Thou shalt respect the coupon.
- Coupons have expiration dates for a reason. After 6 weeks they are tired and need to join their friends in the Great Recycling Bin In The Sky. Trying to pass them off as valid when it is past their expiration date makes puppies weep. Trying to use them for things other than expressly stated on the coupon itself makes puppies weep and bleed.
Thou Shalt Respect The Cashier
- Yes - there is a good chance that you know the store's coupon policy better than he/she. Nobody will ever understand why cashiers seem to look at coupons as if they carry a deadly disease. But the cashier is your friend. The cashier is just afraid of getting yelled at by her manager. Give him/her a break.
Thou Shalt Respect The Customers
- If you are about to get in the only checkout line available and have 175 items and 175 coupons, let the woman with 4 items behind you cut in front of you. It's just common courtesy. I know that we start to hate every other customer in the store, as they tend to roll their eyes at us when they see the 3' stack of coupons....but be the bigger person!
Thou Shalt Realize The Difference Between Being Frugal And Being Cheap & Annoying
- If you just walked out of the store with $150 in groceries that you paid $7.82 for, and you get to the car and realize that the cashier forgot to scan (and double) one $.40 coupon....just let it go. Unless that $.80 is the only thing standing between you and a new heart transplant, be thankful for what you got. (oh - but a $5 coupon? Go for it!)
Thou Shalt Remember the Sale-to-Expense Ratio And Not Be A Sucker For All Sales
- With gas over $4 per gallon, it makes no sense to go 15 miles completely out of your way to just save $.50/lb on grapes, unless you are making wine
Thou Shalt Pay It Forward
- If you see a deal on something that you can get for pennies or free (or better yet, is a "moneymaker"),but you don't think that you will use it....buy it anyway and donate it. Women's shelters, food pantries, etc are always looking for donations. And while supermarkets are always donating to these types of organizations, that doesn't mean that they can't use more. Buying it with a coupon and donating is actually better for the store, since the store can get reimbursed the amount of your coupon (+ $.08) from the manufacturer!
Have any to add?
Daisy
This doesn't really have anything to do with being frugal so much as grocery shopping in general... Put your damn cart back. Don't leave it in the middle of the damn lot. It is rude. And lazy. I once saw a many with some sort of serious something wrong with him. Serious neurological damage is my guess. He could barely walk. HE took the time to return his cart to the front of the store. So can you. Just do it. Quit whining.
That is all.
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Kansas Mom
I agree with you on being nice to cashiers. My preferred grocery store is a Dillons (Kroger Company) and I happen to know they are ranked each week on the number of customers they serve. I know when I hit the line with my overloaded cart and pile of coupons, they're watching their potential ranking crash. I try to be as polite and thankful as I can and even line up my coupons so they (should) scan quickly.
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Daisy
KS Mom - let me get this straight.. they rank cashiers based on the quantity of customers they get through their line? I didn't use the word "serve" because clearly that is not the goal... that is just appalling. Do they do that everywhere? Does anyone know??
Daisys last blog post..Where the Hell is Matt? - A video
Alyssa @ Keeping the Kingdom First
Here's one: thou shalt not register for and carry 5 different CVS Extra Care cards and completely wipe out the shelves of all the best deals every week!
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Tara @ Deal Seeking Mom
Wow, these are really interesting comments and a great article!
Daisy – I couldn't agree more about putting the carts back. It totally bugs me when people don't return their carts, and I even make the extra effort to take them back IN the stores at places like CVS.
Kansas Mom – That's just appalling and downright unfair to a cashier. Clearly you would have a huge advantage if you worked the express lanes frequently.
And Alyssa – I totally agree with you on the greedy CVSers. We all want a great deal, but there will be more. We have a large household and could often use more than the set limits, but we make do with one card.
I also don't understand the people that don't want to share how they are getting their great deals. Sure it might mean a little extra competition, but I think the reward of helping another mom, dad, whoever, is far greater.
jaime
i agree about putting carts back when you can.
but can i just say.... don't give DIRTY looks or make rude remarks when people don't!! I've got a toddler and an infant.. getting through grocery shopping is hard enough!! So when I get to my car... i put the kids in first to assure thier safety... i am NOT going to walk the length of more than one car to put my cart away, and risk walking away from my children.. even if they are locked safely in the car, in thier carseats. And often.... people who see me.. "just leaving it" didn't see me put the kids in first... and STARE at me like i got 3 heads!!
So just consider that before you get annoyed by seeing others leaving the carts outside. They may have a good reason. (that you did not notice)
Heather
YES!!! Thank you, Jamie, for saying that! My blood was just starting to boil reading the first few comments about carts. Maybe some people are just lazy, but some others have kids and it's impossible to load a cartful of groceries and a kid into a car without bringing the whole cart to the car, so sometimes I just have to leave the cart so that I don't risk my son's safety by walking away to return the cart. I do try to park close to the cart return gate things so that I can return them when possible, but that's not always possible. Get over it and try to put yourself in other people's shoes!!
Kaye
Here's another one for common courtesy while shopping rather than frugality, but I feel the need to add it--
Thou shalt respect the Express Lane rules. If it says 15 items or less, do not go there with 83 items in your cart and expect for the rest of us not to give you dirty looks. Even if I don't need to use that lane, it makes you look like you are either stupid or feel as though you are above the rest of us. Use the appropriate lane. If you have 16 items in your cart but truly believed you had 15 after a quick count, you will be forgiven.
Christine
Hi. GREAT post. 2 things. First, SOME stores will honor expired coupons. Check store policy to find out. My grocery store AND CVS both will accept. The grocery store's stated policy is 90 DAYS past expired. Darn good when waiting for a really great deal (makes up for living in the Land of No Doubles too). SECOND, I would add - NEVER propagate fraudulent deals and/or coupons. I could go on and on about that but you've probably seen some of it yourself. There are PLENTY of deals to be had - PLENTY!!!! -- without having to cheat!
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NH Mom of 3
This is related to your last on the list, but I'd add..."Share the love". With the rapid transfer of information online, don't be afraid to share how to get your great deal with an eager audience! The "high" of finding a great bargain is only multiplied when you can share the scoop with others. BUT -- don't cut and paste from someone else's blog or forum post without giving them the credit. It's a pet peeve of mine, can you tell? LOL
Great post!
JessicaB
Amen!
This is completely hilariously and so true at the same time.
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Alicia
If you watch the freebie forums (one of my favs is slickdeals.net), you can find all kinds of companies offering coupons for free products. Also, I've joined a few panels in the past (can't say the name of the products for legal reasons), and been sent a year's supply of products, in the form of one coupon per month. I'm not a big coupon user, but hope to get back into it, but there are many times I have gone to Walmart and only picked up six or seven items, all of which I had a free coupon for. The cashiers are usually enthused and curious, and I love talking about it..
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