You've got to know when to hold 'em - Part 2

If you're a new couponer, you'll see a recurring trend pretty early into your rookie season: Lots of coupons for a certain item or a line of products followed by store sales that lineup with those coupons.

It's not a coincidence. From a marketing standpoint, the purpose of a coupon is to encourage a consumer (ie: you) to buy a certain product. The same can be said for a sale. I, admittedly, don't know all the business sense behind it. But I do know it happens. Often.

Case in point: Kraft recently offered internet printable coupons on a bunch of sites. That was savvy on their part. With Memorial Day around the corner, people are thinking cookouts, and a lot of the coupons were for grilling staples.

Now, check the local sales circulars. See a trend? A lot of Kraft products are on sale this week, about a week or two after the internet coupons were made available.

Now to my point: This is a relatively common occurance, especially with new products companies would like you to try and love. If you need an item right away, by all means, buy buy buy. But if you can hold out a few weeks, wait to see if the items in question go on sale somewhere. They often will, and that means bigger savings for you.