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One question hovers over every yes or no question - Compared to what?
Would I rather pay $3.95 instead of $4.45 for the exact same thing? Absolutely! Would I rather pay $3.95 for something that I could pay the regular price of $2.95 for a different brand? That's the comparison people need to make.
Some people are completely driven by brand name and others by bargain. Still others (and I'm speaking mostly male here) are motivated by the convenience of it:

A. Appearing in front of our eyes at the exact moment we want that item.
B. There is little to no work or maintenance involved in preparation.
C. Refer back to A.
Here's a survey suggestion for some of those pollsters who want to know the psyche of the male grocery shopper. Follow the habits of males before they enter the store. Count the percentage of males who check their wallets and count their cash before entering the store or see how many of them check their debit card balances at the nearest ATM before they go shopping.
Chances are, that number will be high. Why? Men are completely cost conscience. How much food can I purchase for how little money to have enough left over for (beer, golf, bowling, new car, new gun ...)
Now comes the other side of the story. Because men will go for the cheapest, read store brand, item available, the only coupons that are worth a darn are the ones available in the store aisles. The irony of that is that even with the coupons, the brand name items are still more expensive than store brands or even economy brands.
Because men shop for the cheapest item, they are not going to clip coupons ahead of time. It's not cost effective. Now rebates ... on beer purchases ... like Miller Lite ... where all I have to do is clip the box, sign and mail in for my reward ... now that makes sense.

Learn more about this author, John Hale.
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