Live like a Princess on a Pauper’s budget: Phase 1 day 8: Coupons?

Before I get to the rant about coupons, I hope you enjoy the short story posted this week lower down int he blog. It’s called “The Great Wall” I’m interested to see how you compare it to previous stories on this site.
Instruction for the day: If you haven’t already bought the items on the shopping list, do so and add 4 doz eggs. Don’t keep more than that unless you have a large family. Refrigerated eggs last a long time and are high in vitamin A and other minerals, and are an excellent source of high quality protein. But you shouldn’t eat them too often, since they are loaded with cholesterol.

I watched a show last night about women who spend 60 hours a week couponing. As I watched, I had the same sensation I had when I watched “Buried Alive.” which is about hoarders. The statistics for people who relinquish their lives to play video games also come to mind. Imagine if these people spent 60 hours a week at a home based business, or sitting at a reception desk earning $10. an hour. It’s true that they got 4-5 shopping carts full of stuff for free, “worth” $500-$600. But if they worked at a job, they would have about $400 left after the list of taxes was taken out and they could spend it on anything they wanted. They showed their store rooms stuffed with 4 dozen bottles of shampoo, 50 sticks of deodorant, 50 bottles of flavored water, piles and piles of candy and other treats. Who wants to store all that? When do you reach a saturation point? How is this different than hoarding or obsessively playing games?

Another point that the show brushed over, (I don’t know if it’s a series or a one time documentary) was that there was no indication of what they actually spend each month on groceries. The focus was on what they don’t pay for. But there wasn’t any bread or milk or eggs and certainly not any fresh fruits or vegetables. The women  featured all had weight problems and I had to wonder if they became obese as a result of letting advertisers choose their diet or if they started the behaviors already too heavy.

I also question the honesty of such behaviors. Coupons obtained online have a limit of two per person and one of the couponers was using 5 computers to multiply the number she could print. Many have limits printed on the coupon and stores may not be able to claim reimbursement for multiple uses on the same order.

A prince/ss spends no more time on coupons than it takes to breeze through the advertising and pick out products you already use or would like to try. Clip the coupon, circle the date of expiration and put it with your method of payment, (in your check book or with your debit card).  If you wait a week or two to spend it, you’ll likely get more bang from it. I’ve heard, (but have never really tested) that advertisers offer a coupon and then a week or two later put the same item on sale. This way, you’ve used it twice or brought it home twice and are much more likely to do so again.

There was a nice, red chair in the dumpster beside my son’s school a couple of weeks ago. (It was sticking out the top. No, I wasn’t in the dumpster!) I thought “Wow, that’s a nice looking chair to be tossed into the trash.” But I have no use for a red chair. I have more furniture than I need already. Just because it’s free doesn’t mean I want or need it. Same thing goes for couponing. Don’t spend time or resources for things that have no value to you. Imagine all things you could learn or create in 60 hours a week!
(To you folks who wish you’d seen the red chair and would have been happy to rescue it, somebody did rescue it by the next morning. I admit I was relieved. (I couldn’t have fit it in my car, even to take it to a thrift store).)