In last week’s Wednesday 101 post, I talked about “How to Spend Less By Buying on Sale.” This week I’m going to tell you how to reduce your spending even more by using COUPONS!!
Last week I used pasta as an example. I told you that if you use 2 boxes of spaghetti per month and always buy the pasta at the regular price of $1.09/box, you’ll spend over $26 on pasta this year. I encouraged you to watch for pasta to go on sale for around $.50/box. If you buy the pasta only when it’s on sale, you’ll spend only $12 on pasta this year.
That’s a savings of about 50% that was achieved by buying at the right time. Buy items when they are at their lowest price – not their regular price! Now, of course, I used pasta as an example. But, you want to buy ALL your food when it is on sale.
So, this week let’s talk about using a coupon when the item is already on sale. That is how you really maximize your savings. Never use a coupon just because you have one. Hold that coupon until the item is on sale, if possible.
Last year, I had several coupons for $1.00/2 Ronzoni pastas. I held the coupons until the pasta went on sale for $.50/box. Voila! FREE Pasta. I used every pasta coupon I had and built up a nice stockpile of pasta. I haven’t had to buy pasta in months because I’ve been using the pasta that I got for FREE! (Just had some last night for dinner!)
It’s great to buy food on sale, but it’s even better to buy it on sale with a coupon. Of course, you won’t always have a coupon for the items that you’re buying. But, use them whenever you do have them.
To learn more about how to use coupons, start at my Using Coupons page.
