Do you think that using coupons saves money or does it encourage you to spend? There are times when I think that I have saved money on an item because ti is something I would have spent money on anyway and it has cost me less. This is the case when I use my Tesco coupons. They are tailored to the individual and they give you extra points or money off items that you regularly buy. However, I also think that there are occasions when I have spent money unnecessarily because I have bought a more expensive brand of a product than I usually do purely because I have a coupon. What are your experiences?
Coupons save you money if you use them with a sale. For example, my supermarket had a brand name cleaning product on sale ,2 for $4. I had two $1 off coupons, making the cleaning products $1. There is no way that I would have gotten a store brand all purpose cleaner for $1, so even though I bought a brand name cleaner, the coupons really did save me money because I combined them with a sale.
For the business, they believe it encourages more buying. And it probably does on the large scale, that's why we continue to see so many coupons being offered. It's up to us, the consumers, to use these coupons wisely and not get so enamored in them that we end up buying something that we wouldn't have needed anyway.
I honestly have to say that this would be entirely on the person using the coupon. If they are a seasoned couponer and know what to look for, they will get more for less money using coupons. If the person is just starting out Couponing, I highly doubt they'd get more is for less. They'd actually spend more then they have to. Companies put out these coupons to make people think they are saving when in actuality, people but twice as much..thinking they got a deal when they really didn't.
Definitely both! For coupons like you mentioned that are for products you're already going to buy, then they're obviously saving you money!! If you are tempted to buy products that you wouldn't otherwise, though, simply because you have coupons, then they encourage the spending instead. This isn't always bad if it's items that you do want, but you're waiting for coupons and sales before you buy them. It can be dangerous for some people, though, because it creates the illusion that they're saving, but they're not.
I don't use coupons because I think they encourage you to spend more and encourage you to make unnecessary purchases just to get a deal you perhaps would not even been interested in had you not been getting money off it. I am not saying that all coupons are no good and that you can't save with them. For example wowcher offer someone really good deals but again it depends what you want. I just prefer to buy what I like and if its on offer then that's a bonus.
If you spend on impulse, carrying a lot of coupons with you can be a very dangerous thing. Likewise, if you're a smart shopper than carrying coupons can be quite thrifty. Of course stores want you to spend as much money at their store as they can get you to do, so you have to be smart. You go in with that one item on your mind and all of a sudden you're walking out with a cart full.
The couponing craze has certainly hit this country hard, and I think many people are learning the best way to coupon - which is to use coupons to get the lowest price on things you would normally buy. But you have to be an informed shopper. You have to pay attention to price per unit, and know when a using a coupon is still not a better deal than perhaps another brand for a lower price. I have saved the most money in my grocery budget by completely altering my shopping habits. Adding coupons was a bonus, but not even a big one at that. I admit that I have tried several new products as a result of coupons, so if that was a manufacturer's intention, it worked, but getting them at a very low price one week has never addicted me in a way that I must continue buying the product at full price later.
Honestly, I think that coupons are things that businesses use in order to entice people into spending more money by purchasing an advertised product. Sometimes you'll have a coupon for a specific item that even with a discount, would still be more expensive than a similar product from a different brand. However, if the thing that is discounted is something you want then it makes sense.
If we're being semantic, anything that requires you to purchase something to be useful can't be considered as an item which is inherently saving money. That said, as long as you are using coupons to purchase items that you'd purchase regardless of whether you had the coupon or not then, of course, your coupon use is saving you from spending as much money as you would've before. Still, however, the coupon itself is not an instrument that miraculously adds money into your bank account. I am a firm believer in finding coupons for things that you actually want. Using them just for the sake of using them, makes you fall right into where those who issue the coupons want you to be, and you wind up paying for a product that you could've easily gone without.
Coupons help me save money...a lot of money. I have completely changed the way that I shop since I started using coupons. Before, I would make a list and look for the items on my list. I would only shop at one store, normally, unless I would buy my groceries and then stop at the dollar store for cleaning supplies. I would look for generics or buy the brand that was on sale, but I would only buy what I needed to make it through the week. Now, I look for what I can get for free with coupons first, then I look for things that I can get cheap with coupons. I buy as many of those items as we need to last for about 6 months or even a year, unless they're perishable items. If they are perishable, I buy what I think we will use before it expires. It changes the way that you shop because now, if I have 6 months' worth of laundry detergent (which I do), then I don't have to buy detergent every two weeks. Instead, I can spend that money on OTHER items that are available for low, low prices with coupons. The idea is to gradually build up a stockpile so that you aren't buying anything that isn't on sale. It works. You just have to be smart about how you use your coupons. You shouldn't be afraid to let a coupon expire if there isn't a good deal. If things are free or very cheap (at least 75% less than what you would normally pay), then you should get as many as you can.
