Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Beware the Trap of Coupons

I was reading a blog post over at one of my favorite financial blogs moneyning.com . It was about his typical day of activity and how he and his wife used coupons to "save" a couple of bucks. It got me thinking about a fact that few American's really take the time to think about. What is this secret? .....???

COUPONS ARE ADVERTISEMENTS

What do I mean by this? What I mean is large corporations pay big , and I mean big money to have these coupons designed, printed, and marketed to the masses. Now, why in the world, would a company pay big money to send you a coupon where you in turn pay them less for their product? Could it be that the profit margin is large enough to absorb the lower price? Could it be that they have a plan for you to purchase in the future from them and spend more money with their company? Absolutely!

What's the Point? ...

Coupons are great, but, If you are using coupons to purchase items that you wouldn't purchase without them than you are doing yourself a disservice. Many people use couponing, or searching for "deals" and sales to justify their spending. The truth is most of the time these individuals could benefit more by sticking to a budget and not drifting outside of it simply because something is a good "deal".

Using coupons for groceries, specifically items you would have purchased anyways is a great way to save money. The Coupon Mom is a great example of this. But please do not fool yourself, using a coupon for $1 off a fast food chain, or 20% your local restaurant, buy one get one free smoothie's, buy one get one free latte frappe mocha iced whatever, etc.... is NOT being frugal. You are falling into the plans of the advertisers yet again.

COUPONS ARE ADVERTISEMENTS, and should be treated as such. Impulse spending is impulse spending, whether you have a .50c coupon or not!


Discussion Question : Do you agree or disagree with any or all of my thoughts on coupons?
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5 comments:

  1. You bring a great point!
    Coupons are great ways to save but they can also be stimulant to spend. I think the big thing is to know your limit.

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  2. i agree that coupons are use to promote products, but you can take advantage of it..look for coupon that are related to the products you want to buy..me i have done this in buying my laptop..

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  3. Well I have to say I was peripatetic here and there in google, but being here is good fate for me, thanks buddy.

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  4. I think customers may get these coupons from various sources, including national newspapers and the Internet, with web sites offering free printable grocery coupons can be printed at home and use them at retail store.

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  5. I like your articles very much.you have a quite exceptional view.

    ReplyDelete

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