Coupon Basics: Coupon Myths

This week I want to cover several basic coupon myths. These are some of the most common reasons that you hear discouraging coupon use. I can’t promise that you’ll agree with all my answers, or that I can cover every myth but I do hope you’ll hear me out on these.

Myth #1: Buying Generic Products Is Cheaper

• Actually I think you’ll find that you can often get Name Brand Products cheaper when you combine both a Sale and a Coupon.
• While there are times a generic product might be cheaper, in general if you can find a good sale and use a coupon on the item you can often save more than buying the generic of the same product.
• The reason is that stores often price generics right under the national price. Say a $2 jar of National Brand Peanut Butter is only $1.67 for the Generic item. When you find a 2/$3 sale and a $0.50 coupon you might pay $1 each for the same Name Brand Product!
• Another reason is that Generic Products do not typically go on sale, so learning a products Sales Cycles can help you know when the best time to stock up is. For example, stocking up on Flour and Butter at Thanksgiving time is perfect since they are often on sale since people are baking more.

Myth #2: Stores Loose Money when you use a coupon

• Stores actually make money when you use coupons
• When you use coupons you buy products you normally wouldn’t have purchased
• Stores are being paid back for the value of the coupon by the manufacturers plus a small handling fee
• Keep in mind this is as long as you are using Valid Manufacturer Coupons Within their Redemption Dates. I think this myth comes from the large amounts of Fraudulent coupons that have been released over the past few years. Stores do loose money if you redeem coupons which are not valid.

Myth #3: Only Poor People Use Coupons

• Consumers who print Digital Coupons have an estimated average household income of $96,000. Using coupons is about Choosing where to spend the money you have. Even if you don’t have a tight grocery budget you can still use coupons to free up room in your budget to buy the things you really want.
• People who print coupons online have a 14% Higher Income Level than the Average American
• Adults with a College Degree are almost twice as likely to have used coupons in the past six months as those who didn’t graduate from High School (This one was surprising to me)

Myth #4: It takes too much time

• It only takes around 30 minutes to an hour each week to plan your shopping trip and clip your coupons before heading out to the store. If you factor in how much you save ($30-50 per trip) then you are making a great hourly wage for the time invested in saving money.

Myth #5: There aren’t coupons for the Products I use

• I have seen Coupons for all kinds of products including: Milk, Eggs, Salad, Orange Juice, Bread, Bagels, Salad Dressing, Paper, Pens, and so much more.

Adapted from Passion for Savings