Ok ladies help me out, coupons, does it make sense to spend $5. in gas to save .50 cents?

by jam 19 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  Terry

  A long long time ago a piano manufacturer made a superb grand piano, a pretty good spinet and a fairly okay upright.

  Those who could afford the superb piano bought the best. Folks who wanted the best, but couldn't afford it, bought the spinet. Those who wanted

  the best they could afford but couldn't afford the spinet bought the upright.

  All was well.

  Then, some bright soul suggested a better way to sell more pianos!

  Why not make in-between models for a wee bit MORE money to capture extra dollars and grant people the sense they were stepping up in value?

  So, 5 piano models were subsequently offered; sales went up and up!!

  Hooray.

  But, wait--there's more!

  If that worked--why not add 4 more models and see what happens?

  And thus it was done and up up up goeth the sales!

  This was called MERCHANDISING.

  If a product or service can be offered that is .....BETTER.....or.....CHEAPER....or....MORE ABUNDANT.....or.....ON SALE.....or whatever....the buying public gets to achieve a sense of intelligent participation in acquiring VALUE...more VALUE than otherwise.

  The customer feels smart!

  I worked in the Art industry for years.

  A publisher who had one or two best selling artists might not be able to sell lesser-known art....that is, until BUNDLING became a new strategy.

  With BUNDLING the publisher would only sell the BEST-SELLER to you on the condition you purchased a mix of lesser-known artists.

  Of course, they would grant you a DISCOUNT on the lesser-selling artists.

  It worked.

  Lesser-knowns became known. And the publisher saw that it was good.

  What does a restaurant do when its hamburger meat is starting to get...um...well....sort of.....out-of-date...but not yet poisonous?

  CHILI was invented!
• 

  hoser

  Its all a scam to get you to buy more junk that you don't need, and to make you feel like you're special because you got it for less than someone else.

  hoser
• 

  LisaRose

  Well, of course some people buy huge quantities of things for next to nothing, but what they don't show is how much work is involved in doing that. These people are fanatics and spend all their time scrounging for coupons and trying to find a match of a very good coupon and a very low price. When they do, they buy a hundred of them. They all have garages at home stuffed with their purchases. That does not appeal to me. Some donate the goods to food banks, so that would OK.

  Years ago when I was out of work I did coupon a lot, it helped me get through a few months of unemployment. Back then many stores would double the coupons, which makes it a lot more worth it. In California they no longer allow double coupons, so that changes it quite a bit. The other thing I have found is that often coupons are for very highly processed food, things I don't even eat. I also eat gluten free, so that is half of them I can't use. You rarely see coupons for meat, vegetables and milk. I will occasionally use them, but I have found buying things in bulk at Costco saves more money for me, with out the hassle. The only other decent grocery store in my area is Trader Joe's, and they mostly sell their own, private brands, so coupons don't help there.
• 

  DesirousOfChange

  5lbs ofprunes is not a good deal.

  I thought it said PRAWNS.

  I could see getting 5 lbs of prawns. Garlic, butter, tabasco, french bread, chilled DRY white wine.

  But PRUNES? WTF?

  Oh well, my Grandmother once said that everything goes better with prunes.

  Doc
• 

  jam

  Terry; Thanks for the economics lesson, interesting.

  "Chili was invented", LOL.

  Hoser: That,s the way I look at it, "A scam".

  Lisa rose/Just Ron, I have notice that, never good stuff

  like fresh fruits, vegetables. TV dinners 10 for $10.00

  Simon; A freind purchase a two gallon jar of green olives,

  what the hell, are you going to open up a bar., it was on sell.

  Desirous: Your Grandmother may be half right, everything does comes

  out better with prunes, if you know what I mean. LOL
• 

  wasblind

  These 'extreme couponing' programmes really annoy me as they destroy this setup just because some greedy idiot wants to fill their basement with more than they need. It's rediculous and will end up ruining the system that is important to other people.____ Simon

  Exactly

  I also wonder if those same people rotate their basement inventory from back to front by the expiration date

  or do they wind up wit a basement full of expired stuff
• 

  Mum

  I have saved lots of money using coupons, but they are not to be used randomly. There used to be lots of rebates, too, but not so much anymore.

  Here's how it works:

  Get some #10 envelopes and label them with various categories as follows: Soap and bath products, shampoo and hair care, pet food, baby items, detergent, canned goods, frozen foods, etc. You get the picture.

  Make a list on a spreadsheed or word processing table with these headings: (1) Brand name, (2) savings amount, (3) expiration date.

  File the coupons in a tackle box. (Take the tackle box with you when you shop.) Once a month, sort your computerized list by expiration date and discard any expired coupons.

  Wait for the item to go on sale. Look on your computerized list to see if you have a coupon for the item. Supermarkets are good about putting coupon items on sale. Use the coupon only after the item is on sale.

  Some stores offer double value on coupons. But sometimes those same stores have higher prices, so be careful.

  Once I went shopping on double coupon day and bought about $20 worth of goods. After deducting the coupon savings, I owed one cent. The person in line behind me stepped up and said, "Here, I'll get that."

  Look for rebates, too. These are not as common as they used to be.

  My ex-husband was an unbeliever, but he finally told me, after a year or so, that we actually had a better quality of life because of my system.
• 

  jam

  Do you think this is weird, I posted this topic six hours ago.

  The wife needed some items from the store for dinner.

  I drive to our local super market (popular grocery chain here

  in southern Ca). Taking out my card to give to the checker

  (the card for discount for that store), he told me you do not

  need it, every one gets a discount. I told him my friends and

  I was just talking about this today. Just one price for everyone,

  so strange.
• 

  WTWizard

  It makes no sense to use a coupon or buy on sale if the item is not something you need or want. Give me a discount on a squiggly "light(??)" bulb, and it is still a bad deal no matter how big the discount is. Or, a flashlight for a toilet paper--not if it is cheap crap. I would also refuse to waste money on a computer that I cannot replace the motherboard to something that is useful today, or anything that gives me negative value.

  And, it is dumb to waste 10 times more in gas or other expenses, unless you are doing it to make a point. You might, for instance, save money on something and spend more time and gas to save that if you are protesting some element of the more expensive item. You might, for instance, drive 50 km out of your way to get a Cree LED light bulb instead of a GE, even if the Cree is barely cheaper, if you have something against GE. That is valid. You might also spend more to get something not made in China (or spend more acquiring it than you save), or if the item you end up with is likely to last longer, is not created with slave labor, or works better. Even if you spend more on gas and time than you save, it is worth something to make your point or to not have to waste even more time and gas sending your item to a repair shop.

  But, no it doesn't make sense to waste gas if you are picking up the same item, at the same type of store, just to save a little on coupons. You need to factor the total cost--the item plus the time and gas you expend getting it, compared to the value of the coupon or discount. That might not apply, however, if you clip coupons as a hobby. Then it might be an expense of pursuing your hobby.
• 

  Mum

  jam, yes, that is weird. I have cards like that, and it routinely takes several dollars off my grocery bills. I don't even have to use the card, as I can type in my 'phone number on the credit card scanning machine. Talk to the store manager or write to the company headquarters if this keeps happening. It's ridiculous.