One typically American pastime I could never understand is couponing. People honestly seem to think that all these Groupons, CouponSurfers, etc. somehow end up saving them money instead of being one more way to spend on something they don’t really need. (Just to clarify, I have nothing against people spending money on junk they don’t need. It’s the self-delusion that is implicit in couponing that bothers me.) Now there is even a show on weird people who invest the time and the effort required for a full-time job on finding and clipping coupons only to fill their houses with mountains of junk they will never need. Money-wise, it would make a lot more sense to channel the energies they expend on figuring out how to “save” 20 cents on the twentieth box of detergent into looking for actual employment but coupon-lovers seem to be unaware of that.
Every week, my mailbox fills with coupon circulars from the neighborhood grocery stores. The waste of paper makes me livid, especially since I haven’t used a single coupon in my entire life. Food-wise, coupons make no sense for me because they are offered mostly on stuff that comes in cans and boxes and I prefer to eat fresh. In terms of shampoo, detergent and other similar products that coupons often cover, buying two bottles of shampoo to save 15 cents will save you absolutely no money. Human nature is such that the more we have, the more we waste. Having all that conditioner will make you use it a lot more often than if you had one little bottle and knew that you wouldn’t be able to buy a new one for a month.
Electronic couponing sites are even weirder than the paper version of coupons. What are the chances that I suddenly experience a strong desire to get a French manicure at a specific spa 40 miles from where I live, go to Groupon, and discover that if 15 more French manicure-lovers can be found in my area, we will all get $10 off the manicure at that spa? One can count on a coincidence of this kind maybe once in a lifetime. All the rest of purchases people make from such websites do not reflect any actual needs. What happens often is that people just come to such websites out of curiosity, find something that sounds kind of interesting, and get seduced into buying the product and the service just because it has the words “huge savings” attached to it.
Buying stuff you never planned to buy for a lower price that it normally has isn’t saving. It’s spending more to engage in a fantasy of being a virtuous, savings-oriented shopper. The only real way to save is not to buy. Throw out the coupon circular and try to see how long you can make the stuff you already have last.
P.S. Couponing enthusiasts always remind me of the following joke:
“I just saved a dollar.”
“How did you do that?”
“I didn’t manage to get on the bus, so I ran after it all the way to work.”
“Good for you! Next time, you can save $15.”
“How?”
“Just run after a cab.”
Clarissa's Blog 
I have nothing else to say except that I feel exactly the same way.
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I realized I had a problem similar to the ‘delusion’ you’re talking about. I browse shoes at Zappos when I have a few extra dollars and I realized that I spend much more when I buy shoes that are on sale because I am tricked into perceiving some sort of ‘greater value’ that doesn’t actually exist. $100 shoes on sale for $80 become more attractive to me than a different pair of $80 -or less- shoes (even if the regularly priced ones are cuter) because the former is a ‘great deal’.
Luckily I figured this out a few months ago and I try to just look at the price of the item, regardless if it used to be more expensive or not.
I hate being a stupid consumer!
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There are also “buy one, get one 50% off promotions.” Unless one really set out planning to buy two of these items, there is no saving involved.
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About the only time I ever use a coupon is when I have just decided to buy something and discover that it has a coupon labeled “Save $.50 now!” or some such attached to the package; you need merely to peel it off before checking out.
I do take advantage of senior discounts when they are offered, for example on AMTRAK.
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That’s the only kind of coupon I’d use, too.
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I don’t use coupons, but when I’m back home in Hawaii, I do take advantage of the Kama’aina discount (You show a Hawaii state ID and get a discount; Kama’aina means “local”) because otherwise, I could never afford to play tourist and go on silly fun adventures like whale watching and luaus. 😛
Also, there was a children’s book I read where a business owner paid his employees in coupons. When one of them got injured, they had to chip in their coupons of “X% off your next cast at this hospital!” to save up for that poor man to get his leg in a cast. I’ve been traumatized by coupons (and lumbermills) ever since.
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“People honestly seem to think that all these Groupons, CouponSurfers, etc. somehow end up saving them money instead of being one more way to spend on something they don’t really need”
That’s not necessarily the case. It all boils down to clipping a coupon or buying on Groupon a discount for something you already buy on a regular basis or a place where you go to often enough. For example, last month there was an offer in Groupon for a local bar where you paid $15 for a $30 gift certificate. The place is 2 blocks away from where I live, and I go there twice a month (and we definitely spend $30 per visit). Both my husband and I jumped on the opportunity. I also try to get a massage once every two month, so if I see an offer in a convenient location (convenient location being the key here), I buy it.
As for coupons, I only clip things that I usually buy. For example, there have been decent coupons for milk and organic yogurts lately. As for shampoo, conditioners and personal items, I think looking at the weekly circulars of CVS is a better idea. They have similar offers on a rotating basis, and they are pretty good offers. If you are not picky with brands, you can save more money than you think. I probably save around $30 a month on it, and I spend half an hour a week doing some research and preparing my grocery list. Now, you can say that it still doesn’t add up to compensate for my lost free time, but I actually enjoy doing it. It’s kind of a strategy game (some people like playing Sudoku, some like clipping coupons).
Of course, what you see on TV is insane, and those are people with a lot more problems than just spending a little too much time on coupons. But again, if you know how to do it, you won’t save for the downpayment of a house, but you can save some money doing it.
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Spanish Prof, in my experience it is usually cheaper to just buy a store brand rather than a famous name brand with a coupon. I rarely buy anything that has a coupon available, but if I could not find fresh Brussel sprouts, for example, and had to settle for frozen ones, the store brand is normally less expensive than the name brands, even if the name brands come with a coupon. The rare exceptions are when the name brand companies are introducing a new product and want to attract attention to it.
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“The rare exceptions are when the name brand companies are introducing a new product and want to attract attention to it.”
Those are exceptions I usually take advantage of, and they happen more often than you would think in, for example, personal care products.
I also buy store brands as much as possible, with some exceptions. My husband HAS to have brand name (doesn’t matter the brand) toilet paper and brand name milk. Don’t ask me. A brand name item might end up being cheaper than store brand if you buy it when it’s on sale and add the coupon on top of it (and many stores double the coupon). Again, it’s not something I loose sleep over, but if you enjoy doing it, it can save you some money. As far as Groupon goes, it probably depends on the size of the city. I live in a mid-size one, so the opportunities of saving money on places I go to anyway are bigger than in a small city. Just my guess.
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Great post!
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Worse are those points on credit cards that you can supposedly redeem for things. I had one where you could redeem points for cash but now I have one where you can only trade them for things — and only apply a few of your points to each thing. So I have enough points to buy a plane ticket, but I can only use 10% of them at a time. So the whole thing is a bald faced scheme to get people to buy more while telling themselves, “we’re saving!” I object, object, object.
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Exactly, exactly, exactly. 🙂 It’s nothing but a scam.
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I only look for deals when I’ve already decided to buy something. I hate paying retail, though, so I will spend some time looking for deals, but only on big-ticket items like clothes, shoes, electronics, flights, etc.
The couponing behavior depicted in that show seems like a socially acceptable form of hoarding.
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