General coupon use question..

[BumbleB]

Hi! I've got a question for all the pros on here.

I'm wondering how you would handle on how you would use a coupon.

ie: The $3.00 Quantum Finish coupon. It can be redeemed this week for a free 10 pack at WM.

If I were to use the $3.00 coup at Food Basics for the 20-25 pack on sale this week for 4.99 I would be oop 1.99 but have 20 packs.

Do you go for no money out of pocket or more product at a minimal cost?

I only have about a 6 month supply right now and don't know the cycle of when these all go on sale and coupon offers etc.. $3.00 to me is a pretty HV?

[Anna Michele]

Hmmm good question, now keep in mind I don't have a dishwasher and I have no idea on the sale cycle of these things but with a 6 mth supply i would opt for $0 OOP but that's just me cuz at the moment I am broke.

$3.00 / 10 pk = $6.00 / 20 pk

$2.50 / 10 pk = $4.99 / 20 pk

$0 OOP is always better than any $ OOP

[SassyAshley]

For myself personally I always look at which is the better value

Wal-Mart $3.00/10 pack = $0.30/tab
Food Basics $4.99/20 pack = $0.25/tab

Yes at Food Basics I will be paying $1.99 OOP but in the long run I am getting more for my money and a better value.

But again this is just me and my opinion.

[sun_shine]

I don't have a dishwasher but used my two prints to pick some up for my mom. Admittedly, I didn't even know you could buy a 10-pack and get it completely free, but regardless, I probably would have still bought the 20-packs at Food Basics. The reason for this is that I don't know when another coupon would come out. Theoretically, while I could get 20 tabs for free from Walmart, I would run out sooner. If there isn't another coupon by the time I'm out, then I will have to settle for a sale to buy more. So in the long run, using it on the 20-packs works out to be cheaper. Example, say I need 60 tabs (I just chose a random number, the 60 doesn't mean anything; any multiple of 20 would work for the math):

If I buy 20 tabs for just the tax now, I am paying $3 + $3 = $6 + tax = $6.78 - $6 (2 x $3 coupons) = $0.78, but then my coupons are gone and I have to buy the next 2 20-packs on sale at $4.99; $4.99 + $4.99 = $9.98 + tax = $11.28. In this scenario my total OOP for 60 tabs = $12.06

If I buy 2 20-packs right now and use my coupons, I will pay $4.99 + $4.99 = $9.94 + tax = $11.28 - $6 (2 x $3 coupons) = $5.28. When I buy the next pack I will also catch it on sale and pay $4.99 + tax = $5.64. In this case, my total OOP for 60 tabs = $10.92.

It isn't the biggest difference, but the free boxes now will cost you a bit more OOP in the long run

[BumbleB]

Thanks for the replies!! It's good food for thought. If I had a big stock up on them I'd just go for the $0.00 oop. I think this is a pretty HV coup other than a FPC. I also don't know if/when they will go on sale cheaper.

Looked at the WM site and see the 20packs go for reg. 7.27 making them .36/unit.

I'll go get the 20 packs for now and just watch - murphy's law they'll go cheaper next week. lol

I'm also going to get 1 pack of the Cascade 31 pack at WM using the 1.00 Brandsaver. That works out to .16/unit. Hopefully this will cover me for a bit. Too bad I only joined PC Plus a week AFTER the big Finish Free ones.

[redhdlois]

I always go for whatever I can get for the least amount OOP

[torontogal12]

Are you sure it is valid on the 10 pack? I don't believe that Finish Quantum makes a 10 pack. I think that only regular Finish comes in a 10 pack. EDIT: From Googling, it looks like the 10 packs are only available outside Canada?


Regardless, Finish Quantum goes on sale fairly often. You can get a 20 pack for $4.99 and there are always $1.50 or $2 coupons floating around. Finish also does several mail in rebates. Their last one was Buy one get one free in November I think.

There are often sales on regular Finish at No Frills for $2 but I don't know what size the pack is because I only buy Quantum.

The minimal cost vs. low OOP is a personal preference, based on your budget, time and coupon availability. If you have many coupons, go for the lowest OOP because you can buy many packs and spend a very little amount. If your coupon supplies and time to drive around to different stores are limited,go with the minimal cost.

[super807]

For many items, I will go for the lower per unit cost. This would be for items that don't often have coupons, or items that don't often go on sale, or for items that I consume in large quantities.

But for some items, I would go for the lowest oop expense. Finish tabs would be one of those, because I know that for the past two years there have been many MIR on that product and coupons have been plentiful. That said, I have also observed that while previous MIR for this product were for one free, the most recent one (in November I believe), was for BOGO Free. That signals to me that there may be a change in the value of the coupons to come (I think I have already been seeing that).

Eventually, a company decreases the value of the coupons it puts out, or stops putting out coupons for a certain product, as they move on to marketing a differrent product. The P&G Brandsaver coupons are a great example of that I think.

[super807]

oops

[BumbleB]

Appreciate the replies. Really great info. from everyone!!

To correct my post - the $3.00 coupon is Save $3.00 off any 1 Finish Quantum, Powerball or Gelpacs (any size, any variety) exp 02/12/2014

At WM it's $3.00 for 10 pack Powerball. FB it's $4.99 for 20 pack Quantum.

[Neeenerz]

I just bought a 20 pack of Finish Quantum from Food Basics. It was on sale for $4.99, I had a $3 off coupon - so I paid $2 for a pack!

[MillieH]

There is more to a deal than the actual cost at the checkout. If you are an early bird, can get to Walmarts while they still have the 10 pacs in stock.. that is definitely the best price. However, if you have to go to a bunch of different Walmarts, and may or may not f ind any. You'd be using more gas and time. When there is something for free, the early birds are going to get them.

A while ago Walmart had the dishtabs for about 2.22.. the coupon actually gave overage.. At that time I used to shop a few times a week.. I never once found those in stock.