Couponing: It is Worthwhile?

*Image by SDC 20207

Those of you that know me well understand that I'm a tight-fisted sort of person.  I don't enjoy shopping for the sake of shopping.  My rooms are filled with yard sale treasures, hand-me-downs from friends and family, and items rescued from dumpsters.  I hate wasting money, and I love a good bargain.  You would think that this makes me a perfect fit for the current coupon craze.  While I do occasionally use coupons, I would not call myself a "couponer."  Here are some of the reasons that I choose not to devote much time to the pursuit of coupons.

First, having a coupon doesn't guarantee the best deal.  In many cases, you can get a better deal by buying a generic product than you can by using a coupon.  This is true even when you shop at groceries like Schnuck's, that double coupons.  There are a few products that I really prefer the brand name, such as Campbell's condensed soups.  But for the most part, I am just as happy with the store brand.

Second, coupons are often for products I would never buy.  I remember reading a couponing site about doing the "register roll" at Walgreen's where you could buy products in a certain order and through the use of coupons and register rewards you could get several items without paying any money at all.  That sounded exciting until I looked at the list and realized there wasn't a single thing I wanted or needed on the list.  While it is tempting to get something just because it is very cheap or free, my house is already cluttered with too much stuff.

Third, getting the coupons has proved problematic.  I do not subscribe to the paper.  And while it is possible that I might save much more money from coupons than I would spend on the paper subscription, I have a very hard time making myself subscribe to the Post Dispatch.  Ever since the paper was sold and the newsroom slashed, I feel that the quality had plummeted and have a hard time supporting shoddy journalism. Getting coupons online is also a problem.  Almost all coupon sites (like coupons.com) require you to install a printer before you can use the coupons.  My tech-savvy, security minded husband tells me that these printers are really a bundle of malware that will track your every move.  So installing these printers is a no-go on our home computers.

Finally, I am simply not organized and enthusiastic enough to make couponing worth my while.  I have friends and family that are very good at this and that save a lot of money.  Searching, calculating, and organizing coupons is not fun for me and I'm not good at figuring out how to get the best deals.  It seems to me that it takes a certain type of mind to enjoy couponing and to be good at it.  And I don't think I possess such a mind.

So to answer my original query, I think that the answer must be both yes and no.  For some folks, it is absolutely worthwhile.  They are using coupons for products they would ordinarily purchase.  They have established systems for organizing and using the coupons, and many people enjoy couponing as others enjoy games and hobbies.  For my family, it is not worthwhile for the reasons mentioned above.

What about you?  Do you use a lot of coupons?  Why or why not?