So you got $376.56 worth of stuff for “free”.
But was it really and truly free?
You incur costs for car wear and tear, gas, time and the costs of the coupons themselves, whether ordered or purchased with a newspaper.
Oh don’t get me wrong, I think couponing is the greatest hobby in the world. I always have. What other hobby “pays” you back with potential profit?
I always look at it this way:
• I’d go to the store anyway, so gas and car wear and tear is something I would normally incur, it is not an additional cost.
• My time has value, but again I’d have to shop regardless of whether or not I had a coupon in my hand. Yes it does take time to clip coupons and get the list together – but is it worth it to save $100? You betchya.
• Cost of coupons. And here we have real cost that is seldom counted by many couponers.
• There is dumpster diving for coupons which is free (except for time).
• There is getting your friends & family to save their inserts for you, which is free.
• There is buying individual coupons which is an easy computation… you paid 5¢ for the coupon + 10¢ for the product, so the true cost is 15¢ (plus postage)
• There is buying newspapers, although you can offset some of these costs with rolling RR, or using your Rite Aid 20% discount and +ups, or paying with ECB. You do lose the opportunity cost of rolling those rewards into more rewards while gathering more free items, however.
• There is buying whole coupon inserts… and this one is tough. If you pay $18 for 10 sets of inserts (including postage), you have to use $18 worth of coupons before you break even.
• Adding the cost of any coupons you may buy to your yearly bottom line will give you a more accurate picture of you total savings.
So while couponing is a wonderful hobby, approaching it from a business perspective do realize you will most like incur costs. Think of it as “the cost of doing business”, but remember, these are costs where the return is immediate and very gratifying.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
i also like to use printables, so i factor in ink (paper being free on a regular basis) – but i am learning to reduce my ink costs – all coupons are printed grayscale to reduce the amount of ink i use, only printing one if i realize i can not use two of a coupon, using shop at home to earn a little cash back on my ink purchases at 123inkjets, recycling my ink cartridges and buying things i need at office depot that are available at 100% rewards to use on ink purchases, and even yesterday, i picked up a nice groupon for ink – still, like you say, the cost of business is low and definitely worthwhile!
how do you get your paper free?
I have a dell printer so im limited with ink and refills but have tried usa4ink and paid about 10.50 for black and 13 for colour ink.
For me, wear and tear is a huge one. I’m single, living in a tiny room and it’s cluttered with things I buy (and haven’t yet donated), and stacks and stacks of coupons!
I also don’t have a car, so I take public transportation to all these stores I’d never gone to before, and it’s usually the transportation costs (time and money) that are the worst.
But being able to donate what I get and help out my parents and siblings is worth it to me.
I only go to each store once per week, so if I miss a deal, then I do. Also, I make sure I go when it’s most convenient (ie. when I’m going to be passing that store anyway). I even calculate it down to how many right vs. left turns I have to take. lol
I used to print lots of coupons, but then realized I wasn’t using a lot of them and I spent a ton in ink costs. Now, I never print coupons until RIGHT before I need them. If they are still there, great! If not, oh well.
As far as acquiring coupons, I got a great deal last year and only pay $1 a week for the Sunday paper. I get my other inserts from my mom and grandma. =)
coupon costs have definately increased for me. I am keeping track to include in my end of year totals.
I don’t track mileage and wear and tear as I typically pass all these places on my way home from work, church, etc and if I do run out and make a special trip, I have a RA 1/2 mile from my house.
I have recently gotten 3 girlfriends hooked on coupoining so that also cut my coupon cost down a bit b/c we are sharing shipping costs. Every little bit helps!
I think one should also include as a costs, storage costs. How much room is all the stuff taking and how much did you buy because it was onsale and you don’t need it. IE sometimes the tax even adds up. One time I was getting about 10 free boxes of Excedrin. I was shocked at how much the tax added up to. But paid it anyway and donated the majority to a local medical and dental clinic. Rarely is $300 worth of stuff truely free. You almost always have tax, the effort to clip the coupons, get the newspapers, find the deals, etc.
I don’t buy stuff I won’t use if it is taxable and I don’t have something to cover the tax. Medicine isn’t taxable in New York State so we wouldn’t have to pay tax on Excedrin.
I don’t have a car so I don’t have to worry about the costs involved. I almost never take public transportation when I go to the supermarkets or drug stores. I walk. I think of it as free exercise. There are lots of people who drive everywhere and then pay for a gym membership. Since I cover many miles chasing the deals each week, I don’t need a gym membership. I feel really good for my age (60) and I weigh less than I did when I graduated from junior high school. This hobby is actually good for my health.
Storage doesn’t cost me anything. There is plenty of space in the basement. I am retired so my time isn’t a factor.
My only real cost is buying papers and occasionally buying coupons. I have cut back on the papers. I check the coupons before buying the paper and only buy them when the coupons are worth it. They certainly were this weekend.
Great post Ann! Because newspapers are so expensive now, I decided to track in excel just exactly how much I was spending on papers and how many $ worth of that inserts cpns I actually used. I even broke down the # of printables, ones I got from mom & my sister. Since I restarted cpning in July, the worse papers for me were 7/25 and 10/10. Barely used enough cpns to cover the cost of buying them.
I hear that gas is going up to $4 to $5 a gallon. URGH. I do like to walk in the city but sometimes the air quality really is crappy with all the cars & pollution.
The biggest cost for me is time. I have very limited time. Next is storage. I know that I still come out ahead from cpning overall but it definitely has a very distinct cost.
I was working my papers in my deals at RA with the 5/25 oh how I miss that coupon. I’ll still going get my papers there because of the 20% discount hopefully I have enough of a overage from mm during the week to pay for them.
I have just started tracking everything I buy. I hope I keep it up, I tend to have small orders so that means a lot of receipts.
I’ve been couponing alittle more than one year and I know I could probably make more if I got a paying job for that same time. I spend alot time searching, cutting/printing and organizing my coupons, plus organizing my stockpile. But the ability to maintain my SAHM status is so worth it; plus it gave me a new found awareness of my expenses and that alone has saved me mega money. I went from spending pretty recklessly to really counting my pennies. I’ll never go back.
But I have calmed down in the past year. I went from chasing every deal to doing my once a week run to the grocer, Rite-aid and CVS and then I’m done.
I get 3-5 Red plums and P&G’s from my mail lady for a cost of filling a gift bag with freebies every several months. And I buy my papers from Walgreens (thanks Ann for that tip) but usually I make up the money. For example, it cost me $6 this week to buy 4 papers and 4 finish dishwashing tabs, worth it, but, but, but then I used the Airwick coupons in the paper to roll a $10 +UP reward into $19, so I figured I broke even and then make $3. And the paper inserts this week are rocking!
One last comment, my family of four has never eaten so good and couponing has freed up more of my budget so I can buy my family more fresh fruit, veggies and fish like salmon. And that was my number one goal when I started. All this extra is just icing on the cake!
I’ve been couponing for about 9 years and do some of all of the things you’ve suggested for obtaining more coupons. Actually, with regard to eBay, I have a limit. I NEVER bid on coupons, only buy BIN. Never pay more than $2 for a pack of 20, and never pay more than $1 in postage. So if I’m buying 15 Gillette Clinical deodorant @ $9.99 ea retail on sale for $7.99, and pay $1.80 for a 20-pack of $3 coupons (which I did, and that included shipping), stack that with $3/1 RA coupons and several $5/$25 RA coupons, the end result was that I was able to buy these in groups of three for only $1 for all three. Was that worth my $1.80 investment? You bet’cha. So if you’re smart about it, eBay is a great place to buy coupons!
Also if you are buying on ebay and you want put it on your watch list then check out the other items that seller is selling 9 out of 10 times they combine shipping. I take that into consideration when buying from seller if there is more than one item that I want.
Also use the feature, sort by lowest price/ lowest shipping.
They also have the features buy it now, or auction. Most of the time when I order it is from the buy it now with the lowest price/lowest shipping options (because I don’t want to wait). But I do compare the auctions with the buy it nows, and if you see a good coupon add it to your watch list so that you can compare easily. If I have the time to wait, I do bid on the auctions, to see if I can get it cheaper than the buy it nows, sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t.
The thing with ebay is you need to check around to see who has the best price and Price compared to #of coupons. I have a limit on what I am willing to pay and if I don’t get it for that I don’t buy.
I buy from ebay occasionally too.. and usually the BIN as well.. I agree.. shop wisely.
And then you gotta count the cost of the coupon storage systems you have.. I’ve revamped mine this year.. twice.. Ok.. once.. the other revamp was early winter which was last year.. right?
There are always lovely little hidden extras that we sometimes conveniently forget.
I usually stop at all the stores on my way home and rarely have to drive out of my way.. when I do, its to the grocery store and I have to go there anyways .
I do love couponing. ♥
…yes, but isn’t illegal to buy/sell coupons? the CIC certainly says so quite clearly. also, on most coupons doesn’t it have redemption guidelines ending with the statement ‘any other use constitutes fraud’ ?
There is no law in the United States that prevents the selling or buying of coupon. And, as much as I disagree with what Bud thinks, I sincerely doubt Bud writes that – more likely he says something like “it could be illegal”. Read the CIC carefully and you will see they infer because they know there are very few laws that govern couponing, and none that govern the buying or selling of coupons.
The fine print says the coupon could be void. That is a retailer/corporate wording that is a CYA.
As I always say, if you do not feel comfortable buying or selling coupons, don’t do it, but it is definitely NOT illegal. Be sure to email Bud and ask him what statute make it “illegal” to buy or sell a coupon. That is one answer I would love to hear. And please remember, Bud is paid by the manufacturers. Anything you see on his site is a corporate shill. From his days in the early 90s of the “Postal Service Task Fraud Force” to his stated belief that a family can only use one coupon on a product – ever- those of us that have been around couponing longer than Bud know him for what he is.
Ann
Ann