“I just don’t get it!!!! How on earth am I supposed to understand all of this? I’m a Super Hero, not a rocket scientist!” I am at my wits end. You would think that couponing would be easy for me, as I am the Coupon Heroine, but some of these matchups are so complicated that they render my powers useless. Does anyone know what a RR wyb 3 really is?
“Will you just calm down?” Leave it to Flex, my super hubby. He doesn’t seem to get too worked up about this. But, then again, he’s the one with the indestructible appetite- not the one in charge of the cooking, cleaning, and finances. “Maybe you need to take a little break. You have been staring at that screen for hours now. If we deducted an hourly pay for screen staring from our grocery budget, we’d be in serious trouble.”
He’s right. Of course, I am not going to let him know this. “If I can just figure this out, we will be eating free granola all year!” The truth is, I don’t even like the kind that’s on sale. I just can’t figure out how the deal is working. These other ‘famous’ bloggers can’t be wrong, can they? Actually, yes.
My super power is based around mathematics. I know, its not the coolest power anyone has ever had, but at least I have one. This power has left me with the ability to glance at a set of numbers and find an error in a millisecond. Although it sounds beneficial, it is a pain in my butt. I’ll bet you don’t spend hours in front of your computer screen, just staring at a handful of numbers.
“Aha! I found the error!” What?!! Flex found it? The man who was formed with no mathematical reasoning skills? I doubt it, but right now I’m open for anything. Maybe he has an idea that I can build off of.
“What is it?” I asked, trying very diligently not to let the sound of agitation ring through in my voice. “It’s the gift cards. They counted them twice.” he smugly replied.
I nearly shoved him out of my chair. How dare he try to outsmart me, the Coupon Heroine? As I looked over it, I could easily see that he was right. Do I relent? Show him that I accept defeat? I have no choice, so I reach across the table and throw my arms around his neck! How was something so simple so difficult to find?
The truth is, this is one of the most common mistakes made by deal seekers and bloggers. Many count the giftcards, catalinas, and register rewards twice in their purchases, making their savings seem higher and expenses seem less. Let’s go over a couple of transactions that will help you understand exactly how happens and why it’s a problem.
Transaction #1
Peanut Butter: $2
Buy 5, receive a $5 GC
Total for 5: $10
- (5) $1/1 coupons
=Total $5
-$5 GC for purchasing 5
Transaction #2
Merchandise total: $17.58
=total $12.58 out of pocket
In transaction one, $5 was spent out of pocket. The cashier was physically handed $5 to pay for the purchases. A $5 gift card was given for the transaction.
In the second transaction, the amount of the gift card was deducted. But it’s already been deducted once! Most coupon shoppers count the gift card when they receive it and when they pay with it. Why is this such a problem? Because shoppers are misled to believe that they are saving more than they really are. In transaction #1, the shopper believed that she was getting free peanut butter. In transaction #2, she believed that she received an additional $5 off of her other purchases. In reality, she only saved $5 off of the purchase, because she is not allowing for the $5 cash that was spent in the first transaction in order to make for free peanut butter.
In order to keep your spending and saving totals correct, you should set a rule and stick with it. Will you count gift cards, register rewards, and catalinas when you receive them or when you redeem them? There is no right or wrong way to do this. Pick a method that’s easy to remember and use it!
Stay tuned for future adventures of The Coupon Heroine (and Flex).
Related Posts :
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I love your "reasoning"…I count my RR's AFTER I have used them…to me it's less $$ out of pocket the next time I shop
. Of course, when a person is in need of an item that produces a RR, it only makes sense to purchase it??
That drives me crazy! I think I do spend hours staring at others people's math trying to figure out how they did it. I try to always count my RRs after I use them in case I forget. Sometimes they have a short expiration date!
Most register rewards do expire in 14 days from the day you got them, so watch those dates. Many people don't leave the store with them in tow (it's called rolling)