by ~~ Sarina ~~
Member since:
August 12, 2006

When Using Double Coupons Do Not Save You Money

January 11, 2009 02:03 PM EST (Updated: January 11, 2009 02:50 PM EST)
views: 207 | comments: 55

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.

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Comments: 55

.* Sandi * Jan 11, 2009, 2:05pm EST
we dont have alot of choices here now,
walbaums
path mark
shop n stop
and one keyfood
shop and stop isnt woth the higher cost of every thing
and the one keyfood and pathmark, you can never find parking
it is so crowded
I wish we had more choices
Shannon W Jan 11, 2009, 2:07pm EST
Very good points
Courtney C. Jan 11, 2009, 2:14pm EST
Cool, thanks for the tip!
Lin B. Jan 11, 2009, 2:16pm EST
Wow, Thank you for the reminder.
Nancy Biri Jan 11, 2009, 2:23pm EST
Thanks for sharing
stacy k. Jan 11, 2009, 2:41pm EST
I don't use many coupons for a few reasons: 1. the cost of the newspaper to me doesn't justify the coupons 2. don't have a printer 3. the coupons are generally for items I don't use anyway. I have a large family, and the boxes of convenience foods i find normally offered on a coupon would not save me real money since for dinner for example, i would have to buy an additional 4 boxes of hamburger helper to feed everyone (in addition to the salad, veggie, and dessert). It is cheaper for me to make everything from scratch, getting everything on sale ( stocking up on loss leaders, clearance items, reduced for quick sale, etc.) I just went shopping friday, and got $500 worth of food for $257 doing this. Even the cashier was amazed. But I know for a lot of smaller families, this would not work since the food would probably would be wasted before it could be eaten. I buy a lot in bulk, do a lot of freezing(my freezers allow this, I have 3), and dehydrate. It works for me, I am glad you can make couponing work for you. Happy new year!
Jan S. Jan 11, 2009, 2:42pm EST
I have found, too, that shopping in superstores like SuperWalmart or Meijer will usually cause me to spend more money because they have such a big selection of foods and other things. Sometimes it's better to pay a few cents more per item and avoid temptation.
Alex In Wonderland Jan 11, 2009, 2:46pm EST
You have done your research...wow! I try to keep track of all of that but it is so difficult for me to do that well.
Deb J. Jan 11, 2009, 2:57pm EST
You are so very right and yes, you certainly have done your homework!!
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DIANE D. Jan 11, 2009, 2:59pm EST
I shop at 2, one is a discount anyway~Paying it forword~
☃ Aunt Shanny Jan 11, 2009, 3:15pm EST
Agreed. Kroger does a lot of stuff like this, but they are usually STILL more expensive than Meijer.
Pristina S. Jan 11, 2009, 3:32pm EST
I shop at several stores and match coupon to sales. Our Walmart also matches other sale ads so this helps. I do alot of research before shopping and save alot of money and get alot of items free.
Marianne R. Jan 11, 2009, 3:37pm EST
Good information.
Jennifer B. Jan 11, 2009, 3:50pm EST
It pays YOU to pay attention when you shop. I wish we had more choices in stores, but I do keep an eye on regular buys.
Joan O. Jan 11, 2009, 4:18pm EST
You're right it does pay to pay attention when you are checking out prices.
Connie L. Jan 11, 2009, 4:26pm EST
Oh God, I know I need to focus more on saving money. I just don't have the mental energy for it, but I have got to start learning more ways to save. I have wasted so much money in my life, enough that probably would have supported me comfortably the rest of my life had I used it more wisely.
Donna W. Jan 11, 2009, 4:36pm EST
Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for these tips!
Angela A. Jan 11, 2009, 5:21pm EST
I don't use coupons. The coupons they always have are for products that I never use. I just buy store brand or go to Aldi's, that saves me tons of money each year.
Georgiana S. Jan 11, 2009, 5:27pm EST
That is a lot of clipping! I know, I used to do it!
Patti M. Jan 11, 2009, 5:35pm EST
I use coupons as you do. Only when it is a real savings. I check the ads for three stores. We are new to shoping for food at Walmart. I'll have to check with them to see if they match prices.
Linda T. Jan 11, 2009, 6:36pm EST
I only use a coupon if it is for an item and size that I use.
Elaine B. Jan 11, 2009, 6:37pm EST
I agree that its important to keep your eyes open when shopping.
J F. Jan 11, 2009, 8:10pm EST
Yep. And our store offers that gas perk crap. Their price is 10 cents to 20 cents higher than the gas station down the street. People spend more to get the perk which it really isn't. And driving to different stores to use a coupon doesn't save money.
Bob B. Jan 11, 2009, 8:29pm EST
Great article, Sarina. Thanks.
Carla B. Jan 11, 2009, 8:33pm EST
We don't have any grocery stores that double coupons, so we just go to where stuff is the cheapest, which is normally the commissary. We only shop at the two other grocery stores in our area when they have good deals in their ads. And at Walmart, we buy a few food items that we know are cheaper than the commissary, and that's it.

When Kmart is doubling coupons we can sometimes get a good deal on household needs, but we usually buy them from Target or Walmart, so we compare prices, with the coupon considered in Kmart.
charity kimball ツ Jan 11, 2009, 8:56pm EST
thanks for sharing:)
Karen G. Jan 11, 2009, 9:29pm EST
I tend to buy generic. I don't need and won't use three jars of peanut butter for instance.
Danielle P. Jan 12, 2009, 6:47am EST
Prices keep going up and up but I try to use generic when I can. Some items you can't use generic due to the quality not being the same.
Teresa A. Jan 12, 2009, 1:07pm EST
Thanks for sharing!
glenda j. Jan 12, 2009, 1:08pm EST
great
Margaret G. Jan 12, 2009, 7:00pm EST
We have double and sometimes triple coupons and Giant puts out a lot of coupons for their own store brand. I save a ton of money there.
Rachel W. Jan 12, 2009, 7:19pm EST
Thanks for the info.
Andrea (Ms. Conservative) L. Jan 12, 2009, 8:22pm EST
good tip
David S. Jan 12, 2009, 8:29pm EST
I never use coupons unless I find them at the shelf since the stores I shop (Costco and Winco) are either so cheap that I don't bother anyway, or they don't accept any but their own coupons.
Debbie R. Jan 12, 2009, 9:20pm EST
Thanks for the info.
Sharon B. Jan 13, 2009, 11:29am EST
sorry about the generic comment... trying to catch up to my almost 1000 e-mails in here...
Amy just hangin' out M. Jan 13, 2009, 12:39pm EST
This comment is to let you know that this content has reached at least ten comments, and as such has been removed from Comment Speedway! Congratulations!
Ghostly Ghoul Jan 13, 2009, 7:33pm EST
Interesting, I'm a huge coupon fan.

Thanks for the comment!
Chas Andrews Jan 14, 2009, 1:16pm EST
thanks!
d c Jan 14, 2009, 2:02pm EST
great post. I like coupons
Amanda "middle of nowhere" C. Jan 15, 2009, 8:41pm EST
You make a very good point. I try to get the best deal out of the three stores I pass everyday. It also helps once you get in the sale groove. Everything's on sale sometime, somewhere.
Nora Davenport Jan 15, 2009, 8:45pm EST
I don't waste my time with coupons, as none of my many stores ever doubles....it's not worth it for my family.....I can save big time in other ways......refunding, points programs, getting all sorts of free stuff, and all my free gift cards that I get.
Debra B. Jan 15, 2009, 8:54pm EST
I have seen (with my own eyes) shopper who pay next to nothing for their grocieries because of coupons. I don't know how they do it!!! Whenever I clip coupons, and remember to bring them along, I save so little that it seemed little worth my time and effort. I think, though, with money getting tighter and tighter that we will start seeing more and more coupon useage -- ME included.
M. Bradley McCauley McCauley Jan 16, 2009, 11:34am EST
I use my coupons on Sr. 10% discount day and also use my shoppers card. It adds up.
M. Bradley McCauley McCauley Jan 16, 2009, 11:35am EST
Another good idea, when you have coupons, put them on a seperate shopping list, go through the store and get them first, then go back and do your regular shopping, that way you don't miss any of the coupon items.
Shelley S. Jan 16, 2009, 11:32pm EST
We use coupons, and save money regularly with them!
regina k. Jan 17, 2009, 5:31pm EST
thanks for the info.
Sarah P. Jan 20, 2009, 1:39am EST
I have 8 stores to choose from: Fresh and Easy, Walmart, Fry's, Basha's, Safeway, Albertson's, Food City, and Sprouts. I tend to only shop at Frys, Basha's and Fresh and Easy right now. They've had the best sales. I clip coupons and always take advantage of their sales. It's hard to shop these days.
Connie C. Jan 21, 2009, 8:03pm EST
I am so enjoying the new way Kroger is adding the coupons to your members card. It is great.
Megan R. Jan 22, 2009, 9:22am EST
Good points. Thanks for the reminders.
Dorothy H. Feb 19, 2009, 10:59pm EST
Returning the favor of a comment!
RJ H. Feb 19, 2009, 11:03pm EST
Great article!
R B Mar 12, 2009, 9:39pm EDT
Coupons or not, pay attention when you shop.
donna c. Jun 11, 2009, 10:06pm EDT

You are so right.  I hardly ever go to our Harris Teeter for that very reason...double coupons don't do me a bit of good if the product is over priced anyway.  Most people don't look at the "big picture."

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