The Real Reason Why You Won’t Use Coupons

Before I post the column on "Couponing in Fairfield," I wanted to post this first:

Do you frequently hear yourself saying the following….

“I really should use coupons.”

“I keep forgetting my coupons!”

“There are no good coupons anyhow.”

“I’m so disorganized, I can’t figure out couponing.”

“Next time, I’ll try to use coupons.”

“I really need to save more money at the grocery store.”

“Coupons are for poor people and hoarders.”

You probably even say these things to yourself after attending a couponing workshop, fainting when you see your grocery bill or seeing a television show where people (unrealistically) buy hundreds of dollars of groceries for zero money.

Your Guilt Complex

I hear these comments frequently from friends, family, strangers and generally anyone who sees me whipping out a coupon who may feel twinges of guilt that they aren’t using these money-saving tools. Believe me, I don’t preach about using coupons, I just try to help others who say they want to use them.

So, here’s a revelation: Stop beating yourself up about not using coupons because those reasons you give yourself listed above…those aren’t the real reasons why you don’t use coupons.

Coupons Represent Money…or Trash

The real reason you don’t use coupons is because you are subconsciously programmed to NOT use coupons. Crazy, right?

Not really.

The conscious versus subconscious mind is really a complex subject and one I’ve been studying for quite a while. It suddenly clicked why people either love or hate using coupons. If you think about it, many older generations use coupons. Many younger generations do not use coupons. Why? The older generation—many of whom either lived through the Depression or who were brought up by parents who were youngsters during that era—subconsciously value money-saving ideas and coupons represent “money” to them.

You may consciously say that you value money-saving ideas. But, subconsciously, you really value your right to buy what you want when you want it regardless of price—and coupons, well, they are just random pieces of paper. And that’s okay! It’s just one of the values you picked up from family and society at a very young age, which is running quite a bit of your life, and is preventing you from embracing couponing. It’s why you start couponing, then ditch it for a variety of reasons even though you don’t know why you can’t get it together to use coupons.

So, stop making yourself crazy about using coupons. You probably value other ways of getting what you want when you want it at a good price. You watch sales, you buy things on clearance, you may buy secondhand. Whatever your tactic for getting the best value, if it works, that’s fine! Go with it!

If you’re possibly wondering about me at all– well, I resisted coupons for years! My mother used coupons and would force them on me. Then domestic life took over and my subconscious values kicked in: I valued money-saving ideas! My inherent values compel me to use at least some coupons.

The one piece of advice I’ll give you now: Stop comparing yourself to people who use coupons! And, here’s an insight: Sometimes couponers wish they could just go into a store and buy what they want when they want it at any price…(but their subconscious mind just won’t let them do that)!

Till next time!

~TFF