Coupons!

One of the prompts I have read suggested skimming through a magazine and picking a page that best jumps out and writing about it. So I took that suggestion and skimmed through a readily available magazine (OK! October 3, 2011 issue) and found an ad for a show called Extreme Couponing on TLC. It was the first page that popped out at me. First of all, all of the colorful coupons and the fact that a woman is peeking out from a pile of them - it's not something you see everyday! Second, the big bold letters of "The Crazy Couponers Are Back..." - Entertainment Weekly posted in the top left corner. I guess I like that type of font, because it stood out to me.
Ironically, I am into using coupons. But, I believe, there is a line between the extreme couponers and the occasion couponers. I would fall in between the two. I use coupons, I love coupons, but I do not go go "crazy couponers" on them. I believe that some coupons are great. And others I can do without.

For example, if a coupon is offering me $1 off an on-brand product, but the off-brand product of an almost-the-same product is at an original price of half of what the price would be of the on-brand (with the coupon)! In that instance, I wish that they had coupons for the off-brand. But I guess that the price of the off-brand products are already low and at a great value.

Some on-brand products are so great that it is worth using that coupon (or even paying full price), such as cheese. I am very picky about off brand cheese. But then other products such as trash bags, I feel that it is better to get the off-brand, where you pay less but get more. Win-Win!

Some women I see walking around the store and they are carrying a big binder with coupons inside baseball cards (great idea, by the way!) but are so dedicated on finding a few cents off that they spend hours in the store just buying a few items. Now that I think is ridiculous. The off-brand to me is the safe bet. If I cannot find an on-brand item in a good price range for me, I automatically go to the off-brand.

This big binder filled with coupons sits up on the top part of the cart, the woman is skimming through, looking for a great coupon to go with a product.

I have heard one case where this couponer, I guess maybe she started a trend?, went on a shopping trip and ended up spending cents on a huge list! I think that is great. But in order to be that type of shopper and get those results, you need a lot of time. And I mean a lot. You have to cut the coupons, keep them in order, throw out expired coupons, look for the best sale (doing research, calling, looking online). If you have the time, I think that is great. But for people that do not have the time, I don't think it is possible to have that low of a total.

One time I had a coupon for $4 off a great lady razor, which is usually priced at about $12. At Target that week, they were having a sale on that particular razor ( I can't remember exactly how much ) but I ended up paying only $2 for this razor! This extremely awesome, good razor that I had wanted for years (but was just recently being re-invented). I was so happy I was beaming and could not stop bragging about my great buy. This is one instance when a coupon really, really did great. Other times, combining coupons on a trip saved about $5 all-in-all, which is not bad!

It is those great "free" coupons that really get me happy! When I get a coupon for a free product, like chewing gum or soda, I am so happy. Who doesn't love free?!



September 29th, 2011