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And while it's tough to know how many people are grabbing scissors and clipping paper coupons, online coupon sites are seeing a rise in activity. As BusinessWeek Online reports, the number of page views and time spent on web sites that offer money-off coupons for all kinds of stores and products is up in recent months. Pages views were up 38 percent to 281 million in March from a year earlier, according to comScore, the Internet marketing research firm that measures such things.
But before you sharpen your scissors and start clipping and clicking away to find coupons, we have to ask the obvious question: Do coupons really save enough money to make it worth the effort and time spent finding, clipping and using them?
As this Real Simple article notes, many people buy things with coupons that they wouldn’t typically buy. Which, in the end, can lead to spending more, not less, and definitely not saving anything. That’s the low-hanging fruit of coupon do’s and don’ts: Always use coupons only for items you have on your list anyway. And comparison shop. You may pay less with a store-sale price of a competitor’s item than you would with the coupon for a name brand. And generic brand items may cost less than all of them.
The Simple Dollar recommends writing your grocery list first, then scouring coupons in newspaper, circulars and online to match coupons to what is already on your list. Don't add anything because you have the coupon. Blogger Trent Hamm says this saves him 40 percent on his weekly grocery/household/toiletries bill.
Here are some pretty simple steps to follow from eHow to use coupons effectively. Among the tips: Look for hidden costs. "A $3 pizza coupon may not seem as good a deal after you figure in the tip for the delivery guy."
Now, for the Money Poll questions of the week:
- Do you use coupons, and do they really save you money?
- What are your favorite online coupon sites, and have you really scored some good deals via online coupon sites?
- What's your most effective coupon strategy?
