It seems like there has been a lot of doom and gloom lately. Mayan calendars, 2012, Extreme Couponing… *cough*
Over the past few months I’ve sensed this growing sense among the couponing community that The End is coming. So what if coupons went away altogether? I would like to address this today.
Coupons are one part of the equation
Just as you wouldn’t invest all your hard-earned savings into one stock, you shouldn’t just look to coupons for your savings. It’s all about diversification. Here are some ideas I came up, for starters.
- Learn how store sales cycles work. The majority of the money I save comes from paying attention to what goes on sale, and when.
- Learn to shop at a variety of stores. Have you ever checked out WinCo? Grocery Outlet? Have you learned how to shop at the drugstores?
- Learn how to grow your own food. I’ve enjoyed about $30 worth of produce so far this month, all picked fresh out of my garden.
- Learn how to adjust your diet. Can you make a couple dinners a night without using meat, for instance?
- Explore other ways of saving money on food. I have readers who have bartered for food, cut back in other areas to save on food, and negotiate at farmer’s markets.
The more creativity you can use in your savings strategy, the better. Don’t become too reliant on any one way to save.
Coupon Policies are ever-evolving
Do I think coupons are going away any time soon, or at all? No…I can’t say that I buy into that theory. But I do know that stores will and do change their coupon policies. This is another reason why it’s a good idea to know how to shop at a variety of stores.
Last week, I read this most interesting article about a coupon mom who was banned from shopping at WalMart for life. Surprisingly, her husband’s biggest fear? Was that he would get banned from WalMart, too. (Really?!) I think he needs to find a WinCo.
While I enjoy Albertsons double coupons, what if they went away? Yeah, I’d be bummed. I might even shed a few tears. But I wouldn’t quit clipping coupons over it. I would just find new ways to save. Remember when these went away:
- Kmart $2 doubling events?
- Albertsons accepting competitor coupons?
- Walgreens rebate program?
- Others?
Guess what. I am still saving money. I am still finding freebies and great deals.
Just like I say it’s good to be brand dis-loyal to yield the biggest savings, it’s also good to be a little un-biased when it comes to where and how you get the deals. Besides that, aren’t smart thinking and flexibility hallmarks of couponers? I think so.
What would you do if coupons went away?
Photo credit Lucassen Emmanuel
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{ 32 comments… read them below or add one }
I sometimes secretly wouldn’t mind if it all did go away because couponing takes a lot of effort in clipping and organizing and time is worth money too. However, couponing has forever changed my whole mentality about shopping and no matter what happens in regards to coupons, I will always be on the hunt for good deals, it is just in my blood now!
I have to admit I have found myself on occasion reading speculative blog posts and fretting about the End of Couponing As We Know It….
Then I try to remind myself, it is only coupons! I think if I never clipped another one, I’d still be fine thanks to the strategies you mentioned.
Personally, I think what we are going to see is slow end to policies that allow “extreme couponing.” I think stores and companies will always want new customers and more customers….it just isn’t in their interest to have people buying multiple quantities of loss leaders and nothing else. So far, I’ve been fine with the policy changes. In fact, thanks to Rite Aid’s limits I’m actually able to find one or two of something on the shelf-which is the way I think most folks shop.
I do think policies are likely to remain more generous if shoppers can work on being gracious and sensible.
Maegen, agreed. We may definitely be entering an era of sensible, fair couponing for everyone. I would be in favor of such a movement, quite frankly.
Coupon Apocalypse would make for an awesome story on your bloggity!
Just sayin’.
oops…remove ‘just sayin’…I think that’s one of your pet peeves. LOL
LOL! But you used it in a GOOD way!
What I loathe is when someone uses it as a cowardly way to judge someone else.
“You sorta stink today. Just sayin’.”
“Dude, you need a haircut. Just sayin’.”
“I heard some people think you’re a total idiot. Just sayin’.”
I was actually toying with the idea of an alien attack and coupons for an upcoming story. I’ll mull….
YES! Mull it! Mull it! Not mullet, just mull it. hehehe I think you bring out the weird in me. And, I like it.
Can we call it the coupocalypse?
Policy changes, maybe. Coupons going away, doubtful. I would be sad, but I don’t only use coupons as a way to save money. I also focus on meal planning which saves me money by only buying what I need to make the meals I planned, planning meals using what I already have in my pantry and frig, and planning meals based on sales (coupons or not). I also keep track of what I spend and save which I think is an eye opener. Common Sense stuff, right?
Meal planning is another excellent way to save money!!!
Ok, this is off topic, but how can Walmart ban someone for life? And throughout the country? Are they really that sophisticated with cameras looking for faces of “banned” customers? Sounds like the movies.. lol!
I wondered that too, Kelly! LOL!
They have actually taken this tactic before with other customers and I think it’s completely silly.
It reminds me when I was about 6 years old and I’d get in fights with the neighborhood girl down the street and would tell her to “get off my property!” lol
Empty threats by the red-necks.
There is NO WAY to ban someone from Wal-mart, you can be “trespassed”, but that would require paperwork. She couldn’t get arrested, just kicked out of her store. Nationwide, RIGHT! If they can’t even agree on the training of their cashiers how on earth are they organized enough to recognize a soccer Mom from Boise while she’s on vacation in Miami?! Ludicrous…
People are just fearful of change no matter what it is. But, as you point out, we all adapt and move on. Life is so much easier and fun when you don’t stress over the what-ifs.
I would be say if coupon goes away, but there is other ways to save. Coupons makes saving more work and fun. Without it, I just have find other ways to shop smart.
I always think back to the statistic that only a fraction of coupons issued are ever redeemed. If the manufacturers are gambling on the math, then they need to run the numbers again. Otherwise what are we talking about here; a 0.05% increase in the use of coupons? 1% more? They’ve got a statistician somewhere who knows exactly where their bottom line is. I’m guessing we’ve got a long ways to go to meet it.
The big thing that coupons have helped me realize is what a “good price” or “rock bottom” is. For example, I remember one time thinking $1.49 for a bag of Goldfish crackers was a good deal. Then my friend (Melanie) explained that often Safeway would put them on sale for $0.88 a bag. I was talking to someone the other about this and how couponing has given me the knowledge of what the best price to pay for item is. So, I will continue to live by the philosophy I have now whether coupons stay or go. I won’t buy it unless it is on sale, period. The bonus is if it rock bottom price and I have a coupon. And I stock up whenever possible. On a side note, my checker yesterday told me that Albertson’s is considering doing away with the Twice the Value coupons. It made me sad, but such is life. I used to not shop at Albertson’s until I started couponing because they are one of the more expensive stores in our area.
That would be a bummer! I never shopped at Albertsons’ before I started couponing, either, and the TTV’s are really what drew me in.
I agree about Albertson’s too. I never shopped there until I started couponing because of the TTV deals. HOWEVER, even THAT is a headache when the person is holding up the line for an hour, they only have one cashier, and the said person has wiped out everything you came to purchase. That happened last night. I wanted granola bars and the woman in front of me had TWO CARTS FULL, wiped the shelves clean, and left nothing for me. I was irritated especially when she held the line up. I’m glad she only paid $15 for her 4 carts of groceries but the TTV deals are almost not worth my time.
I DID happen to score some good “mini” deals though.
I can remember when Albertson’s would take the full value of my buy-one-get-one free coupons even if the free item was less than what the limit was. That was so nice! They stopped that a long time ago. I also remember when they took competitor’s coupons like Fred Meyer coupons from the paper. That stopped before couponing became popular. It has evolved and will always change. I try not to take anything for granted and enjoy it while I can. Although, if Albertson’s does do away with Doublers I may have to wear black for a week to mourn!
Change is difficult, and often tough to understand.
I took a bit of a shelling over on another website a month and a half back for pointing out that coupons are basically dead due to constantly advancing policies of the couponing companies to use new technology.
I mentioned a beta-project at the Ballard Fred Meyer (northwest of downtown Seattle), that described work being done by folks associated with Google (working in their off-time) to eliminate coupons, and use current tech to allow shoppers a 3-D experience within their store to find the items on their particular lists via smart phones and I-Pads.
My goodness the backlash and “screw you, you’ll never take away my coupons” responses from the blog!
I accept that people are resistant to change.
On the positive side, it’s nice to know that there are strong efforts moving forward with smart and caring people (who have to eat themselves!) actively thinking about how we shop (from the creation of menus, on to writing our lists of what we need, and on to the in-store thing of finding, purchasing, and using those manufacturer coupons to get best result…and then actively soliciting input from real people like you and me to do a better job in figuring out this new landscape).
As an old retired curmugeon, set in my own grumpy and comfortable ways of doing things crafted over many years…
…I’d likely be the least person to support moving to new platforms for coupons and shopping…
…but I guess I have drunk the kool-aid after having experienced some of these new experiments, met the young and knowledgeable people working on them with their vigour to make this right for everyday shoppers, and understood that gosh…things change!
Work smarter not harder. I think for me the best thing I’ve learned and coupons or no coupons, is to stock up when the price is great so that you never have to pay the crappy prices. And things will always go on sale coupons or no. Next year we’ll leveling off a bit of the yard to garden. I can’t wait.
Coupons have been around for at least 36 yrs. since I’ve been married. They have come a long ways but i doubt they will go away. But there is SO many other ways to save–I’ve canned tons of free fruit (in water or juice, not sugar water) when my children were young. And some things are almost free if made homemade–Its a little more work but much healthier most of the time.just think of all the sodium and extra sugar in lots of packaged foods. Growing your own vegetables are a fun way to get kids to eat them as you well know and anyone near Gig harbor is welcome to come pick raspberries in a few weeks–I will have tons!!!
Party at Sue’s house everyone!
My son and I keep checking our raspberry bushes (like at least a couple times a day now). We can’t wait!
arussell! You would be the person I have been looking for to answer a question!! Regarding raspberries (and blackberries too) how did you start your vines? Can they be started from drying out fresh raspberries or blackberries and planting the seeds that are left?
arussell here (AKA Coupon Project). I’ll tell you how I started them: from my dad’s garden! What I did was I went to his house with a bucket and some dirt. I dug out about 4-5 plants (the roots go straight down) and transplanted them into my garden. The first week or so they looked sort of wilted, but after that, they took and grew straight off!! I would guess that you could most certainly grow them from seeds though….hmmm.
I did couponing before all this “extreme” stuff and enjoyed the process. We never had the amount of information from blogs and matchups and quite frankly it is helpful. What I don’t like is the extremity that some people have taken this. Clearing shelves, watching people take all the blinkies in one taking, taking peelies off products they don’t buy just to have the coupons & other stuff. I do appreciate the deals, just frustrated by the wrong way shoppers. Today was hard to enjoy the process. Felt like end of the world with the crowd the came through the store doors!! I had to ask a lady in the aisle if there was an emergency happening. Like a group of Tasmanian Devil women sweeping through the aisles! Crazy!!
“like!” Amen to that sister! lol
I think I would be sad if coupons went away. The whole coupon and deal hunting process has become a hobby, almost a way of life. I would miss it.
Like so many others, I found that the coupon plus sale mentality has spilled into other areas of my life.
I don’t coupon nearly as much as I used to a year ago because the deals just aren’t there anymore. Sure, you can still save and get a few things here and there, but not nearly like it was before EC came out. All the stores are cracking down — just a few examples:
* Rite Aid UPs are limited to 1 or 2 per card
* Albertsons put their doubler sheet behind the counter only allow a customer 1 sheet even though their policy says you can do 3 transactions worth per trip
* Safeway doesn’t allow eCoupons and mfgr coupons
* No more unlimited doubling at Krogers
* No more overage at Target when combining store and mfgr coupons
Etc, etc.
The days of saving tons with the great couponing hauls are long over.
There will always be good deals to be had. Case in point: Rite Aid. They have changed their policy several times since I have been couponing, taken away programs, introduced new programs. People have been seriously up in arms every time.
“Extreme” couponers are ruining it for everyone!
I’ll never shop Rite Aid again, you’ve lost my business!
How will I EVER be able to save money again?
However, I have found that we just adapt and change along with the stores and we make it work.
Since all this craziness and “shelf clearing” epidemic (I just love to use the word that people toss around like candy), I have just re-evaluated how I save money. We are growing our own produce, shopping farmer’s markets, learning sales cycles, learning the best stores to shop regardless of coupons, using daily deal sites. And the list could go on and on.
Bring on the coupon apocalypse. I’ll make it work.
I have been using coupons all my life as taught to me by my mom! Not Extreme Couponing by any means- just smart shopping. I live in San Antonio and there is basically ONE grocery chain here -Monopoly B (aka HEB) there is no doubling no loyalty cards (they don’t need to instill loyalty-they have a captive audience here) .I have always used the strategy of matching coupons to sales-stocking up a bit when something is on sale,making use of my freezer to backstock stuff like bread ,meats,frozen vegetables-when I can get a good deal. Also my idea of a “stockpile” is a couple extra anything-I don’t have the desire to devote a whole room to shelves of hoard. I tell you a freezer is as good or better than a rack system that holds 77 bottles of mustard.I can USE extra whole chickens that I got @ .88 a lb alot better than 15 bottles of Tide! This is what will FEED my family- not just make for great photos and a contact high.
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