Do Coupons Really Save Money?

Have you ever known anyone who has been obsessed with coupons or vouchers? I have. Did they get wealthy because of this? That's an age old question that gets argued back and forth in the personal finance world. Do coupons really save us money and should I spend the time to find them and use them when shopping?

The short answer is Yes, coupons can save you money. But we need to do some serious work on self-awareness. If you spend hours and hours finding and clipping coupons to save $3 at the store, you have to weigh out if it was worth it to you for the time you spent. I would say use coupons where you can, but be aware of the time you are spending on it, and only use them if you were going to buy that item anyway.

Remember, there is a danger with using coupons. We need to realize that coupons are a marketing tool to get us to spend money. Companies use this tool to get us to buy an item we weren't necessarily going to buy. Our minds are conditioned to want to "get a deal", so coupons work to the company's advantage when we buy something we weren't going to buy initially. However, if you were going to buy an item that happens to have a coupon, it's to our advantage.

Financially successful people are always on the lookout to save money. That's because by saving money, they know they are able to put more of their money to good use and have it work to make them even more money. This is the mindset we need, which coupons can be one of the ways to save money. But we need to be aware of the danger in buying items just because they are on sale or have a coupon, as well as the danger in wasting hours and hours to save a few bucks.

Use a list when you go shopping and yes, use coupons if they are available, but be intentional about your spending habits and practices and you'll start being more successful with your money.