Why coupons matter
Posted
Jan 14 2008, 12:05 PM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Procrastination paid off for me this weekend. On my list of Saturday errands was "transfer prescription to Rite Aid," because that store was offering $20 gift cards to do so. Somehow I never made it over there.
And am I glad I didn't: The Sunday paper offered a coupon good for a $30 Rite Aid gift card for transferring a prescription, plus $10 more in scrip for refilling.
It was a good weekend for cheapskating. Sale prices plus coupons scored me six months' worth of iron tablets for $5.27 and four pounds of Golden Grain pasta for 88 cents at Bartell Drugs, a local chain. Over at Walgreens, I got 400 Lipton teabags and two large jars of mayo for $5.31 (this price included instant and mail-in rebates).
I've heard all the arguments about coupons: They're not cost-effective. They're mostly for junk food. Using them makes you buy things you wouldn't otherwise buy.
Sometimes these complaints are valid. But not always. Look, I just bought four months' worth of iced tea for about 86 cents for a month, half a year's doctor-ordered iron pills for about 87 cents a month. If you ask me, those are pretty good deals.
Stretching those dollars
Both Rite Aid and Walgreens can be found within two miles of my apartment; Bartell Drugs is a mile farther. There's an Office Depot on the way, too, so on Sunday I also traded in two ink cartridges and got 72 ink pens absolutely free. They'll go to an agency that collects school supplies for low-income kids.
Not everyone is as lucky as me. Some people don't have drugstores handy. Some live where there are no real supermarkets, and the mom-and-pop store doesn't accept manufacturer's coupons.
Then again, I'm not as lucky as others. Some folks live where grocery stores offer double or even triple coupons. I wish.
Small time investment, big savings
The other coupon canard is that it's too time-consuming. Maybe these naysayers just aren't very handy with scissors. It takes me all of 15 minutes to clip and file the Sunday coupons and to scan the drugstore ads. Queen of the multi-taskers, I do this while eating breakfast and listening to the "St. Paul Sunday" music program.
If you don't get a newspaper, you can find manufacturer's coupons free at any number of online sites. Some will even clip and mail coupons to you for a small annual fee.
My gleanings go into a wallet-sized coupon holder that's separated by category: toiletries, cleaning products, etc. If I see a sale and/or rebate in a drugstore or grocery ad, it's easy to check whether I also have a cents-off incentive.
This is pretty bare-bones organization. But because of it, I've paid scandalously low prices for many groceries and gotten a ton of free toiletries over the years. I've also been able to donate hundreds of dollars' worth of food, personal-care items and even pet food to local emergency pantries. Coupons do more than save me money -- they also stretch my giving dollars.
And speaking of giving: That Rite Aid gift card will go to an elderly relative whose needs aren't being met by Medicare and Social Security. I'm glad the card will be for $30 instead of $20. This one time, procrastination actually did someone some good.
