Thursday, December 29, 2011
As we wrap up 2011 and prepare for 2012, we are featuring posts designed to help you kick off 2012 with a plan for saving! Our goal is to bring you fun fashion tips, useful stories and of course, ways to save money! If you're looking to Join the Frugal Revolution in the New Year, this series is for you. I originally posted this story during a big Kroger Mega Sale in 2010. Many of you are fairly new to couponing, so I thought I'd share the story again - to remind you that there is nothing wrong with using coupons! Once in a while we run into impatient shoppers - but do not let them make you feel bad because you take a little longer to check out. I often warn people not to get into line behind me, just to help prevent this kind of situation. Here's a few recent statistics about coupon use from Nielsen- Coupon enthusiasts were responsible for 18 percent of all purchases in 2009.
- Coupon enthusiasts drove a disproportionate amount of sales and sales growth - shopping more frequently, making 1.7 more trips than non-users and buying more (a rate 1.8 times greater annually).
- Forty percent of coupon enthusiasts have household incomes greater than $70,000 a year.
So if you use coupons, don't let anyone make you feel bad about it! Coupons, when used properly, are a win-win-win situation for consumers, retailers and manufacturers alike!----------------------------- Just have to share! Yesterday many of my coupons had arrived, so I made a plan and headed to Kroger for my first organized run at the Mega Sale. I found my Kroger to be very well stocked - and what they were low on, they were either restocking or were running around scanning those shelf tags for their restocking orders! I was impressed! Before I share my bought/totals rundown, I thought I'd share this story. I got into the checkout line I thought would be least likely to cause problems. About halfway through ringing me up a woman got in behind me. Since we were already halfway through and my large stack of coupons was out in plain sight, I decided not to warn her like I usually do. Well, as soon as they started scanning my coupons, the lady began shifting her weight from leg to leg, sighing, rolling her eyes and making comments to the woman behind her that she hoped her ice cream wouldn't melt. I just smiled politely. I made chit chat with the cashier. The woman continued to huff, roll her eyes and make comments. I just smiled. I was looking at her 12 items and thinking "Ma'am, I will pay less for my overflowing cart than you will for those 12 items!" She kept on making comments to the woman behind her, who was actually giggling and smiling at me. When all was said and done, and the cashier announced my savings - $255 and $8 in Catalinas. Everyone around us except her was laughing and having fun with it. Including me. I mean, how can it not be fun to save $255?! It took me less than 10 minutes to check out, so it wasn't a marathon session. But the woman behind me never budged. I pulled my cart away and began putting things in their place. And she again repeated to the cashier "Wow. I sure hope my ice cream hasn't melted" in such a loud voice as to express her disapproval of me. I'm okay with that. In fact, it made me giggle. I just smiled at her, said "It's so much fun to save $250!" and walked on to chat with the manager about what a great job they were doing. I mean really, as I was counting my plus items to make sure I hadn't made any mistakes, I heard her total-$2 more than I paid for an overflowing cart. And she complained about high prices nowadays. Yes, I feel sorry for her. Here I was standing there giving out cards and coupons and helping those around us save some money, and all she could do was be impatient and complain about her Popsicles melting. Since she had bypassed the express lanes for her smaller order, I don't feel bad about taking 10 minutes to check out. But I do feel bad for her - stuck in a place where she can only disapprove of those who do what she complains she can't do. I also want to say this: THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH USING COUPONS. More than 90 percent of all shoppers report using some form of coupons. There used to be a stigma attached to them, as if their users were somehow less than others who paid full price. I'm not sure why that was - and maybe stigmas like that is why our country got into the overspending credit mess that we did. But the days of negative coupon stigmas are long gone. Most stores and consumers recognize coupons for what they are - marketing tools that put products into the hands of consumers. And money into the pockets of stores. They are not disposable pieces of paper that lose money for the stores - not when used properly. It is now the exception not to use coupons in some form, not the rule. When 90 percent of shoppers report using at least some coupon once a week, those who don't are no longer the majority. If you use coupons, I encourage you to share what you know with those around you. Bring extra coupons with you to share with people you meet in the store. Buy a few extra items to throw into the donation box. After all, we are starting a Frugal Revolution here! You might also be interested in:Cincinnati Third in US for Coupon UseCoupon Ethics: Why it MattersSo You're Saving Money, Now What?
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