When Using Double Coupons Doesn't Save You Money
@ElusiveButterfly (45941)
United States
January 11, 2009 12:44pm CST
When I do shopping for my clients I have three stores to choose from for their groceries. At the present time one is offering discounts on gas that you earn from what you spend at the grocery store. They have double coupons too. Sometimes they offer triple coupons, but you need a coupon from their flyer to take part in the offer. The second store doesn't offer anything but good prices, but there are not a lot of brand names. The third offers good prices and accepts coupons, but does not double them.
Being able to shop at all of these stores keeps me alerted to the sales and regular prices on a variety of products. An example is a can of Campbell's Select Harvest Soup. One store charges $2.49 per can, the other charges $1.49 per can. With a coupon that is doubled (but you need to buy 2 cans) you save $1 per can bringing the price down to $1.49. Using the same dollar off coupon at the other store, you save 50 cents per can bringing the price down to about $1 per can.
I do clip coupons and use them when I know I will get a good price for the item. When I know that even with double the coupon doesn't bring a good price I opt to use it at the store that doesn't double it.
Remember that you need to keep your eyes open when shopping. Double coupons don't always mean that you are getting a bargain.
4 people like this
11 responses
@sunshine4 (8703)
• United States
11 Jan 09
I have experienced the same thing as you. I always bring my coupons with me and then compare store to store according to their adds. Many times I can get the generic product for so much less and it is just as good as the well known brand.
I even noticed that in my town one store sells bread for 94 cents and the one right across the street sells it for $1.49 a loaf. It is a no brainer for me.
2 people like this
@ElusiveButterfly (45941)
• United States
11 Jan 09
I truly don't believe that there is a generic brand company that puts out bread, ketchup, etc. Having worked in a mill where they made plastic bags I know that some stores bought bags from the mill and had their own labels placed in the see-thru bag.
1 person likes this
@sunshine4 (8703)
• United States
12 Jan 09
I agree. I usually buy the store brand bread because it has to be the same~ bread is bread. With ketchup, I can taste the difference in any ketchup compared to heinze. That is all I will buy because it isn't as sweet as the generic or store brand ketchups.
@ElusiveButterfly (45941)
• United States
12 Jan 09
The coupons I get are usually given to me by my clients. They use certain ones and give me the rest.
1 person likes this
@tentwo67 (3382)
• United States
11 Jan 09
I think that coupons and store specials in general can be misleading. It's always best to look at the big picture to make the best decisions. There are a lot of times when I clip a coupon but either give it away or throw it away because it was not the best deal for my needs.
One thing that I definitely do is clip the coupons for items and brands that I routinely buy, because then any bit off that I get is good. From there, I just look at my options to try to shop most effectively, Another thing to consider is whether it's worth the extra time and gas money to save a few cents somewhere else.
What kind of business do you have that you're shopping for so many clients? Like a conscierge thing? That's pretty cool!
@ElusiveButterfly (45941)
• United States
11 Jan 09
I am a personal care attendant. My duties vary from client to client. I have several that need to have their shopping done as they are more or less homebound.
1 person likes this
@patgalca (18481)
• Orangeville, Ontario
11 Jan 09
We don't have double or triple couponing here in Canada... at least not in Ontario.
But I save my coupons for when stuff is on sale so I can get the best deal. Our pharmacy always has great deals on hygiene and laundry products so I do a lot of shopping there buying when stuff is on sale and using coupons at the same time.
But I save my coupons for when stuff is on sale so I can get the best deal. Our pharmacy always has great deals on hygiene and laundry products so I do a lot of shopping there buying when stuff is on sale and using coupons at the same time.2 people like this
@ElusiveButterfly (45941)
• United States
12 Jan 09
I don't do a lot of shopping at our local pharmacies, but I really should pay more attention to the sales. Sometimes there are some really great bargains. On the off chance I am in one of the pharmacies while shopping for a client I see so many things that are wonderful buys.
1 person likes this
@royal52gens (5488)
• United States
12 Jan 09
There are times when I use coupons heavily. I try to double my coupons whenever I can. The best shopping trip I ever did went like this: I took my coupons, calculator, pop bottles and bag of bags along with a $20 bill. I took my time. I doubled every coupon. Cashed the pop bottles in. The store paid me to use my own bags for packing up the groceries. My transactions jammed the store's computer twice. I came out of the store with two full grocery carts totalling over $250.00. I only paid a little over $14.00 so I stopped at a yard sale on the way home.
1 person likes this
@ElusiveButterfly (45941)
• United States
12 Jan 09
That is exceptional shopping! Hope you found some bargains at the yard sale too!
@jillhill (37353)
• United States
11 Jan 09
That's for sure....and alot of times the coupons are for something that is expensive in the first place and not normally within my food budget. Many of the store brands that are less in the first place are as good as the brand name so you save money without a coupon!
2 people like this
@ElusiveButterfly (45941)
• United States
11 Jan 09
Often times I will bring the coupons with me to the store and leave them near the item that it was intended for.
1 person likes this
@tammytwo (4298)
• United States
12 Jan 09
This is so true. I use a lot of coupons but refuse to buy a product even with a coupon if I can get a cheaper brand. I am going to begin shopping more at Dollar General and even Aldi's if I must to save some more money this year. I am pinching every penny that I can and even trying my hardest to make a few extras.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
7 Feb 09
I just shop at one store and they have instore coupons and they give you a discount but only if you open up a Mastercard or a bank account at that store. We used to shop at Safeway, and we used the instore coupons that were deducted if you showed them a store card, but even without opening a Mastercard or a President's Choice Bank Card, they were still cheaper. And sometimes they will not allow double couponing. We usually get the no name brand unless the name brand is much better.
@coffeebreak (17797)
• United States
11 Jan 09
And I have noticed that placesl ike Target and Walgreens are often cheaper on some canned foods. LIke Campbells chicken noodle - 69ยข at target all the time, on sale at Walgreens for same. But at the store a can is around $1.25 of so! Plus, at walgreens, they take the store sale, minus their own coupon, minus manufacture coupon - so the saveings are even better! And all over a little ol can of soup! I hae even noticed this way and the store brand is more expensive than Campbells!
Always pays to coupon and watch the sales!
1 person likes this
@ElusiveButterfly (45941)
• United States
11 Jan 09
I buy my Campbells Chicken Noodle soup at Walmart for 60 cents a can. That is an excellent deal when the supermarket next to them sells it for about $1.29 a can. Even with coupons you have to buy at least 3 or more before you can use the coupon. There isn't a savings there! Plus you can use that same coupon at Walmart and get an even better savings.
1 person likes this
@coffeebreak (17797)
• United States
11 Jan 09
See... this is why someone like you or a normal every day person would most likely be a good person to run the economy of this country! I mean, we deal in dollars and cents they deal in million and trillions, but still, saving money is saving money - just move the decimal point! These CFO's should take lessons from you!
1 person likes this
@ElusiveButterfly (45941)
• United States
11 Jan 09
It doesn't take a scholar to look at things and see them for what they are!
@kenzie45230 (3560)
• United States
12 Jan 09
That's all true. But sometimes figuring all of that out takes time and our time is valuable too, right? I never did understand driving from store to store. My aunt used to do that, but spent more money on gas (even when it wasn't that costly) and half her day shopping. I have other things to do and can save money in other ways as well.
1 person likes this
