Welcome to How I Save Money.
Most people do not want to use coupons because the coupons are usually for the brand name items, which are more expensive than the store brands. I have found this to be the case in general EXCEPT for those times when the coupon makes the brand name item CHEAPER than the store brand.
I went to WalMart to get sandwich bags so I could take my lunch to work. The Ziploc bags cost $2.37 for 120 the cost was $0.01795 per bag.
The Great Value bags were $2.00 for 100 so the cost was $0.02 per bag.
Now correct me if I am wrong but $0.017 is less than $0.0200 right?
I had a $0.40 off coupon for any Ziploc bag so I paid $1.97 for 120 bags, which worked out to $0.016 per bag. Sweet!
So before you go knocking coupons…..just be sure to check out the unit cost of the items. At first glance the total price is way higher for the brand name but when it came down to the price per unit the brand name was cheaper……even BEFORE using the coupon.
You are so right. Saving 20 cents here and 75 cents there can really add up. One thing to consider on the unit price for meat is to note how much fat or bone is in the meat. If two different meats have the same price per pound but one has more fat to remove or a large bone in it, the price per edible unit is going to cost more.
Well I stopped eating meat so I don’t have to worry about the bones and fat. I buy shrimp and fish and don’t have those issues to deal with.
But I do agree with you that this is an issue consumers need to be aware of.