Don’t assume that it’s a better deal to purchase the bigger “value” size products. In many cases, buying two smaller items with two coupons is a much better deal that simply using one coupon on that larger item

I am definitely a frugal person. I have a Sam’s Club membership, and I used to buy many items in bulk until I realized all the money I was throwing away. Buying smaller is a very foreign concept to many of us. We often “supersize” our food and also buy the “value” pack to get a better unit price. This works great if you don’t use coupons. You can save a lot of money buying in bulk, but if you use coupons to buy things, you need to start learning that smaller is better.

The basic principal of buying smaller is this: you can only use one coupon per item. If the coupon specifies a specific size, then you must use it on that size product. If the coupon states “any sized product,” then you’ve just hit jackpot. Trial sizes are your friend! Which would you choose: 4 trial size deodorants you pay $0.00 for or 1 full size deodorant you pay $2.00 for? The answer should be obvious. Smaller items are generally cheaper and using a coupon on every single item you buy drives the unit price way down. Always look for smaller sizes. You’ll be surprised to find that many of the smaller sized products will be free if you use a coupon!

Trial sizes are just as good as full sizes .... particularly when they are Free!

Woo Hoo!

I do wonder though, if the since there is more packaging if it is not harder on the environment? Any thoughts?

well most bottles are plastic...just put them in the recycling bin like everything else!!

Even without coupons, one needs to evaluate per item prices on different sizes. Every great once in a while, getting two of the smaller items IS cheaper than one larger. One just has to spend time in the store comparing prices and stopping cart traffic. (Something many are unwilling to do.)

It happens more often then you might think. I was conditioned to believe that the bigger item was always more efficient for the manufacturer so it was always a better buy.

This is not always so, and in fact the smaller item is cheaper more than I had ever thought.

This is so true when it comes to diapers!

Prior to using coupons, I always purchased the largest box of diapers but you really need to figure out price per diaper to determine whether it's a good deal. With diapers, the jumbo packs plus the coupon work out better than the BIG box.

Never thought smaller could be better. Always figured the bulky was best.

I first discovered this discrepancy in size prices when I had a Sam's Club membership a number of years ago. When I started to do the per unit price, Sam's price was not as good as the regular Walmart price. Plus you have to have enough storage to buy larger sizes. I know there are some things that are more economical to buy in larger sizes, but this was an eye opener to me.

thanks for the diaper tip Strikermom!

i need to then buy smaller bags of diapers, i always try and get the biggest one they have and use my little coupon