1. Expectations Are Too High
1.期望值过高

When TLC's Extreme Couponing show first previewed in December 2010 many viewers were in awe as they watched $2,000 worth in groceries cost just $100 after applying coupons. Many viewers who never used coupons thought, I can do that! Unfortunately many of those same viewers missed what happened after the program aired.
当TLC的极端优惠活动第一次出现在2010年12月的时候,许多观众都觉得申请优惠券之后,他们就能用100美元在杂货店买到价值高达2000美元的产品。那些从未用过优惠券的观众心想,我可以这么做!不幸的是,很多观众都错过了节目播出后发生的事。

Savvy couponers, also watching the program, quickly jumped on their blogs and pointed out all the coupon misuse going on, including redeeming coupons for incorrect items, redeeming counterfeit coupons and making exceptions to store couponing policies that the normal shopper would never receive. In other words, the show was a fake. Does that mean that diehard couponers cannot save thousands on their food bill? Absolutely not. But that kind of extreme couponing takes a lot time, work and dedication and even then most "extreme" couponers will only save an average of 60-70% each shopping trip.
精明的优惠券使用者也看到了这个节目,他们迅速地进入博客,指出优惠券的滥用情况,包括用优惠券兑换不相符的商品,用假的优惠券进行兑换,以及用正常店员从来都不会收到的特殊店铺优惠政策。换句话说,这场活动是个假象。这意味着顽固的优惠券使用者不能为自己的食品账单省下一大笔钱吗?当然不是。但像那种极端的促销活动要花费很多时间、物力以及精力,即使是最“极致”的优惠券使用者,平均每单也只能省60-70%。

I average an email a week from coupon clippers that are disappointed with their savings from using coupons because they are comparing it to the "extreme" couponers. They become discouraged because their expectations are too high. If you are a casual couponer, be satisfied with any savings that you get from using coupons wisely. If stick to it, your skills will improve as will your overall savings.
我平均每周收到一封来自于优惠券收集者的邮件,他们对使用优惠券产生的节省表示失望,因为他们总与那些“极致”优惠券使用者对比。他们因为期望太高而感到气馁。如果你是一个随性的优惠券使用者,对正确使用优惠券而得到的任何节省都会感到满足。如果坚持下去,你的技能和积蓄都会得到提升。

2. Buying Items Because You Have a Coupon
2. 因为有优惠而买东西

There are thousands of coupons for thousands of products and chances are you will not like all of them. Just because you have a coupon for an item does not mean that you must buy it. If there is a shampoo that you have used in the past that you did not like, it won't improve just because you got it cheaper by using a coupon.
成千上万的商品有成千上万的优惠券,但你并不会喜欢所有的商品。只因为你有某样商品的优惠券并不意味着你必须要购买它。如果有一款你过去一直使用但并不喜欢洗发水,它并不会因为你使用了优惠券让它变得便宜而有任何品质的提升。

A good rule of thumb to follow when using coupons is -- buy products you like, try to use the coupons when those items are on sale, and if the generic is cheaper, buy generic.
当使用优惠券时,一个好的经验法则是——买你喜欢的产品,在这些商品打折时尝试使用优惠券。如果通用的产品便宜了,就买通用的产品。

3. Clearing the Shelves
3. 清货架

Smart shoppers stock up on items that they know that they use regularly, but clearing the store shelves of items just because you have coupons for all of them can be wasteful and also results in stores tightening coupon acceptance policies. In fact, since "Extreme Couponing" aired, many stores have already set new policies about how many coupons on one specific item can be redeemed per day.
聪明的购物者会为自己经常使用的产品备货,但是仅仅因为你有这些商品的优惠券就去扫货是非常浪费的,同样也会导致商场收紧优惠券的接受政策。事实上,自从“极端优惠”播出以来,许多商场已经制订了每天每种商品能使用多少优惠券的新政策。

If you know that you plan on buying a lot of a particular item, speak with the store management and ask them to order it for you. lso, remember that you will need room at home to store what you buy and you will want to use it before it expires.
如果你有购买许多特定商品的计划,那就跟商场管理人员沟通,让他们帮你订购。同样,记得要在家里准备空间去存储它们,并且在过期前使用完。

4. Over-Spending
4. 超支

Buying an excessive amount of all the super good deals at the grocery store can end up costing more than what you had budgeted to spend. In fact, a study co-sponsored by Washington University in St. Louis found that coupon clippers often spend more money than the average shopper. Some couponers will tell you this happens because they are building up a stockpile.
在杂货店购买大量的产品容易导致花费超出预算。事实上,一项由圣路易斯华盛顿大学联合举办的研究发现,那些经常使用优惠券的人往往比平常的购物者花费更多的钱。一些优惠券使用者会告诉你他们在增加储备。

A good rule of thumb to avoid over-spending and still build a stockpile is to do it over time and to stick to the allotted amount of money you budgeted for stockpiling.
一个既能避免超支又能增加储备的好方法是,在一段时间坚持为储备的商品分配一定数量的预算。

5. Not Using Your Stockpile
5. 不使用你的储备

While having a great looking stockpile may be impressive to your neighbors and friends, it is completely useless if you never use the items that you are stockpiling. I've known couponers that refuse to use, for example, a can of beans from their stockpile because they only have six cans and they want 12 cans. Huh? A good rule to follow is to shop first in your stockpile and second in the stores, that's if your goal is to save money on groceries.
大量可观的储备会给邻居和朋友们留下深刻的印象,但如果你从来不用这些储备的商品,它们就会变得完全没用。我知道一些优惠券使用者拒绝使用这些商品,比如他们储备的豆子,因为他们想要12罐豆子而储备中只有六罐。哈?如果你的目标是在杂货店省钱的话,一个好的办法是先从你的储备中购买(先看看自己的储备中有没有),再从商场中购买。

6. Not Doing the Math
6. 不做计算

Couponers generally stick to the rule that using coupons on the smallest size of an item that the coupon allows will save you more than using the coupon on the largest size. While this is true most of the time, there are times when the opposite is true. That is why it is helpful to shop with a calculator so that you can figure out what the best price will be after applying your coupon.
优惠券使用者通常坚持一个准则,那就是把优惠券用在小件商品上会比用在大件商品上节省更多的钱。大多数时候是真的,但有时事实却相反。这就是为什么购物的时候携带一个计算器是非常有用的,你可以算出使用优惠券后的最优价格。

Example of When Buying Smaller is Cheaper
买小件商品更便宜的例子

Without Coupon
不使用优惠券

Chock Full O' Nuts Coffee
Chock Full O’ Nuts牌咖啡

33.90 oz, $15.75 or $0.46 per oz
33.90盎司15.75美元或每盎司0.46美元

11.30 oz, $5.65 or $0.50 per oz
11.30盎司5.65美元或每盎司11.30美元

After a $2 off coupon
使用2美元的优惠券

33.90 oz, $13.75 or $0.41 per oz
33.90盎司13.75美元或每盎司0.41美元

11.30 oz, $3.65 or $0.32 per oz
11.30盎司3.65美元或每盎司0.32美元

Example of When Buying Bigger is Cheaper
买大件商品更便宜的例子

Without Coupon
不使用优惠券

Folgers Medium Classic Roast Coffee, 33.9 oz, $8.58 or $0.25 per oz
福爵经典烘焙咖啡,33.9盎司8.58美元或每盎司0.25美元

Folgers Medium Classic Roast Ground, 11.3 oz, $4.58 or $0.41 per oz.
福爵经典烘焙咖啡粉,11.3盎司4.58美元或每盎司0.41美元

After a $2 off coupon
使用2美元的优惠券

Folgers Medium Classic Roast Ground Coffee, 33.9 oz, $6.58 or $0.19 per oz
福爵经典烘焙咖啡,33.9盎司6.58美元或每盎司0.19美元

Folgers Medium Classic Roast Ground, 11.3 oz, $2.58 or $0.23 per oz.
福爵经典烘焙咖啡粉,11.3盎司2.58美元或每盎司0.23美元

Although you will almost always save more money by using coupons on the smallest size, it pays to take the time to do the math.
虽然你总能通过在小件商品上使用优惠券省钱,但是做计算是需要花时间的。

7. Not Reading the Fine Print
7. 不看明细

Most coupons have usage policies printed on the coupon. It can be minimum sizes that need to be purchased to use the coupon, specific colors, specific flavors, quantity limits and even regional coupons with zip code limits. Always take the time to read the coupon and follow the rules. Understandably couponers are not perfect and a coupon can be turned over, and then mistakenly redeemed by a cashier, to do it on purpose is not ethical or honest.
许多优惠券都印上了使用条例。可能是使用优惠券的最小购买规格、特定颜色、特定口味、数量限制,以及有邮编限制的区域性优惠券。要经常花时间去阅读优惠券信息并遵循这些规则。可以理解的是,优惠券使用者并不是完美的,优惠券也可能在交给出纳员之后被错误地兑换,但故意这么做是不道德的,也是不诚实的。

[/en]8. Not Getting a Rain Check
8. 不开延期票

This is probably the one are that I get very lazy about because of the extra time that it takes, but my laziness has cost me a lot of money in the long run. Don't be like me. Take the time to ask for a rain check when an advertised sale item is sold out at your grocery stores.
这可能是我特别懒于做的一件事,因为会额外花时间,但是我的懒惰为后续带来了很多损失。别像我一样。当你杂货店里的折扣商品卖完时,花点时间去要一张延期票吧。

9. Buying When the Price Isn't Right
9. 不在适当定价时购买

Every couponer has experienced going through checkout and realizing either they misread a coupon or the sale price on an item, or the cashier/manager just refuses to budge on a price or accept a coupon, even though they are wrong. Either way, if an item is going to cost you more than what you thought you would spend on it, pull it out of the bag and nicely ask that the cashier remove it from your total.
每个用优惠券的购买者都经历

8. Not Getting a Rain Ch过这样的情况,在穿过结账台时意识到他们看错了优惠券或商品价格,或者收银员/经理拒绝改变价格或使用优惠券,即使是他们弄错了。不管是哪种情况,如果一件商品要花费你比预期更多的钱,那就把它从包里拿出来,或者礼貌地请收银员从总的商品中拿掉吧。

[en]Failing to do this can really get expensive. You end up with items that cost you more than what you would ever pay under normal circumstances. By doing this, it also helps you discipline yourself to pay attention to the scanned prices as the cashier scans your items.

如果不这么做,价格会贵很多。你将会花费比正常情况下更多的钱。如果这么做的话,它能够帮助你训练自己在收银员结账时关注扫码的价格。

10. Getting Angry
10. 生气

Using coupons can be exasperating at times. You have to deal with eye-rolling cashiers, customers muttering profanity at you, managers that are barely trained and employees that don't even know their store's policies. But you also deal with moms working a part-time job, students trying to pay their way through college, parents who work six days a week, 10 hours a day, then go home and take care of kids.
有时候,使用优惠券会让人生气。你必须面对翻白眼的收银员,其他顾客的不满与咒骂,以及几乎没有受过培训的经理和不清楚商场政策的员工。但你也会面对兼职工作的妈妈,为了完成学业而打工的学生,一周工作六天、一天工作10小时、之后还要回家照顾孩子的父母。

Just like everywhere, there are all types of people working in stores. When things fail to go your way with your coupons, just keep things nice and leave with as much savings as you can. It just is not worth getting into heated verbal disagreements.
像别的地方一样,各种各样的人都会在商场里工作。当使用优惠券不顺利时,就把东西放下带着尽可能多的钱离开吧,激烈的争执是不值得的。

声明:本双语文章的中文翻译系沪江英语原创内容,转载请注明出处。中文翻译仅代表译者个人观点,仅供参考。如有不妥之处,欢迎指正。