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

[NVHCoupons]

It has always been interesting me that the lower income families aren't using coupons as much, especially people who receive food stamps. My mother in law uses food stamps and I've tried to show how much MORE she could get with that asset, but it just doesn't matter. She doesn't care to try. Then she runs out of money on her food stamp card and is low on money until the next month.
I showed her how i could get 4 trips to the store out of the amount she got on her card in comparison to her 1 trip. Even in just my first trip I got more food than she got out of her 1 trip.

[luvcupons]

I'm glad I read this thread tonight. This is just what I was thinking today. Basically, everybody I know is lower income or just barely making it but when I mention saving or couponing all I get is excuses or I hear No--I don't want to learn and if I mention budgeting I get alot of the same. I didn't grow up with saving, budgeting or anything near that. It took having my third child with health issues and my second husband saying why do you have to spend so much for me to explore how to reduce spending. It's been a little over two years since my first coupon trip and I found out we have more on less money. I know that that I'm going to continue learning I just wish I could get the other family and friends on board but until then I just keep on couponing and saving.

[tessalinn]

My fiance and I are not rich by any means, but we are doing much better than most our age. When we first moved in together 4 years ago, we were living on savings that we had stashed before we had to pay any bills (and that ran out quickly). Now, 4 years later with a little money stashed away, I really regret not learning to use coupons sooner. In the past 4 weeks we have saved over $135 using coupons. I have been spending a lot of time "learning the rules of the game" but I feel that within a couple more weeks, it will only take a teeny bit of time and one or two trips (versus 5 or 6, lol) to get the best deals. Now that we finally had a trip where we earned a bunch of "free" items, he is starting to get really excited. Today's trip was our first "planned" trip that scored us the free items. He even commented "$13.00, that's awesome!" when we reviewed our receipt.

This may be the best time for us to have caught on to coupons, as we have just 9 months before our wedding.

In my opinion, this is something that is well worth ANYONE and EVERYONE's time, and I shake my head at those that pass it up with such small excuses. People from all walks of life should catch on, too!

[Doglover8180]

I think wealthy is all subjective. What one person considers poor/low income, another person might look and say that's wealthy. And what one considers wealthy, another might look at say - thats just average/middle. It's all relative. We all are going to look at salary ranges very differently because we are comparing it to our own circumstances, I think.

[ladycat00]

I am a low income coupon user, and wonder why more low income people don't use them. It just doesn't make sense. I hear lots of excuses, I don't have time, it's not worth the time/effort....ect. I just continue doing what I'm doing, because it helps me and my girls survive, we rarely have to go without most of the necessities of life.

It has always been interesting me that the lower income families aren't using coupons as much, especially people who receive food stamps. My mother in law uses food stamps and I've tried to show how much MORE she could get with that asset, but it just doesn't matter. She doesn't care to try. Then she runs out of money on her food stamp card and is low on money until the next month.
I showed her how i could get 4 trips to the store out of the amount she got on her card in comparison to her 1 trip. Even in just my first trip I got more food than she got out of her 1 trip.

I'm glad I read this thread tonight. This is just what I was thinking today. Basically, everybody I know is lower income or just barely making it but when I mention saving or couponing all I get is excuses or I hear No--I don't want to learn and if I mention budgeting I get alot of the same.

I can identify with the above quotes. I am a low income user on food stamps. I use coupons to have enough to get by, and still be able to help others in need.

Some of my relatives are having hard times financially, but come up with every excuse you can imagine for not using coupons.

[joshmamabear]

I think wealthy is all subjective. What one person considers poor/low income, another person might look and say that's wealthy. And what one considers wealthy, another might look at say - thats just average/middle. It's all relative. We all are going to look at salary ranges very differently because we are comparing it to our own circumstances, I think.

I agree.

Cost of living varies per state such that 6 figure income in the big cities like LAX or NYC cannot buy as much with same income in southern states. Even if income range may be lower in rural states but if you consider lower property taxes and comparatively lower cost of living expenses, you'll come way ahead of the high earners in the big cities. Now, for those who use coupons, that's add'l savings for them.

[Smiles4U]

I'm more of the mindset of 'teach a man to fish...' - in other words, help those who need it by teaching them how to do what will save them the most.

Giving someone something once doesn't help them the next time they need help, but teaching them how to save helps them forever

I put the Teach a man to fish.....on the back of my business card. But then I had to change it; because people thought I did investments instead of budget coaching. I saw that it was suggested somewhere on my card to put what I actually do. So unfortunately, I listed 3 services on the back instead.

[ari'smom]

I think for some who are chronically lower income there is a certain sense of hopelessness that comes along with it. In this sense it would be why coupon, it won't change my life in any meaningful way. And for some people this is probably true.

Also, as everyone remembers from their psych 101 class (Maslow's heirarchy of needs) if a person is consumed with survival issues, they are not going to have the same resources to aspire to anything more than that. Depression also plays a big part in this as it's hard not to become depressed when you are chronically poor.

It may be different for people who are only temporarily poor or low income, through loss of a job, illness that sort of thing. Or maybe who were brought up fairly comfortably and then became poor. Just because they know there is something else out there through experience and will see it as reachable. Whereas someone who has been in a certain socioeconomic status their whole lives might not have the same points of reference, and may even have a self image that makes them feel they "belong" in the income level group they are in.

Anyway, I guess I'm just trying to say that I think it's more complicated than low income people don't want to be bothered to try to use coupons or make their situations better. In most cases there's much more to it than that.