Why People Don't Use Coupons...Part V

For the past several weeks, I have been talking about why people don't use coupons and sharing ways to help everyone understand how easy it really is. Check out my previous posts here.

The final excuse I would like to discuss is:

I don't want to shop that many stores.no that is not me in that picture. I wish :).

To that I say...I hear ya! I don't want to shop a lot of stores either, especially when I am hauling kids. I am not a big fan of shopping with kids! I do shop several stores each week. What is my solution?

++I rarely do ALL of my shopping at one time. I like to break it up. I usually will do one or two stores at a time.

++I live about two blocks away from a Hostess Bakery Thrift Store, so during the day I will walk there with my kids.

++I usually do my other shopping in the evening when my husband is home and take one child with me.

++There is a Walgreen's across the street from where I work, so I will usually run there on my lunch hour on the days I work. We also have a few prescriptions there so when it is time to refill I plan a shopping trip at the same time.

The main thing is, you have to do what is best for you. I am (finally) past the point where I have to get every great deal out there. I can pick and choose the deals that are important to me and I shop when it works for me.

The bottom line? You can be a couponer and save TONS of money! I promise!

Why people don't use coupons...Part IV

For the past few weeks I have been sharing some of the reasons that people have given me that they don't use coupons. So far I have shared:

It takes too much time.

Store brands are cheaper than a name brand with a coupon.

I just don't know where to start.

This week I would like to talk about an excuse I hear a lot:

I'm just not that organized.

I would agree that it takes a certain amount of organization to be an avid couponer. There are so many different options from clipping all of your coupons and storing them to keeping your inserts intact. I actually do a little bit of both depending on how much time I have and what kind of mood I am in.

There are also a lot of tools to help you in the process:


Coupon Binders - this is what I currently use. I actually was using a box/envelope system then I won my coupon binder during a giveaway. I love it! If you think this system will work for you, my fellow blogger Lisa sells them here.

Fellow Bloggers - these are my biggest resource. They will share what is on sale, what coupon goes with it, and where to get the coupon (insert with date, a printable link, etc.). This along with keeping inserts whole and by date makes for quick planning.

I really feel that the bottom line with couponing is that you can do as much or as little as you want. As you can see from my shopping trips, I don't use a coupon for every purchase, I don't even get the very best deal with everything I buy. I just pay attention, use other blogs to get ideas, look at the ads to get some of my own ideas and go shopping while trying to stay within budget.

It is important that you don't stress out - and that you do what works best for you. I literally live in the middle of everything in Boise, Idaho. Within 5 miles of my house there is a Walmart, 3 (or 4) Walgreen's, a Rite Aid, 2 (or 3) Albertson's, 2 Wincos, 2 Fred Meyer, and a K-Mart. I can drive to every one and still not use too much gas (not that I would). It works for me to shop several stores, but that doesn't work for everyone. My coupon binder system works great for me, but might drive others crazy.

I promise. You don't have to be the most organized person on earth to coupon. If you did, I wouldn't be doing it!

Why people don't use coupons...Part III

The last couple of week's I have been sharing some thoughts about why people choose not to use coupons. One big reason that I hear often is:


I just don't know where to start.


That is a really good excuse. Couponing can be VERY overwhelming.


My answer to this is SOMEWHERE.


Starting anything new can be difficult. The important thing is to start.


Here are some small steps to getting started:

• Get some coupons - start building your stash of coupons. Read my post about accumulating coupons here.


• Organize your coupons - come up with a system for organizing them that works best for you. Here is how my coupons are organized.


• Find a source for coupon match-ups - I mostly use the blogs in my blogroll on the right sidebar and look for match-ups in the weekly ads.

There you have it. Just start. Take it slow, shop a few stores with your coupons and get comfortable. Once you get your feet on the ground, you can become a full fledged Coupon Queen (which I am not - but would like to be!).

Why people don't use coupons...Part II

I started a series last Tuesday to discuss and overcome some of the reasons that people don't use coupons. Last week, we discussed the time factor.




This next reason is something that I hear a lot.

Store brands are cheaper than a name brand with a coupon.

It is a valid point because it is true in a lot of cases - especially when the name brand isn't on sale. I shared my own experience in this post a few weeks ago.

In many cases it isn't true - like when you can get an item for FREE with a coupon.

You can also use a high value coupon to purchase a smaller sized item. For example, I had a coupon for $1.00 off Suave hand lotion. The standard sized lotion is $3.99. With my coupon it would have been $2.99. The store brand lotion was $1.99. I did, however, find a smaller purse sized Suave hand lotion for $.99 making the lotion FREE.

I know a lot of people like to keep a price book. This would be perfect for determining whether the store brand is cheaper than a coupon item. Unfortunately, I am not that organized, so I do my comparisons in the store. I also have a general idea in my head about how much things are. This helps a lot too.

How about you? What is your experience with this?

Why people don't use coupons...Part I

I personally LOVE coupons. I love to see how much I can save, how cheaply I can get things, and how far I can use coupons to stretch my dollar. When I talk to people about their coupon usage, or lack thereof these are some of the things I hear:

-It takes too much time.

-Store brands are cheaper than a name brand with a coupon.

-I don't know where to start.

-I'm not that organized.

-I don't want to shop several stores.

What I'd like to do over the next few weeks is share some ways to overcome these reasons to prove that couponing is worth it. Today I will be overcoming this excuse:

It takes too much time. Using coupons can be time consuming, however, there are many, many, many ways you can save time.

• Check out blogs like Be Centsable. They have a feature called the Grocery Gathering where they team up with many other bloggers to list the sales at stores around the country with coupon matches. This takes the guesswork out of getting the best deal.


• Check out the other blogs on my blogroll who share deals, freebies, shopping trips, and ideas for frugal living.


• Hot Coupon World is another wonderful resource. I always check out the Walgreen's forum to see the latest ad scan, deals, and coupon matches. This resource shares information from coupon shoppers all over the country.


• Set aside some uninterrupted time each week to organize, clip, and prepare your lists. I usually spend less than an hour a week preparing to shop.


• Don't try to get every deal out there. This is what I did in the beginning that caused a lot of problems. I went to every store for this deal or that deal and by the time I was done I was frustrated and had spent all night getting 5 items. Not cool. Just get the deals that you can't live without - it will save you tons of time!

The bottom line on the time thing is that there are many successful frugalites who do not use coupons. Amy Dacyczyn author of the Tightwad Gazette is a perfect example. Gayle from the Grocery Cart Challenge is another. If you are willing to spend a little bit of extra time each week to coupon, trust me it is worth it!

How about you? Any other great time saving ideas for those anti-coupon people?