What is Your Idea of a Discount?

Good Morning DINKS. Yesterday I got an email in my inbox which offered a 15% discount on one item of my choice at a very popular lingerie store.  I am a girl who loves a good bargain, but I immediately deleted the email as I thought to myself “it’s only a 15% discount”.  I actually don’t particularly need any lingerie items at this current time, but I can always use a nice pair of pyjamas.  After I shut down my laptop I thought to myself I just deleted a coupon for 15% off an item from one of my favourite stores because the discount wasn’t big enough.  I wondered to myself…am I becoming a discount snob?

Even though 15% off of one item is definitely better than paying full price for the item, but since I don’t really need anything from the store they will have to give a better discount in order to entice me to make a purchase.  The store could definitely offer 15% off of my entire purchase as oppose to just 15% off of one item.  I also remember getting a coupon not so long ago for 30% off of my entire purchase from the same store, so I know that they can definitely offer a better discount.  I can’t willingly accept only 15% off of one item when I know that I can get a better discount if I wait for the next promotion or sale.

What do you think?

I very rarely pay full price for anything, but this is a habit that I have only recently picked up over the past three to four years.  Now I am so addicted to discounts that I will always make an excuse to buy and item if it is on sale or not buy an item if it is not on sale.  There are some items that I think are always overpriced such as toilet paper, toothpaste, and deodorant.  Therefore I always buy these items on sale. When these items do come on sale I try to buy several of them at one time so that I will never be forced to pay full price for them.  Since we use toilet paper, toothpaste, and deodorant on a daily basis there is no chance that the items will ever be spoiled or go to waste, and therefore I stock up.

I look for store discounts in the weekly flyers as well as in store promotions and coupons.  My boyfriend Nick subscribes to a website called Web Saver.  Each month he chooses several individual products in which he wants to receive a coupon, and then a few days later we receive an envelope in the mail that is full of coupons for our favourite items.  Web Saver allows us to choose from a variety of products such as shampoo, laundry detergent, razors, make-up, mouthwash, hair dye colour, and cleaning products.  Sometimes the coupons are buy one get one free, sometimes they are get $1.00 off of one item, or sometimes the coupons can be get $5.00 off when you buy 2 or more items of one product.  Web Saver is free to sign up and it gives users free monthly coupons for their favourite items.

Would You Consider Yourself to be a Discount Snob?

Photo by The Consumerist

Kristina Tahnyak

Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.