Backstory
Coupons keep the old folks coming back. That’s a fact. But many a busy mom counts on coupons to augment her budget. There are casual coupon cutters and dedicated couponers; those who take paper discounts to the counter in-store and those who use their mobile app to cut costs. This story applies to all of them.
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Coupons – #225
Have you heard about the lady who went home with $150 worth of groceries for free in exchange for the coupons she had collected? Although few of us could accomplish that, coupons are certainly a way to save dollars every week on those things you buy.
But I have determined that there are coupon conscious and the coupon challenged. I happen to be in the latter category.
The ragged paper I’ve carried in my wallet for weeks expired the day before I presented it. The free fries I would have gotten the day before with a coupon had been replaced on the menu that very day with rutabaga. I show up for the buy one – get one free – sale, and you guessed it, there’s only one left.
Yet, my genes have produced one of the world’s greatest coupon aficionados. My daughter purchases one of the three-inch-thick coupon books each year with discounts at all manner of local retailers. After six months, three quarters of the pages are missing because she never whips out her wallet that she doesn’t check first to see if there is an applicable coupon.
She cuts them out of newspapers and magazines; keeps them in alphabetical order. Coupons for ice cream, shoes, carpeting, exterminating, video games. You name it, she has a coupon to trump the retail cost.
I try to keep up with her, I really do. Instead, I just admire her stamina while making confetti out of the outdated coupons in my purse.
P.S.
What will stop me in my tracks, when it comes to using coupons on an app? When they ask me for the dang password. That’s it; I’m done.
[Show #225]
Oh my, Annette, you and I have the same ‘coupon’ habit. Too early or too late, or forgot where I placed it, or forgot it, period. Why not let your fascinating daughter give we “awful-couponers” some details on her system. She could even charge me for her services. I’d gladly pay… if I had a coupon….!
What a great idea. She could give classes on how to coupon. I’ll bet someone is already doing that.
I used to be an avid couponer but these days I rarely use one, except maybe for a restaurant. These days you have to by 2 or 3 of the item to save 50 cents. I do still enjoy a good deal though.
Oh no, Diane. We’re saving $5, $10, even $15 on things. You just have to be careful. Just because there’s a coupon does not mean it will cost you less. My sister has mastered the reward dollars, buy one/one free and coupons offered by CVS. But she admitts she sits down on her walker seat in the drug store and figures it out. Personally, I always seem to get taken when I try to use their coupons. Don’t give up.
We seldom eat out, never fast food, and I have yet to see a coupon for fresh produce. Coupons for TP, PT and cleaning supplies are helpful, but the brief expire dates often defeat me, too. Mostly, I just look for the stores with the best prices and save my time for cooking quality meals.
I am a “mini your daughter”. I have a file and keep it in my Jeep. It is by fast food & restaurants I like. It does save me money. 2 for 1 deals so Julie eats free or practically after the fries and drink. Lol
You would be the perfect user of one of those savings catalogs of coupons, Dan. every now and then, though, throw in a lobster dinner for Julie, along with what she gets to eat free.