Just who are using coupons the most? You'll be surprised!

[Weinergirl]

Honestly, we are in the top category (household income of $100,000+) and I certainly don't consider us to be wealthy. Maybe we live in an expensive part of the country, but I need to coupon so we have enough money to pay for everything - house, car, utilities, day care. I think the income chart they used is a little outdated for today's salaries.

[434Teresa]

How do they know what a household that uses coupons makes a year as a income? They dont ask me when I shop do they any of you?

we dont make 100k a year but I use coupons on the heavy side....we did make clsoe to that when I worked but now I dont work. The old saying is the more you make the more you spend is so true...when we went to one income I thought how will we make it but you know what we make it better now then before...

[queenofthehivemomof5]

The book The Millionair Next Door illustrates this point very well that many wealthy people are also frugal. They use coupons (or shop at warehouse stores in bulk), buy cars outright and drive them for a long time, pay off their mortgages early, and live a generally good life. We think "Millionaire" and automatically assume filthy rich. But if you work hard to earn money and work hard to save money it is not that unfathomable to being a millionaire yourself. The rich don't get rich by wasting money. And the folks that live a flashy life usually are not wealthy in the long run.

On the other hand that does not mean you should be stingy or frugal and misrable wearing holy underwear because you are too cheap to buy new ones.

[$Saving!]

Originally Posted by 434Teresa How do they know what a household that uses coupons makes a year as a income? They dont ask me when I shop do they any of you? we dont make 100k a year but I use coupons on the heavy side....we did make clsoe to that when I worked but now I dont work. The old saying is the more you make the more you spend is so true...when we went to one income I thought how will we make it but you know what we make it better now then before...

There are focus groups used for data gathering, there are research panelists that contribute information for such comparison data etc. I'm sure they did some sort of research/focus group to determine the data set they used.

I agree with many of the posters comments, that 'rich' is a relative term as to total income - but what I think the data set was showing is that those with a substantial income level (not determining 'rich' so much as just income based, not comparing lifestyle costs, locations, obligations, family size) tend to spend it differently than those of a lower income strata.

But it is so very true, anyone can build wealth, depending on obligations, income level and other factors, wealth can be built no matter the income, it might just take longer for some due to 'discretionary' monies available.

We've all seen the shows where they extrapolate what putting away a certain $$ amount per year, with a yield in an interest bearing account at X% will net over a lifetime. Or invested, or whatever can be done to make that money 'work' and earn on it's own if left alone.

If any money saved from using coupons could be set aside, that's an excellent way to create that slush fund of interest bearing working money - even a 5% cut of net savings put aside will snowball nicely if put to work and rolled annually into secure long term growth accounts, whatever that might be.

Not long ago there was a nice article by the WSJ about micro-economics as it pertained to using coupons. Their focus was on what one pays themselves by using coupons, and that was interesting. But the next step would be investing some of those savings generated by coupons and spinning off a nest egg with it.

That old saying "a penny saved is a penny earned" has as much merit and truth now as when it was coined. Save enough pennies and it becomes increasingly valuable over a lifetime.

It's always so much easier to save than to earn money that many people seem caught up with earning and not using each penny to it's maximum potential once it's in hand. It is so easy to fritter away money anymore without giving much thought to the overall impact.

Just a quick drink pick up at a drive through a couple times a week would add up quickly if it were saved long term and earned money while it sat there. But we are creatures of habit and it's hard to change direction.

This is such an interesting extension of what couponing is really all about, which is saving money in the near term (use of coupons) and what we do with those savings in the long term, do we reinvest it, need it all to pay bills or provide for something we desire like a vacation.

Then it all comes down to prioritizing where those savings go.

Soooo many choices to make!

[queenofthehivemomof5]

I personally have a grocery budget of $400 a month but spend most months 200 to 250 of that and bank the rest in a savings account. That money funds things like vacations. We also try to live on just one of our incomes and save the rest. Since we bought our 1st house house in November that has been harder to do because there are things we want to do to the house (painting, a few new things, mini projects) but we are still saving as much as possible. But it was not that long ago that we were on food stamps and trying to make it on $1200 a month of workers compensation. But we work hard and try to save. It all started for me when I found coupons though and started saving from my grocery money. I first used that money to get out of debt (debt free now except the mortgage) then work towards saving. Couponing was the first step for me. And I am frugal in all I do. We drive used cars and maintain them, I look for the best deals on everything (even a coupon for my manicures LOL) I am not flashy but I like nice things, but I don't like paying "nice things prices" LOL

[$Saving!]

Originally Posted by queenofthehivemomof5 I personally have a grocery budget of $400 a month but spend most months 200 to 250 of that and bank the rest in a savings account. That money funds things like vacations. We also try to live on just one of our incomes and save the rest. Since we bought our 1st house house in November that has been harder to do because there are things we want to do to the house (painting, a few new things, mini projects) but we are still saving as much as possible. But it was not that long ago that we were on food stamps and trying to make it on $1200 a month of workers compensation. But we work hard and try to save. It all started for me when I found coupons though and started saving from my grocery money. I first used that money to get out of debt (debt free now except the mortgage) then work towards saving. Couponing was the first step for me. And I am frugal in all I do. We drive used cars and maintain them, I look for the best deals on everything (even a coupon for my manicures LOL) I am not flashy but I like nice things, but I don't like paying "nice things prices" LOL

that's how I got started too, wanted to be a stay-at-home Mom, we knew it would slow our progress financially but I was determined to find some way to 'contribute' to the financial well being. So it was coupons, and that was while we were 'anticipating' getting pregnant as we had to go through fertility work for 4 years before our prayers were answered.

By then it was a habit and it paid well during the child rearing years! In our 28 years of marriage, we've only bought 3 new vehicles, the last was in 1996 - just sold it for $1,700 and replaced it with a used Camry

Your path is very similar to what ours was over the years. And it served us well indeed!

Funny you mention manicures, I just recently 'indulged' in getting a nice manicure once a month ($12) and in between do my own polish as needed.

Kids are grown, but the frugal ways are deep in these bones

I credit my parents for much of that though, they were anything but pretentious and to look at them you wouldn't think they had the money they did, they didn't wear it or drive it, I can still remember my father breaking down 4 times on the way to the dealership to buy a new car (cash) - he literally used his cars up! He didn't have time to do the maintenance so he bought new, but he always made sure those cars owed him nothing by the time he was done with them

Ahhh, it is a unique lifestyle we choose to live, but one that has so many benefits I could never give it up.

My hubby will buy lottery tickets once in a while, and we both know we wouldn't change our lifestyle, with one major exception, we'd buy a summer home up where I grew up in northern NY state, on the St Lawrence. Beyond that it would be life as usual, coupons and all

[Kaldirris]

Funny thing regarding saving - I read a few years back (and this floored me!!) that when it comes to breastfeeding, the higher the family income bracket, the more likely the mother was to breastfeed her baby. WHAT?!?!?! You'd think (or at least *I* did) that if you didn't have a lot of money, you'd nurse your baby, rather than pay that ridiculous amount of money for cans of formula, right? Apparently not.

Personally, I think that a great number of people (in low income brackets, especially) could really benefit from a course on how to stretch the monthly budget. You know, simple things - taking an extra hour or two a week to clip coupons & find the best deals (at the stores you can easily get to, of course!), or shop with a friend for items you both use & split the costs, meal planning (which definitely saves money), repackaging & freezing bulk meat purchases, cooking with whole foods - or at least out of as few cans & boxes as possible, etc.
When I lived in Canada, I had a number of single mom friends who were collecting social assistance & really struggling (there are no food stamp programs in my province, and food banks have very limited resources, even for families) - I did something similar with a couple of them: coordinated my weekly shopping trip so one or both of them could come with me (since I had a good paying full time job, I had a car! LOL), helping them to find coupons & savings they could use, etc. There were a number of times when I'd find a great deal on say, pork leg roasts (up to 30 lbs!), and I'd have the butcher cut & repackage it into smaller packages & my friends would split the costs with me; farmer's markets at harvest time for 50lb boxes of potatoes, etc. One family would take ages to go through 50lbs of spuds - 3 families? Not so long. Easy things for me to do, but it helped them keep their families going, without having to feed their kids KD every night. *shudder*

But, I agree with some other posters here - if EVERYONE knew how much money they could save with smart couponing, we wouldn't get the deals that we do.
SHHHHHHHHH!!!! Let it be our little secret!
LMAO

One last thing: a poster here mentioned coupons for manicures ... have you considered getting together with a couple of girlfriends for an afternoon at someone's home & doing manicures for each other? You'll have a great afternoon with some good friends, and still get the fab look you'd find in a salon, and probably end up spending less.

[concernedshopper]

Originally Posted by Kaldirris Funny thing regarding saving - I read a few years back (and this floored me!!) that when it comes to breastfeeding, the higher the family income bracket, the more likely the mother was to breastfeed her baby. WHAT?!?!?! You'd think (or at least *I* did) that if you didn't have a lot of money, you'd nurse your baby, rather than pay that ridiculous amount of money for cans of formula, right? Apparently not.

Formula is easier and if you are low income, you get it free in most states...We qualified for a WIC program (as it is called here) making approx. $38,000/year with a family of 4--although i did breastfeed both my babies.

Also, my dad always used to say 'you'll spend what you make.' i think that is one of the biggest explanations of the wealthy dispute. As you make more money, typically your standard of living and expections rise as well, and your spending habits fill in the gaps. We have friends who live in our same area and make over $100,000/year and are always struggling, because of their spending and credit card habits.

I was raised in poverty. We cut back a lot and we make sacrifices of things that most people would take for granted and not consider a luxury. I think that's the deal when you make a lower income--you have to downgrade somethings from necessity to luxury, while at a higher income bracket you get to keep those luxuries as things that are in your every day lives. not judging at all, just an observation because the lower income has the same basic living expenses.

[gctattoo]

I never paid a ridiculous amount for formula. I used formula checks a lot of the time. And when I didn't have those, I kept getting great catalinas at Winn Dixie for formula so I just used those. I paid full price just a handful of times the entire year DD was on formula. I like to say-- if it's expensive to have a baby, you're doing it wrong. ;)

[concernedshopper]

Originally Posted by gctattoo . I like to say-- if it's expensive to have a baby, you're doing it wrong. ;)

Yep, that's exactly what I say.