Coupon anxiety!!!

[lmack30]

Glad to know that I am not the only one who feels like this lol! Most of the time I know what I am shopping for so I will have the coupons for those items ready to go in my wallet but there are those times that I see something I want and have to go through my binder in the store. I always feel like I am being stared at...like I am doing something wrong. When it comes time to go through the check out, I still get nervous (waiting for a fight to start). Although, on a more positive note, "couponing" has helped me to build up some confidence I was lacking. I am becoming more assertive now..YAY me

[Midnightly]

i get that way when leaving london drugs after a decent stack.. the "OMG your actually going to let me leave with all this product and paying SOO little for it??" expecially when it's something like a cart full of diapers and a $12 bill

[Prairie girl]

Great thread! Yes, I do feel nervous. I never know how the cashier's going to react, or if people in the lineup will get annoyed/impatient/frustrated, etc. There is definitely a stigma attached to using coupons. But hey, I love the fact that my pantry is well stocked and that I don't often run out of stuff (and I can afford it!)

[moony25]

it happens to me all the time
so i stoped using coupons

[theweave]

Well I gotta agree with most. I have the same feelings too but I chalk it up to my Attention Deficit Disorder. I hate waiting in any line, I am fidgety and all that.

I am new at this but man I am getting good at it! The money we save is great and I am constantly trolling for bargains! In these days and times, every penny does count!

I have fought battles and won, fought battles and lost (left over $30 in Coke cases sitting on the Wal Mart cashout once because they refused to PM SDM!) but most cases I do win!

All of this is thanks to SC! I used to go and buy, that is it! Not now! *LOL*

[thekaraokechick]

I think we all feel the coupon anxiety...lol
especially making sure that the coupon is for the right size that is on sale
=)

[MrsSunshine]

theweave.. I totally understand. (wasn't going to post publicly but meh). I too have ADD. for me being able to coupon and succeed.. is a huge satisfaction for me. im quite proud of myself. and SO glad to see im not alone!!

[kris10]

YES!! But i have general anxiety as well. Especially the very very first time you use a freebie or something really good...i hesitate checking out but it has gotten much much easier the more you face it,lol. I just make sure not to use the coupons on stuff that you most likely won't get like coupons on gift sets and printables, i don't know how people get away with that.

[ssbean]

It helps knowing that many of us get nervous. I hate not knowing how the cashier is going to react when I hand them my coupons. Many cashiers seem to hate coupons but every so often you have a great experience. I used $50 plus in coupons at SDM on Saturday and there was a long line. I was really nervous, I worry more about the people in line than the cashier. She was a great cashier, had those coupons entered in seconds, no comments. I was so pleased. I think sometimes the cashiers are not trained very well with coupons.

[ryanwins]

To minnimise my anxiety I always wander around untill the customer service has no line and try and go at odd hours I always feel better when its just me the cashier and my coupons. Like everyone else it seems the second someone is behind us we get anxiety especially when using multiple coupons. We've all been the other guy standing in line behind us paying full price for the same items, then at some point in our lives .... We woke up and decided I DON"T WANT PAY FULL PRICE FOR THESE ITEMS we all became jelous of 'that crazy couponer' in front of us in line .
Maybe they need to take the five minuits waiting in line behind us to contimplate the art of couponing.

The first time I got a freebie in the mail it was in a big box I waited to open it! in the back of my mind wondering if I was going to get a shipping bill .. it was from the U.S. and postage was between $8.00 - $12.00

[Jasminebed]

I've rarely had a rough time using a coupon. My mom used coupons, and I've always used coupons. I find better coupons thanks to SC, and where to use them. I don't have anywhere in town where I can stack, but i DO take along flyers and price match.

The most usual reaction is WOW, where do you get these? Especially for freebies. If they have to ask a manager, no biggie, and I don't care who waits behind me. If they have something in their cart I have a coupon for, I usually offer it. Glaring looks I can ignore, and the odd person who has said something to me about holding up a line-up, I just shrug.

My biggest problem is not always having my coupons with me, and sometimes run into something on sale that I have a coupon for at home!

[tjthemanto]

(if this is in the wrong area move it please)
Does anyone else get really nervous (sweaty, shaky) when shopping with coupons, and esp. when PM. I find lately that If im out shopping even if i've planned ahead and done the 'research' with all my coupons and flyers etc. I still get nervous.. like they are watching me.. Its worse if i happen to see an 'extra' deal, I start looking through my book.. and I start to shake. like Y.. the store has deals for customer to buy them.. the store still gets the money from the company for their product.. and yet. Im always getting nervous. i try to take a few moments in a back aisle somewhere and collect myself, but its still weird. Anyone else.. I have to say though. I still use them and find myself using ALOT more than I did when I started. which im very proud of. as Im nearly finished my christmas shopping.. stuffers and all. How do you all get over this.. OR am I just weird, crazy.

Read the article below ..must read article for coupon users

http://forum.smartcanucks.ca/133576-...rticle-canada/

Who uses coupons the most and the least, and why ???

Tom Barlow


Who uses coupons? You might think that the most cash-strapped among us would use them most, but studies have shown that upper-income whites make far greater use of them than members of minorities of all income levels. A recent study published in the Journal of Retailing provides some interesting answers as to why the most needy are not the most frequent users.

One surprising finding of the study conducted by Anne M. Brumbaugh of the College of Charleston and and Jose Antonio Rosa of the University of Wyoming was the degree to which the attitude of the checkout clerk can determine our willingness to use coupons.

A clerk's conscious or subconscious negative cues (deep sighs, rolled eyes, terse movements) are enough to discourage all but the most confident from using coupons.

On the other hand, a clerk who implies that the customer is shrewd and admirably frugal can inspire the customer to use coupons more often. (Here I have to admit that in the past I've been one of those discouraging factors, frowning and tapping my foot when the person ahead of me in the checkout line pulls out a wad of unsorted coupons.)

I recently took a $1 off of New York Style Bagel Crisps coupon to my local grocer to get a read on the clerk's reaction. My checkout person took and scanned it without giving off any cues one way or the other about how he felt about my using coupons. Was the study wrong? Of course, I'm a white middle-class boomer male, the least likely group to receive a scowl because we're most likely to be a golfing buddy of the store manager. Also, one coupon is not as burdensome as a fistful of them, especially if the customer has to dig them out of his/her coupon wallet while other customers wait in line.

The study also investigated the reason behind previous study findings that even more affluent members of racial minorities don't often use coupons. They cited a study that found "the consistently higher levels of poor service experienced by high socioeconomic status black and high acculturation Latino consumers reduced coupon use by both decreasing their confidence and increasing their embarrassment over coupon use." More affluent white stay-at-home moms and dads, on the other hand, "have incorporated the judicious use of coupons into the image of what stay-at-home spouses should do."

The key finding? Well-to-do white shoppers are confident enough in their affluence that they are not threatened by the attitude of clerks. Those who struggle to keep their financial footing, on the other hand, are very sensitive to the criticism they often receive at the checkout counter, and therefore unwilling to use the coupons they see as symbols of their financial plight.

Coupons are a time-tested strategy for building business, but this study suggests that a store that prints coupons but does not train its staff to treat users as valued, admired customers is shooting itself in the foot. The next time a clerk looks down his/her nose at you when you pull out a coupon, recognize them for the fool they are, and keep on clipping. Don't let the disregard of a clerk cheat you out of the savings.

[cab66]

I am new to all this, and I feel almost paranoid when shopping, but at the same time, I am soooooo excited, I am sure I sound obnoxious to fellow shoppers when they happen to be standing beside me and I start ranting on and on about the savings I am experiencing with my coupons! LOL However, all of them want to know about smart canucks, soooo I don't feel so crazy!

[CeeDee22]

I used to get some slack at certain places for coupons. They actually told me they never had people come in with them, so it was more of a training issue for the cashier.

If it's not too busy, and I don't have a ton of items I simply place my coupon on the item which it is for. The cashier picks it up and reads it, and puts each on in a little pile, and deducts the amounts at the end. I used to give them all at the end to the cashier, but then would get hassled that I didn't buy that item and they would go through all my bags and the till slip and hold up the line. This way the cashier clearly can see that it is the correct item(s) and I have a coupon for it. I've never had any trouble since I started doing it this way, but I realize this way isn't for everyone and may be a pain when there's a lot of items. It used to stress me out, but I see more people using coupons now...sign of the times, I suppose.

...and just a neat FYI. I got a nice email the other day.I had thanked a company for the coupons and free samples they sent me. They replied saying they get a lot of requests for things, but hardly any thank you emails. So, they wanted to thank me and are mailing me a bunch of coupons.

[oddduck]

I used to get some slack at certain places for coupons. They actually told me they never had people come in with them, so it was more of a training issue for the cashier.

If it's not too busy, and I don't have a ton of items I simply place my coupon on the item which it is for.

I do that too It just seems a whole lot easier for all of us. I also keep the products that I'm buying together in the cart.