I think this woman is nuts.  She wrote an article titles 8 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Use Coupons and a friend emailed me the link to it this morning.  After reading it I feel the need to rebut some of her findings.  So we’ll go after each of them:

1. You have to buy a newspaper:

• You don’t have to buy a newspaper there are hundreds of coupons available to you online.  Also there are plenty of ways to get coupons from the paper for free just ask.  Lots of people buy the paper to read (imagine that) and have no use for the coupons.
• I personally buy 4 newspapers a week.  I spend $6 on newspapers and save at least $30 a week on essentials.  That’s a $24 savings small investment = big rewards

2. Clipping Coupons takes time:

• So does flipping channels, walking around the block, and earning money.  Her claim is that instead of clipping coupons while watching TV as many do you could be mopping floors and preparing a week’s worth of meals.  UMMM how the heck am I supposed to watch TV in the living room while cooking dinners and mopping in the kitchen??
• I personally don’t clip coupons until I need them.  This saves me a ton of time.  I take maybe an hour (at most) a week and clip the coupons I need out of my old inserts and about 1/2 hour a month to weed out the inserts that have expired.  In turn I save upwards of $200 a month for less than 5 hours work do you have a job that pays you $40 an hour?

3. Getting a newspaper invites lots of additional advertising into your home.

• Ok so this woman is seriously stupid.  LOL  If you are concerned about advertising coming with your coupons or that you are going to be tempted simply by having a coupon then I have an earth shattering major money saving option for you.  Throw your damn TV away that box (that you are watching in the kitchen while cooking and mopping) brings more advertising into your house then anything else.  If anything is going to persuade you into buying something you wouldn’t normally it’s that commercial showcasing all the miracles about the product

4. Many of the coupons will be for things you neither need nor want.

• And many of them will be for things you do use.  Do you not brush your teeth, bathe, use toilet paper, or eat veggies.
• You’ll also receive coupons for things you wouldn’t normally buy buy coupled with the right sale it might be worth it to try.  You have no idea how many products we now use that I wouldn’t have tried without coupons.

5. Coupons can tempt you to spend your grocery dollars on things you shouldn’t

• So can walking through a checkout lane.  Seriously if you can’t resist temptation maybe your spouse should be doing the shopping.
• While there are lots of coupons out there for junk foods there are also lots of coupons for veggies, dressings, canned fruits, juices.  People who eat healthy can benefit from using coupons as well.  My family eats semi healthy (we eat some junk too) and we save lots of money.

6. The same coupons tend to be offered over and over again.

• Yes yogurt coupons come out on a monthly basis and my son eats it on a daily basis so seeing the coupon again isn’t really a problem.  Also no one is forcing you to clip the coupons that you aren’t using and if you are using them then you shouldn’t be bothered by the redundancy.
• Also she seems to be misinformed since coupons come out to advertise new products to get consumers to try the new flavor, brand or type so that coupon won’t be out that many times.

7. You might become a slave to coupons.

• Yes this is true.  She says that you will find it hard to spend $4 on ice cream when you could use a coupon to get it for $2.50.  Yes I would find it extremely difficult to spend $4 on ice cream but if for some reason I really wanted that ice cream I’d buy it and I’m a coupon slave.
• Level of Coupon Slave really comes down to time involved it can get overwhelming but you just have to step back and reevaluate but this goes for everything in life.  Computers, TV, work, etc can all take over your life so use some time management.

8. Shopping take longer.

• I enjoy shopping being a Stay at home mom it’s about the only time I get out so I might take longer than you do.  But on days when I need to get home for something I have no trouble quickly going through the store.
• She claims you have to search through the store to find the item that matches your coupons well if you don’t know where the cereal aisle is then yes you’ll have to search but if you have bought cereal before chances are good that you’ll easily find the Cheerios you have a coupon for.

My Bottom Line

You do not have to be a dedicated clipper to achieve savings.  You can be a casual shopper like my grandma who’s been clipping coupons since I was a little girl and save money.  You can be very dedicated like myself and save tons of money with extra products to sell and donate.  I’m taking a stab in the dark to say the woman who wrote this article has multiple credit cards that she uses on a daily basis and probably also maxs out at Christmas.  Maybe she should sit down and reevaluate her money I can guarantee I spend much less than she does, I have more to show for it, I give great gifts (buying clearance throughout the year or making gift baskets out of my freebies) and am probably happier.  Couponing allows me to stay home with my son if we paid full price for things I would have to work we’d have little to no savings and wouldn’t be looking to buy a house.

Did you read the article??  Please chime in with your opinions.