Coupons

So far I've managed to avoid one popular money saving tactic that has an enormous following, can be exquisitely successful, and totally abused.

It's the abused part and the problems that put me off. We've all heard stories of how someone bought two hundred dollars worth of groceries for three dollars and twenty five cents and a fistful of coupons.

Too good to be true? Yes... well, kind of. It's true that it can be done, but what these stories don't tell are the costs that lead up to those savings.

I know. I used to be a coupon junkie. I will admit to buying brand names when generic was just as good, and patting myself on the back for saving a quarter, never mind that the generic cost thirty cents less to begin with.

It's easy to fool ourselves into thinking that we're saving when we're not, so coupons can be tricky to work with.

If you can save twenty five or fifty cents off the price of something you already use, by all means, go for it. It would be foolish not to do so.

Not all stores accept coupons, though, and many frugal people shop at those - warehouse stores, salvage stores, etc. To use coupons, you usually have to go to a common supermarket, so watch your prices carefully. You can often buy it cheaper at a salvage or discount store than you can with a coupon at a big supermarket.

There's more to it than food coupons, though, and there's more to it than your home town.

The internet is a gold mine of coupons for saving on everything imaginable, from food and sundries to furniture and airline tickets, and they're not hard to find. Go to any search engine and type in "coupons" and you'll have thousands of possibilities. Possibilities are all they are, though, and it takes a lot of time to sort through them. Better to find a site that keeps current and relevant coupons and codes already listed.

Bottomline? Use coupons when they'll help you save, but don't become a "coupon junkie". Just because you have a coupon for it doesn't mean you'll save money on it. Pay attention to see if you can buy it cheaper somewhere else. If you don't need it and wouldn't have bought it otherwise, you'll be spending money that you wouldn't have otherwise spent.