The week I stopped clipping grocery coupons and saved more money

Last month I spent a whole week tracking every coupon I clipped from the Sunday paper and apps. I figured I'd save at least $30 on my grocery bill for a family of four. Ended up saving $12 after all that work, and I spent about 4 hours total clipping and organizing. Meanwhile my neighbor just buys store brand stuff and never uses coupons. She saves way more than me without the hassle. I think couponing is overhyped for most people unless you really have time to burn. Has anyone else found that just switching to generic brands beats couponing every time?

3 comments

3 Comments

rowanellis1mo ago

4 hours for $12? That's basically working for minimum wage.

hannahw301mo agoTop Commenter

Might as well be handing out free samples, @rowanellis.

carr.brooke4d ago

Wait, didn't @hannahw30 jump in with that funny comment about free samples? I get the frustration but I think the math might be a bit off. You saved $12 but that's not counting the money you already spent on the newspaper or the phone data to run those apps. Those costs eat into your savings even more. My sister does heavy couponing and she admits she spends closer to 6 hours a week on it for maybe $15-$20 off. Meanwhile I switched to store brands on almost everything and my bill dropped by about 25 percent with zero extra effort. The store brand stuff is usually made in the same factories anyway, just with different labels. So yeah, I think you're right that generic brands beat coupons for most people who value their time.