Technology & MSG

Twenty-Something Coupon Clipper

Jan 26th, 2006 by Alex

I clip coupons. I pickup the local grocer’s circular most every week. I look for bargains, then couple them with coupons. Sounds like something your parents would do, right? Very uncool?

Hellman's Light Mayonaise Cool or uncool, here’s what I know. Spending $1.55 for $31.54 worth of groceries is a good deal, especially when its all stuff that I’d be using in a reasonable amount of time. That’s exactly I did last night at a local Weis.

--------------------------------------
VF      Credit                  1.55
        CHANGE                   .00
Weis Club Savings Total........15.84
Coupon Savings.................14.00
Your Total Savings are  95.06% 29.84
 1/25/06  6:59 PM XXXXXXX XXXX XXX

That’s $29.84 that I can spend on something that I want (versus things that I need). Now that does represent a better trip than most, but the point is that no trip is too small to save a few bucks.

Manufacturers coupons add up. A lot of people my age don’t clip coupons. They think it’s lame, that it only saves a few cents per item. So what? Save a little here with a coupon, a little there by stocking the pantry when foods are on sale, a little more by combining the two. It all adds up, and pretty soon you’re getting double the groceries for half the money; and that’s usually worth a dinner out on the town. Some say they don’t want to take the time. If I spend 30 minutes a week perusing through coupons and circulars, then save $30 a week when I go shopping… isn’t that $60/hour for the time I spent? Do you make that much, tax-free?

Some people don’t like shopper’s clubs. They don’t want the grocer creating a profile that could be leased or sold to someone else. They don’t want the government finding out how many boxes of pads they bought, how many condoms, how many home birth control tests, etc. I understand these fears, but don’t let them bother me. If someone really wanted to know my purchasing habits (to the point where they’d purchase such information from a grocer), they could probably save some money themselves and pickup my garbage from the curb.

Some people still don’t like shopper’s clubs, saying that it allows grocers to increase prices across the board and then sell products to their “preferred” customers at regular prices, thus surcharging everyone who refused to apply for a card. That may be so, but if you’re a smart shopper even those increased prices aren’t going to bother you.

There are 14 items on last night’s receipt. The total came to $1.55 for everything, including tax. That’s a little more than 11 cents per item. Regardless of whether the grocer increased their prices, on average here’s what I paid per item.