The Virtue and Value of Using Coupons
Most retailers understand that competition is fierce, especially in the larger towns, and that using coupons can help to even the odds. To help encourage customer loyalty, these merchants either print or accept coupons for various products.
The best case for using coupons is to buy grocery items that you commonly use. Impulse buying because of a “deal” actually costs you money – as opposed to saving it. Try to find coupon deals on items that you would have paid full price for anyway.
Watch for double or triple coupon days. Using coupons on these special days, stores will offer you double or perhaps even triple the face value of the coupon. Most stores only offer double and triple coupon values on specific days of the week but shopping is a strategy, so you need to know where and when these deals occur.
When shopping, always remember that Merchants want you to feel that you got a deal when using coupons, even though the store actually made a large profit. In fact, that is the very nature of running a store, but the practice should not extend itself to cheating the customer. You need to be sure that the store offering the coupons is not “inflating the prices.” The best solution here is to shop those stores that you know best, so that you have a feeling for their normal prices.
Free coupons are everywhere! You will find them in magazines and newspaper ads. You will find printable coupons on-line. There are online coupons that can only be used when shopping on-line and local coupons that are only good in your local market. There are even some online sites, such as retailmenot.com, and EZ Global Shopping Catalog where you can find enough online coupons to make you giddy.
Using coupons is an art. You must learn to organize your coupons according to a system. It is frustrating (and humbling) to have the grocery clerk run up your bill, only to find that the coupons that you planned to use for payment are mostly all expired. You can find a coupon organizer by just making a simple search on google – or if you want to make the task even easier, just visit this link [Coupon Organizers].
Here is a money-saving tip for using coupons that you might not know about. Some coupon friendly retail stores offer a service counter where you can take your unwanted coupons for trade. Other people use your unwanted coupons while you pocket coupons of value to you on goods that you use all the time. Ask your favorite merchants if they offer this service.
If you have a competitor’s coupon, do not just throw it away. Sometimes, properly using coupons means knowing how to make a deal. Often, many retailers are entirely willing to honor these coupons to make the sale in their store and to win a loyal customer.
The best way to approach the matter is to take the coupon into the store with you and ask to speak to the manager. In most cases, the manager will at least match the price of the competition. Heck, some retailers will even give you 100 percent plus, if you can show them a better price from a competitor. This is a VERY common practice – so keep your eyes open.
Also, do not just think “coupon” when shopping for groceries. When using coupons, you must treat them as you would any other form of currency. Any time that you plan to shop for clothes, to make an online purchase, to visit the pet shop for supplies, shop for pizza or a cheesecake at the bakery, think of ways to make your purchase using coupons instead of cash. For a rich source of coupons, check the “coupon” section of the EZ Global Shopping Catalog that we mentioned earlier, or perhaps you will find them right there at the local bakery itself!
Wanna go out tonight cheap? Well, using coupons is the best way to do that on a thin budget. In fact, many restaurants local to where you are right now very likely offer discount coupons just to get people to come in and eat. Your local pizza parlor almost certainly does this as customers are using coupons habitually there, but they are far from alone. Such coupons might be limited to certain days, certain dishes, or even certain hours – but if you’ve got something more pressing to do than saving your money, we’d like to know what that is.
Even the gambling casinos have gotten into the act. Did you ever wonder how you got that free room? Then, when you arrive, lying on the vanity is a coupon book that offers you discounts on everything. Using coupons, you can order drinks at the bar, a massage at the spa, even take free pulls at the jackpot machines. Would you refuse to use these coupons? Certainly not!
So, take the time to seek coupons for items that you already spend your money on and enjoy the rewards of spending less while enjoying more. You may think using a $.75 cent coupon here or a $2.00 coupon there is silly. You may feel that keeping track of expiration dates and digging about your bags to save a few cents is a steep price to pay just to get into using coupons – and should you plan to die tomorrow – you would be right.
However, if you plan to be with us for a time, these pennies really start to add up in a big way.
It is sobering to consider the amount of money that you have spent on groceries, on eating out, and on entertainment for a single year. If you expand this projection to span your entire life – and the result could be downright depressing. It is clear that, were you using coupons over all that time - your bank account would be a LOT fatter.
However, it is not too late. Use these tips to get into the game and start using coupons right now. You can bet that when you look back over the next ten years – the results will be rosier. Much rosier…
Shop Smart & Prosper!
Free coupons are everywhere! You will find them in magazines and newspaper ads. You will find printable coupons on-line. There are online coupons that can only be used when shopping on-line and local coupons that are only good in your local market. There are even some online sites, such as retailmenot.com, and EZ Global Shopping Catalog where you can find enough online coupons to make you giddy. It is sobering to consider the amount of money that you have spent on groceries, on eating out, and on entertainment for a single year. If you expand this projection to span your entire life – and the result could be downright depressing. It is clear that, were you using coupons over all that time - your bank account would be a LOT fatter.
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