The deal with Coupons

There is a lot of snobbery that can go along with coupons, and more specifically the people who use (or dont!) them. This may be a national thing, it seems in the USA that almost everyone uses them! In the UK however there can be a bit of shame attached to using them.

The reason companies put coupons into general circulation is that they want consumers to try their product at a reduced price to get them to like the product, then the consumer will buy the product again (and hopefully continuously) at full price.

I don't look at it as being "cheap" or even frugal, its about shopping smartly, with your brain instead of going on the pressure of society or even the subliminal messages that shops and companies send to you to make you purchase things a certain way (the way products are laid out in shops, the temperature being altered to promote spending etc). If you use coupons smartly (using them instead of your normal brand of product) they can save you A LOT of money!

The lesson here is spend smartly (as always!) and don't be snobby about it.