If you’ve been couponing for a while – or got caught up in the extreme couponing craze back in the day – you might actually have used 156 coupons in a single transaction. It certainly happened on TV! Nowadays, that’s rare if not impossible. So the average shopper these days uses a total of 156 coupons in a year.
It may sound like a lot to some, not very much at all to others. Either way, that number is likely to rise in the year ahead, as shoppers resolve to make 2022 the year they finally get their finances in order and get serious about saving money.
Those are among the findings in a survey commissioned by the online deals forum Slickdeals. For the second year in a row, shoppers were asked about the state of their finances over the past year, and in the year ahead.
Overall, 76% of respondents said they have made a new year’s resolution to be smarter with their finances, up from 73% who said the same last year. The most popular financial goal in the new year is paying off debt, cited by half of all respondents. That’s followed by removing unnecessary bills, seeking out more deals and coupons, and using a savings app.
When it comes to coupons, the average shopper said they used 13 per month last year, or a total of 156 coupons all year. That’s up from ten per month in 2020. And with more shoppers looking to be smarter about their savings, that number is likely to increase even further this year.
Then again, many shoppers say they’re in better financial shape now than they were a year ago. 62% of survey respondents said 2021 was easier on their finances than the previous year was. That’s twice as many who said the same about 2020. Only 15% said they experienced financial difficulties in 2021 compared to nearly half in 2020.
But with confidence, can often come overconfidence. 65% admitted they went a little overboard with their spending in 2021. So they might have been in better financial shape and better able to spend – but now they’re realizing it might be time to rein it in a little.
“The new year is a great time to review your financial scorecard for the past year and then set goals for improvement,” Slickdeals Senior Finance Editor Louie Patterson said in a statement. “Saving more money does not always involve drastically altering your day-to-day lifestyle. Easy changes such as cutting unnecessary subscriptions or looking for more deals and discounts when shopping, can add up to big savings.”
Of course, even a new year’s resolution may be no match for inflation. 83% said they are concerned inflation may interfere with their savings goals, and 76% are afraid it will be a major setback.
If even the best plan can be scuttled by forces outside your control, why bother making resolutions at all then? Well, according to a separate survey conducted by Fidelity Investments, people who made resolutions last year are more optimistic about their future than people who didn’t. 81% of those who made resolutions believe they will be better off financially in the new year, while only 58% who didn’t make resolutions think the same. Overall, 71% said they were able to stick with a financial resolution last year, compared to 58% in 2020.
So resolving to save more and spend less can actually pay off. Start clipping and using those coupons, then, if you haven’t already – after all, in order to prove you’re better than the average saver, you have less than 12 months to use 156 coupons or more.
Image source: cpyles 
