Is Couponing Worth it?
Abby Brodbeck
Mr. Reuter
Economics
October 1, 2014
“Is Couponing Worth It?”
You may have seen on TLC the television show “Extreme Couponing.” In this show, the extreme couponer usually takes a trip to Pick-N-Save and reduces their $800 transaction down to $18. Usually they need help to push all the shopping carts filled to the brim with frozen pizzas and toilet paper to their minivan, need a trailer to haul the massive shopping spree home, and then they spend hours organizing the items into the “storage area” which usually is their garage. But is couponing really worth it?.....maybe...
Recently, investigators from CIC (Couponing Information Corporation) have found that many times, the couponers who are a guest on the TLC show are using counterfeit coupons. The coupons that they find from the “manufacturer” that often offer “free products” and can be used in multiples are often fake. CIC warned TLC of this last year in May when TLC aired shows with couponers basically stealing hundreds of dollars worth of items from grocery stores because the store manager felt compelled to override the invalid coupon code. Currently, TLC is working on creating a more realistic version of the show.
Video:
Even if you aren’t clipping counterfeits, is honest couponing worth it? Back in the day, when coupons actually had to be searched for in the ads and clipped out, the opportunity cost of time and effort probably wasn’t worth the savings. Let’s say that working mom with kids who wants to save money, if she was really serious about it, clipped coupons on average for 3 hours a week (during the time it takes to watch the Packer game Sunday afternoon.) Those three hours should reap huge benefits, right? But with grocery coupons usually only reducing somewhere between 50 cents to one dollar, the total savings may only subtract out to about 24 dollars. The pay for this “job” of cutting coupons is now about minimum wage.
Also, “honest” or “real” coupons usually cannot be doubled up, and unless you were actually going to buy the product without the coupon, then theres another reason the coupon wouldn’t be worth it. My Grandma, who grew up in the Great Depression, is a great coupon clipper, but her logic, like many other’s, is flawed. Sometimes she will spend money on products she doesn’t even need or even want, just because she is getting a good deal. She will see sunscreen being sold at Walmart is only one dollar (!!!) but that dollar is a waste of money if the sunscreen is expired. Usually stores clearance out grocery items because the food is near expiration or just not of high quality and the store needs to get rid of the stock.When it comes to grocery coupons, make your grocery list first, and then try to find coupons only for those items on your list, that way you aren't spending more money on things you don’t really need. My point is, don’t spend money just to save money.
With technology now, coupon clipping is becoming a lost “art” per se, as apps on iphones make it so easy to save money. These apps allow you to easily search for the types of items that you are buying so you don’t waste time clipping. By handing your phone over with the coupon code at the register makes saving money fast and portable. Another tip for couponers would be that coupons which have a percentage savings rather than a cut and dry money value off usually reap higher benefits for the consumer, because they have the power to choose what they buy.
Obviously, unless you were the kid on “Extreme Couponing”, normal teenage hobbies aren’t coupon clipping, but as we get into college and start our lives, we will need to find more ways to make and save money. You can decide for yourself but personally I would rather enjoy my life than cut coupons.
"5 Reasons Extreme Couponing Isn't Worth It." The First Million is the Hardest. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2014. <http://thefirstmillionisthehardest.net/5-reasons-extreme-couponing-isnt-worth-th/>.
"Extreme Couponing: An Extreme Disappointment." Coupon Information Corporation: CIC Position on Extreme Couponing. N.p., n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2014. <http://www.couponinformationcenter.com/extremecoupon.php>.
"The truth about Extreme Couponing." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 3 Oct. 2014. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yNf6w4hRFg>.
0 Response to "Is Couponing Worth it?"
Post a Comment