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Before I started couponing, over 8 years ago now, I thought I was already doing everything I could to save money. In reality I had it all wrong. Lots of advertising dollars have been poured into training consumers to believe three myths (lies) about saving money.
Myth 1 – You need to be in a Big Box Store
Sadly you’ll never save money in Walmart (or any other similar store) compared to shopping in a grocery store. They came in and did great job of brainwashing folks in the 80’s, but it’s wrong. Yes they price match deals, and have “always low” prices… but they don’t do anything else. In the south we have grocery stores that double coupons, have tons of store coupons and even take competitor coupons. Walmart does none of this. I’m not saying that you won’t find deals there, just that you will find much better deals by looking at traditional grocery stores.
Myth 2 – You’ll Save Buying House Brands
This myth is one that actually costs you the most. You’ll rarely find a house brand on sale, and you’ll never have a coupon for it. To compare that to buying a name brand product at it’s best price (40% off or more) and using a coupon on it, the name brand will 99.9% of the time be the cheaper deal. Take cereal for an example. Right now you can get Kellogg’s cereal for 25¢ a box at Target… when was the last time you saw their house brand on sale for 25¢??
In reality, house brands make the largest profit for a store. Don’t fall prey thinking that they exist for you to save money…
Myth 3 – The Best Deal is on the Biggest Package
How many mom’s out there have felt like they need to find the biggest box of diapers ever made to get the best deal? I know lots of folks that have Sam’s Club and Costco memberships just for diapers and paper towels. Grabbing that massive box actually is saving you nothing. If anything when they label it as the “Value Box” that should make you question it from the start! Yes when we look at the cost per unit it appears to be the best price, but don’t forget about the coupons! Diapers make a great example of how the biggest box isn’t the best deal:
Huggies Value Box, 156 ct., $34.97
-$3 off Huggies Diapers coupon
Total Due: $31.97
20¢ per diaper
(4) Huggies Jumbo pack diapers, 36 ct., $8.99
-(4) $3 off Huggies Diapers coupons
Total Due: $23.96
16¢ per diaper
It gets even better if you follow the drugstore deals. Buying the small packs of diapers when they are giving rewards would mean that you would pay $14 for all 4 packs or get them for 9¢ per diaper! You just beat the price of the big massive box by 50%!!
Paper Towels, Bath Tissue, Laundry detergent and many other products all fit the same mold. Buying the largest package rarely if ever makes for a deal.
In Summary:
To save the most money you need to go to a grocery store, and buy the smallest package of name brand products.
Crazy I know, but it works!
