Straight Guy,
I just committed what you consider to be a grocery store felony. No, not asking, again, if they are called Greek olives because that is just a name, like English peas, or whether they are actually from Greece, but finishing up paying by using a wad of coupons.
You hate coupons. At least I no longer risk your personal code orange of using coupons plus writing a check. (Don't get behind my mother in a grocery line, is all I can say. You have been warned.)
I love coupons. I pretty religiously clip and file them, though sometimes they stack up and I have to check to make sure they aren't already expired before I clip them. Over time, I've developed a fairly straightforward filing system: four broad categories, with dividers by month of expiration. I know, I know, this is making your flesh crawl, isn't it?
I saved 22 percent --$24.89 today--so it seems worth it to me, but I grant you that's only because I find it a game. I an early episode or pilot of Extreme Couponing on TLC. (SG, I don't know if you should click. This might be too extreme for you.) The folks on this show have rigor. . . and storage space. I am fascinated and repelled at the same time.
SG and readers: Who's a coupon saver and who can't be bothered? Is this a gay guy/straight guy divide? For the couples out there, is one of you tasked, officially or unofficially, with the grocery shopping and how does that fall gender-wise? I'm interested. Single people have no options.
--Gay Guy
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7 comments:
Neither of us have the discipline, although my wife tries. I don't think coupons matter much anymore, since many of them are $1 off if you buy THREE - or is that why storage space matters? We have an excellent regional grocery chain with good store brands, and the prices are always better than the coupon discounts on the national brands, so I've stopped checking.
No coupons for this homo. I would rather spend time doing other stuff, like reading/writing blogs.
-Rob
Interesting topic. (Love the blog, BTW.)
I am a straight, married man. My wife and I try to keep the household chores and family activities "gender neutral." (Being married to a college professor is an endless source of new expressions.)
I am no stranger to the washer and dryer and I fold the clothes neater than she does. She is more on top of details than I am, so she keeps track of when the cars need to be serviced. We play to our strengths.
She gets home before I do, so she usually makes dinner. I do the kitchen clean up. We are about 50/50 at the grocery store.
I never deal with coupons. I don't think it's a gay/straight or male/female divide, it's just about time and the lack of it. And with a family, the store tends to happen on the fly.
But your savings percentage should inspire me.
There are some couponers out there who know how to game the system, but I'm sure most people would come out ahead if they just worked the hours they spend couponing. (I totally just verbed coupon!)
I just look for stuff that's on sale, though sometimes still get snookered. I have to stop and think about the subtle difference between "50% off" and "buy one get one." I bet you're miles ahead of me on these complexities, GG.
I don't get a paper so it's not like coupons are easily available. If I see a coupon that I would actually use, I'll keep it. Usually, though, I'll get online and find the weekly add and grocery shop around items that are on sale.
Straight, and do most of the shopping.
Store brands don't tend to get coupons, but also tend to be more than 22% cheaper. And there's only a limited number of things that have to be name-brand. (Really, it's just quick and easy comfort food, and the house brand of mac'n'cheese is not a substitute for Kraft...)
On the other hand, if you have to have the name brand, Costco tends to have it cheaper, if you don't mind buying 5 instead of 1. It's a trade-off.
I clip coupons, then forget I have them. It's become a futile attempt for me.
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