My Mother clipped coupons, and I don’t mean she clipped the coupons on products she used, she cut them ALL (she had a case for them!) She even based all of her grocery purchases by the coupons she had. In my mind she was crazy, and even now I still think she was crazy.
Meal planning is something I do on a weekly basis, and I don’t just say “well we are having chicken on Wednesday.” No, I plan everything and even type it out and hang it on the fridge. Everyone in my house knows what is for dinner, or at least knows where to find what I have planned for dinner, yes even down to the dreaded “Must-go Night”. After reading that you may be thinking, ok this article is supposed to be about the pros and cons to coupon clipping. But hey, not to fret I am getting there.
So anyway, with that is mind, you can probably guess my feelings on coupon clipping. I do think it’s crazy, I mean have you actually looked in the Sunday Paper and seen the coupons they have out there. These are not the coupons my mother clipped nor the ones I grew up with. Gone are the days of $1.00 off ONE box of Cheerio’s. Now it is the days of .30¢ off 5 cans of soup, and $1.00 off 4 boxes of Cereal (per brand name); these aren’t even worth the paper they are printed on! Talk about trying to save the average American a few dollars on already expensive groceries. In essence, if you selected your purchases by the coupons you clipped you would spend more money trying to fulfill the requirements of the manufacturer. Unless you are feeding a large family, and I mean 4-6 children, this is not cost effective or budget friendly for anyone.
On the other hand, I am a BIG fan of Grocery Clubs, and every chain has its own name for them. You all know what I’m talking about; they give you a small key chain card so you can partake in the special discounts that these “club members” receive direct from the grocery chain. You can really save some good money taking advantage of these clubs. The best part is they are (in most cases) free to join and require no membership fee, just go to the customer service desk and they will sign you up right on the spot, and even use the benefits that day.
You can take advantage so some nice deals and perks. One deal I am a fan of is the “buy one get one free” items, especially in the butcher department. Besides you can always freeze meat and on a week that your budget is tight just go to the freezer. A nice perk from my favorite grocery chain is that they also sell their own brand of gasoline and they reward you for shopping their store with gas points, these “gas points” translate into .10, .20, .30…etc. cents off the price of their gas. This particular chain also gives points for every dollar spent, this is a nice benefit especially when you just need to run in for a few things. Some chains, and this is where they get shady, require you to spend at least $50.00 on a transaction until you see their “points”. I usually don’t shop these stores too often.
Back to the coupons, here are some pros to clipping. Be selective, chose the coupons for products you actually buy or would like to try. Some times you can even make out better on the deal if you combine your coupon with the club deals. On a typical trip I save at least $20.00 doing this. It may take a bit more time but hey, $20.00 is $20.00 and I can always use $20 bucks in my pocket.
Truth be told, even though I despise coupons, I do cut a few (they fit in a small envelope) and I don’t go out of my way to purchase their products. If they work in my meal plan, I use them. Now, to save the most and to utilize your budget the best way possible, remember
1. Meal plan.
2. Grocery clubs are your friends.
3. Selectively Cut Coupons.
01/01/2010 at 1:26 am Permalink
I agree with this philosophy!!
19/01/2010 at 3:23 am Permalink
Pretty good post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. Any way I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon.
19/01/2010 at 3:38 am Permalink
Thank you very much, I do hope you continue to read. My plans are to continue writing articles that help people organize their lives and save money in the “real world”. Thanks again – Samantha
19/01/2010 at 8:30 pm Permalink
Hey, this is my first visit to your blog… We are a group of volunteers and starting a new initiative in a community in the same niche. Your blog provided us valuable information to work on. good job
20/01/2010 at 1:59 am Permalink
When I originally commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment. Is there any way you can remove me from that service?Thanks
20/01/2010 at 1:42 pm Permalink
@Keith Osik, We will try and remove you from the comment emails. Give me some time to investigate how to do this.
21/01/2010 at 2:31 pm Permalink
@Mike, my apologies for not replying sooner. That is wonderful that you have a group doing just this! So many people need help organizing their lives and homes, my hat is off to you. I am interested in learning more about your group, so you will have to send me some information. Thanks again!
26/04/2010 at 3:38 am Permalink
Good share,you article very great, very usefull for us…thank you
28/05/2010 at 7:07 pm Permalink
Hey, this is my first visit to your blog… We are a group of volunteers and starting a new initiative in a community in the same niche. Your blog provided us valuable information to work on. good job