You always hear about those people who save thousands of dollars a year by couponing. But for some of us who aren't as good at it, it seems kind of pointless and old-fashioned, doesn't it? So should you be cutting coupons…or is it more trouble than it's worth?
You may think of coupons as something from your parents' era…$0.75 off this, a dollar off that. So when you think of the time it takes to curate your coupon collection, and especially if you think about how it's making you buy purchases you might otherwise not, then you might feel like quitting altogether.
But let me give you a few fast facts to make you rethink that:
- Between email offers, flyers, mailers, and newspapers, there are enough sources of coupons that every person in the United States could be cutting coupons…in fact, 1,000 each. And of course, so many people aren't using them! The value of all of those coupons added together, you may wonder? $513 billion dollars!
- This fact is pretty amazing: out of all the people who make $150,000 or more a year, half of them reported using 50 or more coupons a year!! So you can see, the biggest earners are also the biggest savers!
- As you might already know, they're not just in newspapers and flyers, but also in apps, emails, texts you can get on your phone… When you can just go to Coupons.com, there's no excuse not to print and cut!
In fact, the only situation where I would say, no, you should not be cutting coupons, is if it makes you decide to buy a bunch of stuff you ordinarily wouldn't. One survey showed that 63% of people were persuaded to buy something they didn't really want or need that much, because of a coupon!! So, sure, it's really nice that, nowadays, saving on your groceries is as easy as flashing your RetailMeNot or Ibotta app at the cashier. But if you're buying things you don't need, then the convenience isn't worth it.
So how do you resist the urge to use coupons for deals you DON'T need?
Well, other than just…not doing it 😉…I think the best strategy is really getting organized and skilled as a chef and grocery shopper. If you know what you want, and what you plan to cook, then you'll be a better coupon cutter.
But on a related note, maybe you're seeing coupons for things you DO need, but it's not the right brand so you end up throwing those coupons away. Like let's say it's $1 off Crest toothpaste but you prefer Colgate. That's totally fair, but consider buying a different brand or generic brand if you have a coupon for it!! You might stumble on something you like more than anything you've ever tried before.
Or, I can almost guarantee you, the two things will at least be similar enough to where you're glad you saved that dollar rather than spent it. Plus, of course, I always recommend trying new things…
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