Coupons Hurt Financially If You Don’t Need What You Buy
Monday, February 27, 2012, 2:00 AM | Leave Comment
Coupons will hurt you in your pocket just because you have clipped a coupon and used it to buy what you didn’t need in the first place. I like to clip coupons but I do so of the things that I really need. Even without coupons, I would buy the merchandise anyway. With coupon I am able to save some money.
When you absolutely don’t need an item but you buy it anyway because you have coupon for it is never considered saving. The same is true for discounts. You must be able to use it in the very near future – not years from now.
If there is a coupon of let’s say for $1.00 on an item costing $3.00, you must absolutely need it to buy it. Otherwise you would be wasting the difference – $2.00 – for no reason at all. That’s spending unnecessarily. Some might say it’s stupid to do so.
It’s simply wasting less money than you would have otherwise wasted if you bought it without a coupon. But it’s still wasting money and Americans are best known for wasting their money – and food as well.
Learn Realistic not Extreme Couponing…
There have been TV shows about folks who do extreme couponing. You can watch videos about it on YouTube and other video sites.
Most folks get carried away with the concept of coupons. One consumer had three rooms dedicated purely to items she bought with coupons. She didn’t care for the expiration date and most of all she didn’t care whether she needed those items or not.
Extreme couponing can be good. I have seen episode of one lady who bought a $1,000 worth of grocery for just $15. That’s great if you absolutely need them and more importantly can use them in the near future. If the item is perishable, you must be aware of its expiration date.
Extreme couponing is a great idea but sometimes can be extremely concerning to your finances. Some say it’s one step closer to hoarding. Each couponing show profiles individuals that have stockpiled their homes with shelves after shelves of products from the grocery store.
Some have stockpiled shelves in their homes with items that will last them for 30 or 40 years. Do we really need them for that long? How can we be sure we would live that long?
The bad news in all this coupon business is that too many justify their spending by calling it saving. I personally don’t buy things just because they are on sale. I buy things that I really need when they are on sale.
We all must keep this in mind which may be pretty hard to do for some folks. Your finances can go berserk in all directions but saving. You can go absolutely broke even if you only buy things that are on sale.
Buying things on sale or with coupons isn’t where the focus should be. Buying things you can afford and need in the most frugal way possible, is where you need to focus.
In a Nutshell
Don’t be too obsessed with clipping coupons of every merchandise you can think of. Always clip coupons for something that you really need. That way you will be able to save money with coupons.
