Numerous readers wrote today to send me a link to this Investopedia article currently on Yahoo: 8 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Use Coupons. The only reason I hadn’t responded to this earlier today is that I spent the day in Chicago filming yet another coupon-related segment, which I’ll share with you later.
But now that I’m back and have digested the article thoroughly, my reactions have ranged from incredulous to irritated.
First, in the middle of the worst recession most of us have seen in our entire lifetimes, exactly what is the author’s intent here? To get people out of the mindset of wanting to save more? To convince them that spending money to save time is more worthwhile than spending time to save money?
Not surprisingly, this article’s heating up the coupon blogosphere like mad.
Numerous other popular blogs (Hip 2 Save, Krazy Coupon Lady, Mashup Mom, Moms Need to Know and many, many others) have already posted excellent responses to this. Here’s mine, and like many others, I’ll address this and refute point by point:
1. You have to buy a newspaper.
“Once you pay for a newspaper, you’ve lost money. You then have to make up for that loss by using enough coupons to break even.”
People have to BUY the newspaper? Forgive me, but I like knowing what’s going on in the world. (Let’s hope others do too, or the entire newspaper industry, as well as my job as a syndicated newspaper columnist, is doomed.) But even if you never open the newspaper and buy it for the coupons, you’re already making money. That $1 I spend each week to get my two copies of the Chicago Tribune delivered to my door immediately pays for itself.
Let’s say it’s a slow week and the Tribune “only” contains $100 worth of coupons inside. Each Tribune costs me .50. If I use just one .50 coupon from each paper, I’ve now gotten the money back I spent on the newspapers, and every other coupon inside is saving me money. Period! Imagine if a bank offered a promotion where customers could deposit .50 and turn that tiny investment into $100 — everyone would agree that this was an unbelievably amazing offer, right? The newspaper offers that every week.
2. Clipping coupons takes time.
“Actually let yourself relax and not do anything for once. Your time might be better spent on another activity.”
My time is best spent SAVING my family money, not sitting on the couch doing nothing :) Couponing doesn’t take nearly as much as most people think, especially if you’re using the “clipless system,” as tens of thousands of my coupon students are. If you use any grocery matchup site, you’re only cutting exactly the coupons you need for only the items you want to buy, and you can effectively coupon with a minimal time investment as small as a half-hour to an hour a week.
Does this author not realize there are websites cataloging every sale at the store, giving shoppers lists of the best prices matched to the coupons they need? (*Actually, she does, but that was conveniently left out of this article. We’ll get to that in a minute.)
3. Getting a newspaper invites lots of additional advertising into your home.
“You might actually end up buying more stuff by having all those ads around, negating any savings you get from coupons.”
Keep what you want. Toss the rest. I’m not a mindless automaton who can’t discern a good sale from a bad one. Next…
4. Many of the coupons will be for things you neither need nor want.
” If you are a die-hard bargain hunter, if [sic] may be hard for you to turn down a good deal, even if it means buying something you weren’t planning on getting anyway.”
And when those things are free with coupons, they go home with me. If we don’t need them, our food pantry is thrilled to receive them.
(And I also proofread my articles before I send them out to an audience of millions. But I digress…)
5. Coupons can tempt you to spend your grocery dollars on things you shouldn’t.
“Coupons don’t always market the healthiest foods… The “fruits and veggies” section of your coupon organizer is going to be a lonely place… coupons will only get you more food or different food – they won’t truly save you any money.”
Oh, the old “no coupons for healthy foods or produce” argument AGAIN? I tackled this one during my segment taping today by opening my coupon wallet and pulling out coupons for $1 off 2 California avocados, $2 off any produce purchase at Jewel, $1 off O Organics produce at Dominick’s, $1 off 2 Earthbound Farms organic produce, and a “Buy 2 Fresh Express salads, get 2 pounds of bananas free.” I can absolutely attest that the coupons used to purchase what’s currently in my vegetable and fruit bins truly have saved me money — lots of it.
6. The same coupons tend to be offered over and over again.
“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 one that doesn’t expire until July 31.”
Not if you’re going clipless and only cutting things the week you need them – unless something’s out of stock, when I come home from the store, I’ve used everything I clipped for that trip. And, I rather enjoy having multiples of coupons for yogurt, cereal, and juices, as we buy these things frequently — and if I have a nice library of coupons built up when a great sale comes around, I’m bringing more home and paying less for it.
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.”
Yes, it sure is difficult to want to pay full price for anything once you get used to cutting your grocery bill 50-70%.
“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 “
Those ice cream prices..! Who is even paying $2.50 for a 1.5qt? Especially if you have a freezer and don’t mind doing a big stockup during June (Dairy Month,) you’ll take those big cartons home for around .50, or better, free. I still have many large cartons of free Breyers in my freezer (from a moneymaker deal where you made $4 for every 4 cartons you bought) along with the .50 Edy’s 1.5qts. from the sale two weeks ago. What would be “difficult for me?” Spending a dollar on ice cream.
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.”
If I’m going in for cereal, bread, and juice, I’m heading to those aisles anyway. I’ve actually found the opposite to be true though — coupon shopping dramatically curbs impulse buying. When you go to the store and buy everything on your list (that you’ve got coupons for, of course) your trip’s done, and you leave.
The Bottom Line
“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.”
Perhaps the “most dedicated coupon clippers” number in the tens of thousands nationally. Amazing how so many people have been able to “overcome these hurdles!”
At this point in the article, one would think this author had never used a coupon in her life and thinks it’s just too difficult to figure it all out.
Not true. My very smart and savvy readers have done a little Googling on author Amy Fontinelle, and get this — she’s actually written articles with a pro coupon stance in the past! In this article, “5 Money-Saving Shopping Tips,” Amy Fontinelle writes:
“Might there be a coupon for this item somewhere?
Combine sales with coupons, and you’ll save even more. For the internet-savvy, eBay can be a great source of coupons, such as 10 buy-one-get-one-free coupons (abbreviated B1G1 in eBay lingo) of your favorite deodorant. The coupons might cost you $2.50 total including postage, but if you use all 10 of them, your net savings on a $3 stick of deodorant will be at least $27.50 plus tax. If you have time to look through a few pages of content, then sites that offer free printable coupons, like Coupons.com could be a good option for you too.”
Hmmm. How can the same author take such an anti-coupon stance in one article and a pro-coupon stance in another, even advocating buying multiples of coupons on eBay and giving an example of stockpiling?
Answer? Because she is a coupon shopper too.
Check out yet another article by Amy Fontinelle, “Saving Money on Groceries with the Coupon Mom Method“. In the article, she cut a $56.58 grocery bill to $14.48 — that’s a 74.42% savings!
Quoting from the article:
“I almost never buy anything … anymore unless the item is on sale and I have a coupon for it. I plan my shopping in advance by looking through the weekly ads and using the Coupon Mom website, which has a database of the unadvertised deals at grocery stores across the country (updated weekly) and even tells you which sale items have coupons and where you can find those coupons.”
“Finally, this shopping method has allowed me to start accumulating a stash of emergency food and water for both my home and my car. I’ve always put off doing this in the past because I couldn’t see spending $100 or so on food that was just going to sit around. Now that I am regularly getting grocery items for 50 cents or $1 each week, I am able to inexpensively accumulate emergency items.”
“If you’ve been looking for a way to cut down on your grocery bill, I highly recommend trying the Coupon Mom’s method. Once you get the hang of the system, you won’t be spending much time clipping coupons or planning your shopping trips, and you’ll be amazed by how much money you’ll save.”
This positive, pro-coupon article was written on May 7, 2009. In one year’s time, the author went from saving 75% on her groceries to declaring to a national audience that couponing is a waste of time?
What happened, Amy? And how can one person simultaneously hold such diametrically-opposing views?
bluedemon20 says
My favorite is “shopping takes longer.” I agree, Jill. I am in and out of Jewel in about 5-7 minutes. I may go in a few times a week, but I typically buy anywhere from 1-7 items. I have my coupons ready to go before I leave the house, know exactly what brand/size of something I am buying and RARELY buy anything on impulse because I’m not browsing up and down the aisles.
This article is so stupid it’s almost not worth respnding to.
onceuponacoupon says
I’m curious where it came from too!
icoupon2 says
(in part copying one of my own responses on this subject from Mashup Mom)
I think we what we have here is a case of “tell the people what they want to hear”. She clearly writes for whomever is willing to have her/pay her (which is fine, everyone has to make a living) but she clearly tailors her opinions/experience/advice to suit the forum. If you don’t have credibility and continuity as a writer/adviser…what do you have?
One of her blogs (https://twopenniesearned.blogspot.com/) was particularly telling. Coupons is the 5th most popular thing she writes about, of course up until this point it’s been PRO-couponing.
Made me giggle that her bio says (emphasis is mine): As a writer, Amy is known for her well-informed, entertaining, conversational pieces, and as an editor, she is known for her relentless attention to detail and honest, thoughtful comments….I think not! She’s a flip-flopper to the nth degree depending on who she is writing for.
And, if you are going to be giving “financial advice” your advice should at least be consistent. Plus, why is she giving “financial advice” all over town anyway? Not just on coupons, but investing, bankruptcy, mortgages, taxes, IRA’s, wedding planning…you name it…she has a BA in Spanish and a minor in art. How is she qualified to be giving all this expert advice on finances? I just don’t get it?
silviavm says
What article? Ohhhhhhh, that article! We need to not talk about this article because every single one of us can write 10 money saving scenarios that would blow her theory out of the water!!! I recommend that you take the link off so that it does not keep getting around, she does not deserve the attenion! I prefer reading Jill’s articles and blogs so to the writer “blog this and up yours with a bar code”! hahaha
silviavm says
My hubby coupons now too and boy when he read this he said “This chic does not know how cool it feels to save a ton whn you get a CD for free” LOL
Coupon Maven says
… posted the following two links:
https://www.torontosun.com/money/savings/2010/02/26/13047501.html#/money/savings/2010/02/26/pf-13047501.html – March 2010 interview where she says she’s a couponer who uses the binder method and follows CouponMom.com, and…
she also writes about her coupon shopping trips on her own moneysaving blog here:
https://twopenniesearned.blogspot.com/search/label/couponing
Which again begs the question — why would a coupon enthusiast write such a negative article about couponing? And NOT disclose that she herself is a couponer?
joulscouls says
It sounds like she had a deadline and took the easy way out. I think she is uneducated and lazy (and assumes readers are too) – in research and actual couponing and overall sounds like a negative Nellie. BTW, I love your point by point rebuttal! Time for a throwdown, Jill!
voodooangel says
I think the most interesting thing about this author is the fact that she has found a NEW way to make money with coupons, write about them. When advocating them doesn’t pay enough, oppose them! Clever! I am more concerned by the fact that early in the article she implies that you may not eat as well, because coupons are readily available for prcessed food items, then states later on that you may not be willing to pay full price for ice cream! Wouldn’t that be good? Wouldn’t that be the coupons edging you to eat more healthily? I think she was clutching at straws for an article and decided to argue against her own stance, something we were taught to do in high school debate so that we can anticipate our opponents attacks.
yamiagemini says
hmmmm….sounds like she wants to send people off so that the shelves are full for her!
frugalsheila says
I think she’s a freelance author who writes short articles for money. And with the recession being close to 2 years old, a lot of the “How to Save Money” articles have been written and sold already.
So she had to come up with a new spin, and this is how she did it.
After all, home economics is probably her gig, so it’s not like she could all-of-a-sudden start selling articles on Afghanistan or the Asian carp. She had to figure out a new way to cash in on her area of expertise.
And under what circumstances would it be “worth it” to spend extra money on ice cream… or anything?!?!? I admit that my brain kind of stopped at that one line. Does. Not. Compute.
Jen23 says
Seriously?? A waste of time? I disagree!! I’ve been doing this for almost a year now and I LOVE IT!!! I still impress myself when I go to the checkout counter & my husband just still can’t get over the fact that we’ve cut our bills in half! My mom keeps saying that she doesn’t have the time to do all this and I just keep asking all of what for couponing because I take an hour every Sunday!!
I do have to add that Cary Jewel has Large Tide Stain Release in powder on mark down for $4.24!! Use your $3.00 of coupons and $1.24 for a Large Tide Stain Release….. how can you go wrong? I even bought my mom 2 of them just to prove to here that it can be done!!!
mr.deal says
must have been a democrat writing that list up… how stupid can they be?
vhesslink says
My husband sent me this article via e/m while he was at work and told me I had to read this outragous article. He is not a couponer but he does appreciate all the grocery I bring home with coupons. When he got home, his only comments on the article was “who really buys ice cream for $2.50” and “only ONE paper a week?” Then in the next breath he asked did I have my coupons ready for my next shopping trip.
blonette828 says
I read this article when it showed up on Yahoo. It made me so mad that I wrote this article in answer to it, because I thought people needed to see something on saving money rather than why not to save. https://www.associatedcontent.com/article/7714190/how_to_survive_on_a_poverty_level_income.html?cat=3
oldcoupondad says
I’m new to the board so I hope this is not out of line. I read Jill’s comebacks to this article and I had to comment, because regardless of whether or not the writer of the article clips coupons or not, or needed a story, or talks out of both sides of her mouth, she DOES make some valid points. And for the record, I do clip coupons. I have been doing it since I was in jr. high, and in those days coupons for .02. .04 and .08 were common. So, I do have some experience with the process.
Coupons can tempt you to spend your grocery dollars on things you shouldn’t. Jill criticizes this statement, then proceeds to validate it. Her example: “Buy 2 Fresh Express salads, get 2 pounds of bananas free.” So sure, spend $6.00 on two bags of pre-packaged salad to save a buck on 2 lbs. of bananas. A better approach would be to ditch the pre-packaged salads (overpriced for convenience) and buy a head of lettuce and a small amount of other veggies and make your own salad. You will have enough $ left over to buy more than 2 lbs of bananas. The coupon lures you into a frivolous purchase. And, also – for some of us (I live in Central Ohio) coupons for fresh veggies are not common. I get coupons from Kroger and Giant Eagle and there are never any for fresh produce, except for those overpriced prepackaged salads, because the markup in those still allows the store to make money if you use the coupon.
The same coupons tend to be offered over and over again. This is true, and many of them are for over-processed foods like sugary cereals and frozen items (I see Pillsbury Toaster Strudel coupons all the time, for example). This is related to the previous point about tempting you to buy (in this case) things you shouldn’t – food that isn’t all that good for you. Again, the profit margins are there for the manufacturer, but for items chock full of high fructose corn syrup and enriched flour, they are questionable bargains at any price
Many of the coupons will be for things you neither need nor want. This is absolutely true, and it is silly to disagree with the statement. Peruse any set of Sunday coupons and you will see coupons for air fresheners, over the counter meds, dog treats and other items that have high profit margins for manufacturers. Part of their strategy is that you might, every once in a while, splurge on something you WANT, not need, or that their ad will induce a need (you will think you NEED the item). Keep in mind a basic principle: manufacturers are not offering coupons to save you money – they want you to buy their products, and there is enough margin in most products (over the counter meds are a great example) that a 2.00 coupon, if used, will not hurt their bottom line. It is programmed into their pricing strategy. So, while Jill has a steely resolve to perhaps avoid these inducements, the writer was cautioning lesser couponers about the pitfalls.
I think Jill should realize the article was not written for her, or any of her disciples, or anyone with a lot of experience with couponing. It was written for folks relatively new to the process. If you look at the purposes of coupons through the eyes of the manufacturer, you will see that the above statements do have a ring of truth to them.
Just my .02 (doubled to .04)
6hungrykids says
I digress, but I must know. How did I miss the 50 cent Edys?? What store was that??
Anna77 says
Coupons really help to save money and I think that it’s not right to say that it’s not true.I think it’s right to buy newspaper to know what’s going on in the world, if it also help you to save money then it’s great.Clipping coupons takes time, but I think it’s at least not bad if you can spend time saving money.I am disagree that when you use coupons shopping takes loger, I like to shop and when I have a chance to save money and use coupons then I am not going to waste this opportunity to pay less for what I need.If you have a chance to save money and use coupons I don’t see anything wrong with that.
soapboxtray says
:-) I wonder if her stance has changed… ???