Coupons are an asset if they are used right. And used right is using them to lower the prices of the food you usually buy and not buying the food simply because it’s on sale. And too, time is valuable and to spend hours clipping coupons is to waste this valuable commodity where chores that would also save money go undone. Yes, coupons save money as long as you don’t allow them to take over your complete grocery shopping life.
The Sunday paper is not cheap and to buy that for the coupons solely is a waste of money. In lieu of that it might be a better option to forgo the coupons or better still, ask your neighbor for their paper Monday morning. Yet, most of these coupons are for bran named foods and it’s far less expensive to buy store brands.
There’s some excellent buys in General Mills coupons on cereal with a whopping two dollars off, for three or four boxes at a time. Gluten free diners really appreciate not only their coupons but their supplying corn and rice cereals especially for them at half the price specialty food shops charge.
Coupon mania is addictive and it doesn’t take much to get into the habit of in a big way. Yet, as long as the food is eaten and is sitting on shelves going stale there’s probably not too much to get alarmed over. But caution is the watch word.
Another thing that could happen with coupon mania is that the type of food might not be up to standard if coupon clipping is allowed to get out of hand. With the lower prices, fresh fruits and vegetables might get passed over lower priced canned goods or less salty frozen vegetables
Coupons are great for those expensive dining out meals where a two or three dollars off is offered and who every frugal homeowner needs this kind of help with an occasional night out on the town. But less face it, some people love coupon clipping and others clip but don’t use. They have good intentions of saving on their grocery shopping but will find they’ve gone shopping with the coupons still on their refrigerator door.
Therefore, absent minded people don’t make good coupon shoppers. The best they can do is wander through the isles comparing prices as they read their grocery list. Of course the worse of these absent minded people often have the coupons in their purse but forget about them until later. Those people are simply not good coupon clippers and they might as well forget it even trying to compete with the regulars who push those bulging carts up to the cash register and take up precious time of those others waiting in line.
All coupons are not equal. But the best way to save with coupons is to always make a list with the coupons in front of you and if there’s on for the food you’re going to buy, then use it. And there’s no doubt the Kroger store is the winner with coupon deals. They snoop on shoppers when they are checking out and attempt to align the coupons with their shopping habits. And often they give freebies and sometimes have a five dollar gift certificate for a five dollar purchase.