Why Coupon?

This past weekend, I was organizing my coupon binder at a local coffee shop when I was approached by an older gentleman.  He looked at all of my inserts, clipped coupons, and binder pages strewn about the table and asked "so are you one of those coupon people?"  I replied with pride, "I sure am!"

He then stated that he could never coupon, because the only coupons that he sees are for "junk" food or products that he would never use.  He also stated that he would never have the patience to do such a thing.  I invited him to sit down with me and take a look at what I had.

I explained that while the amount of coupons for fresh produce are indeed rare, it is possible to strategize your shopping trips to include such items.  Using overages from coupons towards items in your cart that you don't have a coupon for is one way.  There are also times when there are coupons for "buy one item, get another free", getting you items such as milk and eggs.  I even told him that there was a great deal for strawberries last week at Target, to which he was surprised.

He then took a look at my coupons and noticed one for a brand of crackers that he tends to buy.  "I like these crackers, I would use this coupon!" he stated.  He then looked at other coupons I had clipped, such as men's body wash and deodorant.  "But why are you clipping these?  I would guess that you don't use these products."  I then explained that while it's true that I do not use these products, there are people I know that do.  I told him that couponers will often give unwanted items to friends and family, or even donate them to local non-profits or food shelves.

The man seemed satisfied by our conversation, and as I packed up my items he said "I guess this coupon stuff can be useful."

So I ask you to consider this conversation when thinking about how and why you coupon;  are you able to successfully get all of the items you need at a discount, or just certain ones?  Are you getting items for you or for friends and family as well?  We can all succeed at helping others with our skills, so why not?