Guest Post: Using Coupons Can Cost You Money!
This is a guest post written by The Happy Rock. The Happy Rock is a personal finance community that is dedicated to eliminating debt and improving themselves so that they are freed to focus on the things that are much more important than money. Please consider subscribing to The Happy Rock’s RSS feed or getting email updates.
What you say, how can saving $0.50 on a box of dish detergent cost me money? Well, sometimes in our eagerness to save money we can often lose site of the big picture. Not only can focusing too much on saving an extra $0.25 cents take your attention away from bigger goals like enjoying the moment, slashing debt, or increasing your salary, just using the coupon can cost money that you didn’t think about. Here are 11 ways that using a coupon or buying on sale can actually cost you more money than you save.
photo credit: ninjapoodles
Buying something you don’t need - Companies create coupons to get customers to spend more money. If they were losing money consumers most likely wouldn’t see coupons. With that said anytime coupons can compel us to buy items that we don’t need or wouldn’t have bought otherwise, we lost. Saving $2.00 off a $20 item is good, but not spending the $20 in the first place is much much better.
Coupons to a store you do normally frequent - Anytime you go to a store because of a coupon it is often a losing situation for you. The tendency is to buy the new and interesting offerings or to add a new store that you ‘have’ to shop at.
10% of $50 - Coupons that require you to spend a certain amount in order to get the percentage off are often not that good. Sometimes when the percentage or the price tag is high the math works, but often we end up buying frivolous items just to take advantage of a dollar or two off.
Feeling like you have to spend the coupon - We often feel like we are losing free money when we don’t spend a coupon, but the truth is you don’t have to use the coupon. The moment you start feeling like you have to use something, it is a warning sign that some deeper psychological tactics are at work.
Sales or coupons that aren’t a deal - Stores can slap a 2 for $2.00 sticker on an item that costs a dollar and there sales on that item go up. You might think you wouldn’t fall for that trap, but statistically you most likely have. It is especially prevalent for consumers or items that you don’t have a clear price memory. Displays at the end of the isle work the same way too. The positioning of items on the shelves and in the store are critically important to moving goods regardless of price. Often the least expensive items are high or low on shelves and the highest profit items are at eye level or in direct line of sight.
Buying a higher priced items or more quantity - Often because we know we are saving money we figure we can buy a more expensive item for the same price. That is fine and often desirable, but when you could have managed with a $30 blender instead of a $60, you lost. The same often goes for buying more of something.
Buying items that expire - The three bags of carrots you got a great price on that sit in the fridge and rot weren’t a good deal. Often times we buy stuff that can’t be used in a reasonable amount of time just because it is a deal.
Buy one get one free (BOGO) - Often the lure of a BOGO is too hard to resist. We feel compelled to buy it just because we get two for one. Often we don’t even need the item, but the BOGO sucks us in. Very related to buying something you don’t need. Just because you are getting a good deal, doesn’t mean you have to buy it.
Increased Blind Loyalty - One of the goals of coupon or sale is to increase loyalty to a particular store or brand. Loyalty is fine, but if it comes at the cost of not taking advantage of better stores or better prices than you lost. Generic brands are often, but not always, the same ingredients and quality as name brands. The store down the road might have better prices, but you might not know because your store sends you or special VIP coupons.
Anything that involves credit - If a store gives you a deal if you just charge their card, BEWARE. Why would they do that?…Because they are going to make much more money off interest and fees than they give out in coupons. Plus statistically you will probably buy more. Almost every store gives you 10% or 20% off your first purchase when you sign up for their credit card, just to suck you in. I know, I know, you aren’t one of those people that is bad with credit, but someone is. You need to be honest about your habits.
Gas involved - Now a days this is a huge issue. That $0.50 off at local ice cream shop isn’t such a good deal when you factor in the gallon of gas at that it took you to get there. Unless you are savings multiple dollars, trips to out of the way establishments are almost never worth it now.
Here is a story that illuminates how easy it is to lose sight of the big picture. My local grocery store sent my $5 off $40 every week. I was ecstatic. I do my normal shopping there, so I was excited every time I used the coupon. Every one loves free money, right? After a while though I started to realize that I had lost focus on the big picture. I started to feel like I had to spend the money. Even on weeks when we didn’t need much, I would struggle to get to the store just to spend $25 on the things we needed and having to make $15 in impulse purchases to use the coupon. Then there was the sickening feeling when you did your shopping and forgot the coupon!
Then a new grocery store opened up by us, but I was so loyal to other store that I automatically didn’t like the new store because they didn’t have coupons. I knew my other store and the other store was designed by a 5th grader(or so I told myself). I eventually let go of my loyalty and realized the other store was cheaper, nicer, and had better selection, so I started going to both stores just to keep using the coupon. After a year or so I finally gave up the old store completely because it wasn’t worth the time and energy. The coupons stopped coming. What I relief…plus I was saving more the $5 coupon and getting a better selection of food.
Have you caught yourself falling trap to any of these situations? Are there other situations were coupons and sales have cost a lot more than your first thought?
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Redbox.com - Free rentals are great, but beware!
I recently posted a deal on this website to get all of your movie rentals for free through redbox.com. The post has gotten quite a bit of traffic, so I thought it was only prudent that I share something that a reader made me aware of a couple of days ago. Some redboxes around the country have fallen prey to people stealing credit card information through credit card skimmers. From redbox.com:
A few days ago redbox detected and removed an illegal credit card skimming device at one of our 7,400 locations. At the same time, redbox also discovered evidence of skimming attempts in two other locations.
Locations with evidence of skimming attempts:
- 1101 South Rural Road, Tempe, AZ (device removed before retrieval by perpetrator) - 1620 El Paseo Road, Las Cruces, NM (evidence of skimming attempt) - 2330 East Lohman Avenue, Las Cruces, NM (evidence of skimming attempt)
Skimming involves the placement of an illegal device above the credit/debit card reader on a vending machine, ATM, or in this case a redbox. These devices are used to illegally read or store personal credit card information. Redbox is not aware of any fraudulent activity or transactions using our customers’ accounts and does all it can to minimize the risk of this happening.
You can help. It never hurts to pay a little extra attention and check for any unusual activities or changes to your local redbox. If you suspect the redbox has been tampered with (see below for pictures of redbox approved credit card readers and of skimmer devices), please contact 630-756-8866, e-mail alerts@redbox.com or notify the store/restaurant manager of your concerns immediately.
Skimming is not new It has been attempted numerous times on ATMs, gas station pumps, and now redbox has been targeted. Redbox has been aware of these industry threats and has spent significant time and resources to prepare for them. The 7,400 redbox locations are visited frequently by redbox associates to maintain smooth operations and an optimum customer experience. In this case, a redbox associate found evidence of skimming attempts and initiated the actions in the team’s response plan (including this message).
Redbox greatly values our customer relationships. As a result, redbox is open and direct in our communications about this type of situation. The redbox team also utilizes industry-leading technology to ensure you have a safe shopping experience and aggressively combats attempts by criminals to defraud customers. Please see the questions and answers below for some additional details on skimming and how redbox ensures the safety of your account information.
Sincerely,
Trina Graham-Hodo
Director, Customer Service
Bill Caputo
Director, Security
Additional Questions / Answers
What is credit card skimming?
Skimming is the theft of credit card information used in an otherwise legitimate transaction. It often involves the placement of an illegal device above the credit/debit card reader on a vending machine, ATM, or in this case a redbox. For more info click these links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_card_fraud#Skimming
http://www.uboc.com/about/main/0,,2485_703976951,00.html
Where can I get more information on credit card skimmers?
Please use these links to get more information on credit card skimmers:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_card_fraud#Skimming
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/infotheft/2007-07-31-gift-cards_N.htm
http://www.uboc.com/about/main/0,,2485_703976951,00.html
How do I know if a skimmer is on my redbox?
Redbox credit/debit card readers are standardized for all locations. Here are pictures of the two approved readers:
Here are some examples of skimmer devices:
5 Great Sites To Get Coupon Codes
One great way that I’ve found to save money is to buy things that I would normally buy at a Bricks and Mortar store, at an online store. You can often find ways to make it cheaper to buy online using one of my favorite things - Coupon Codes!
There are a ton of coupon code sites out there, and some of them are better than others. Here are a few of my favorites:
- Retailmenot.com:
This website is one of the better ones out there. Not only do they allow you to search for coupon codes by website or product type, you can search by keywords as well. They also have a rating system for the coupons telling you how successful people have been when trying to use each coupon code. Some may be 50% successful, while others might be 100%. You can also try out their firefox extension which will show you what coupon codes are available for any one site that you’re browsing. For example, if you are on Amazon, you will get a notification bar saying that there are 22 coupons available for this website. - Insideredbox.com:
This coupon code website has allowed me to get all of my movie rentals for free. For those of you who don’t know yet, the Redbox is a movie rental kiosk that are found at Mcdonalds restaurants, grocery stores and other retail outlets across the country. Normally movie rentals at redbox are only $1 per night anyway, but after using coupon codes found on the Insideredbox website, all your movies will be free (assuming you return them the next day). Can’t be free movie rentals! - The Bargainist.com:
Great website to find deals, coupons, tips and freebies. They are updated constantly, and have a great eye pleasing design. - Couponheaven.com: Another site with easy to use search functionality that allows you to find coupons to some of the most popular online shopping destinations.
- Fatwallet.com:
One of my favorite deals and coupon code forums. You can almost always find a good deal and a coupon code from one of the users here.
So there are a few of the better coupon and hot deals forums sites. Remember, just because you can find a good deal, doesn’t mean you have to buy it. Sometimes the best deal of all, is no deal. But if you have to buy something, don’t forget the coupon codes. Save your money!
LINKS:
Wisebread.com discussion of RetailmeNot.com
Bargainist.com
Retailmenot.com
couponheaven.com
insideredbox.com
Fatwallet.com
Free Stuff: $40 Digitial TV Converter box coupon
In the year 2009 all of regular analog broadcast TV signals will go dark, and if you don’t have a digital TV or a digital tuner, your TV world will go off the air.
Before you panic - the government has now made coupons available for all homes that need to purchase a digital to analog converter box. Converter boxes will be available at an assortment of retailers, and the $40 coupon should help to defray most of the cost of getting one.
In our household we’re going to need one or two of these for our old TVs, so we’ve already registered to receive our 2 coupons. There is a limit of 2 coupons per household. Check it out now while you still can!
LINKS:
https://www.dtv2009.gov/
Free Movie Rentals at redbox.com
One thing that I used to hate was going to the movie rental place to rent a movie. Not only was it a hassle to drive there and walk through the store trying to find a movie for a half hour - it was expensive! To rent two new release movies could cost upwards of $10 or more depending on where you went.
One option that a lot of people have been using in the last few years is renting movies through netflix.com. I’ve used netflix and in general i think its a great idea. But what if you don’t think spending $15 a month is going to be worth it because you don’t watch that many movies?
CHEAP MOVIES
My wife and I have found a great option for renting movies, and it doesn’t cost us a thing! That’s right - its free!
Mcdonald’s restaurants in our area installed big movie rental vending machines from a company calledRedbox.com. The machines carry new release movies and it costs a paltry $1 per night to rent a movie. So right off the bat, as long as you return the movie the next day, its a great deal. You can even rent movies right from your computer at home, and the machine will hold the movie for you.
FREE MOVIES
To make the deal even better we’ve discovered that the machines will accept coupon codes for free movie rentals, and since Mcdonald’s is giving these coupon codes out all the time, it seems like we haven’t paid a dime to rent a movie in the last year.
To make things even easier we discovered a website called Insideredbox.com that allows users to send in their coupon codes for free movie rentals, and they are cached in a database that other users can access. Just do a search for coupons in your area that have been used recently, and you can get a code for a free rental. You can use each code once with each credit/debit card. Coupon codes can’t be used to rent movies on their website, only in person at the machine.
Right now if you sign up with Redbox to receive SMS alerts, they’ll send you a coupon code for a free movie rental every Monday. I’ve used this, and it works great, 1 free movie every week. Sign up here.
Redbox locations in our area are exclusively at Mcdonald’s restaurants, but they may also be at some grocery stores and other locations. Search your zip code on their website for a location near you.
LINKS:
Insideredbox.com
Redbox.com
A Similar deal at Wisebread.com
This article is included in the Carnival of Personal Finance. Check it out here
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