8 Reasons You Shouldn’t Use Coupons

So, I am reading this article on Yahoo Finance by Amy Fontinelle called “8 Reasons You Shouldn’t Use Coupons”. The name of the article had me at hello, right? So, I am reading and giggling and reading some more. I can’t believe the “REASONS” to not coupon. I mean, before I couponed our monthly grocery bill was $733 (on average). I shopped smart, did sales, just didn’t use coupons or really shop around. I was a one store kinda gal. Now, my grocery budget is around $200 per month. That is a savings of $500 per month…or $6,000 per year. My husband had lost his job and had to take a job making $10,000 less per year…and that hurt…but not as bad as it would have if I were still wasting $500 a month!

So here are her ‘Reasons’ and my objections to her reasoning. Most of the article is written ‘Tongue in Cheek’, you will see, I am giggling as I write, cuz these reasons seem more like excuses to me.

Reason #1
You have to buy a newspaper.
- Well, Yes, you do have to buy a newspaper. And if I had to go from newsstand to newsstand searching for papers that had all the inserts and coupons I wanted, I would be one frustrated mommy. That is that EVERY SUNDAY morning I would be forced to drive around picking thru them and paying $2+ per paper. I DON’T!!! I have chosen HOME DELIVERY. They are delivered right to my house, $2 for the first Sunday paper and $1 for each additional Sunday paper. AND they are guaranteed to have all their inserts. Yep, if I am missing something, I call and they REDELIVER the paper to me….Take THAT Newsstands!

Reason #2
Clipping coupons takes time.
- Well, YES! That is why I don’t clip. I use a system where I just write the date of the insert on the front of each insert. Then, when I find a sale, or need a product, I use the Coupon Database to tell me where to find the coupon. Viola, I clip at that time and head to the store. That preparation for shopping trips takes about 30minutes per week. (I do once a week shopping). With the actual shopping time, I run a little over an hour per week…so about 5 hours per month…and save $500 a month. That is $100 per hour that I made and didn’t have to report to IRS! After all, a penny saved is a penny earned (tax free)!

Reason #3
Getting a newspaper invites lots of additional advertising into your home
- So does watching TV, listening to the radio, driving down the freeway (Billboards), shopping in grocery stores (ads over the PA & ads on the shelves), reading a magazine, checking your mailbox. In all fairness, she IS RIGHT that advertising is powerful stuff, you HAVE to stand your ground. It is true that I have seen a commercial for freshly fried chicken and thought, I need some fried chicken. What is also true is that I have also wanted that fried chicken and remembered my goal of not eating out, and stuck to my menu plan for that day. We have to be stronger than advertising in all aspects of our life. That is a fact. Advertising can lead us down MANY undesirable paths….not just financial recklessness.

Reason #4
Many of the coupons will be for things you neither need nor want
- Check Reason #2….Since I don’t clip until I want to use the coupon, I don’t really care if there are extra coupons for items I won’t need or want. Truth be told, I haven’t even looked page by page thru the last 3 weeks of coupons. I just filed them. Advertising never touched my eyes! (check reason #3) HA!!

Reason #5
Coupons can tempt you to spend your grocery dollars on things you shouldn’t
- Her argument here is VERY VALID!! Not knocking Hamburger Helper, but you can easily get pulled down a road of only eating convenience foods. Hence, I tend to use most of my coupons on items such as Toothpaste, Razors, Deodorant, Paper products, dog food, etc. However, during the months of September thru January, there are TONS more coupons for staple items, like sugar, broth, flour, yeast, etc….these are used in my household to keep my pantry stocked full of foods that can be used to make healthy and delicious meals throughout the year.

Reason #6
The same coupons tend to be offered over and over again
- All I have to say to this is…Thank God…this is how I keep my pantry stocked! If I only got different coupons for different things all the time…we would have no razors, toothpaste, deodorant, etc….I mean WE NEED these items repeatedly…so THANKS for the coupons repeatedly.

Reason #7
You might become a slave to coupons
- Her argument here is that “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 $1.50 rather than pine for ice cream and cast longing glances at your freezer every night for three weeks until your next coupon arrives.” – Please don’t become a SLAVE to anything…except the righteousness of Christ. However, YES, I am guilty of looking at ice cream priced at $4-$6 per half gallon and thinking….UGHHH, my price point on that is $1.50 per half gallon. Oh well, guess I won’t get it. Hey, my argument here is ….I DIDN’T NEED the ice cream! It is not a necessary item for my survival. However for $4-$6, I can hit the local Farmer’s Market and get some awesome produce that would satisfy my sweet tooth.

Romans 6:18 (NIV) You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

Reason #8
Shopping takes longer
- Not really…Maybe in the beginning…I mean, I was just getting the hang of things…and had to buy items that were both NEEDS (at a higher price point) and stock up items. After that, I was able to spend an hour or so per week and keep a great stockpile of items in my pantry. So, shopping doesn’t really take longer…as you get better at it. Plus you spend more time in preparing as opposed to more time walking the isles (which means less impulse buying, that is brought on by advertising – see reasons #3 and #5)