Do you use coupons?

I often get coupons for fast food, but I don't really use them, partly because I don't really care for some of the food on there, and most food tend to be some sort of meal. And when you really think about it, fast food restaurants tend to make more money by getting their consumers to purchase meals. Like do you really need extra things like a side and a drink?

I generally prefer just one or two items, like chicken or burgers, and rarely order sides, drinks, etc. Coupons are more of a benefit, when you actually see a deal, rather than an "illusion" of a deal, because sides and drinks aren't really worth the price that fast food restaurants charge them for. For example, drinks are usually from carbonated water mixed with flavor powder and sugar (sometimes filled mostly with ice, if you order from the drive-thru window).

 

Coupouns can save you money

 

Depends, but generally coupons do save money. Still have to be cautious though, because you might see a good deal, when it isn't really a good deal.

I know from my experience shopping that sometimes I'll see one individual product that costs $2, but then a pack of two of the same product costs like $5, which means I'm really losing a dollar.

And most of the time, it's not so obvious. Instead of how products are packed, you might have one product that's regular sized and another product that's a bit larger (rather than doubled), like regular-sized cereal vs. family-sized cereal. Problem is that the size of the box can be deceiving, when in reality, there's like a 5 ounce difference. And it requires math to see whether family-sized cereal is worth it compared to regular-sized cereal, if it breaks even and doesn't really matter, or if the regular-sized cereal is the better option.

Outside of shopping, I think fast food pizza chains create the biggest illusion of a "good deal", because you can have small, medium, and large pizza, and it's not so obvious whether you're getting a good deal or not unless you measure the proportion of the whole pizzas. Like for instance, you look at a circle, but how exactly do you envision a circle that's double the area? You can't just double the diameter, because then you're increasing the area by 4 times, not by 2 times.

 

I am so so so happy we don’t have coupons in my country bad enough as it is here with Black Friday an riots looting shops.

 

Depends more on population density than the country itself. If you visit certain suburbs to go shopping, it isn't too bad. And Black Friday isn't as bad as it used to be now that online shopping is becoming more popular.