Frustrated by coupons? Maybe it's not your fault
Posted
Nov 23 2008, 06:37 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Do you read posts about smart shoppers who get great deals -- even freebies -- with coupons and wonder why you're not saving more? Perhaps it's the coupon hand you've been dealt.
"Moneydummy" (we love that name) explains why you may not be reaping major discounts in a post called "All couponers are not created equal" at One Money Dummy Getting Smarter.
-
Coupons are not equitably distributed around the country. "Our region happens to be one of those that gets among the fewest coupons, and our coupon values tend to be lower," says Moneydummy, who lives in the West. (We're sorry to read that she has joined a growing number of personal-finance bloggers who have been laid off from their day jobs.)
-
A lot of stores don't offer double or triple coupons. When she started using coupons, she asked local stores whether they double or triple them. "At the first two stores, no one even understood the question," she writes. "At the third store, the manager started laughing at the suggestion."
-
Not all stores mark down meat and produce. Some donate food near the sell-by or expiration date to places like food banks and soup kitchens.
-
Maybe you've jumped on the bandwagon too late. There are plenty of expert coupon users where she lives and they clean out the best deals quickly. She says, "This doesn't make them scum; it just makes them fast. C'est la vie."
Another possibility we can think of is that coupons aren't readily available from traditional sources where you live. Expand your search. Find them online and print them out -- if your local grocery stores accept online coupons. (And don't try to make copies of them. Moneydummy says each coupon you print out has its own identification number, and the cashier will notice.)
A future source is your cell phone. Another paperless option being tested will allow you to link online coupons to your customer loyalty card. This story at MarketWatch explains how that method will work.
