Four Money-Saving Fails: What Went Wrong Here?

Everyone has a money saving style. Unless you're filthy rich and money is not much of a concern, everyone thinks about ways to save. Some people clip coupons, some relish in promotional offers, and others just grab the cheapest product they can find. Some methods work better than others when it comes to saving money. Here are a few examples of common money-saving techniques that often fail.
 

Coupons

Coupons seem like a great way to save money: you get them for free in the newspaper or other places, they offer discounts on products you already buy, and there very little effort one has to expend to use them. This is usually true if you are being very selective about your coupons and only using them on items you would truly be purchasing anyway. The hard part is avoiding the enticing influence of coupons. Many times people are driven to buy something they don't necessarily need just because they have a coupon. It seems like a good deal when you receive a 35 cents off coupon for a $1.50 chocolate bar, but you have to ask yourself whether you would buy the chocolate bar even if you didn't have the coupon. If not, you are losing $1.15 instead of saving 35 cents.

Coupons can be especially tricky with food products. Most coupons are for highly processed. pre-packaged foods. If you are really trying to cut back your food budget, consider buying key ingredients such as rice and flour in bulk. You can purchase as much or as little as you want, and you are not paying for packaging costs. There are not many coupons for bulk foods, so you might not get that instant gratification, but you will definitely save money in the long run. Not only are bulk foods cheaper, you won't have to worry about having to buy all new larger clothes from eating so much discounted macaroni and cheese.
 

Free Shipping Offers

Free shipping is great. There is nothing better than finding an amazing deal on something you need online and then finding out that it will be shipped free of charge. Many websites will stipulate that you need to spend a certain amount of money to get the free shipping. Make sure you are evaluating your need for the product as well as any additional purchases needed to qualify for the free shipping offer. We have all been guilty of adding another product or two that might come in handy in order to save shipping on the original product. It is often cheaper to just pay the shipping on one item rather than get three shipped for free.

This method is especially popular with online book and media retailers. It is easy to fall into the trap. If you are an avid reader or other media consumer, consider other options such as a local used bookstore. Your local library might even have some of the things you are looking for, and you don't have to pay anything for that.
 

Taking the Cheap Route

There is a distinct difference between being frugal and being cheap. We all have to buy things, but the frugal person is one who is discerning about his or purchases, carefully planning a budget and sticking to it. A cheap person, on the other hand, will constantly buy the cheapest option for any given item. This might save money at the time of purchase, but it is ultimately a waste in the long run. Just like someone who makes a purchase simply because he or she has a coupon, the cheap person is looking for instant gratification. That gratification, however, is outweighed by the long-term effects of buying cheap.

Take clothing for an example. You can buy a $10 pair of shoes that work just fine but are not well made and they might only last three months. Alternately, you can spend $75 on a pair of solidly constructed shoes that will last three years. Do the math and it is apparent that the $75 pair is a much better choice over time.

Shopping Memberships

Think that wholesale club membership will save you money? Not likely. You'll pay $35 to $50 to join for a year. If you buy the same amount of food you buy now, you might save that much. So why pay for the membership? Just shop where you normally do. In addition, studies show that when people buy in bulk, they tend to consumer in bulk. You'll save money on a per unit basis, but you'll be buying many more units. In many cases, you'll end up spending more than you would by shopping a regular discount retailer. Unless you have an enormous family to feed, wholesale memberships don't make sense. 

Then there are other types of memberships, like Amazon Prime, where for about $80 you get free shipping on many purchases. But if you plan your shopping right, you can get free shipping any way, which the yearly membership fee. In most cases, paid memberships for shopping services just end up costing you more...which is of course the point. Retailers want you to spend more, so they cook up these deals to make you feel like you're getting a better deal while they add to the bottom line with your extra purchases or the cost of the membership.

These examples of money saving fails are not to be completely completely avoided. They are just examples of where most people go wrong. The key is to be careful about your money and think hard about how you spend it. Calculate your actual savings under your current spending habits for one year or more. Then figure out how much you will save...or not!