With best intentions in mind, I have a holder on the kitchen wall to store all my various coupons. I even tried to be organized and make envelopes for each type of coupon. I wanted desperately to be like the coupon ladies I’ve seen on the talk shows who actually carry binders for coupons in each aisle, and find ways to get essentially free groceries with their coupons. Alas, that ambition quickly faded and my cluttery habits eventually won over my Type-A personality. The coupons had taken over, expired, and overflowed my cute little coupon holder.
The whole point of the holder was to remind me of all the money I could potentially be saving if I used these little clips of treasured paper. However, after conducting my own little experiment, I realized simple grocery shopping rules trump the confusing mess that can sometimes be the reality of coupons.
If I went grocery shopping with my envelope of savings, I actually bought more and spent more. Most coupons are for brand-name paper goods and toiletries, and if you buy their generic counterpart, more often than not they’d be cheaper anyway. Lots of coupons are for snacks, soda, juices and sugary treats that really aren’t an actual need for any family, despite the protests of your kids!
Instead of grabbing something you’d probably never buy otherwise, just because you have a 50 cent-off coupon for it, stick to simple shopping rules:
- Shop the outer parameter of the store first. This is where the store usually has its produce, dairy, deli and bakery sections—the necessities to an everyday healthy diet.
- Become a member of the grocery store. Oftentimes the store offers better deals if you’re a member (and you usually earn perks like points for cheaper gas and even a free coffee at some stores). King Soopers, Albertsons and Safeway have memberships like these and are readily available throughout the Jeffco area.
- Avoid the middle sections where all the treats, processed foods and snacks are. If you have to buy necessities within the belly of the middle aisles, be wise in choosing the best deals or it will swallow you and your wallet—coupon or no coupon.
- Be accountable to yourself! I’ve often stood in an aisle staring at a product debating in my head if I really needed it or if it was even a good deal. I’ve been known to do this for many minutes, probably looking a bit crazy to other shoppers. But if having a silent conversation with yourself helps save your family money in the long run, by all means do it – the aisles are wide enough for people to walk around you. And if you do have any doubt about the product in question, just walk away…quickly.
- Last, but not least, always stick to The List– the grocery list, that is. Make it out at home and don’t deviate from that list. Anything not on this list obviously isn’t a priority (or a need), so even though that “buy one get one deal” on the tubs of ice cream is very tempting, if it’s not on the list …just say no! (I am guilty as charged for tucking the list in my pocket and impulsively grabbing items as I see them, only to come home to a raised eyebrow from my husband and extreme buyer’s remorse.)
These little rules have come in handy in my confusing battle between choosing to use a coupon or not. Yes, there is a time and place to use them – but not necessarily in your everyday grocery shopping, and certainly not on items that you wouldn’t normally buy if you didn’t have a coupon for it!
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