It always amazes me when I see a TV program like Extreme Couponing that shows someone buying hundreds, and even thousands, of dollars in groceries and ends up paying less than $10 after all their coupons have been processed. I can never figure out how they can come up with this fabulous achievement, otherwise I’d be on it like Velcro.
Shopping With Coupons
I use coupons at the grocery store and certain other stores to save a little money but how do people get those killer deals? One acquaintance was in the market for new kitchen cabinets and came across a coupon for $750 from Home Depot. I confess that my problem is I don’t really pay that much attention.
Related: 35 Ways To Save Money
The batch of coupons from our local retailers that come in the mail goes directly to the recycling bin – envelope unopened.
I get a lot of good perks (coupons and discounts) from various businesses through work, mostly on car rentals, hotels but also on services and merchandise, but I always forget to look first before I buy.
For example, we purchased an iMac computer and I discovered after the fact that I could have saved $300 with an Apple coupon through work.
I used to like using an in-store coupon on a sale priced item that also offered a mail-in rebate, which reduced the price considerably. I’d forget about the rebate because they usually take about eight weeks to process and then I’d get a surprise cheque in the mail.
I once got a nice set of Lagostina pots with an in-store, mail-in coupon. The coupon had expired but I sent it anyway and in eight weeks there was my surprise pot set.
Extreme Couponing
Coupons come in strange places. TELUS has a customer care program on their website called TELUS Perks that offers coupons for phone minutes, movie passes and other products, just for being a customer.
You can get coupons for filling out a survey on your retail store receipt. You can find deals when shopping online through websites like Great Canadian Rebates.
What unusual places have you found coupons?
Have you ever purchased more than one newspaper to take advantage of a good coupon offer?
What’s the best coupon deal you ever found?
Do you take advantage of multiple offers – coupons, rebates, BOGO’s and free products?
Companies are trying hard to get your business in any way they can. I know I’m going to start paying more attention to the coupons I get before doing any major shopping.
