Coupons Are the Devil
Posted on August 19, 2008 - Filed Under Vent
Seriously. Were these made to torture me or what? I really do not appreciate the emotional rollercoaster that coupons put me on. Maybe it’s just me but read on and see if any of this matches your sentiments. This happens to me a LOT.
Step 1 - A rare coupon for something I will actually use finds its way to me either through a friend, clipped from a newspaper, through the mail, or online. After sorting through tons of “junk” coupons, I am all excited because, yay, here is one I will actually use! It will save me money on something that I really want to buy or was going to buy anyway. Score!
Step 2 - I put the coupon in my purse. It doesn’t matter that it is bigger than most items in my purse - I will fold it down to a manageable size and shove it in there so we have it with us when we go to that store. I pat myself on the back for being so wise and thinking ahead.
Step 3 - We find ourselves at the store where the coupon can be used. I cannot remember if coupon is in my purse or if I left it on the counter at home. I search frantically through the purse. I keep coming up empty. Possibly because it was folded into a manageable size and got lost among the the wrappers and things that I am saving until I find a suitable disposal receptacle to put them in. Techno-Geek Husband, smart man that he is, suggests that everything is okay, we will be back to the store another time and will use the coupon then. But for now, we will buy these items anyway because we need them and we are here. He gives me a squeeze, but I still feel like a failure for not being able to use the dang coupon and save us a pittance on things we were going to buy anyway.
Step 4 - Time goes by. Another trip to the store is coming up. I get excited again because since the last trip, I’ve reorganized my purse, thrown out the old wrappers (which have since been replaced with gas receipts and ATM slips), and know for a fact that I have the coupon with me in my purse. There is no stopping us now. We WILL save money!
Step 5 - We shop, we gather, we commence to the checkout line. We produce plastic and I also produce the folded, dented, ear-worn scrap of paper that will keep us from going to the poor house and will also make my husband thank his lucky stars for marrying such a wise and frugal woman. I somewhat proudly hand it to the cashier who glances at it and promptly informs us that the thing is expired. TGH holds me back and keeps me from committing forced expiration on the cashier.
I hate coupons.
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35 Responses to “Coupons Are the Devil”
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And I really do love the poem, Teeni! Thanks, Hannah! Silly little poems give me the...
LOL. Yeah, the prize is that Evyl writes a poem for us. I love...
Mee too ! those are the pits ! just read that you have been feeling under the weather are you okay teeni?
I’m okay, Kaylee. Thanks for asking. I guess I have some kind of cold or something. I had a fever yesterday but it finally broke last night. So today I’m just all boogery and trying to get over it by relaxing.
Hahaha, that is so funny. That’s one thing we are missing here in the Philippines! Coupons!
They seem like a good idea and I guess they work for some people but I don’t think they are worth the trouble. I’m glad you don’t have to stress yourself out about them.
That seems to be the way it works out for us most times. I’ve pretty much given up on coupons. The coupons and I just can’t seem to see eye to eye.
Me too, buddy. Me too. I give up.
Oh dear! Perhaps you need to get yourself a special coupon-holding thingie that is BIG and BRIGHT and easy to find in your bag?!
I do have one of those and thought it would solve all my problems but it didn’t work out. I wrote more about this in my answer to Ozymandiaz if you want to read it. It’s funny though because I really searched high and low for one of those coupon organizers - you can’t find one when you are looking for one. Finally another family member found one for me. Now I see them everywhere again. LOL.
ROFLAO! Images of you trying to take out the cashier. All to funny.
Well, they are just so oblivious to all the trouble you went through, ya know. It makes you just want to smack them.
For some reason this reminded me of my previous boss who would give coupons as tips at the local eateries. Talk about embarassing.
Any how
buy one of those friggin coupon organizer wallets.
You know, I do have one of those coupon organizer wallets. The problem with it is that I would spend all this time clipping and sorting the coupons and then when you get to the store, they only carry certain brands, so for all your trouble, you only end up getting to use one or two coupons with a total combined savings of $.50, the rest stay in the organizer for “next time.” The problem with next time is that the stupid things expire and you spend so much time going through them every so often to sort out the expired ones that it just becomes a hassle. There has to be a better way. Like maybe stores actually just having normal sales every so often that don’t require you to have a special card or to give them access to your entire family history. How about that for a novel idea? LOL
I used to love SUndays reading the paper and clipping all the coupons and organizing them in my ‘friggin coupon organizer wallets’. but I’ve given up. That was back when the grocery stores had triple coupons - woo hoo! (is this the same as WOOT?)
Now I only take advantage of the Hallmark ‘club’ where they send me $3, $4, $5 off coupons. I don’t lose those and the expiration date is MONTHS out.
I think woo-hoo is the same as WOOT (I never knew if you were supposed to pronounce the T in Woot), and I usually write woo-hoo so everyone knows it isn’t some kind of weird typo. LOL. Yeah, whatever happened to triple coupons? Is the Hallmark club just for cards? Even if it is, those sound like decent coupons because cards are so danged expensive.
I always buy the Sunday paper, just for the coupons. And IF I’m lucky I might find one coupon I’d use in there, amidst all the ones for dog food and Uncrustables and hearing aid batteries, ONE coupon for $.25 off my favorite shaving cream. And the newspaper cost $1.50.
LOL. Exactly!
we are completely different in that regard. I have never had the patience and forsight to use coupons for anything i plan on buying… im such a man like that…
Well, I think I’m starting to be a man then.
We don’t use coupons very much and I don’t use them at all. Karen does print off the Hobby Lobby 40% off coupon every so often. Unfortunately you can’t use it for things that are “on sale,” which applies to most of the stuff in the store, it seems.
Oh yeah - we have a Michael’s arts and crafts store around here which sounds similar to your Hobby Lobby and they usually do one of those 40% off one item in the store every week or so, but it has a lot of restrictions on what you can use it for. So annoying.
See that there is exactly why I am not a fan of the coupon. The coupon is evil.
I am actually thinking about joining the site called Grocery Game or something like that where they help to keep one on track with the whole coupon war.
And yes the big purses, receipts, candy wrappers and expirations dates are evil too.
Hmm - that’s an idea - I will have to check out that site and see what it is all about.
I went to the store the other day coupons in hand as I noticed they were expiring soon and I was determined to save my 25 cents. 3 of the 5 coupons I had were for items that were either already on sale or sold out. The other 2 coupons were for items the store didn’t carry. I crumpled them up and threw them in the garbage so it wouldn’t stress me out anymore. When I got home I put all the flyers in the recycle bin. From now on I’m just going to buy what I need, I don’t care about saving 10 cents!
Oh Paige, you are so wise. I started doing the same thing! It just isn’t worth the hassle and stress for me either.
My sister in-law is a coupon Queen. She went to a CVS the other day and purchased over $75 worth of stuff she needed and after all of her coupons and double coupons and other crap, she had to buy a bottle of water just to get the price back over $0.00! So she wound up spending less than a dollar for all that crap! I’m amazed by her.
See? Man, I HATE people like that! Well, okay, not really hate them but sheesh, they make me so jealous. I should be able to do that with coupons but it just never works out for me.
I gave up on coupons. I am more of a sales flyer person. I check the flyers from all 4 grocery stores then spend tons of money on gas going to all the stores to save on meat. At least it keeps me busy and out of trouble. Well, that’s not actually true. I probably buy more stuff I don’t need by going to so many stores.
Do you want to come to the beach with me and CuriousC next week?
Flyers are okay because they can alert you to good sales, but in most cases, I just end up recycling them after a quick scan. I try not to let them sway me unless it was something I needed anyway.
And Hell Ya! I’d love to go!
We go through phases where we use a lot of coupons (I resist them unless I know I’m actually saving some). I can keep them organized and bring them in un-expired. But, then some coupons the Walmart just won’t accept. No explanation. Just we can’t take that. And I’m not talking about the print-you-own coupons either.
Well, that’s annoying. If it is a manufacturer’s coupon, they should have to accept it. I’ve tried but I guess I just don’t have the right organization gene in me. LOL.
I wish someone would do a study where they compare the savings realized by using coupons versus the amount of time spent finding, clipping and organizing them.
I would do the study, but I don’t want to waste any more of my precious time on those dang coupons!
It would be interesting to see though, I’ll admit.
well I am glad you are doing a litttle better
Thanks!
Oh cool! We will work out the day with CuriousC. I can’t wait. I hope your cold is better.
Oh, how fun! And yes, I will make sure that I am over this and not going to infect anyone. That wouldn’t be nice.
ROFL! I dont even bother. I end up losing them anyway. LOL
They do seem to be a lot of trouble. Annoying little suckers.
the only place i use coupons anymore is at Bed Bath and Beyond because you can use them even if they say they are expired…the store will still take them. they are always for 20% off one item and if you are buying 5 things, they will let you use 5 expired coupons! yeah! that is the only place where i am successful with the stupid things!
Oh, Natalie - too funny! I think it was the BB&B coupons that I was talking about when I said they had to be folded down to a manageable size! Those ones come in the mail like giant postcards. Actually, these ones I will continue using - I love stores that have kitchen gadgets and well, now that I know they will let you use expired ones that makes it sweet!
I feel your pain! If you use a store discount card, try shortcuts.com - it lets you load coupons right onto your discount card.
Wow, MJ! That is an awesome site and a great idea! TGH just checked it out and it looks like none of the stores are near us yet but I will keep my eyes open for them. This solution is paper-free too!
LOL, you got me guffawing right now teeni.
but then again, i know nothing will stop you from collecting and keeping those coupons in your purse. anyway.
happy shopping!
You may be right - I am always full of hope.
LOL Teens, story of my life. I have a friend, Debbie, who has this stuff down to an art. She has a special place in her office all set for coupon forays in grocery shopping and that girl has even gone with so many coupons that the store had to give her money when everything tallied. Me? No such luck. I say use it instantly as soon as it gets in your hot little hand or forget about it.
Annie
I wish I could do that! I guess I just am not that organized. I say your motto is best. If you can’t use it immediately, then it isn’t going to be worth the trouble.
Well first off I hope you’re feeling better, and secondly when I worked as a cashier at Zellers (think K-Mart or Target), I would never even read the expiry dates on the coupons, I would just process them all as long as they were for the right items….hahaha…and I did that for four years…no problem! Too bad we never crossed paths in the checkout lane
Aw, thanks Romi! I’m slowly getting better I think. Oh, I definitely would have figured you out and gone to your line all the time at Zellers!
Lol… I always save coupons and never use them. Go figure.
It’s like we have good intentions, right?
aaaaaaahahaha!
yeah, coupons suck. that’s why i dont even bother.
I don’t blame you one single bit. I’m thinking that is the route to shopping happiness for me.
Yep me too - I used to do that. Well, mostly I didn’t get past the remembering to put them in my purse bit - I’d never remember at the check-out cos I would always be harrassed.
But a few years ago I decided to free myself of Coupon Trauma and I do not collect them anymore even if they are for things I always buy. I could no longer deal with the sense of failure! I think you need to do the same, Teeni!!
Very funny piece. Who would have thought anyone could make coupons amusing!
There’s probably a name for this inability to manage coupons - couponitis or something.
Hey RB, I’ve missed you! So good to see you! Oh yes, let’s call it Couponitis! I don’t feel like such a failure when I can blame it on some type of condition I have no control over!
i had a coupon organizer once. i never organized it though- it was always a big fat mess of papers, most of which are expired.
i think i want to get myself a farm. with cows. and a slaughterer.
That is exactly how my coupon organizer ended up. I like the idea of a cruelty-free farm but I’m not sure I could grow/raise enough to keep me from having to shop.
Most of the coupons I get in UK are for products I don’t even USE, and am not likely to switch to, though I’ll try the odd one.
We have ‘reward’ cards over here where supermarkets give you points every time you shop to send you a load of useless vouches and once in a blue moon a pound or two off your next tank of petrol (the only useful perk I’ve found so far)
The reward cards sound like a good idea actually but not if the vouchers are useless. Oh yeah - car fuel is always a good one though. One would be crazy not to take advantage of that.
coupons as an emotional rollercoaster? i’ve never heard anyone describe the usage of coupons so precisely. funny post!
Thanks, Diva!
Hey, did you nominate me for Five-Star Friday at Schmutzie’s place? 
You know what it is; the idea of saving even a tiny amount really appeals to everyone. The people who make coupons KNOW this. Yet I hate them too!(the coupons, not the people..lol)
I NEVER manage to find my saved coupons either..
And or yes, they are expired…LOLOLOL!
Good post Teeni!
Thanks, Merri - I’m glad you liked it!
It did feel good to write and get it out of my system. And you are right - we try to save all these little bits wherever we can, even though they don’t make much of a difference but with things the way they are we feel we HAVE to so we aren’t being wasteful. They truly are an emotional rollercoaster!
I’m just impressed that you use coupons. I need to start using them. I never, ever remember to bring them to the store with me. I need to get in the habit!
Hi Maleesha and welcome to the Vaguetarian Tea Room. If you can get the coupons to work for you then please let me know.
This was a great post! You summed up my own thoughts on coupons very nicely! I have pretty much given up on using them by now. Also, my fiance is embarrassed to use them anyway so he won’t let me use them if he is with me! (How stupid is that?!)
It’s funny that it embarasses your fiance, but who am I to judge? I feel the same as you about giving up on most of them. A few are still worth it but most can just get recylcled for all I care.
I thought of you today.. we got our coupons in at work. At my oh so awesome job in big Y. We hand the coupons over with the product as you buy it.
Well. at least in the deli.. buy stuff and if we have a coupon for it, we make sure you have enough to use it.. then hand you a coupon. ^_^
Ooh - there’s an idea that might work - if someone handed me one right there in the store and I was able to use it during that same shopping trip - then it would work out smoothly. I wish I lived closer to you so I could shop at your store!
Ha! I wish there was some easy way to carry them, without some large contraption that would weigh our purses down even more! I wonder if some people go as far as to organize them by when they expire.
Hmm - maybe if I had organized them by expiration date then they wouldn’t have expired on me! These days though, they just don’t seem worth the hassle to me. If a manufacturer can give coupons out to save us some money, they could save some paper instead and just lower the price so that the retailers could lower the price for us and then we wouldn’t need the dang things. Grr!