You Really Can Save Money by Clipping Coupons

There I was: in line at the supermarket and the lady in front of me was completely inundating the cashier with money-saving coupons of one type or another. I tried to ignore what was going on but the cash register was beeping up a storm. Plus, the cashier was overwhelmed. This customer had so many coupons that it was almost hard for me to fathom.

Every now and then I use coupons to save a buck here or there, but I am far from being a regular user. Too much effort on my part and the savings never seemed that considerable. Anyway, there I was in line, trying not to pry, but it was evident this woman made a significant dent in her grocery bill. I'm all about spending less so I politely asked, "Can you really save money by clipping coupons?" The woman's answer: "You can save a lot but it also takes a lot of effort!" And with that the woman proceeded to get her sales receipt and bags of groceries and go on her way.

Want vs. Need

So apparently you really can save money by clipping coupons at the grocery store or wherever. Far from being a closely guarded secret, I asked the one of the sales associates where I shop and the advice given me was almost blissfully simple:

- Actually take the time to look at the weekly newspaper and check for coupons . In Rochester, NY the Sunday newspaper is about 50% news content and (amazing but true) about 50% coupons and advertising. But it has more coupons than any other paper in town. I sat down with my daughter and wife and in about an hour we clipped and sorted quite a few coupons. Actually more than quite a few. The trick is, clip coupons according to what you need, not necessarily what you want. My wants vs. needs are two different things. Thus, we discarded coupons that represented savings, but not on items we needed.

- Sort your coupons according to category : frozen goods, cereals, etc. And then make a sub-category of coupons that offer "two-for" or "three-for" offers.

I was surprised to find that we had a whopping 30 dollars worth of savings clipped and laid out before us on the kitchen table. Hey, maybe there's some truth to this after all.

Shopping Frequency

I've since spoken to several folks about this and have received in return different trains-of-thought. I've noticed that in general, money-saving coupons have an expiration date of a week to 10 days. Maybe longer. Personally we try to shop every two weeks. Our clipped coupons are still valid and the "in-between weeks" are good for replenishing coupons. Other friends are convinced that shopping weekly is the way to go thus ensuring you stay on top of good savings. Not for me to say. I only comment on what has worked for us.

Don't Forget Generic Brands

Generic, no-name brands are often cheaper that what you pay for with a coupon, so don't discount these brands for built-in savings. On the same subject, has anyone noticed that there's a difference between a generic brand, a house brand and a name brand? For example, we were at one of the bigger food chains in Rochester and the discounts of their particular products were less expensive than the other "name brands" but not less than the generic items placed in another aisle. I can see where someone can get distracted thinking, "Hey these guys are working for me! They're trying to save me money!" Well, Yes and No. I think I'll still go with the money-saving coupons.

A Happy Ending

So I'm happy to say that I'm a convert! You really can save money by clipping coupons! But it takes some time on your part. The coupons won't clip themselves and they don't just magically jump out of the newspaper. Our savings has increased over time from about $30.00 initially to about $50.00 and I've heard stories of much, much more!

But like anything, you won't know if don't try! So start clipping. Anything left over is money in the bank!