It's been a while since I stepped up on my soapbox...maybe I was just waiting for the right article to come along! This is a long one, so grab the beverage of your choice and get comfy!
There was a Yahoo Finance Article “8 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Use Coupons” by Amy Fontinelle that popped up this morning and I received several emails from you (probably the ones who miss me getting all ranty) and I have to say...I was grinding my teeth in frustration by about the 2nd paragraph. I just LOVE when people who have no idea what they are talking about write anti-couponing articles!
So let's look at the "8 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Use Coupons" one at a time, shall we?
1. You have to buy a newspaper: This doesn't apply to any free coupons you happen to get along with products or in the mail, but once you pay for a newspaper, you've lost money. You then have to make up for that loss by using Read the rest here
A Sunday paper is about $2 in most areas. On any given week, you can find more than enough coupons to "break even" and if your stores double coupons, you can break even without even thinking about it. Even if your stores don't double coupons, most weeks there is a single coupon that pays for the paper all by itself...be it a BOGO Pantene coupon ($4 value), $2.50 off dishwashing detergent, etc. I estimate that I save at least $75 per week with my coupons....not bad when you consider I spend less than $10 to save that $75 (and frankly? $75 is my "low-ball estimate"...if I only save that much, I consider it a bad week!).
2. Clipping coupons takes time: Yes, you can do it while you watch TV and turn "unproductive" time into "productive" time. But there are a lot of things you can do while you watch TV - mop the floor, prepare a week's worth of meals or actually let yourself relax and not do anything for once. Your time might be better spent on another activity.“8 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Use Coupons” by Amy Fontinelle
First - when it comes to making a choice between mopping and clipping, clipping will win every time. Prepare a weeks worth of meals? In the 1-2 hours that it takes me each week to clip coupons? Unless that preparation includes figuring which restaurant we are ordering from for 4 of those nights, Ms. Fontinelle is either grossly exaggerating, or doesn't have to prepare meals for 5 people each night.
Aside from that, the time that goes in to clipping coupons is factored in to my savings. If I use my low-ball estimate of $75 in savings and subtract out the cost of the papers, I am still at a savings of $65 per week. It takes me 1-2 hours to save that $65...that's $32.50 to $65 per hour. That's not chump change for the amount of time I put in to clipping!
Lastly - you know what happens when I just let myself relax and not do anything or just watch TV? Most of the time, Turkey Hill Peanut Butter Explosion and whipped cream are involved. Clipping coupons can actually be considered a diet aid!
3. Getting a newspaper invites lots of additional advertising into your home. - Advertising is powerful stuff - this is part of the reason why companies offer coupons in the first place. You might actually end up buying more stuff by having all those ads around, negating any savings you get from coupons. The same is true if a coupon compels you to venture into a store you wouldn't otherwise visit. “8 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Use Coupons” by Amy Fontinelle
Ah - the old "people are too stupid to refrain from impulse buys and responding to ads" argument. Advertising is a horrible thing aimed at the weak-minded. It's a good thing that Ms. Fontinelle writes for Yahoo, a company that does NOT have ads on their pages. Oh wait.....
Sarcasm and nit-pickiness aside...
I rely on ads to keep me informed. Yes - I have been known to buy things because I saw them in an ad...but it was because it was something that I wanted, needed or had been interested in buying in the first place. I have never said "Oh - I have a perfectly good camera at home that fits all my needs, but this one in the Staples ad is $10 off! Let's get it!". Advertising is everwhere, from your TV to (unfortunately) many schools, to the billboards to the side of the car next to you in traffic. Advertising pays Ms. Fontinelle's salary to write idiotic essays like this.
Put simply, just because something is advertised, doesn't mean that we have to buy it and just because we can get something free with coupon doesn't mean that we have to go to the store to get it. It's called self-control and many people have it. There are products for which I see coupons each month that I'm NOT going to buy, no matter how good the coupon may be.
4. Many of the coupons will be for things you neither need nor want. - Unfortunately, coupon circulars aren't customized to your shopping habits. If you are a die-hard bargain hunter, if may be hard for you to turn down Read the rest here
Yeah - I wasn't planning on buying 12 cans of shaving cream the other day. But when I saw that I could get it free with the 12 coupons I had, I did buy it (if you could call it buying, since I got it free). Do I NEED 12 cans of shaving cream this week? Of course not. But that shaving cream will hold me over until the next time I can get it free or close to free.
And what if I didn't even use shaving cream? Would it still have been a waste? Absolutely not. Between church and school, there are always "food & household items" drives for the food pantries and shelters. Needy people like to shave too and using coupons allows me to increase the quantity of my donations to these places.
5. Coupons can tempt you to spend your grocery dollars on things you shouldn't. Coupons don't always market the healthiest foods. This might mean that they'll lead you to buy things that aren't very good for you. Anyone can see that clipping coupons that tempt you to purchase sugary cereals and fatty or salty snacks isn't the greatest thing Read the rest here
I will NEVER argue that there aren't a whole bunch of coupons for what can be considered "junk food" in the papers. BUT, there are also plenty of coupons (and more and more each month) for organic foods (Muir Glen, Horizon Organics, Organic Valley, Stonyfield, Cascadian Farms, etc). And as companies are getting with the times, some of those "junk food makers" are coming out better versions of their products (like Yoplait with their Simply Go-Gurt) and promoting them with coupons.
And even if you STILL don't like any of the food coupons, you can free up a TON of money in your grocery budget to buy fruits, veggies and low-fat meats by using coupons to get your toiletries and cleaning products for free or close to free.
6. The same coupons tend to be offered over and over again. After a few months of coupon clipping, you'll realize that you're repeatedly clipping the same coupons. This might work for you if you use the same products repeatedly, but it's not so great if you prefer variety and experimentation. You often won't use all the coupons you clip by their expiration date, so you'll have to toss that yogurt coupon that expired on June 30 only to clip another identical Read the rest here.
Oh - this is a cute one....it's a new twist on the "there are never coupons for things I need"....it's "there are too many coupons for things I need".
Let's look at the yogurt example given....once again, I have to assume that Ms. Fontinelle is single and/or doesn't have a bunch of children running around the house, because we go through yogurt like crazy! My daughter would go eat an entire package of Simply Go-Gurt in 2 days if I let her.
Beyond that, you don't HAVE to clip every coupon, even if it is for things that you need. If you are well stocked on toothpaste for the next 12 weeks and there is a toothpaste coupon that expires in 3 weeks, you just don't clip it. Another one will come along in time for you to score more free toothpaste.
7. You might become a slave to coupons. - It can be very difficult to buy something without a coupon once you get used to using coupons. Knowing that you can get ice cream for $2.50 might make it difficult for you to spend $4 on it even though many times, it would be worth it to spend the extra Read the rest here..
A slave? Melodramatic much?
I'm going to let you in on a little secret....I sometimes buy things for which I don't have a coupon when I need to want them. I even stopped at the grocery store on the way to my father's beach house and bought a cart full of groceries and didn't use a single coupon except a tearpad one for a bag of salad that I found while shopping that store. I did joke on Facebook that I died a little inside, but the truth is - I was on vacation, shopping at an unfamiliar store and didn't really care....I just wanted to get to the beach and the Bud Light Lime! I have saved enough money over the years through using coupons that I COULD have trips like this.
First - nobody should be a slave to anything (except maybe nice shoes). But beyond that, that is why we stockpile things. If I can stock up on that ice cream when it is on sale AND I have a coupon, that should hold me until the next time I can get it that cheap.
But even if it is something that I REALLY need or REALLY want? Put it this way - I have never let my lack of a coupon stop me from buying toilet paper or feminine hygeine products.
(although I DO have to admit that I have used the "we don't have a coupon so we aren't buying it" argument with my children...but mainly because they wanted to buy something that I didn't think they needed...and I often DO have a coupon for it).
8. Shopping takes longer. - If you have to hunt up and down the aisles in search of the item you have a coupon for, you'll spend more time at the store. This could also lead you to spend more money, potentially negating the savings you're working so hard to accrue. “8 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Use Coupons” by Amy Fontinelle
Oh goody - here comes the part where I get to insert a plug for my site and sites like mine. That is what Moms Need To Know (and sites like this) DO for a living. We make it easier for you to search out the best deals. Sure, if you are shopping at a brand-new store, you may have a hard time finding what you need, but most people know their grocery stores fairly well....and even though stores may like to move things around, you know where the cereal is, the beans, etc.
If you go to the store with a shopping plan and stick to it, there shouldn't be a problem. Once you get used to couponing, you can be in & out of the store fairly quickly. I find taking my children to the grocery store costs me more in impulse buys than using coupons ever has.
The Bottom Line - Yes, you can save a lot of money with coupons, especially when you combine them with sales. However, there are some drawbacks to coupons that must be taken into account. Perhaps the most dedicated coupon clippers can overcome these hurdles and still achieve overall savings. If you're not one of them, there's no need to start clipping.
Bunk.
You don't have to be a "dedicated coupon clipper" to save boatloads of money. My "serious couponing" started with just one need and 1 store: to get free toiletries at CVS. If that is all you want to do, that's great! If you want to get your grocery budget down to $50/week, you can do that too! If you just want to save money on cleaning products, coupons let you do that.
The point is, YOU decide what you want to do. You don't need to get to the level of "dedicated coupon clipper" in order to save money. Just ONE newspaper per week can save you money.
Please don't let misguided and uninformed articles like this one deter you from using coupons!
Wow! That felt good! Remind me to rant more often!
erin
nicely put. people who think like that probably have more money than they know what to do with, therfore not needing to think about saving money.
MommyatLaw
I love this rant! Directly on the money!
Bear
1) Write an article that's guaranteed to get lots of coverage in the lucrative momblog and middle-aged women circuit.
2) Gets lots of pageviews from the outraged coverage. Doesn't matter if your audience is mad or not; the bean counters just want to see big numbers.
3) Receive bonus from boss for bringing in extra money.
Amy Fontinelle is a genius!
Bonnie
You are so right, Bear! Read Amy Fontinelle's blog and she tells a different story, all the great things about using coupons to save money. What a crock!
Robin
I think this woman Amy who wrote the article has never really tried couponing to realize the amount of money it saves. I would like to bring her to Target with me and show her how I get $94 of stuff for $7.87.
Chris
http://www.torontosun.com/money/savings/2010/02/26/13047501.html#/money/savings/2010/02/26/pf-13047501.html
I think she knows how ...
Jennifer Y.
Perfect response, thanks for taking the time to write this. I had to laugh at #8. If only she could see the Excel spreadsheet I make for each shopping trip! Honestly, it takes just as long to type up real quick as writing it out (I have a saved template). I add the quantities, prices and coupons, so I have a very close idea to what my total will be at the register. My list keeps me focused and on budget.
Musings of a Housewife
Can you show me how to do that!? 🙂
Jessica
My favorite is number 7... I also tell my children I don't have the coupon and it is not on sale! I wonder if Amy would send me her coupons? I always need more!
Angela Walker
I thought your comment : (although I DO have to admit that I have used the “we don’t have a coupon so we aren’t buying it” argument with my children…) was FUNNY. I'm new to couponing. We're a military family and are temporarily living in separate households so our bills just doubled. I started trying out clipping coupons a month ago and I am very pleased with the results so far. I always take my daughters shopping with me and I've been using that line a lot lately. I let my daughters help me decide what we need from the store, and then while we're at the store I'll show them the coupon and have them hunt for the products. When they ask for something not on our grocery list I say "sorry, we don't have a coupon so we can't get it" and the pleading is over. To be fair though, I have been letting them pick out a drink or candy now to help get the total up a little higher so I can use all of my coupons, so they still win!
michelle
I totally just posted about this on my blog too! I also emailed the author--I hope she responds!! I HATED THIS ARTICLE! So ridiculous and uninformed! End. Rant.
Nicole W.
I sent this woman an e-mail also, and I cited this blog as one of many I use to help me organize my shopping excursion. Her ice cream example had me ROTFLMAO, I would have a coronary if I paid $4 for ice cream now. I'm waiting on a good Mayfield deal so I can participate in the rebate.
Diane K.
Preach it sister!
I have been couponing for years, and I learned it from a very wise woman, my mother. No one can mess with me and my coupon savings. Who else buys the new Neutrogena Clinical (worth $40) and makes $15 off the deal? Not Amy Fontinelle, that's for sure!
Bren
Just a side note, if you have Dollar Tree stores in your area, you can get the Sunday paper for just $1 there! All the coupons intact! 🙂
The Frugal Free Gal
I LOVE my coupons. I will never let anyone tell me that they don't help me save money. I was actually thinking today, wow! I don't have to go shopping for a while because I am stocked up on so much--because I bought everything on sale, with coupons. With a child, I LOVEEE not having to shop all the time! 🙂 I have noticed a HUGE drop in my grocery bills since I have started using coupons.
http://frugalfreegal.blogspot.com
kristen
Amen! You said it better than I could've today
.-= kristen´s last blog ..Check Out This Yummy Tastefully Simple Giveaway =-.
Janna Johnson
I so agree. People write articles so they can get paid. not so they can inform the public. Couponing saves my family hundreds and hundreds if not thousands each year
Michelle Simmons
I love couponing and am a fan of a few sites. This is the first I have come in contact with your site. I just read this whole article and your viewpoint on it. And now you have a follower for life! You are so right... about everything!
celia
That woman is nuts, and also lazy- if she had done any homework before writing her article she might be saving money with the rest of us. I have saved 130 dollars in just the last two weeks, and I buy mostly organic.
.-= celia´s last blog ..how can breast milk =-.
Jolene
I agree with Bear. I think Amy is genius. I have a hard time believing she really believes what she wrote. It almost sounded sarcastic at times. I think it was written for the hype that it created. Coupons have saved our family a lot of money!
Beth Anne
This post was SO well written, Mindi! I am a huge fan of your blog and recommend it often, but I think there is so much more to what you offer than "just" coupons or sales...you are a great thinker and writer too! I loved the itemized refutation of every one of the "points" made by the original article.
jen
Once again I have to agree with Mindi. Love your blog and the fact that it teaches people that you don't have to eat all junk food to save money. Not everyone wants to or needs to be super couponer but everyone can always save a buck!
Briana
Great job Mindi as always! Love it when you get a bit ranty (about coupons anyway!)
Angela
And this is why...you are my HERO!
I saw the article yesterday and took a few minutes to send her an email and invite her to check out my blog. I also warned her she's created a stir in the blogosphere.
Gal has NO clue!
BTW...I hope to meet you at BlogHer this year.
.-= Angela´s last blog ..How do YOU organize coupons bloggers- link up! =-.
Jill
I think it is HILARIOUS that we "may be enticed by advertisements to buy something we don't need or want" but that repetitive coupons keep us from "variety and experimentation". WHICH IS IT? Hmmm...she contradicts herself.
jessica
don't you just love how she says that coupons are only for junk food, but then is staring longingly at her freezer while waiting for an ice cream coupon! AND don't you just love how she says that coupons are only for junk food, but then is staring longingly at her freezer while waiting for an ice cream coupon! This article was only good for a good laugh!!
krista
A couple of comments. Great reply to the article.
Maybe Amy was having a bad coupon day. I looked at the article Chris posted..Amy maybe using coupons for 4 months..the article was from March...If she is starting out, I think she is in coupon frustration. If you remember when you first got started..it could be a little frustrating and a little over whelming. So maybe this was her little rant....Maybe with the bloggers emailing her will help her get out of her rut and start saving again.
I'm not sticking up for Amy, but maybe she needed to rant to.
Kristie
Well..........you go girl!!! Nicely said!
Faith
Great Response! I want to thank you personally for all the money you've helped me save over the past 6 months. Im new to the world of coupons and I have to say that #8 is completely false. Because of your site (and sites like it) I am able to go in with a plan, get exactly what I want and need and get the heck out of that store with lots of stuff and money left in my pocket. I shop for my husband and I and I used to spend $80 - 100 dollars a week at the grocery store. I am now down to $30- $50 and leave with the same size cart (OR MORE) lets not even get me started on what I save at RiteAid and CVS - leaving these stores with $30 worth of stuff for less than $5 out of my pocket... Thanks for all that you do, my husband comments constantly on how Im saving us money and I'm also able to give some of the extras in my stock pile to my neice and mother. I hope people don't listen to this woman who has no idea what she is talking about!
Carol
I saw this article, and couldn't believe it. I am glad you did a piece on it. What a joke they are - there is no way, no how, no anything that shows that using coupons is in any way a waste of time or money. I was just astonished that someone would write that. Thanks for your time with it!
gina
you know, it must be nice. Mrs Amy must get paid so much money from her essays that she feel no real need to clip coupons. Many individuals right now, thank their lucky stars that coupons, and of course you Mindi, exist!
Erica @ Just Call Me Cheap
I have given up on people who don't use coupons. They don't understand us and don't want to understand us so let them continue to pay for stuff while we get paid to buy it.
Raina
Well put!! I completely agree with you about bringing the kids with you also 🙂
Traci
I have been couponing now for about a year and not only has it been a lifesaver in terms of spending money but it has become a form of entertainment, too. My husband always asks me how much I saved and how much I spent. We were forced to make major lifestyle adjustments with the economy so the couponing has been doubly useful and fun.
Abby
I can't imagine NOT using coupons, but as for #1? We've ALWAYS bought a Sunday paper. Even before I'd ever considered using a coupon. It's just part of our weekend ritual.
Of course now I hurry out and buy the early Sunday edition so I can scan the ads Saturday night ... but I still relax after church on Sunday afternoon and READ the paper. I imagine most of us do. After we've completed our Rite Aid, Walgreen's and CVS transactions, that is.
Pangolin
I got to your article from a link from my friend on facebook and I must say I just LOVE what you've done to that Yahoo article. We're both avid coupon clippers and were astounded at how a major website could post such bunk information. Sure you don't have to be a die hard like we are but seriously the information in that article is terrible!
cam
maybe you haven't seen all the "crazy" moms out there who have NO self control. I know a person with 8 bottles of eye contact cleanser and nobody in her family wears contacts. It just doesn't make sense to me...not to mention all the time she wastes reading 6 blogs looking for every single deal....I seriously have better things to do then read a bunch of blogs, clip coupons, and run to the stores for items I don't use.
jessica
I'm sorry. I just can't pass this one up.
I have bottles of soft contact solution, but i wear gas permeables. I buy it when it's a moneymaker and give it to our poor newly married grad school student friends. There are definitely people out there with no self control, but sometimes there's logic behind the "crazy".
We're all given the same hours in a day and all given the choice about how to use it. Maybe she thinks you waste your time.
You're obviously a blog reader too. Do you know that this blog is about using the coupons that you think are a waste of time?
nancy
I found your post through another coupon blogger, and have to commend you on your rant. It is sites like yours that allow all of us couponers to be so successful. I love couponing because it's entertaining - I enjoy spending time to save money.
I couldn't help but notice Ms. Fontinelle's name. Doesn't it remind you of another word that's pronounced the same? Fontanel? Isn't that the soft spot on the head? I'm just saying...........