out, which I don’t really come across much anymore. It’s healthier to eat in anyway!
I love to use coupons. I do not get the daily paper but I always buy two Sunday papers. I find enough coupons of products that I use to make it worthwhile cutting them all out. I also belong to a coupon exchange group so I know that some of the coupons I don’t use will be used by others. I still buy the store brand if it is cheaper but I can sometimes get more interesting food at the same price as I would normally pay for the store brand. It is a good way to try different things, too.
My husband and I look for the store brand as well. We check the flyer each week and stock up on loss leaders and take advantage of supermarket card.
It is quite true that store brands are often much cheaper than the other brand, even with a coupon. I love it when the brand name is on sale, and I have a coupon, so I watch the flyers. Sometimes, I can get pretty good deals that way. There are some things that have to be the brand name, and that is when I really appreciate the coupons. I take a particular type of over-the-counter allergy medication daily, and a coupon is always a fabulous thing! It is important to just cut coupons for things you would buy anyway, otherwise, you are not saving money.