Coupon Myths: From All You

My December '09 All You Magazine showed up in the mail today--yea! I committed to a subscription this past summer when the cost was down to under $17 for two years. And it has been well worth it! The money I've said using the coupons in each monthly magazine has paid for the two-year subscription, and I'm less than 6 months into it!

I flipped through a few pages and saw this excellent article about coupon myths (I found myself nodding my head while reading because I believed in some of the myths, too).

Here's what the article had to say:

*Don't believe these coupon myths (DeAna's synopsis version)

Myth: Dinky 25- and 50-cent coupons aren't worth the effort.

Reality: Small cent coupons will add up to quick savings when partnered with an item on sale at a store that doubles or triples coupons. And did you know that the average coupon value was over $1 for the first six months of this year? I definitely need to work on finding a store that doubles coupons. So far, I haven't found any nearby :( But I have noticed that some of the Internet coupons have a higher dollar value than the newspaper coupon inserts. Just a thought.

Myth: Collecting and sorting coupons takes a lot of time.

Reality: According to the article, it only takes 10 minutes or less to clip and organize in order to save $7. Again, something else I need to work on. I take a LONG time clipping, sorting & organizing my coupons. They're my babies!

Myth: If I join a company's e-mail list, I'll be deluged with spam.

Reality: The article sugests unchecking the opt out box that should be available when you sign up, and to also read the privacy policy before signing up. Unless you really like a full mailbox, you definitely want to opt out of these offers! Only sign up for the ones you really, really want.

Myth: Programs you download to print coupons contain spyware.

Reality: All You reports that Coupons.com, SmartSource.com, and RedPlum.com, don't contain spyware. I try to be really careful about the coupons I print, and just stick to the well-known coupon companies. If there's anything "fishy" about a coupon, I decline printing it and move on.

Myth: Coupons are mostly for processed, packaged foods.

Reality: The article states that the fourth-biggest coupon category in 2008 was convenience foods. That means 3/4 of all coupons were for lots of other items--cereal, cleaning products, paper goods, pharmacy items, health & beauty, just to name a few.

*"Live Well For Less: Don't Believe These Coupon Myths." All You. December 2009. pg. 13.