4 Coupons That Actually Make You Spend Too Much Money

A coupon feels like a free ticket to save money. However, retailers design many coupons with a specific psychological goal in mind. They want to make you spend more money than you originally intended. These clever promotions are not about giving you a simple discount. They are a powerful tool to influence your behavior. They trick your brain into justifying a larger purchase. Here are four types of coupons that can actually hurt your budget.

1. Threshold Coupons (“$10 off a $50 purchase”)

This is the most common and effective trick. A “threshold” coupon requires you to spend a minimum amount of money to get the discount. You might have only planned to spend $35. However, the lure of getting “$10 off” will tempt you to add another $15 worth of unplanned items to your cart just to reach the $50 threshold. In the end, you leave the store having spent more, not less.

2. BOGO (Buy One, Get One Free) Coupons

A BOGO coupon seems like an unbeatable 50% discount. The catch, however, is that it forces you to buy two of an item. If you only needed one jar of pasta sauce, the BOGO deal has made you spend twice as much on that product category as you had planned. This is especially wasteful for perishable items. You may not be able to use the second “free” item before it expires.

3. Coupons for a Specific, Expensive Brand

Many manufacturer coupons are for new or premium brand-name products. The coupon is a way to get you to try an item that you would normally consider too expensive. The company is betting that once you try their “superior” product, you will become a loyal customer and continue to buy it at its full, high price. The initial discount is just a hook to get you to upgrade your spending habits permanently.

4. “Catalina” Coupons for a Future Trip

“Catalina” coupons are the long, receipt-like coupons that print at the checkout counter. They often provide a high-value discount, like “$5 off your next purchase.” This is not a reward for your loyalty; it is a marketing tool. It is designed to get you to make another, often unplanned, shopping trip in the near future. This leads to more frequent store visits and more opportunities for you to make impulse buys.

The Psychology of a “Deal”

These coupons are a powerful form of marketing psychology. They prey on our brain’s desire for a good deal and our fear of missing out. The feeling of “saving” money can be so strong that it makes us blind to the fact that we are actually spending more. The best way to protect your budget is to be a disciplined shopper. You must ask yourself if you would have bought the item without the coupon in the first place.

Have you ever been tricked into overspending by a tempting coupon? Which type of coupon do you find the most difficult to resist? Let us know!