SUPER-COUPONING: When is it worthwhile to pay more?

When do you feel it is worth not buying the least expensive item? There are some things I feel are all relatively the same. I do not care what brand of breakfast sausages I buy, but I do care what brand of paper towels I buy. Are you concerned with always buying the cheapest, or what would compel you to pay more for the 'same' or similar item?

Carin R."

While most of us probably have preferences for brands that we like over another brand, I do agree that I also consider some things to be ‘the same’ as others. Frozen and canned vegetables, to me, are largely the same, and if I’m buying a bag of frozen green beans, I’m solely shopping on price for that. Whether I take home the store brand or a name brand, price is my deciding factor as a shopper.

That said, I am definitely willing to pay more for a product that best suits my needs. I primarily eat a low-carbohydrate diet, and as anyone on a specialized diet knows, sticking to a nutrition plan involves reading a lot of food labels to avoid unwanted ingredients.

For example, I like to make my own meatballs, but at times it’s more convenient to prepare a meal with frozen meatballs. However, many frozen meatballs contain carb-laden fillers, like soy and wheat. These meatballs are less expensive, but I’ll gladly pay a little more for the 100% beef meatballs.

The same is true for processed and packaged meats. Many ham and bacon products are cured with sugar, which, while delicious, takes what should be a zero-carbohydrate food and unnecessarily packs it with additional carbohydrates. At times I do end up spending more for non-sugar-cured meats, but again – I knew when I began this diet that I might need to balance buying foods that fit my needs ahead of buying the lowest-priced items.

Some of my readers have shared savings tips which are relevant here as well:

"Dear Jill,

A tip I have learned for buying things that seem more expensive, but actually are not: Stop buying things that unnecessarily have water added to them.

I exclusively buy powdered laundry detergent. A 95-ounce box of name brand powdered laundry detergent 68 loads is $12.49. Now, a 92-ounce bottle of the same brand detergent in liquid form contains 59 loads and is $11.99.

For $1.50 less, I am getting nine more loads of laundry, and I also feel I am helping the environment too by opting to purchase a form that does not require shipping heavy water weight in the bottle.

I also buy frozen orange and grape juice concentrates. It is a little more work to mix them, but they are smaller and easier to store, and again, I am not paying for the water.

Althea H."

"Dear Jill,

I discovered a way to save money on spices. I used to buy them at the dollar store, which is still a good place if you need them as they usually cost much less than the supermarket's spice prices. I went to a Mexican grocery store with my neighbor the other day and was amazed at the large spice jars they had for $4.99.

I had a one-ounce jar of cumin that I paid $1.00 for, but I bought a 16-ounce shaker of cumin for $4.99 at the mercado. By the same math, it would have cost me $16.00 to buy that much at the dollar store.

Elizabeth C."

I always enjoy hearing tips from my readers, as I’ve always felt we’re in this savings game together! When I was first starting out at couponing and saving money, I always found it helpful to glean tips from other people who had been at the game longer.

Don’t assume that others might already have thought of your money-saving tip — feel free to send them my way, and I may use them in a future column.