Save Time. Save Money. No Hassles.
At Coastal we can help your business concentrate on what is important to your line of work and not the supplies it takes to run your business. As a coupon clipper, i found this article interesting, Enjoy!
Ever wonder if
coupon
clipping is worth your time? While it can save extra dollars and cents,
it can also cost you time and effort. So, is it worth it? Some say we
should just wait for sales and buy in bulk and we can fore go coupon
clipping altogether.
Here's a quick guide on how to assess if it's worth
your time
How Much Do You Make Per Hour?
If
you only know your gross salary per year, here's a quick way to figure
out how much you make (gross) per hour. Take your salary, $40,000 as an
example, and divide it by 2,000 hours to get $20/hour.
Many
people argue that time is money. With that in mind, if you spend an
hour clipping coupons, you should expect at least a savings of $21 to
make it worth your time ($20 for your "wage" and $1 to make a "profit".)
However, if you've only saved $5, then you've just "lost" $15 in
earnings you otherwise could have made.This
time-is-money philosophy can be dangerous, though, because it starts to
account for every hour of your day, even the ones where you sleep and
can't make any
money!
Many people don't necessarily charge overtime either, so
whether you work 40 hours or 60, it makes no difference in your hourly
wage, in fact it lessens it. Besides, if you already have a full-time
job that you work 40 hours a week at, the rest of your time is free time
for you to do whatever you please without any economic productivity.
Therefore, if you clip coupons on your free time, you would actually be "earning" extra dollars for each coupon you clip.
Would You Buy It Anyway?
Many
people see a coupon for an item and decide to buy it because it'd be
cheaper than at full retail cost, but in reality, you should look at
whether you were going to buy the item to begin with.
Let's say it was a coupon for a pair of nail clippers. You could get $1 off a $4 pair, for a
savings
of 25%. This is a great deal, but do you really need another pair of
nail clippers? If you don't need to replace what you have, then you've
just wasted $3 on an unnecessary purchase.
Also, watch out for
impulse purchases that are made just because there's a coupon. Savings
on an impulse item doesn't necessarily justify the purchase. However, if
you were going to buy white vinegar this week, then clipping the coupon
only takes a few seconds for quick savings.
Do You Need to Travel Farther to Use the Coupon?
If
the coupon is for a 50-cent savings on an item but has to be used at a
store 20 minutes out of your way, it may not be worth your time, or even
the gas to get there!
Or even if you need to go to multiple
stores to reap all of these savings - it may not be worth the hassle and
the traffic, depending on how far apart these stores are, and if the
savings are big enough to be worth it.
Watch out for in-store
coupons, rebates or sales. Know what staples you need each week so you
can scan the list of coupons and quickly pick out what you'd buy and
what you wouldn't. You can also keep a coupon binder and clip any coupon
you find interesting but don't have a use for right away, but you may
use in the future. When it comes time to buy the item, then you can
bring out your coupons to score some great deals.
The Bottom LineClipping
coupons doesn't have to be a chore and if you already have idle time
(such as when you're in front of the TV), why not clip coupons and save a
little
cash? It may not yield big savings all at once, but if you saved $5 a week, you're still $260 richer at the end of the year. After
all, any money saved is still money that stays in your pocket
and saving may become second nature before you know it. (For additional
reading, also check out
4 Coupon Sites Worth Checking Out.)
Is your old monitor or computer collecting dust in the closet or in the corner at your office? If so, Coastal has the solution for you! Join our E-Cycle event with Goodwill throughout the month of April.
Stay productive,
happy and healthy!
