- I have not seen many or any, coupons for the foods that are best for us: fruit and veggies in their raw state, whole grains, or any of the "basic" ingredients I use to bake and cook with.
- Most of the coupons I have seen (when I have bought the Sunday paper to see the coupons or when I have snuck a peek at the neighbors) are for products I do not normally use.
- When I have tried coupons, the coupon doesn't put the product price lower than the store brand price. Our grocery stores around here do not do double coupons. I am not a brand snob and I am happy with the "Our Family" brand which our stores carry.
- We do not have many of the "big name" stores around here. The main grocery store I shop at is locally owned. And that makes me happy.
- I try to stay out of the stores. Coupons encourage me to go into stores. I save more money by staying out.
- I realize that there are a lot of coupons and bargains listed online, etc. I really don't feel like spending the time to find them. I already spend too much time on here. And as I mentioned earlier, we don't have many of those stores close by.
- Manufacturers put coupons out for a reason: to get you to buy their product and to get you in the store. There is a reason for this. If it didn't benefit them, they wouldn't do it. Beware.
- Coupons are a part of marketing. Marketing adds to the final price of a product. I am skeptical and avoid being swayed by marketing as much as possible.
- What is swagging? As far as I can tell, it is marketing too. I found I had to enter all my personal info it to do it, that is as far as I got. Companies use that information. In my opinion, it is no different than the Census. Beware. Plus it takes time.
- My purse is already stuffed with other junk, I don't have any more room for couponsf cluttering it up. I have not found that couponing is worth the time and mental energy for me- I need to reserve it for other important tasks.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Why I don't do coupons.
First, let me clarify- I will occasionally use a coupon, but I don't "do coupons" as in making my shopping list around what coupons I have, I don't go to certain stores because of what coupons I have, I don't buy the paper for the coupons, etc.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
9 comments:
can i just say "i agree" ??
Pamida doubles coupons once a month. I get coupons from my mom. Sometimes I can get health and beauty products or cleaning products (deodorant, shampoo, dishwasher soap, dish soap) for almost giveaway prices. That is cool, especially with a bunch of teenagers in the house. Then, occasionally I get a cool rebate on top of it. Procter & Gamble have had some awesome rebates that have reduced my cost to next to nothing.
That said, couponing and rebating take a lot of time and energy. If you don't have either, it is just as well to shop as frugally as you can.
And yes, store brands are often just as good, if not better. You have to be careful, though, because sometimes they're not a better deal!
Dan toured the sugar factory on one of his trucking trips and to his surprise saw "our Family" and "crystal" sugar bags rolling out of the exact same machine. The tour guide explained that the sugar is exactly the same, but marketing $$'s and more $$ spent on shelf space were to account for the price difference! That said....I agree, too. -Jess
I ditto all of your thoughts here. I never coupon for the very same reasons. I did get talked into the swag bar by someone, and the darn thing is slowing down my whole computer!! Hans thought he got rid of it off of here, and it just popped back on one day. Be glad you didn't sign up all the way. It doesn't work like Google. It's a advertising thing.
I don't swag either, for the same reason.
I coupon all the time because I'm able to find quite a few the organic/natural products coupons for things that we use between on-line coupon sites, natural blogs, and specific brand's websites.
I buy the paper but just one or two because of how few coupons I actually use from it. Also, we've been ordering most of our groceries from Azure for the past 16-18 months, and they don't take coupons but their prices help to save money.
And, Jess is right on with the store brands. Many of them are actually from name-brand companies. Same product, different labels. It's all about the marketing.
Couponing/sale matching takes a TON of work. Not everyone is going to feel like putting time and energy into it. I can completely understand that!
~ Jennifer
I never use coupons. Mostly cuz I'm too lazy to do it. But now I no longer have to feel guilty cuz I'm not... Thanks!
By the way: I love your art. Do you have any for sale?
So there!! hmph! I dont use coupons because I never remember to use them. But if people can use them and save money, more power to them!!
I coupon. But I understand your reasons for not. I'm not so into it anymore. I used to be. But mostly I try to shop as wisely as I can. However, I am addicted to grocery shopping. Mostly because I love to cook and bake. What I need is a garden. That would keep me out of the stores a lot more. Next year I'm planting one. This year is too busy.
Thanks for the post. I get your reasoning.
We -- or more accurately, I, since I do all the grocery shopping -- have taken to grocery shopping at Wal-Mart. Some might gasp we're not shopping local, but 1. The prices are ridiculously lower, especially here in the UP and 2. I've met the "local" grocery store owner, and he's a bit of a jerk. Plus my mother-in-law works at Wal-Mart. -Brad
Post a Comment