Coupon Myths: Part 4

 

In this series, I'm focusing on common coupon myths & why I believe they are false.  Even after showing many of my friends & family my success with bargain shopping, they are often still skeptical. Hopefully, this series will help win over at least a few unbelievers!

You can find earlier posts from this series here:

• Coupon Myths Part 1: There are only coupons for unhealthy, processed, junk food.
• Coupon Myths Part 2: Coupons are only available for things that I don't like or wouldn't buy.
• Coupon Myths Part 3: Store Brand Is Always Cheaper

Coupon Myth #4:  

 "Using coupons will cause you to spend 

more money than you intended to."

This is a another very common myth I  have not only heard but also used to believe. I always assumed that those who shopped with coupons or sought out the sales were buying things they didn't truly need simply because they had a coupon or because the item was on sale. It's true that someone new to using coupons & shopping sales can definitely make mistakes, including buying unnecessary items.  However, with a little education regarding how to maximize your savings in addition with practicing self discipline, these spontaneous splurges & budget busting shopping trips can me minimized.

How I Keep From Buying Things I Don't Need:

• Get rid of all coupons you know you would never use, no matter how good the deal is. 
• Every time I start clipping my coupons, I sort them in 3 piles: Will Definitely Use, May Use, Would Never Use. I immediately get rid of the "Would Never Use"pile.
  
• This is the easiest way to keep you from buying things you know you'll never use.

• Compare the remaining coupons with your stockpile. 
• If you have enough of one product to last  4-6 weeks & the coupons you have will expire early on within that time frame, I suggest you get rid of those coupons, too. 
• Remember, there will always be more coupons & everything will be on sale again in the future.

• Learn how sales work.  
• At most stores, just because an item is Buy One, Get One Free does not mean you have to buy 2.  You can just purchase one item & it will ring up for half price. When you stack that sale with a coupon, you save even more money!  
• On the same note, when items are priced "5 for $5" or "10 for $10", in most stores, you do NOT have to purchase all 5 or all 10 items in order to get the sale price. Meaning, in both cases, the items should ring up for only $1 each, no matter how many you buy. 
• Understanding these two ideas can keep you from buying an excess of one product simply because of the way the store worded their sale.

• Shop with cash.
• As you may already know, I am a huge supporter of using cash whenever possible. And one of the main reasons is because when you shop with cash rather than plastic, no matter how many coupons you have or how good of a sale you run across, you only  have so much money on you.  And once it's gone, it's gone. 
• So, if you lack a little self discipline while shopping or are prone to spontaneous budget busting shopping trips, I highly suggest you only take cash with you into the store. Use a calculator to tally your total while shopping &  once you meet your limit, check out.  This can help eliminate the stress & worry that going over your budget can cause.

Remember, understanding how coupons & sales work, having a plan you have written down ahead of time, in addition with practicing a little self discipline, are three of the best ways to ensure using coupons will actually help you save money!

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Coupon Myths: Part 3

 

In this series, I'm focusing on common coupon myths & why I believe it is false.  Even after showing many of my friends & family my success with bargain shopping, they are often still skeptical. Hopefully, this series will help win over at least a few unbelievers!

• Coupon Myths Part 1: There are only coupons for unhealthy, processed, junk food.
• Coupon Myths Part 2: Coupons are only available for things that I don't like or wouldn't buy.

Coupon Myth #3:  

"Store brand products are always cheaper 

than brand name products, even with a coupon"

This is one myth I believed for a very long time.  And at certain times, it still holds true.  But, the key to maximizing your savings & finding brand name items for a lower price than generics is to wait until they are on sale AND pair it with a coupon.  It isn't a very difficult concept, but I didn’t get it for a long time!

Before I learned how to coupon, I thought you had to buy generic products if you wanted to save money & be considered thrifty.  But now I know better.  I have a lot of brand name products in my house and I paid less for them than the generic versions!  This may not seem important to you-or you may wonder why buying "brand name" products are important to me. Well, it's not the fact that they are "brand name" that is important-it's the fact that I can get a much better deal on them!

For example:

• I can go to my  local superstore & purchase the store brand angel hair pasta for $0.54. 
• Or, I can go to my local grocery store that doubles coupons when angel hair pasta is on sale for $1, use a $0.50/1 coupon that will double & get the item for FREE!

This is just one small example of how with a little organization, preparation & planning, you can save more money in the long run with sales & coupons than always purchasing the generic version of a product.

Note: 

If you happen to run out of a specific item and you have to have it right away, generics might be the way to go.  But, that will hopefully be few and far between.  If you keep up on your stockpiling, very rarely will you have to buy generic items.  

So overall, I would say that the idea of buying store brand as a way to save the most money is definitely a myth!