Tuesday's Tip

I am new to couponing and fairly new to blogging, but I feel as though I am picking up on things quickly. One tip I could give from what I have been learning is that just because a store has a product on sale does not mean that it is the best deal you can get on that product. In the same way, just because you have a coupon for a product does not mean that it is worth using the coupon on that product.
As you start trying to live a more frugal life, hopefully you will start shopping around more, learning to find the very best deal. As you do this, you will soon begin to have a pretty good idea of the average price of things at various stores in your area. Once you become familiar with these prices, you will know what stores offer the best price, and you will know whether or not a sale on an item at a store really makes it the very best deal.
For instance, if you find out that Walgreens is having a sale on you favorite shampoo this week, you may decide it is best to stock up while you can. But if you have done some research and you know that this brand of shampoo is always cheaper at Wal-Mart than the sale price at Walgreens, you will know it is not as good a deal as it might seem at first glance. In the same way, if this shampoo goes on sale at Walgreens, and there is a store coupon, and there is a manufacturer's coupon, and you can get the shampoo pracitcally for free, you should be ok with stocking up on something you know you can always use. But again, only if it is an amazing deal and only if you can get it cheaper with all the sales and deals than you could at the other store with a regularly lower price plus the man. coupon.
In the same way, just because you have a coupon does NOT mean that you should definitely use that coupon. When it gets to the end of a month and I have coupons expiring, I don't want to feel like I have to use all the coupons, no matter what, just because I have them. This does not necessarily mean I am saving money, but instead means I am spending money I would not otherwise spend, I am just spending less because I have a coupon. Sometimes you can get s store brand that is just as good, but for a much lower price than a name brand product with a coupon.
Do your research, know your favorite products, know when to use a coupon and when to store a coupon, and know when it is best to just throw the coupon away.
Do you have a tip that you'd like to share with us?