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I believe there is value in paying full price. Yes, I use coupons, and yes, I love the thrill of a great deal, but I think that the Walmart effect has warped our sense of value for things. We often subsitute quantity for quality. As our country is sinking deeper into a recession I'm afraid we are adopting the depression-era hording mentality of our grandparents. There is nothing wrong with being frugal, it can be a virtue, but it seems that in the hunt for a deal, gluttony, greed and wastefulness are confused with frugality, thrift and prudence.
When we pay full price for something, we need to realize that we are paying everyone down the line who put that product in our hands full price as well. The store and it's employees, the distribotur, the manufacturor, the layborers. Do we value their jobs? Thier hard work? When we buy "homemade" we seem to get this concept, we pay a little more because we see the face of who made it. We value thier time and the care they put into making the product. Do we care about the single mother in Indonesia who is making pennies a day? Do we care about the farmer who is worried that he will have to stop growing and find a new livelihood?
I started coupon shopping a few months ago. It is very exciting to go to the store and buy a cart full of groceries and only pay 20% of the retail price. When they say "you saved $120 today!" it is thrilling. But then I 've noticed a few things. I buy more junk and more processed foods because they were only this much or they were free. I stopped reading labels. I read prices instead. I came home with foods filled with salt, HFCS, MSG, trans fats, calories. We have easily 3-4 more bags of garbage per week now.
I'm not saying coupons are bad. I wonder though about the real cost. Is this thriftyness really greed and gluttony? Buying things I don't need certainly fits into the gluttony category. Is is better to spend a little more on healthful things, less of them, and be healthier? (We already eat too much.) I'm not ready to stop couponing just yet, but I think I'm going to "save less" by passing up a few of the great deals in favor of reading labels and making REAL frugal choices. And when I pay full price for something I want, I will do it with gratitude instead of guilt.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
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You have a point. I love saving money and buying things on clearance or using coupons. But I'm really trying to watch myself and make sure that what I buy is what I need. Often coupons just get me to buy things I don't need and really don't want. I'm trying to teach myself that just because it's a good deal doesn't mean I need to get it. I can still watch what I buy and where I shop, but it's more important that I pay attention to WHAT I'm buying. Maybe I just need to find more coupons for the good, healthy foods that are good for my family!
ReplyDeleteHey neighbor!!! I live in Scottsdale. :)
ReplyDeleteWe make our menu and list of needs first, then look for coupons for those items only. We also price match at WalMart, but ours here at Riverview is making it such a pain that we are considering just going to the store with most sale items we need. I look forward to the day when we can cut the WalMart habit all together!
ReplyDeleteHi Hannah! I'm going to comment on the yogurt below.... It always amazes me what a small child can do in SO short of time! It looks like you have your hands full! Your children are darling!
ReplyDeleteHey, I completely agree with you on buying the stuff you dont need just because its on sale.
ReplyDeleteI saw this documentary on walmart(http://minithought.blogspot.com/2009/02/wal-mart.html) and it feels soo bad how the workers are treated so that customer price can be kept low.
I rarely use coupons for the reasons you mentioned. Most coupons are for foods that do not nourish our bodies. I do not buy anything that is full of sugar, corn syrup, sodium, hydrogenated fats, saturated fats, MSG or preservatives.
ReplyDeleteThis means I have to grocery shop very consciously and I have to read labels. It also means my grocery bill will be higher. It is so unfortunate that healthy choices are more expensive, but I feel it is worth it to treat my body like the temple it is. It is a gift, and I will not fill it with garbage just because the garbage is cheaper!
I agree about couponing. I see blog posts from women who coupon, and they have pictures of their "loot". Well, it looks like a bunch of useless stuff to me! Who needs 6 bottles of Dawn dish soap?
ReplyDeleteYou make some great points.
ReplyDeleteI have friends who tell me how cheap their Capri Suns & sugary granola bars were...but even if they're 50 cents/box, I don't eat that stuff anyhow, so how am I saving $$ by buying something I'd never eat or feed my family?
A great tool are The Tightwad's Gazette books by Dacyzn (sp?)...maybe you've read 'em already? Her couponing points are well made...never buy stuff you wouldn't buy in the first place and save even more $$. And her other discovery (she's quite scientific) is that homemade is almost always cheaper. ;)
I love your thoughts on this!