Comments on: Why Canadians Don’t Redeem Coupons

By: Mark

Mark — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 03:16:10 +0000

I had a manufactuers coupon cut out from a box for a 2L of coke and it makes me sick having to argue with cashiers when they say oh we don’t take those!

By: Coupons

Coupons — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:33:43 +0000

Coupons are great if they are for items that you would buy anyway. But it’s easy to get sucked in and buy stuff you don’t need just because you have a coupon for it.

By: cannon_fodder

cannon_fodder — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:58:27 +0000

It seems that most people have focussed on coupons for grocery purchases rather than covering other goods AND services.

Some coupons give you more affinity points (think Shoppers Drug Mart, Airmiles, Aeroplan)…

Some coupons are for services (1 hour free for your first housekeeping service, free oil change with $250 of auto maintenance)

Some coupons are for anything of a certain value (Sears, Best Buy often have coupons which are equivalent to 10% off based on certain levels of purchases going up to $100 off purchases totalling greater than $1,000).

I would not be surprised that the young crowd is less apt to use “low value” coupons because of the time, effort and perception. Those who are retired and on fixed incomes would probably be high users of coupons.

Personally, I have used coupons for a long time and never worried about perception (except, as mentioned, when ‘dating’ !). But, I also factor in whether it is cheaper to use a different but comparable product/service even without the use of a coupon.

Finally, one should also factor in not just the cost of the savings but convert that into how much more money you would have to earn BEFORE taxes to realise the same benefit.

By: S.G.

S.G. — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 11:44:36 +0000

We actually have “made” money by using coupons. The items were on sale for less than the value of the coupon! Once we got Shirriff brand Lemon Pie filling free and 0.01 back and another time there was a promotion with Oatmeal Crisp or similar cereal that had a 2.50 off coupon and it was on sale for 1.99- we just kept buying boxes and cutting the coupon off the box and made 0.50 each time! Not really that exciting but just illustrates the point.

By: Steve Zussino

Steve Zussino — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:59:21 +0000

Wow, Kathryn,

Those are great coupons. On our site I try to post not only grocery coupons but coupons I find that are useful for clothes shopping or other tremendous savings.

Vitamins is a great example to use coupons (brand name or private label still allows you to save money).

Steven

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:35:50 +0000

I’ve been re-thinking my answer to this one. I realized that it’s true that I almost never use coupons for grocery items because there are rarely coupons for ’staple’ foods. However in the last week, I used a coupon for a haircut (20% off), Gap (20%), Old Navy (30% off), vitamins (50% off) and a buy one get one free entree! It turns out I do use coupons … generally just not grocery store coupons.

By: Suzie

Suzie — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:35:22 +0000

When I was first convincing my husband of the value of using coupons, I asked him if he would take a dollar out of his wallet and throw it in the trash. An obvious “no”, but that is exactly what he would do if I had a dollar coupon for something we already used and he did not use the coupon. From there he has become even more fanatical than I, matching sales to coupons, doubling options, and internet coupon sites. We save quite a bit and our bank account reflects it.

By: Sarlock

Sarlock — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:42:17 +0000

First way you can save money is to not shop at Save on Foods… that place is a rip-off. Try Real Canadian Superstore.
We use the odd coupon, but most of the things we buy don’t typically have coupons because they aren’t higher-priced name brand items which are horribly overpriced in order to offer you the “juicy” discount.
Buyer beware!

By: Me

Me — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:40:50 +0000

Coupons are friggin annoying. If you have a piece of paper we’ll give you 10% off. WTF! seriously just find the place with the lowest average prices and shop there. For me I believe that place is the Superstore, I get my $250 of groceries, I get a $25 gift card back and $2.50 of PC points. Also like previous posters have said, its cheaper to make from scratch than to buy prepared foods (even with coupons) and often the generics are cheaper than brand names with coupons. So in summary, coupons are only good for things you would have bought otherwise. The reason companies do anything, and hence why they make coupons, is because it makes them more money in the long run. More money for the companies means less for you (unless you’re a shareholder).

By: YYC27

YYC27 — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:16:29 +0000

I get coupons from save.ca, and their various sub-sites. There’s usually stuff there that I’d buy anyway.

I also use The Grocery Game to identify “rock bottom” sales, and to match coupons to sale items. I can usually save about 40%+ on individual items, and 25% or so off my total grocery bill.

By: Greg

Greg — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:35:06 +0000

I think lack of coupon usage is more to do with the fact that coupons are generally for things that people are not interested in. The coupons are a marketing tool used to encourage people to buy things.

I’m not very good about collecting them myself, but when I come across one for something that I would buy anyway, I certainly use it.

I don’t think coupons make people look cheap. I think the exact opposite, I think they make people look smart and organized. Would you go into a store and demand to pay full price when an item is on sale. If you have a coupon and you don’t use it, then that is effectively what you are doing.

By: Briefcases

Briefcases — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 22:13:24 +0000

Surprisingly, I think the lack of coupon usage has more to do with Canadians not wanting to look cheap. It is the same reason that bartering is frowned upon in the western world. People are very proud and they don’t want people looking down on them. Personally I have no problem using coupons, but remembering to bring them to the grocery store is another story.

By: Finance Matters

Finance Matters — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:54:10 +0000

I’ve had the same issue with coupons printed from companies website. It’s not worth the hassle of arguing with the cashier every week when they say we don’t take “internet” coupons.

By: sco

sco — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:59:15 +0000

If I’d use individual-product coupons I would probably save 5% of my grocery bill. I’d save about $35/month. The work needed for those savings is too much for me. I can see the usefulness for someone on an extremely tight budget.
I use only coupons that are high value (like the $25 gift card or a similar free item – if you spend $250). The store where I do grocery shopping has those at the entry so it’s no additional work for me.
Anyways the individual-product coupons would not fit my grocery shopping style. I tend to buy a lot of unprocessed items (like vegetables, fruits, fish) which usually don’t have coupons and I always have a shopping list based on the recipes that I want to make.

By: Alexandra

Alexandra — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:31:46 +0000

I use coupons but don’t go out of my way to find them. If they are hanging in the store next to the item I was going to purchase anyway, I grab a few. I keep them in a little Ziplock bag that I take to the grocery store once a week. If there’s an item an my list that also has a coupon I can use, great. if not, no big deal.

I think making a list of the groceries you need and sticking to it will end up saving you more than impulsively buying items you didn’t neccesarily need because there was a coupon for it.

By: used tires

used tires — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:10:22 +0000

While that number might seem shocking alarming, I don’t think it is. The fact is there is an opportunity cost for everyone when they are faced with coupons. Sure.. there are some coupons that have alot of great savings, but as lot of economists say.. there is no such thing as a free lunch, lets say there was a coupon for half price from a meal at a restaurant, sure you get the savings, but if the restaurant is out of your way you might be able to, but you won’t be willing to drive to that restaurant, and experience the added costs. In my opinion thats what happens… the opportunity cost for consumers is just not worthwhile to use most coupons.

Till then,

Jean

By: Caitlin

Caitlin — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:08:22 +0000

I don’t use coupons very often, because I rarely find coupons for items I actually buy. I’m not going to buy a product I likely won’t eat/use just because I can get it cheaper than my usual brand with a coupon, since that would just waste money instead of saving it. I just poked around the Grocery Alerts site for about 15 minutes and didn’t see a single coupon for anything I ever buy. :/

Anyone have any tips for getting into the habit of using coupons? I want to try it more, but since I only rarely have one I use, I always forget about it. This means I either have to carry it everywhere I go until I get to the store and buy the item, or it means making several trips when I forget the darn coupon.

By: Kathryn

Kathryn — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:05:15 +0000

I almost never use coupons because

a) generic is almost always cheaper even without a coupon

b) I make almost everything from scratch and there aren’t a lot of coupons out there for eggs, milk, sugar, baking soda and flour.

Interesting that you perceived people who used coupons as being cheap. I hope it’s not people’s worry about how others will perceive them that holds them back. I would use coupons if they saved me money on something I would normally buy anyway. It doesn’t bother me that others might judge me for using them. I don’t judge them for how they spend their money and I could care less what the person in line behind me thinks.

By: Nurseb911

Nurseb911 — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:37:14 +0000

I’m an Executive Member at Costco and I can tell you that I use coupons A LOT at my local Costco. Grocery shopping not so much (unless the coupon is from a box or magazine). The majority of the coupons I use is for Costco where I do about 50% of my weekly grocery/staple shopping.

By: Steve Zussino

Steve Zussino — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:13:16 +0000

ldk,

Thanks for the kind words.

Will,

I agree about not using coupons on dates (strange I will have to ask my wife if it would have made a difference ?)

DividendMan,

I agree with your comment about the larger savings. This is from the iwillteachyoutoberich fame (i.e. ramit). I also try to negotiate my Internet bill to pay $19.99 instead of $35 / month.

Including what Will said, it takes a mindset to want to save money and not waste.