Readers Jessica asked this question over on our Facebook Page.
“I see you post so much on great deals and coupons and I was wondering how many do you really do yourself? I fell in the pitfall of seeing so many great deals that I thought I was doing well, but in the long run I think I am spending more money than I would have if I didn’t know about them.”
I thought it was such a great question, because I do post on so many great deals many of you may fall into this same trap! I probably only do about 1/4 or less of the deals that I post on, why? because I have a budget. I have a budget that is strict and use cash for 95% of my purchases. I have cash in envelopes in a drawer, that is the money that I use when I purchase something. I have very little money in my checking account every month because we take it out in cash, so many times I don’t even have the ability to purchase items online.
The key with knowing if you have a good deal is if you do not need the deal, is it NOT a good deal. You can read about the Top 10 Waste of money Families Make, and #10 says that if you don’t need it, it is not a good deal. When posting a deal, I post it because I think it is a great deal, BUT it may not be the deal for me. I have purchased all of the clothing deals that have come out in the past few weeks, because I am currently shopping for back to school clothes for my son, so that makes it a great deal for me.
Another thing to take into account, is if the deal is actually saving you money. For instance, if you stop at Dunkin Donuts every day on your way to work, purchasing a $10 Dunkin Donuts gift card from Saveology is going to save you money. If you rarely go to Dunkin Donuts, purchasing that deal is actually making you spend more money than you would have.
My goal here at I am THAT lady is to help you save money on the things that you normally purchase not put your familiy in a worse financial situation. Keep in mind that every deal may not be for you, so make sure you are asking yourself the above questions before you click and pay.
Thanks for the question Jessica!
I would say if you jump on one out of twenty deals posted ok this blog, you are probably buying a lot.
Great question/ post! Another thing I would like to point out is in the matchups. Ive noticed that you (and whoever made that particular matchup) post ALL the coupon matchups and deals for each particular store regardless of whether its the best deal out there. For example (and Im just making this up) say the walgreens matchup shows toothpaste after coupons and RR’s costing a dollar…CVS matchup could show that same toothpaste being free. Or say a pricechopper match up may show a product being $1 this week after coupons but you may know that every few months that product comes down to 25 cents with coupons. Lauren, I like when you add your comments to the matchups such as when you say “thats a stock up price, for me”…maybe you could add more of your comments (at least in the comment section) about your thoughts on the deals in each match up?
Thanks!
I echo exactly what Amy mentioned…I too have noticed that many times the match-ups aren’t always the best scenarios for bottom line prices, but it takes some practice with using coupons and knowing sale cycles to realize this. I appreciate Lauren’s comments, too- very helpful!!
I like the fact that she posts ALL deals she considers good and not just the “best” deals on a single item for a few reasons. The first being that I live in Ohio so I don’t have some of the stores around me that are listed (I had never even heard of price chopper before I found this blog), and as for drugstores I live right beside a Walgreens and CVS, but a Rite Aid is about 45 minutes from me. If she only listed the best deals, there would be times I’d miss out all together.
Also I prefer Walgreens to CVS so I might pay slightly more for an item to get the register rewards there vs Extra bucks at CVS because the RR’s are more valuable to me since I shop there more often.
I like the fact that this blog updates often with several deals. It gives me a reason to come back often and the more deals listed, the more likely that I’m able to find ones that fit me and my family. I think I hold the responsibility of watching what I spend and limiting the number of deals I opt into.