I was watching this lady on Youtube who decided to quit couponing. She was actually on Extreme Couponing show a while back. Her reason for not couponing anymore is that she feels it's too expensive getting the paper every week, buying a lot of products she may not use and that it's time-consuming. She also use to upload YouTube videos which did take up a lot of time. I disagree with it being expensive. When couponing, you can choose how much you do or not. There are weeks when I just don't feel like it so I don't. Do I miss out on great deals? Yes. But there will be other great deals. Buying the paper can be a lot depending on how many you buy. I only get a lot of the P&G inserts once a month. Most times I am only getting two papers. When I get a lot of super cheap and free items, I don't count that as an expense. Is it time-consuming? Yes, but everything is when you want to prosper in it.
I've thought about it before, but I don't agree that buying the paper is a lot of money to spend; at least in my experience, one good coupon tends to offset the price of a paper. It is true that by couponing (and hunting for deals in general), you are essentially spending your time instead of your money. On the other hand, if it's time that wouldn't have been productive anyway, than why not go for it?
It can be...but for example. My ex girlfriend used to get these 50% off coupons that you get when you buy something from a grocery store we used to go to. We realized they just throw them away when nobody takes them, so we got in the habit of checking the little trash bins under registers. Suffice to say she probably -still- has a stockpile of 50% off coupons, lol.
I don't think couponing is expensive.My idea of it is that you get coupons every time you make some purchases or get them from newspapers. Being free I don't see how expensive it is, as it allows your purchases to be cheaper. I watch extreme couponing too and I love it. It's amazing to see how much they can save with free coupons from newspapers.
I don't think couponing is expensive. Now I can agree that it can be very time consuming, but I love saving money and I'll take all the time I need to keep more money in my pocket. Can you post up the link....I really want to see this and read other people's comments.
I don't think couponing is expensive. I think it could be, if you bought a lot of papers or paid others to give you their coupons, which I've heard of people doing. But for the vast majority of people that coupon I don't think it's expensive at all. Especially if you buy the newspapers or magazines anyway, or only use free ones. The cost of printing coupons out could get expensive but you're able to print them in black and white and they should be accepted like that, and if you're guaranteed to use that coupon and it saves you a good chunk then it's worth printing to me. If I won't use it then I don't print it.
This is a good question. Since I see some coupons online that can be printed, I was wondering if it would be worth it to purchase a printer, paper and ink to print them or if it would be spending more than they are worth. I have heard that we can also use a smart phone to flash coupons now. I am using a 10 dollar prepaid flip-track phone. Basically I live on the cheap. How can I know if the coupons would be worth purchasing smart phones and data plans or printers? I suppose these are just great resources for people who use them anyway. I am still thinking about things though. I get mailed coupons sometimes from stores I frequent. I do use coupons that are sent to me in the mail, and some stores like Walgreens or Aldis, seem to sometimes have flyers with coupons right at the entrance of the store. Perhaps there are other ways of obtaining good coupons without a lot of cost up front. Does anybody know how to get more sent by mail?
I guess it can get expensive when you eventually stop finding the coupons you need constantly because that way you start spending money and not getting much in return. I agree that it's good to maybe just pull it back a bit and just trying to save on a smaller scale, but probably that person mostly just did Couponing more as a sport and for the rush so it's not much worth to them when it's done on a smaller scale.
I think it can be when people get too caught up in it. Buying something just because it's a good deal, isn't always a good value. People also tend to overbuy, which is kind of risky. If you buy stuff you won't use, you have wasted that money, despite other savings. Unless those savings are higher than the amount you wasted, (and maybe you can donate the stuff you won't use) it doesn't make much sense. People also buy more expensive brands (some that cost more with a coupon than another brand would cost without one). Why do that if the items are comparable? Coupons aren't given out of kindness. They are designed to get you to spend money. While some people seem to be able to get shopping carts overflowing with free items, or $800 worth of groceries for 8 bucks, that certainly isn't the norm. Just have to shop smart, so the coupons you do use work to your advantage.
I like coupons and there are many digital coupons like the click here forum...latest deals...coupons, so maybe there are free ways to get coupons and use them like request for them in your mail too or Safeway.com with your free Safeway card and free Safeway.com account there are many coupons for you. CVS.com and CVS extra care card are both free too and you can get coupons right in the store...all you have to do is place your card in the machine's light and you get coupons printed out. CVS has a $4 coupon to use with any purchase too, so it's a matter to get the free ones online right at the stores site!
I do not think that couponing is expensive because I do not buy newspapers and things to get coupons. I hunt for the free ones and do not save coupons for things I do not use. I usually save about $10 in a single shopping trip by using the coupons that I can scrape up and find throughout the week. I do not have the energy to devote a lot of time couponing or trying to get my whole shopping trip for free.
I look at it as time well spent. Since I am a stay-at-home mom, I look at hunting for deals as a job. Yes, it can be time-consuming but when I get items at a discount price and sometimes free, I am saving my family money. My husband told his colleagues that I have given him a raise on his job since I am not spending as much money. I am now really spoiled because if I know I can buy an item cheaper than the regular price, I won't buy it until it's on sale again.
I just watched that same YouTube video last night! I've been watching Extreme Couponing episodes over the last few days to get some tips on couponing. I am determined to start doing this because our budget is so tight right now that we can't even buy the same amount of groceries that we used to. So making 10 or 15 dollars buy 50 or 60 dollars worth of groceries and more sounds like a great idea to me! And yes, I expect to spend time doing this. If I can save money, not only will my family eat better, but I might have enough to help feed someone else, too. So that makes it worth my time. If it was easy, they'd probably stop making the coupons because the stores would be making no money (because the manufacturers would be paying for everyone's groceries.)
When you are someone who doesn't like to pass up deals when you see them, you'll find yourself spending money that you really didn't want to because you just can't let those deals go by. It becomes a problem when you don't want to quit. I've also seen many videos of people couponing, and they all have had over stocks of many things that they were mist likely never going to use. This one woman had more than 100 quarts of dish washing liquid. She was an avid prepper, and wanted to do what everyone else was doing. Every time she went on one of these couponing sprees, she did save hundreds though.
I dont think so. When you see the deals, you can choose buy or not. That's the choice on yours, but not the deals. What we advocate is rational consumption. You can buy something what you really need.
I used 8 coupons yesterday, all things I am accustomed to buying. I may not have normally bought those items yesterday exactly, but they are items I buy and I would rather get the money-saving coupon. If they are used carefully, they do not drain the budget. They help.
That's a very interesting story you're telling us about that lady. I never really thought of it this way... But I honestly think she was just overdoing it, of course it can get expensive if you're getting every product out there, not every product is for you! I'm sure you can get a profit or at least get your invesment back if you try and sell it as second hand on the internet. I still see it a viable way to get your stuff, just don't overdo it like that lady did, only get coupons for things you need!
