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Coupon Rules To Live By

From Herald News. She sounds like my kind of woman!

"I love the idea of coupons. They simply allow for money to be saved — a top priority in my book.

But try as I might, I can’t get them into certain aspects of my shopping, like the grocery store, where I hate feeling forced to buy things that I don’t really want just to save 40 or 50 cents.

As with any good love-hate relationship, those elusive saved dollars and cents entice me every so often.

Here are some thoughts about coupons for other overstretched, time-challenged frugal folks like me.

Choose your battles: For me, this means giving up on grocery coupons, but it might be something different for you.

While I feel guilty watching other gals shovel them into the cashier’s hands as their totals plummet, I have no need for the goods in their carts. And the work it takes to look, clip and sort them each week? I’ve decided this battle is not for me.

Research before buying: Before buying anything out of the ordinary — and I’m talking about everything from clothes to window treatments — do an online search for coupons at the retailers where you’ll be shopping.

For instance, a quick coupon search for Oreck vacuum cleaners results in discount codes for 10, 15 and 20 percent off online.

While not all codes actually work, I’ve found that they are most often successful. Making this search a pre-purchase habit will save big money in the long run.

Become a VIP: Get yourself registered if you want the best deals from common retailers. Bed, Bath and Beyond sends non-expiring coupons to registered shoppers frequently. Old Navy and its affiliates e-mail them weekly, and even daily around high volume shopping times. Smith + Noble does the same. Make life easier by establishing a free e-mail account at Hotmail or Gmail to collect these offers without clogging your regular inbox. And most importantly, remember to check this account often."

She may be a slave to marketing, she isn't one in the grocery store--where it counts!

Posted by Cute at 11:29 PM

Labels: financial (non-tax), food purchases