Counting Pennies

I know a lot of people who swear by coupons. Some of them claim to be able to reduce their grocery bill by up to 50 percent by using special newspaper coupons, in-store coupons and rebates. Depending on where you live, this may or may not work. Some states are big on doubling coupons, so you can basically gather as many as you can for a specific item and theoretically get it for free. In other areas, however, you’re only allowed one coupon per item, so your savings are more limited. Couponing can work if you’re willing to spend some time fine-tuning a system that works in your particular situation. Here are some more tips on how to make it work:

• Have a system in place. Use a plastic accordion folder, a set of envelopes or a large cardboard box to store coupons divided either by type of item, date of expiration or place where they can be used (pharmacy, supermarket).
• Only use coupons to buy products you would anyway.
• Make sure the price after the coupon discount is actually lower than buying an alternative brand.
• Look for ways to combine coupons. Even if your local store doesn’t allow you to double similar coupons, they may still let you combine their own discount with a manufacturer’s coupon.
• Print coupons from websites such as CoolSavings.com rather than just limiting yourself to the ones you find in the local newspaper.
• Stock up when coupons are available. You may not need 10 cans of corn now but you will at some point. Buy as much as you can when the price is lower.

While I don’t use coupons as much as I should, I do take advantage of them at stores I visit frequently, such as CVS and my local supermarket.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS