Coupons.......
You've probably seen the story on TV. It's a slow news day - no
long car chases or dogs that play the piano. The producer decides
to run a story he's had on tape for a year or two about shopping
with coupons.
 |
Lights!
Camera! Action!
The Coupon Princess trips into the store and wheels her basket
up and down the aisles filling it with everything from apples
to zebra striped toothbrushes. Two minutes later you see the
checker smiling into the camera saying "you spent $265
today but after your coupons are deducted you only owe $2.43!" |
Is it possible?
Sure it is - I've done it. But it doesn't happen in two minutes
and the Princess probably doesn't save near that much on a weekly
basis. To save consistently you must clip the coupons, file the
coupons, take coupons to the store with you and remember to give
them to the checker. Who would go to all the trouble of clipping
and sorting their coupons then leave them home or forget to give
them to the checker? My hand is in the air - I'm guilty - how
about you?
But first,
before you can start clipping coupons, you have to know where
to find them. Think of yourself as a modern day Indiana Jones
- searching for valuable coupons instead of moldy old Temples.
The Great Coupon Search......
First
stop on your search for the Holy Grail of coupon savings
should be your Sunday paper. Inside the paper you will find
a stack of brightly colored advertising flyers for major
chain stores. Restrain yourself from getting sidetracked
into shopping for a new swimsuit or toaster oven by laying
these flyers aside for later. Tucked away in the middle
of these tempting ads you will find GOLD - in the form of
one or two special manufacturer coupon inserts. Guard these
with your life. Definitely DO NOT use these to line the
bottom of the birdcage or the cat's litter box. Take a quick
peek through looking for items you use on a regular basis
and new products you might like to try. Don't worry about
cutting out the coupons yet - just put the inserts in a
safe place for later. I like to clip coupons while I watch
TV - helps me to justify the time I spend following the
lives of the American Idols and Dancing Stars!
Next,
while you have the Sunday paper spread out, check out the
advertising flyers. Most of the ads will feature "loss-leaders"
- special sale prices designed to get you into their store.
They're called loss leaders because the store will usually
lose money or make very little profit on the item. The idea
is that you will come in to buy the big box of laundry detergent
for $1 - but will pick up fabric softener, a carton of soft
drinks and a bottle of shampoo at full price while you're
there. Savvy shoppers will buy only the loss leaders and
get out of the store quickly before some product jumps out
and hollers "BUY ME". As you scan through the
flyers look for special sale items that you might have manufacturer
coupons for. Nothing warms the heart of a die-hard couponer
more than using a coupon on a loss leader or sale item.
 |
Don't
fall into bargain quicksand. Remember Mom's Rule #1 |
MOM'S
RULE #1
It doesn't matter how good the sale price -
if you don't need the product or won't use it -
then
you're paying too much |
My
one exception to Mom's Rule #1 is....
Mom's Rule #2 |
