Yep, seems official now: Clipping coupons is on the rise again. And I don’t think that’s a bad thing.
It is said that you can cut your grocery bill by over half, just by redeeming discount coupons. That reason alone should be enough to get anyone to open-up that weekly specials bag that’s delivered to our doors, no? Well, I believe in this figure. I haven’t hit that percentage yet, but I do love the feeling of presenting my coupons at the checkout. I feel zero embarrassment, or shame in doing so. Nope. I actually feel really smart and savvy. Although the flyers in the bags don’t contain nearly as many coupons as the weekend newspapers do, I also scour them to find the best deals for the stuff I need. There are a few supermarkets in my area and so going to 2 or 3 to get the best deals is sometimes simply a matter of walking across a parking lot.
Image source: Flickr mandaroo63
The bag contains flyers for more than just supermarket specials, obviously. These come in handy when shopping for the home, or for gifts. I’d normally add “for myself” too, but I haven’t gone for some good ol’ retail therapy in a long, long time. To be perfectly honest, I only started doing some hardcore bargain hunting since the recession started. I had to. Every penny mattered. They mattered before too, but I guess I just wasn’t as conscientious about where my money went as I am today (the upside to this recession). It was kind of weird at first but now, it’s a full-blown habit. And because it is so worth doing, it’s become something fun to do while sipping a coffee. The idea is not to make you spend more money, but to stretch every dollar. And for me, it all starts with my weekly specials bag.
Image source: Flickr Creative Commons NatalieMaynor
Another reason why I look forward to getting my weekly bag of goodies is because of the bags themselves. When they first began distribution over a decade ago, they came in the bad kind of plastic. The non-biodegradable-forever-in-a-landfill kind of plastic. Just out of principle, I had a “no junk mail” sticker on my mailbox for years and years because I hated the whole concept of these PubliSacs. They were such a huge waste of environmental resources, regardless of the savings found on the pages within the bags. But fast forward to today, these bags are now biodegradable and most of the flyers are recyclable and made from recycled paper. Considering that most supermarkets still don’t offer biodegradable plastic bags and these guys do, was kind of cool, I thought. Why? Because I keep them to pick up after my dog Maya. They are the perfect size for this. I normally purchase bio-bags to pick up after her but now I can reuse these before reaching into my stash of store-bought PoopEase bags.
When I’m done writing out the specials of the week that interest me and when I’m done clipping whatever coupons I need, the flyers go to the recycling bin and the bag goes to my bag of bio-bags. I just wish that everyone would systematically recycle and that the Printers would use recycled paper or make sure that their end-products were recyclable. There is still far too much waste in direct mailing.
What about you? Do you find yourself spending more time looking over your weekly flyer-bag? Do you still have a “no junk mail” sticker on your mailbox?
Don’t forget your reusable shopping bags when you go out!
Filed under: Living simply, Tips | Tagged: bargains, common sense, coupons, Environment, fun, money, recession, reuse, shopping
