Do you coupon?

Do you coupon? Do you ever wonder if couponing is really saving me money or am I just spending money on things I really don’t need?

There are researchers that state that couponing can be bad for you and can hurt your finances in the long run.

Like ever good thing, there are pro’s and con’s to couponing.

Let’s take a look at some of these con’s in couponing.

Coupons can cause impulse buying. When shopping especially for groceries it is always recommended to use a grocery list so you don’t over spend. But most people that use coupons will usually make purchases of items that they have coupons for. You may not have a need for the item but because you have a coupon for it you purchase it.

Junk food. Studies have shown that a large portion of online coupons are redeemed junk food and candy.  If you are trying to diet then couponing might not be good for you.  

Processed foods. If you are into purchasing processed food then couponing will be good for you. Studies have shown that many of the coupons in papers and online are for processed foods like frozen pizzas, tv dinners and other frozen of frozen food. These prepackaged foods are typically higher in sodium, fat, calories and preservatives. If you are into making your own meals with fresh products then couponing may not work for you.

Unhealthy drinks. Most coupons for soda’s and energy drinks may  be appealing to people that don’t drink a lot of water. Most of these drinks are high in sugars and caffeine. 12% of coupons are for drinks that are not really good for you.

Online coupon. I do a lot of computer repairs and virus removals from computers. I find that several of the computers I have worked on removing viruses the people got the virus from couponing sites. I try to tell the people to not use these sites, many of the stores don’t take coupons from these sites anymore and the sites seem to be loaded with computer viruses. A local restaurant chain I just visited would not take a coupon I had found on my smart phone. The owner said that there has been several sites that make online coupons to look like real coupons but they are a scam. So even stay away from couponing on your smartphone.

There are some good to couponing if it is done correctly. I just advocate that you be careful and not overspend and purchase things that are not needed when using coupons. If you use coupons correctly you can diffidently save some serious money, we will take a look at this later on in a different post.

But like everything there is both pro’s and con’s to couponing. Just be careful and don’t get taken by some of the scams that are out there in couponing.