I live in an affluent area. Probably because it’s a very high cost of living area, people here make a lot of money. People here spend a lot of money. People here live large, because honestly most of them are the JONESES! They really can afford it. I haven’t seen any foreclosures, and the homes prices have held pretty steady and in some pockets of our particular area still going up.
But something strange is going on. I’ve played the CVS coupon game for 2 years now. And for 2 years I’ve clipped coupons and I use them occasionally in the grocery store. I always have freebie deals for restaurants, take out, etc. I always pinch my pennies till they scream! My roommate calls me the queen of thrift because someone with our income shouldn’t be so darn cheap. Okay maybe. But heck every buck I save, can be used to buy something else I want.
That being said, something strange is happening. People are using coupons. People are starting to hunt down deals and clear off shelves. I was the only person at CVS who used coupons. Now there are more, at least according to the employees who know me on sight. Also I can tell because I see them using them in lines.
At the grocery store, I’m the crazy person who will do deals rolling my register rewards for free soda or toilet paper and bounty. But now, I’m fighting with other people for the deals. When I used to go to my store, the sale items were NEVER sold out. Now, if I’m not there on Friday/Saturday when the deals start, the store is wiped clean.
Plus I can see people using coupons they clipped in lines. Also Costco is now having monthly coupon booklets, whereas previously it was 2x/year! Every month they send out their booklet for customers to try new things. It’s encouragement to buy. I certainly take advantage when they have meat or frozen pizza coupons. In fact I even bought a cool humidifier with the coupons.
So is it hip to clip? Am I no longer the strange weirdo clipping my coupons in line?
As a side note, my mom still clips coupons. I even taught my mom how to get things cheap at Walgreens. I wonder if I’ll ever outgrow my clipping habit?
12 responses so far ↓
1 Kristy // Mar 13, 2009 at 9:18 am
Yes, it is now hip to be frugal. All those years of people making fun of you for being cheap are over!
Honestly, I think its rude for people to even comment about huw frugal/cheap another person is.
2 BrandlessBlog // Mar 13, 2009 at 3:26 pm
Just go ahead and do it…. As long as you promise me not to hurt anyone when you are clipping. =)
3 fengshui // Mar 13, 2009 at 6:41 pm
Are people there still holding into their jobs? Has job loss affected your area at all? Not everyone can make a ton and still have their jobs! Right?
4 fengshui // Mar 13, 2009 at 6:41 pm
I meant holding onto, not into
5 Meg from FruWiki // Mar 13, 2009 at 8:49 pm
While I’m not a coupon clipper (doesn’t work so well with my other frugal shopping habits), I don’t have anything against coupons per se and I’m happy to see that people are getting over their fear of “looking poor” by using coupons (though I wish that it could have happened another way).
However, I worry that a lot of people will get caught up in the coupon frenzy and buy stuff that they don’t need just because it’s a “great deal”. After all, companies don’t give out coupons out of the goodness of their hearts. They want people to use them so that they end up spending more money on their products.
So, think before you clip — and again before you buy!
6 LAL // Mar 14, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Kristy I think it’s becoming more common to be frugal.
Brandless, I think I am good with the clippers.
Fengshui, right now I’ve meet some people laid off, in areas nearby like PA, NJ, Conn, that’s where a lot of our friends are losing their jobs more than where we are.
Meg, I agree, that it’s certainly easier to get into the “coupon frenzy”. I’ve gotta remind myself i don’t need it as well.
7 Scott @ The Passive Dad // Mar 14, 2009 at 6:35 pm
I’ve been clipping for about 2 months now and carry a small leather booklet to carry the coupons. I actually had an extra 20% coupon for a total purchase and made the day of another customer. It blew her away that I offered it up to her for free. I need to create a business card so she could be a new visitor to my blog
9 pfincome // Mar 15, 2009 at 9:20 pm
I really started clipping coupons all out last summer to use at CVS, Rite-Aid, and Walgreens. While I always have used them from time to time, last summer was my breakout. I agree with your analysis of others using coupons a lot more. It is a lot harder to find the free items at CVS for me now.
I also have written several eHow articles around using coupons and those are some of my most popular coupons. Basically another reason why I believe couponing is on the rise.
10 LivingAlmostLarge // Mar 16, 2009 at 9:57 am
I’ve been clipping coupons hard core I would say for 2 years now. I have always clipped and used coupons though, but I went back to my more frugal roots two years ago after a 2 year hiatus.
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