Coupons are kind of like mini-contracts. There is an agreement between you and whoever issued the coupon. Oh, and with the store — since it honors the coupon. And, like any sort of contract, there is fine print to read. Go ahead, get out a coupon and look at it. You’ll see some fine print at the bottom, or on the back. That fine print provides insight into the terms and conditions of the coupon, and may even present some rather annoying limitations. Indeed, before you try to combine offers or use some other sort of couponing strategy, it is a good idea to read the fine print.

Which items can I get?

One of the biggest issues with coupons is the fact that what you can get doesn’t always correlate with the picture. Indeed, it’s not about what’s pictured; rather, it’s about what is in the fine print. Read carefully, looking for what the coupon is actually good for. You might find things like:

• Only certain sizes (i.e. “1 ounce or bigger” or “2.4 oz and 3.5 oz only”)
• Only certain varieties (i.e. “peach flavored only”, “does not include super sparkle”)
• Limited number of items (i.e. “Two for the price of one, limit two per customer”)

So, even though there might be a picture of a certain variety that you want, if you read the fine print, you might discover that it isn’t available for use with the coupon.

Do you really have to buy two on BOGO offers?

In some cases, the coupon will say “buy one, get one free”. Many people assume that they have to get both items in order to get the BOGO. While this might be the case, it isn’t always. Some stores, and some coupons, allow you to get half off one iten, if you use the coupon. While you might find that this is not the case, it never hurts to ask. And, at the very least, even if you have to buy two in order to get the savings, you can store the other for later. Just check the expiration date, or give your extra item to charity, so that it doesn’t go to waste.

Internet coupons have fine print, too

You should also be aware that Internet coupons have fine print as well. Before you print the coupons out, double check to see what the conditions are. Some coupons that you find online are only good in certain stores. Others may only be accepted in particular states. Another concern is that your store itself may not accept online coupons. Call ahead before you bring in the coupon, just to make sure that you really can use it, and find out about other store coupon policies while you are at it.

Bottom line: Just like anything else, coupons have terms and conditions. You want to make sure that you read the coupons ahead of time so that you are not unpleasantly surprised when you get to the store and find out that the great deal you thought you were getting is not something you are eligible for.

Of course, when you can, you should use coupons when you go grocery shopping. But you don’t need coupons to trim your grocery bill. You can save money on groceries even without clipping coupons if you take the time to study your spending behaviors, and change the way you do things when you go to the store. Here are some ways that you can cut your grocery bill:

• Don’t shop hungry: Plan your trip to the store for after you have eaten. If you are grabbing a few things on the way home from work, just grab those few things that you need. Plan on a specific time that you can go — after lunch sometime, or even after dinner. My husband and I go first thing Saturday morning, after breakfast, and before the crowds are really out there.
• Make a list and stick to it: Throughout the week, make notes of what you need. We have a list on the kitchen counter that we add to. Then, the night before we go shopping, we do a look through of the pantry, cupboards and fridge to see if we need more of anything else. This ensures that we get what need, and provides a guide for us while shopping. Of course, the key to this tip is sticking only to what is on the list, limiting your impulse buys. (We add a treat or two to the list, and those are the treats we get for the week.)
• Resist the temptation to grab things at checkout: 30% of our purchases are impulse buys. Resist the urge to add things to your bill at the last minute. Nail clippers, lip balm, candy bars and magazines are all at the checkout to tempt you. It takes some practice and discipline, but try to avoid grabbing things at checkout. Instead, plan your purchases around what you need.
• Avoid buying non-food items at the grocery: You’d be surprised at how non-food items can add to your grocery bill. Before you purchase toilet paper, shamp00 and stationary at the grocery store, check other stores. You are likely to find that non-food items cost more at grocery stores. So do your shopping at two separate stores, getting non-food items on discount elsewhere. The only exception is when there is a legitimate sale or special at the grocery.
• Double check the unit price: We have been conditioned, to some degree, to believe that the bigger package is cheaper per ounce. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Double check unit prices. I was surprised to find that the half-pint containers of heavy cream actually cost less than the pint containers, per ounce, at my local grocery. If your store doesn’t offer a per unit price on the tag, carry a small calculator in your purse to perform the simple calculation yourself.
• Avoid wasting food at home: You can reduce your grocery bill by the habits you follow at home. If you eat what you buy, rather than throwing it out, you are likely to save more, since you won’t be buying more food to replace what you throw out. Plan meals ahead of time, and incorporate leftovers into your planning. Most of our meals are designed to last two nights, and many of them also provide me with the lunch on the third day. If you don’t like eating the same thing two days in a row, you can freeze leftovers and then warm them up for dinner in a couple of weeks. My mother planned out meals a month at a time (leaving a few days open for flexibility) so that it was easier to see where frozen leftovers could be worked in.

In the end, you can save a great deal of money by altering your poor spending habits. And, of course if you use coupons on top of these savings tips, you will boost your savings.

Have you ever thought about where coupons came from, or researched the history of coupons and how they relate to national and global commerce?

Well, one initial interesting statistic about coupons is that companies have been using coupons to market products to the masses for over 110 years.

Each and every day as we open up the newspaper, we are exposed to coupons. You know…the square and rectangular pieces of paper that show us how we can save money on products we normally buy in stores and on the internet.

Coupons have an interesting history dating back to the 1800’s.

Coca-Cola Paves The Way

In 1894 the Atlanta businessman and co-owner of Coca-Cola, Asa Chandler, wanted to use an innovative way to market his new drink that was never tried before.

With the goal of becoming a household name and selling a ton of product, he created hand written tickets for a free glass of Coca-Cola. He strategically placed them in magazines and even sent out direct mailers to potential interested buyers of the soft drink.

This innovative advertising worked as more than eight billion free Coca-Cola drinks were given out for free. The rest is history. To say this brand and product has become household name is an understatement as they still generate billions of dollars per year selling this drink we all know and love.

Bring On The Grape Nuts

After the wildly successful campaign pioneered by Coca-Cola starting in 1894, in the year 1909, exactly 15 years later, a man by the name of C.W. Post decided to leverage the use of coupons to increase his sales of Grape Nuts cereal.

As we all know, Grape Nuts can still be found in the cereal isle of most grocery stores!

C.W. Post began his campaign by giving people who used the coupon a one cent discount off of his cereal. One cent may not seem a lot, but in 2010 dollars and cents that was about a 24-25 cent discount on his products if we fast forwarded time to today’s current economy.

This was the beginning of businesses really starting to use and leverage this creative form of advertising that put Coca-Cola and Grape Nuts on the map.

The Great Depression Hits

In the 1930’s the great depression hit America, when saving money on goods and services became a necessity to survive if you wanted to eat somewhat decently. As everyone had lost their fortunes betting on the hopes and dreams of the stock market, and while work was scarce, cutting coupons during the 30’s became commonplace.

This widespread behavior of clipping coupons in society ushered its way into the future, molding and adjusting to the times and many different technologies ahead.

From Neighborhood Grocery Stores To Massive Supermarket Chains

During the 1940’s after overcoming the depression in America, large scale supermarket chains began to adopt the use of coupons to increase sales in their stores. The transition from only having coupons available to local grocery stores to allowing large chain supermarkets to leverage this new marketing tactic as well was ground breaking.

Because supermarkets move a massive amount of volume, they could also leverage their ever-growing reach by using national newspaper and media to get these coupons in the hands of their customers.

By 1965 it is estimated that at least 50% of all Americans were using coupons in some form or another as saving money is and was something everyone was focusing on as time continued to pass.

The Internet Changes The Game

With the dawn of the internet the use and delivery of coupons changed yet again as people began to start shopping online to learn about products that they would buy offline in the local stores and malls that were close to them.

Around 1995 coupons started showing up on the internet for internet purchases, and offline purchases of goods and services. Companies used the internet to distribute coupons to those who were looking to save money, and gave customers the option to print out the coupons to bring into the store to redeem.

This was yet another amazing innovation in the use of coupons, and exciting for major supermarket chains and retailers as this new medium only brought more opportunity to everyone who was involved.

The Future Of Coupons

The future of coupons is somewhat uncertain. As newspapers continue to die, and more and more people flock to the internet for all of their news and content, one can only guess about what the future holds for companies who rely on coupons to get their message out to sell their products and services.

What do you think is in store for those companies who use coupons? Do you think their future is bright, or do you feel they will need to find other creative ways to get people to buy their products!?

Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coupon
http://www.grocerycouponguide.com/articles/history/
http://www.ticketprinting.com/Article-2006-01-10.aspx
http://www.promotionalcodes.org.uk/the-history-of-coupons-and-promotional-codes/

With the recession in full swing, everyone is trying to find ways to trim their budgets and save more money. As food and gas prices continue to escalate, and unemployment stays hovering around 9-10%, now more than ever Americans are looking for more creative ways to get more for their dollar to survive this economic storm.

Take the “Coupon Lady” in this video for instance. In this video she buys $116 worth of groceries but only pays $6.80 using the myriad of coupons she cuts and saves over a long period of time. This is flat our remarkable and is definitely something that may motivate you to start paying more attention to the coupons that you receive in the mail and the newspaper every so often, so you can save the kind of money she does on your next grocery bill!

As we know, a dollar here and a dollar there eventually adds up to a lot of dollars!