September is National Coupon Month. Now is a great time to consider you coupon use, and what you can do to improve the effectiveness of coupons. Even though you probably know how to use coupons to your advantage, living better on less, it can help to have reminders every now and again. So, as National Coupon Month draws to a close, consider whether or not you are using coupons as effectively as possible, with these reminders:
Clip Coupons ONLY for Items You Would Buy Anyway
The number one rule for effective coupon use is to clip coupons only for items you would buy anyway. Don’t clip a coupon as an excuse to buy something that you would normally leave alone. That’s just spending more money. The point is to save money on your regular purchases.
Don’t Get a Brand Name Just Because You have a Coupon
Remember that having a coupon doesn’t let you off the hook when it comes to price comparisons. You still need to make sure that you are getting the best deal when you use a coupon. If you normally buy a generic, but have a coupon for the name brand, don’t automatically assume that you will save money. Double check the prices. It might be that, even with the coupon, the name brand product is still more expensive.
Plan Your Meals around Your Coupons
As you putting together your frugal meal plan, make sure that you remember to use your coupons. You will get better use out of your coupons, and create a less expensive meal plan, if you take the time to look through your coupons for mealtime ingredients. Then, create menus for for your week with the help of what you already know to be on sale. This will help you create cost effective meal plans, and get good use out of your coupons.
Coordinate Coupons with Sales
You can also coordinate your coupons with sales at the store. Match up items that are on sale with coupons that you have. You can get bigger savings as you get multiple items and take advantage of coupons to get a lower price on an already discounted item. Be careful, though: Not all stores will let you stack coupons, or use coupons on sale items. But if it works out for you, and you understand the fine print, you can do a great deal with coupons.
A Few Interesting Stats About Coupons
Also, in honor of National Coupon Month, here are a few statistics about coupons, from I Love Coupon Month:
- $485 billion worth of coupons were distributed in 2010.
- Consumers saved $3.7 billion using coupons in 2010.
- 92.5 million adults will use coupons in 2012.
- The average coupon expires in 10.1 weeks.
- 74% of consumers search multiple sources for coupons each week.
- Women who are moms are twice as likely to look for coupons as other categories of women.
- 78.3% of consumers reported using coupons in 2010, representing an increase of 14.7% over levels reported prior to the recession.
How will you celebrate National Coupon Month?
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