January 7, 2013 by

Beware The Coupon

couponbooksavemoneyThis Christmas, I got a great gift. It’s perfect for me, since I’m so frugal and always looking for deals. That gift was a coupon book. That’s right, a book filled with coupons for local retailers. This gift is perfect for me since I love to use coupons, but my laziness usually keeps me from taking the time to actually look them up, clip them, and keep them for later.

As I opened it and started flipping through the pages, I was surprised at exactly how many coupons there were for all sorts of things. From restaurants, hotels and fast food joints, to wine stores, doggy day cares and yoga studios, there were endless possibilities! I started imagining using them for all sorts of things, presenting my coupons proudly and saving oh so much money.

Immediately I started bookmarking the ones I was most excited to use, mostly ones for my favourite restaurants and a few for various shops that we were planning on visiting soon anyway.

So far we’ve used it a few times and it’s been great. The coupons have been mostly buy one get one free, which, since I’m usually out with my fiance anyway, is perfect. I also love the organization of the coupon book. When it comes to shopping, I know a lot of people have success with coupons, but I never use them. I’m just too lazy to go hunting for them. With this book, however, it’s so simple to just look up whatever restaurant or place we’re going and see if there’s a coupon available. If there is – great! If not, oh well.

Beware the Temptations of the Coupon

There’s only one down side to this coupon book and that’s temptation. I can definitely see myself spending more money on things that I wouldn’t normally buy – because it’s cheap. For example, there’s a coupon for free bowling. I actually considered planning a date night for my fiance and I until he tactfully reminded me that I hate bowling. So why was I even considering it? Because I had a coupon! I wanted to smack myself when he made this point.

This could definitely lead me to spending more money than I would ever save using the coupons, so I need to be vigilant and make sure that I’m not using the coupons for places I would never normally shop at – that’s not how to save money!

In the same vein, I need to be careful not to overindulge on coupons. We have a fairly strict entertainment budget, which doesn’t allow for many trips to restaurants or the movies in a given month. Having so many coupons at my fingertips could be a recipe for disaster if I somehow manage to justify a bunch of extra spending “because I have a coupon”. Coupons are meant to save money on purchases that are going to be occurring anyway, not justify new purchases that I wouldn’t be making anyway!

Those temptations aside, I’m really excited to get started using these coupons. I think my fiance and I are going to keep a running tally on the inside cover of the book to see how much money we end up saving over the course of the year.

Have you ever used a coupon book? What was your experience?

  • http://www.monsterpiggybank.com/ Glen @ Monster Piggy Bank

    I love coupons, but you are right in that you need to have self control. There is no point going out and buying something just because you have a coupon for it. That is a one way ticket to the poor house.

    Interestingly I just did a post today on the virtues of coupons…

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      Weird! I’m not usually into coupons, so it’s strange that we both posted about them on the same day!

  • http://twitter.com/SenseofCents Michelle

    I’ve bought a coupon book and felt that usually they are not worth it. For the coupon book around here, they are around $35!

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      That’s a lot! I’m glad I got mine as a gift, I’ll be able to see if it’s actually worth it, without having to throw down the cash.

  • http://twitter.com/DebtandtheGirl Debt and the Girl

    I bought one of those books once and I think it was like $20. I didn’t really use it for much and it stayed in my car for the most part. Then all the coupons expired and it was useless. I don’t think I will get another one unless the coupons were out of this world.

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      I guess it’s only worth it if the coupons are to places you’d actually go, otherwise, it would be a waste of money.

  • John S @ Frugal Rules

    My parents used to get something like this but we never have. I love coupons as well, but you’re right that they can be very tempting. We try our best to only use them for places we’d already be going anyways so it can be a true savings.

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      That’s my goal! So far so good.

  • http://budgetandthebeach.com/ Budget & the Beach

    I think you could fall under that trap with living social and groupon as well. You buy things you don’t really need because you seem to be getting a deal. I unsubscribed from those sites so I’m not tempted.

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      I fell into that trap when Groupon first came to my old city, luckily, I used every Groupon I bought, but I didn’t necessarily buy the most useful ones.

  • http://www.uniquegifter.com/ Anne @ Unique Gifter

    I saw one recently for my area, on my old boss’s desk. Still haven’t figured out where I can get one for myself, as I was really excited! They are very rare where I live and there’s definitely no groupons available. I think for me I would end up spending the money differently (ie picking one restaurant over another), but in general it would just be money that I was spending anyway. I might spend a bit extra, but it’s extra money I would have spent somewhere else anyway, if that makes any sense.

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      I think I’ll probably do that too, shift my spending to take advantage of some deals, but not increase it overall.

  • http://www.debtroundup.com/ Grayson @ Debt Roundup

    I bought a coupon book from my nephew and it hasn’t been a bad experience. I only use the coupons for places that I normally frequent. It hasn’t made me feel that I have to use them or to purchase things just to use the coupon. I can see where they can be bad though.

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      I don’t think I’ll feel the need to use all of the coupons, there’s just too many! Glad to hear you’re having a positive experience with a coupon book.

  • http://twitter.com/eemusings eemusings

    Oh yeah, I bought a big coupon book last year and it was quite handy. Obviously there was no way I could get through even a fraction of the deals, but the ones I did made it worth it. The main coupon book here is like $65 (but pretty much everything here is expensive. We used everything from fast food to proper dining to entertainment and outdoor coupons….but mostly food!) In the past my parents have bought them and offered us some of the deals they didn’t want. Splitting a book with someone who has quite different interests/priorities from you can work well. Like with any deal, the key is making sure the deals are things you wanted to try anyway or would use normally.

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      That’s what I did last year, snagged some coupons from family members who weren’t using them. I got several free one litre bottles of olive oil because of that – not bad! $65 seems like a lot, I think the ones around here are $40.

  • http://twitter.com/NewlywedsBudget Newlyweds ona Budget

    that’s how those living social and groupon things suck you in! although i do like using them for date nights because it FORCES us to get out! we have to remind ourselves we’re not eighty…

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      Ugh, us too! This book is definitely getting us to get out! We’re planning a dinner and movie night on Friday night and it should only end up costing us $20. That would be closer to $100 without the coupons!

      • budgetfail

        Goodness me! $100 for dinner and a movie!? i realize that might include gas (i’d hope so). Lord love a duck, that’s a pricey date night.

        • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

          Dinner ($50), Tickets ($24), Popcorn and Pops ($15) and Gas ($10). It adds up!

  • http://twitter.com/PlungedinDebt Plunged in Debt

    That sounds kind of cool, is it like an ‘Entertainment’ book?

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      I would say it’s a lot like an entertainment book.

  • http://Www.Plantingourpennies.Com/ Mrs PoP @ PlantingOurPennies

    I remember having the Entertainment book as a kid, and always having the BOGO coupons for mini golf and stuff like that. My mom offers to get me one for my birthday most years (she belongs to a group that sells them as a fundraiser!) and I always turn her down. We just don’t do that kind of stuff or go to the restaurants that are in the book.

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      If you aren’t going to be using it, then it’s definitely wise that you turn it down. Hopefully she got you something useful instead!

  • Justin@thefrugalpath

    You’re right. It’s only a great deal if you’re going to be using the service anyways. Going out to eat just because you have a coupon can be bad for your budget.

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      Not to mention your health!

  • http://adjunctorium.com/ Melete

    :-) Nice post.

    Someone gave once gave me a coupon book, too. And my thought about it was…?? Say what? Buy one to get one free, but buy one of something I wouldn’t otherwise buy and don’t especially want? If you find something in the book that you really want, bully for you…but most of them struck me as come-ons. Expensive come-ons.

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      Agreed, probably at least 50% of the coupons, I would never use, but there are a fair number that I would, and that’s what makes it worth it.

  • http://twitter.com/StuDebtSurvivor StudentDebtSurvivor

    I’ve never actually purchased an entertainment book. I’ve heard a lot of people like them, but I’m curious if they actually make their money back or save anything on top of that.

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      I’m keeping a running tally of how much we end up saving, I’ll let you know at the end of the year!

  • holly

    We have a similar coupn book in my area and it is definitely tempting to go out to eat using it. It has mostly buy one get one coupons and it makes things cheap, but obviously not free. It’s still cheaper to eat at home!

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      Agreed! We still eat at home 95% of the time, but we really like to eat out, so it’s nice to be able to do so without breaking the bank.

  • jefferson @SeeDebtRun

    I have deliberately avoided getting those coupon books the past few years, because they seem heavily tilted towards those that like to eat out alot. We virtually never eat out, so it doesnt help us a lot.

    that said, there are always gems in there. our local books usually contain a bunch of $10 off of $50 that can be used at a local grocery store, which will usually pay for the book by itself.

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      I agree! Last year I snagged the same coupon from several coupon books that family members had, and with them I was able to get $30 worth of free olive oil.

  • http://fortythousandbeforeforty.blogspot.ca/ Lindsey

    I am a big user of coupons, coupon books, wagjags etc… I agree though it is very easy to fall into the trap of buying or doing things just because you have a coupon. When I first started a few years ago, I quickly found I was blowing the budget when I was supposed to be saving money. Nowadays I keep track of coupons and almost treat them as part of my income/budget. When I have to buy something or have to book a hotel room etc… I than plan to find a coupon in advance so I’m not paying full price for something I was already buying/doing. With google at your finger tips it’s always easy to find some coupon to match.

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      That’s how I typically treat coupons too, as part of making my budget go further, and I’m really going to try and not treat them as an excuse to spend more money!

  • http://www.moneylicious.org/ Ornella @ Moneylicious

    I’ve never been a big use on coupons because I find most coupons I don’t need. But I’ve seen people use it and it has worked out for them.

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      Definitely! That’s how I feel about grocery coupons, most of them are for processed foods that I don’t buy.

  • Myjampackedlife.com

    Ah yes. just because we have a coupon doesn’t mean we need to spend money to be able to use it. I’m terrible at this concept…but working on it.

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      I’m typically pretty good, I hope I don’t get worse at it just because I’ve got this coupon book.

  • Kristy Willis

    Hi Jordann,
    I admire your frugality but you are right, we still have to be careful and be smart when it comes to saving money. Some coupons are enticing and some would even let you spend more. Good read! Thank you.

  • http://dropthatdebt.wordpress.com/ Drop that Debt

    Luckily I’ve never owned one, but I remember being younger and my parents having one. For them it was tough to use up all the coupons, but we lived in a small town and would have to go to the city to use most of them. It seems like a great idea, but you’re right, definitely beware. Could be too tempting !

    • http://my-alternate-life.com/ Jordann

      I definitely don’t feel like I need to use them up since it’s a gift. Most of them are for restaurants that are over 30 minutes away, so using them will typically be planned.

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