Buying a newspaper just for coupons, buying a book of coupons...is it worth it? I debated this for a long time. I can't speak for everyone, but this is what I've concluded.
Newspapers
A Sunday paper around here costs $1.75. If I can only use $2 worth of coupons from it, that's hardly worth the time it takes to clip them out. But one day I picked up a Sunday paper and saw a little paper inside with an online code to get a one-year Sunday/Thursday subscription for 99 cents a week. At that price, I thought it would be worth it.
The Entertainment Book has 3 coupons for Dick's Sporting Goods: $20 off $100, $15 off $75, and $10 off $50. When we bought a bike, 2 helmets, and a bike lock, the cashier let us use all 3 coupons on one transaction. We saved $45 on one purchase! No matter how many more coupons we use out of that book this year, it's already been worth it.
Is buying coupons worth the money? Depending on how much you pay for them, yes, it definitely can be!
Do you ever spend money to get coupons?
Newspapers
A Sunday paper around here costs $1.75. If I can only use $2 worth of coupons from it, that's hardly worth the time it takes to clip them out. But one day I picked up a Sunday paper and saw a little paper inside with an online code to get a one-year Sunday/Thursday subscription for 99 cents a week. At that price, I thought it would be worth it.
Nathan's opinion? He was excited about getting the funnies.
I haven't added up exactly how much we've saved a week with our paper subscription, but I know we get more than our money's worth without even trying. There are many bonuses in addition to the coupons. I have a physical copy of the weekly ads for Kroger, Meijer, and all the other local stores, which we wouldn't receive otherwise. There are restaurant coupons packed in there as well. And you can't put a price on how engrossed in the comics Nathan becomes every time we get a new paper. It's just hilarious.
The Entertainment Book
I was also worried about getting our money's worth out of the Entertainment Book, even though two of the books I've read this year recommend it. Sure it has thousands of dollars in coupons, but how many would we actually use? What finally made me decide to buy one was an offer from MyPoints to earn 1,700 points with the purchase of an Entertainment Book. I paid $17 and earned more than enough points for a $10 gift card. I knew we would save at least $7 with the coupons.
And then I bought a bike...
The Entertainment Book has 3 coupons for Dick's Sporting Goods: $20 off $100, $15 off $75, and $10 off $50. When we bought a bike, 2 helmets, and a bike lock, the cashier let us use all 3 coupons on one transaction. We saved $45 on one purchase! No matter how many more coupons we use out of that book this year, it's already been worth it.
Is buying coupons worth the money? Depending on how much you pay for them, yes, it definitely can be!
Do you ever spend money to get coupons?
Hi Freshman's wife! Does he share his Star Trek TCG cards with you?
ReplyDeleteI never even use coupons. I just don't get it, I guess. I know a lot of people like them, but it's never been worth it to me. Every time I look at coupons (and going through them is so tedious and boring I usually don't bother) 99% of them are for products I never buy anyway. Or for stores I never shop at. Jeremy likes to use coupons for fast food restaurants, and I do use grocery store sales, but I don't bother with the flyers. I just look at the little signs on the shelves.
ReplyDeleteHi, Billy. He's shown me the cards but he's never let me play with them.
ReplyDeleteRachel, I just like using the flyers to plan ahead since I normally go to more than one store to get the best possible deals. I probably only use 4-8 coupons on groceries each week, but I enjoy finding the ones we can use. But if you don't enjoy it, I agree it's probably not worth your time.
I always look at the Sunday Coupon Preview online to see if it's worth our $2 or not. If I'd been smart, I would've signed us up for a year's subscription to be delivered at A's house. Hoping that will be doable after we get settled.
ReplyDeleteI started with print-at-home coupons last spring. Started buying the paper last fall. But this semester, I've gotten a lot more picky about whether or not we buy a paper. For one thing, A gets most of the coupon inserts in the mail earlier in the week... So unless there's an awesome coupon that wasn't in them or I need duplicates, we don't buy one.
Haven't branched out into buying the Entertainment book, but we don't have much spending money anyway. If/when we plan a vacation, we'll be buying that area's EB.