Every weekday morning, a segment on ABC's "Good Morning America" flashes a handful of promo codes across the screen, and thousands of shoppers pounce.
Deals and Steals has become a small ritual for budget-conscious households hunting markdowns on everything from sheets to skincare.
But the frenzy says less about morning TV and more about the math sitting in people's kitchens.
Grocery prices are still climbing faster than most paychecks, rents in many cities keep setting records, and credit card APRs are hovering near historic highs.
When the Federal Reserve holds rates steady to fight inflation, it doesn't lower the interest you pay on a revolving balance — it just stops making it worse.
So a 40% off code stops feeling like a splurge and starts feeling like strategy.
The Consumer Price Index tracks what a basket of goods costs over time; when it rises, your dollar buys less.
Wages have grown, but for many workers they haven't kept pace with housing and food.
That gap is why a discounted air fryer or a cut-rate vacuum cleaner draws a rush normally reserved for concert tickets.
If you put a "deal" on a card carrying a 22% APR and pay it off over a year, you can erase most of the savings — and then some.
A $100 purchase financed at that rate can cost you well over $110 by the time it's cleared.
The discount only works if you pay the balance before interest kicks in.
Rent and groceries don't offer promo codes.
You can't clip your way out of a $400 rent increase or a $6 carton of eggs.
So the deals that do exist get stretched further: stocked pantry shelves, replaced appliances bought at a markdown instead of full price, gifts bought in July for December.
None of this means the segments are a trap.
Many of the offers are genuinely good, and a few are legitimately rare.
The trick is treating them like a tool, not a thrill.
Check the original price, confirm the return policy, and ask whether you'd want the item at full price.
If the answer is no, the discount isn't a deal — it's a nudge.
For households watching every line item, scoring a real markdown restores a sliver of control in an economy that often feels like it's running the show.
That feeling is worth something, even if it doesn't show up on a receipt.
Our take: Deals and Steals is a mirror of the moment, not a cure for it.
Use the codes, skip the impulse buys, and pay with cash or a card you clear monthly.
Final Thoughts
The real savings live in the habits around the discount, not the discount itself.