Coupons: Fact or Fiction?

"We don't purchase the items that we always see coupons for. Coupons are always for processed foods." - FICTION!!

There are coupons available for a wide range of grocery items - not just processed foods!! I was surprised when I started collecting coupons, what kind of coupons are out there. You can find coupons for milk, eggs, cheese, yogurt, frozen vegetables, cereal, peanut butter, condiments, coffee, tea, pasta, juice, etc. I have even e-mailed several produce companies, and they have been happy to send me coupons for their fresh produce!

Of course, one of the largest areas of coupon savings for me, are in household items and toiletries. In fact, there are several kinds of items that I rarely pay anything for because of coupons (toothpaste, shampoo, air fresheners, lip stick, eyeliner, and more). Read my post on Walgreens 101 to find out how I do this. One statistic shows that 47% of coupons are for non-food items.

"It is cheaper to buy the store brands/use my store discount card. Coupons are just for the expensive items." - FICTION!!

While smart shoppers should always take into account the price of a store brand item when purchasing a name-brand item, many times you can find a name brand item on sale, which brings its' price with a coupon much cheaper than the store brand. And, don't forget - you can use coupons on top of the savings that your store discount card offers...always double up on the store deals/manufacturers coupons.

Keep in mind, however, that you are not saving money simply by using a coupon...it is only saving money if it is something that you were already needing/planning on purchasing, and if it is the best priced item for the product you are purchasing. For example, just because you have a coupon for $1.00 off Del Monte fruit cups, it might still be $ .50-$1.00 cheaper to purchase a store brand without a coupon. Always compare prices!!

"It doesn't make sense to purchase a $2.50 newspaper to save $ .50-$1.00." - FICTION!!

This is one myth that I used to believe...that I would never be able to make back the price of the newspaper with the few coupons that I would use. However, I soon found this to be false. Once I started strategically shopping - planning a menu and stacking the store sales and coupons with the manufacturers coupons - I found that I was saving far more than the $2.50 cost of the newspaper. In fact, now I sometimes will purchase more than one paper! 82% of coupons issued are in the Sunday paper which equals almost $261 billion potential coupon savings available.

Some of you even shop at stores that double and triple coupons (I'm fighting back feelings of jealousy right now!!) - you really have access to some great coupon savings!! One statistic shows that regular coupon users save an average of 11.5% off their total shopping bill!

Random Coupon Facts:

Only 15% of shoppers use coupons religiously.

Every year, shoppers save almost $3 billion with grocery coupons, however, $315 billion worth of grocery coupons are thrown away.

Fewer than 2% of coupons are used.

74% of households earning more than $75,000 a year use grocery coupons.

Over 80% of households earning between $50,000 and $75,000 a year report using coupons to grocery shop.

The lowest level of coupon use is in the $25,000-$50,000 annual income bracket!!!