Why keep old ads?

[diy-mom]

I saw on a site that you should keep old store ads...why? I am just getting started and need to know if and why I need to keep them.

[3timesoccermom]

I am not one of the pros on this site but 2 reasons I can think of is for price comparison and to see what times of year certain things go on sale.

[notsyourbeezwax]

Personally, I never have. Never even considered it, actually.

If you really need them, I would save the ad scans only. You will go crazy with clutter if you try to save all old ads.

[MaddieT]

I don't. It doesn't matter what the old prices were. It only matters what new prices are. I had a set price on meat that I wouldn't go above. However, the stores have stopped dropping their prices that low so we ran out of meat. I had to raise my minimum price to keep us fed, which means cutting expenses elsewhere. There are charts out there that will tell you when things go on sale, too. Soups and hot cereals in the fall and winter, hot dogs in the summer, holiday foods in November and December. Honestly, I don't even stockpile some things because I know they'll be on sale again before I use them for specific holiday dishes. (French fried onions, evaporated milk, chopped walnuts.)

If you really need to check old prices, a lot of blog posts are archived online anyway. Life's too short to clutter up your house with old sales ads.

[curvygreek]

I saw on a site that you should keep old store ads...why? I am just getting started and need to know if and why I need to keep them.

I don't keep old ads (other than ones that I just haven't gotten around to throwing away--couponing is a clutter-buster's worst nightmare, lol)...

...But the only reason I can think of that it would make sense to save old ads is if the advertisement disproves a cashier or store manager's imaginary coupon rule.

An example would be a Walgreen's ad. I don't do the Register Reward thing (too many hassles, IMO) but what has happened to me in the past--and has happened to many others, is that sometimes a Register Reward won't print. And the cashier or store manager can easily deal with your problem by telling you, "It didn't print because you used a coupon."

Well, that's not how RR's work. So if you have an old ad handy, something that says "Buy X at $5.99 and get a $3 RR" and there's a little graphic that says "Additional Savings In This Sunday's Newspaper" then it is handy to have and pull out of your coupon binder if you find yourself faced with a cashier or manager that is telling you wrong information.

And with Rite Aid...even though their coupon policy states that you can use a Man Q and Rite Aid Q on one item, there are still employees out there who make up their own rules or aren't trained properly. Whipping out an old ad that proves you can use a Man Q and RA Q on the same item generally ends up in your favor. :)

[windyfears]

I dont keep any ads after the date has run out.

[Lori63]

I don't keep old ads (other than ones that I just haven't gotten around to throwing away--couponing is a clutter-buster's worst nightmare, lol)...

That's me :)

[loaslaen]

I saw on a site that you should keep old store ads...why? I am just getting started and need to know if and why I need to keep them.

Did it not tell why on the site? It seems like if they tell you to keep them, then they would tell you why. I agree with the PP that said for price comparison and sales cycles.

[~~Who,Me?~~]

Personally, I never have. Never even considered it, actually.

If you really need them, I would save the ad scans only. You will go crazy with clutter if you try to save all old ads.

^^^yeah, this^^^

And you don't even really need to save them for sales, because under the Stockpiling forum, there are threads on 'what to stockpile and when' and it goes over commodities and time of year. It doesn't have stores and prices, but time of year is good enough for me.

[Kaldirris]

ATM, I'm keeping the old Fry's ads, just so I can get a decent idea of a good price point for certain items. I'm only planning on keeping 2-3 months worth ... once I know the average sale price of the items we use often, I can put them into my shopping database (yes, I'm that anal. LOL), so I know when to buy them.
Ordinarily, I wouldn't do this, but since I'm still fairly new to the country, and Arizona, I need a better idea of what's considered a good price.
Honestly, I bought some things cheaper in Canada - AVOCADOES, for instance. $1.98 for a 5-ct bag of Haas avocadoes back in Victoria, BC - and they're no cheaper than 50c each here ... what? AZ is closer to where they're grown than BC! LOL
DH is no help when it comes to what's a good price - he was a grab it & buy it kind of shopper. *cringe* LOL