EXTREME STUPID
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| Or you could have a real life! |
There is a
show on TV, “Extreme Couponing.” They follow genius shoppers who collect
coupons, double check for special sales and double coupon days and demonstrate
how they can save money.
It seems too
good to be true. Imagine going to the
supermarket and buying over $600 worth of product and spending under $10. Unbelievable, and yet that is what they
do. They brag about their savings, and
are smug about their thrift and ability.
This is a
sickness. These people spend a good part
of their day, every day scouring newspapers and magazines for coupons, then
looking for specials at all the neighboring supermarkets, and planning their
shopping trip like Bill Belichick plans the Super Bowl. They argue with store owners and employees
and tie up a checkout counter for over an hour.
Is it worth
it? First of all, the money saved comes
at a labor cost. The time they spend
collecting coupons figured at minimum wage probably equals about $350, so their
$590 saving is really only $140.
Furthermore, the way these people save huge
sums is purchasing in quantities they will never use. They use up valuable storage in their home
stocking their hard-won bounty. However,
most of what they purchase has a limited shelf life. I’ve found that pasta goes bad in a year if
not stored correctly, dry cereal tastes funky if it sits too long, and once
you’ve bought 200 tubes of toothpaste, you are set for life, and then some.
OK, the
coupon collecting is more of a hobby than labor, but at what real cost?
I knew a
coupon collector at work years ago. He
was late for work almost every day picking through the trash outside the office
searching through all the commuter tossed papers. He
almost got fired several times because of his lateness and he got lower raises
and no promotions because of this “Hobby.”
I seriously
hate coupons. The expense of printing
them and then processing them is crazy.
It must result in higher prices for many items at the store. Why can’t they just lower the price of items
they want to get people to try?
In the "good old days" it was worthwhile to use coupons and the savings did add up to something significant. The coupons were worth more than a mere 25 cents or a dollar but you had to buy two of the products, etc. Then there were those stores that double or tripled the amount on the coupons. Again, that made it worthwhile. But then it got a bit complicated. Too many rules and regulations governing them. Only coupons I use these days or the coupons that the stores put out for their individual stores and individual products. I have seen the extreme couponers shopping at the store. Their coupons are in binders alphabetical order. If they have the time to do it all, that's wonderful. I rather pay 50 cents more and have a bit of a life :) I do use the "loyalty" cards at some retailers that if you have their card or your telephone number you get a bit of a savings. I also signed up for the Savingscatcher program at Walmart. You put in your receipt number from when you shop there and they'll match prices with other stores in the area. If you paid more at Walmart, they'll refund you the money. It goes onto a prepaid gift card type of thing. First 2 years I've done the program, I made close to 60 dollars each for both of the years. I redeem the amount at Christmas and start again. This year so far over 25 dollars that they have found lower prices for on items. Easy just to enter the receipt number and see what they found.
ReplyDeletebetty
They could have worse vices, I guess. I do like it when they donate part of their haul to a church or food pantry. The spouses usually seem to be fed-up with the whole process.
ReplyDeleteCoupons aren't a big problem here in Australia. We get supermarket catalogues each week listing the 'specials' and sometimes there will be a coupon in the free weekly newspaper but with limited purchasing ability. Buy two, get one free, or half price on something, but it always has an expiry date and a purchase limit and almost always says only one coupon per person allowed. Most people don't even bother looking for them, they're so rare.
ReplyDeleteI've never been much of a coupon user. Oh maybe if I was going to that store anyway and if it was something we actually used. As far as stocking up, well, it has to be done properly or you end up with bugs if you don't use it in a reasonable time.
ReplyDeleteI used to sort through coupons thinking I would save a fortune... in the end I gave up. Couldn't be bothered with it all. My supermarket gives points on sales made, can't be bothered with that either. Yet I have seen women in stores, as you say holding up queues, who haven't got their coupons in date order and hold people up while they sift through them. Bah!
ReplyDeleteI've never been able to deal with coupons. Perks, another matter. I don't have to keep track, just a pleasant surprise at the check out, five dollars off.
ReplyDeleteI never saw that show, but it does sound stupid.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't be prudent. Not at this juncture. I don't do coupons either. I do use Walmart Saving's Catcher app to scan my receipts and if there is a lower advertised price, they give me a refund. I love that feature.
ReplyDeleteR
I should add that the refund goes onto my credit card. I don't have to wait in line for it.
DeleteOnce in a while I'll actually get a decent coupon for Kohl's or Michael's emailed to me, but I am waaaaaaaaaaaaay too lazy to go hunting for coupons in newspapers or magazines.
ReplyDeleteMore ridiculous than the extreme couponers are the people who actually sit and watch a show about people who are obsessed with coupons.
I admit to shopping at Kohl's, when my wife drags me there. Between the coupons they send you, discounts, sales and Kohl's cash I swear sometimes I think we stole stuff, not bought it.
DeleteI'm sure they look at it like a job so they see the savings as their salary. Too much work for me, besides I live in a small house. I only use those coupons that are stuck to a package.
ReplyDeleteI don't use too many coupons. Raley's is where I shop and they have coupons that they give you when you check out. So if they know you buy xyz on a regular basis then they give you a coupon for your next purchase. I use those.
ReplyDeleteI agree that couponing is a terrible idea. A waste of my valuable time.
Have a fabulous day. ☺
Years ago now, my late mother and one of her closest friends would meet late every Sunday morning after church and go through the Sunday papers cutting coupons and giving one or the other the ones that were useful to them. I have no idea how much they saved, but they had a great time gossiping, clipping, drinking coffee and eating coffee cake!
ReplyDeleteI don't use coupons, but I always figured it was because I was not very thrifty and maybe had enough money not to think about that.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't seem like a hobby in which I'd be interested, but... everybody needs something, I guess.
I once heard my grandfather say, while flipping through coupons: "Look at this. Asparagus for $[X] a pound. I almost paid $[Y] for it last week. Thank God I didn't!"
My mother belonged to an organization that raised money to help retarded children. She was being installed as president at their annual “Lollipop Ball.” It was held at a downtown hotel & our ticket package included free parking in a lot directly across the street. Bud instead drove into the hotel’s parking lot, for which we would have to pay extra. I reminded him that the lot across the street would be free. He told me that he knew that, but he was too rich to walk across the street!! (Note: That was the day I stopped clipping coupons. I’ve often felt that my husband & I live in two different worlds--& his is better!!)
ReplyDeleteWhy? Because the merchants want to entice people to come in and buy something they had no intention of buying before they got the coupon and realized it was a good deal, and also look around and make other impulse purchases while we're there.
ReplyDeleteI'll glance at coupons when they come in the mail and use what we normally buy, but it seems to me that folks who spend a significant part of their lives checking coupons don't put a high premium on their time.
ReplyDeleteI use coupons, but very sparingly. I figure I save about $3 - $5 each week by quickly glancing through the coupon insert and cutting out what I use. I save a heck of a lot more money by buying off-brand or store-brand items and shopping sales.
ReplyDeleteI don't get the hoarding thing that these extreme couponers do. How much Gatorade can you really drink?
I don't use coupons. I did once when I was young and realized I just don't have the attention span to continue. I do use the Walmart savings catcher app...I knocked $34 off my bill yesterday. I felt so proud.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy simple things in life.
ReplyDelete