Monday, August 24, 2009

Saving Money 2009 #5 -- Coupons

Can you save money using coupons. Yes, you can. Whether you save a little or a lot depends on how much time and effort you put into couponing. On January 15, 23, and 24 I had posts on coupons and how to save money. They included the usual save you coupons for when the item goes on sale (when you can really save a lot) and other coupon ideas.

By using the Internet you can also save a lot of money. There are coupons that can be pritned out directly, free offers available only on the Internet and websites that comb the Internet looking for them. There are also websites that go trhough each weeks offereing from national chains like CVS and Walgreens to see what their offers are and how to combine them with coupons so you get the items for free or very little money.

One fo the best is www.couponcravings.com which each week has an amazing list of coupons and free items. Each week it also lists what the national drugstore chains have in their circulars that you can combine with coupons and get for free. It also has a glossary tht expalins to new couponers the terms used and what they mean. For instance BOGO -- Buy One Get One Free. But their list of terms is quite extensive and it really explains them.

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Thursday, August 13, 2009

Paying The Same, Getting Less

Once again I urge everyone to take note of the size of the item you are buying. Many, many manufacturers of just about everything have cut down on the size of the product but are charging the same price.

Haagen Dazs ice cream is just the latest that I have noticed. Their "pints" are now 14 oz. A pint is 16 oz. I saw that packaging looked a little strange on the "pints". I checked the amount and sure enough they have reduced it by 2 ounces which is about 12%. The price has stayed the same. I have looked at other pints and they are all still 16 oz.

Tuna quite a while ago went to 5 oz. from 6. I rummaged around for a while on the shelves looking for 6 oz. cans and found quite a few but they no longer exist.

A friend who has a dog said dog food no longer comes in 50 pound bags, it's now 44 I believe.

So watch the unit price to see what you are really getting. If you look at the ice cream price of Haagen Dazs and then look at their unit price compared to any other ice cream their unit price is the highest by far -- even when compared to other premium ice creams. It's the reduced size of the container that does it.

So check the unit price and check the amoutn in the package. It's only going to get worse.

I'll be posting a lot more about coupons and free samples soon.

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