{"id":2067,"date":"2010-07-20T14:05:11","date_gmt":"2010-07-20T18:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.couponmom.com\/blog\/?p=2067"},"modified":"2010-07-20T14:10:44","modified_gmt":"2010-07-20T18:10:44","slug":"is-it-worth-it-to-use-coupons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.couponmom.com\/blog\/is-it-worth-it-to-use-coupons","title":{"rendered":"Is it worth it to use coupons?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Stephanie Nelson, www.couponmom.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Because so many people have sent me a link to the recent online article called \u00a0“8 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Use Coupons”\u00a0 by Amy Fontinelle, \u00a0I finally decided to throw in my 2 cents. Hey, make that free because we use coupons!<\/p>\n

I agreed with every point in this article–that is, if you are an independently wealthy multimillionaire. But if you’re not, you might want to keep an open mind about using coupons. I’ve saved thousands of dollars in the past 20 years by using coupons and I doubt anyone could talk me out of the value of this free money. I agree, you need to be strategic and discriminating when using coupons, but that’s not hard. If you are interested, these are my “coupon user” response to these points.<\/p>\n

Reasons not to use coupons from Amy Fontinelle’s article<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Reason #1: You have to buy a newspaper<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Coupon Mom view<\/strong>: OK, if you can save $20 buying a $1 or $2 paper, that’s a better return than the stock market. Check the Coupon Mom Grocery Coupon Database as\u00a0early as Friday\u00a0to see if it’s worth it to you to buy that Sunday’s paper. You may find it’s smart to buy more than one.<\/p>\n

Reason #2:\u00a0 Clipping coupons takes time<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Coupon Mom view:<\/strong>\u00a0 Not as much time as going to a part-time job and it’s a lot easier to use coupons, no performance review either.<\/p>\n

Reason #3:\u00a0 Many of the coupons will be for things you neither need nor want.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Coupon Mom view:<\/strong>\u00a0 OK, then don’t use those.\u00a0 That’s easy.<\/p>\n

Reason #4:\u00a0 Coupons can tempt you to spend your grocery dollars on things you shouldn’t.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Coupon Mom view:\u00a0 <\/strong>Walking into a grocery store can do the same thing, the key in both situations is to make a plan of what you need and stick to it.<\/p>\n

Reason #5:\u00a0 <\/strong>The same coupons tend to be offered over and over again.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Coupon Mom view:\u00a0 <\/strong>Isn’t that a good thing if they are for items you like?\u00a0 And if not, don’t use the ones you don’t like.<\/p>\n

Reason #6:\u00a0 You might become a slave to coupons. (such as not buying an item you want because you didn’t have the coupon)<\/strong><\/p>\n

Coupon Mom view:\u00a0 <\/strong>If using coupons means you might pass up buying a full-priced item you don’t need, that’s not terrible.\u00a0 When I’ve found myself in that situation, I go ahead and buy a different brand that is on sale rather than skip the purchase entirely.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Reason #7 :\u00a0 Shopping takes longer.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Coupon Mom view:\u00a0 <\/strong>Actually, shoppers who prepare a detailed shopping list with coupons before they go to the store\u00a0 get their shopping done faster because they are prepared.\u00a0 Less time spent in the store means less money spent, too.\u00a0 Use free sites like CouponMom.com to help you plan your list before you go to the store.<\/p>\n

Reason #8:\u00a0 Getting a newspaper invites lots of additional advertising into your home.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Coupon Mom view:\u00a0 <\/strong>Advertising surrounds us everywhere in the media: TV, radio, the web, magazines, etc.\u00a0 You may find even more useful coupons in that “advertising” for local stores and restaurants you like.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Coupon\u00a0Mom’s \u00a0Bottom Line:<\/strong>\u00a0 Go ahead and try coupons, take the chance that you might save so much you can do more fun things with your money than pay more than you need to for groceries!
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