CNBC posted an article yesterday with interesting statistics on couponers:
Constance Atkinson, a 20-year veteran of couponing, estimates that she saves more than $1,000 per year by scouring the newspaper for deals.
Atkinson, a Brooklyn resident, and other bargain-seeking consumers fueled a 63-percent surge in coupon redemption last year, according to new data from Coupons.org.
But the changing face of the coupon user may surprise you.
Households with incomes of $100,000 or more are twice as likely to coupon as those who earn less than $35,000. College-degree holders are also twice as likely to use coupons as those who did not graduate from high school.
Do you think these statistics are accurate? I find them fascinating–mostly because I know there are many readers here who make less than $35,000 who are avid couponers!
I know we earn less than $100,000 & I’m pretty sure we’re under $35,000, but we are college educated & we’ve only recently started putting more effort into couponing & deal-hunting. We also are fans of Goodwill & getting creative with what we have, but we are still struggling to stay ahead of debt though. :/
I have to admit that we’re one of those families that didn’t coupon until after we hit a combined income over $100,000 per year. There’s probably more of us $100,000+ folks following your website than’s you’d think, but we usually keep quiet, recognizing that we are doing relatively quite well. Nevertheless, every year, it seems like the amount of increased taxes outpaces any increased income even more, as we’re phased out of more tax write-offs that helped us so much only a few years ago when we were making much less money. Even after having a kid and taking on a mortgage, we’re definitely feeling the squeeze.
Living expenses keep going up, too, while raises are hard to get and many companies have freezes on hiring and raises, plus the loom of impending layoffs hanging over your head. Yes, these things affect families at all income levels, but a bad housing market combined with record unemployment rates really limits your options when any job changes pretty much means you’d HAVE to move. In my experience, most jobs making $50,000 a year and above really require you to be willing to move if you end up looking for a new job. If you’re upside-down on your home, that can be a problem.
Now, my husband and I have been lucky that the last couple of years of constant layoffs in our fields, and in our companies, didn’t affect us. But when you have that cloud hanging over your head, while at the same time previous lines of credit start running dry (in recent years banks routinely slashed credit limits and 0% credit offers have dried up, even for the best customers and credit scores). But saving money takes time, especially as expenses increase so quickly.
Couponing and other money-saving tips like you have on moneysavingmom.com are a great way to help increase that savings rate, so that hopefully we’re more prepared if we do lose one or both of our jobs. And a lot of the tips save both time and money, and saving time is golden for a working mom, and I’m sure that many of those $100,000+ families are dual income.
The reason I don’t use many coupons is that I buy so many store brand/generic items and shop mainly at Aldi (which doesn’t take coupons). When I compare prices, usually these items are less than the name-brand item even with the coupon. There are a couple of name-brand items I use regularly, and I buy them when I have a coupon for it.
I would say that its correct, I believe that it probably has something to do with Education and learning to balance finances. However you would not believe the friends I have that make in the 75,000 range that are not willing to coupon either.
We used coupons all through college. My mother was one of those avid couponers that figured out how to get money back from the store; my husband simply loves a good deal. Fast forward 10 years and a huge blessing – a miracle, really – of a six figure income for my husband: we cannot imagine living a life less frugal. We’re able to put 100% of my income into retirement savings. NONE of our peers do this. They’d rather have the boat, the timeshare, the Disneyworld vacations, the expensive cars. We go without all these things AND we coupon like crazy! You should see our stockpile! LOL
I didn’t graduate with college debt; my husband has $11,000 from a 4 yr degree and another $5,000 from post-grad studies. So, not a huge amount by comparison, but significant to us because of our family size (6 going on 7). I can’t imagine why anyone would NOT want to coupon/save their hard-earned $$$. Seems like such a waste to me.
I’ve been on foodstamps many years in the past & I didnt coupon. I didnt know anything about them. Heck, I was too poor to buy a newspaper. Or diapers, or formula, or electricty. If I did see a coupon I could use every once in a while, I would, but I didnt get very far with it.
Fast forward 30 years and m’honey & I make over the 100k together and Im a pretty avid couponer these days. I mostly use them for health & beauty products since we mostly eat meat & fresh or frozen veggies, but even then, every little bit helps.
Im the same person, but I was pretty clueless about savvy shopping back then and Im not now.
I also think that one of the things that drives more college graduates to using coupons is that 1. they had to learn to live very frugally while in college and 2. they racked up a nice hunk of tuition debt and that is hanging over their head, so the ones that care about getting rid of the debt are doing everything in their power to knock their debt down & coupons are a tool they utilize.
After saying that, let me say, there are plenty of college graduates who are horrible with money. I work for an internationally known giant company, and everyone there is payed very well.. I cant tell you how many engineers I’ve known who were so deep in debt they couldnt see out of it. I knew of one guy who had had his electricity turned off 3 or 4 times, sometimes for a month in duration, who would go into the company store & have himself a Starbucks coffee a couple times a day.
Poor choices put many people in debt, & wise choices put coupons on the table.
I’m amazed at how many people on here make over 100K. I live in Massachusetts and because I stay home with our son, we are barely above the $35K mark.
I coupon because if I didn’t we wouldn’t be able to pay our modest mortgage payment and the other basics of heat, light, and food. We only have one car, with over 150K miles.
BUT: There are lots of times I give up on coupons. I don’t take the paper each week anymore because I can’t afford it. I have to look at the expected coupons and figure out if there are enough that I will use on my normal items to justify buying a paper. Since I usually buy the reduced produce and meat, and make everything else from scratch, we don’t use a lot of the coupons except for toiletries. Luckily, my mother-in-law will ship me her coupons so I can still get cheap (free) toothpaste. In the past 8-10 months there have been so few good deals that I have a hard time rolling ECB’s, RR, or UP’s. After a few times of having UPS on expiration day without a good rolling deal, I’ve stopped shopping there. The regular prices are just too high. This really makes me think three or four times about using my little resources at a store, and then having to see what else is worth buying at that store. If I had more resources, it would be a lot easier to have $3 or $5 in CVS money instead of cash that can be used anywhere.
I didn’t read through all the comments, but I applaud those who have resisted receiving government assistance though they fully qualify. Couponing is definitely one way to make tough times easier and to not rely on the government (in reality, other tax payers) if in your situation, it’s feasible to make do. Couponing has allowed this Less than $35k family of 6 to stay debt free without having to take federal handouts. God is fully able to meet your every need!
If a family fully qualifies for government assistance, and either spouse is working or has worked in the past, then they are not, in reality, relying on other tax payers. When you are paying or have paid into the system, then you should feel no shame utilizing the help available when it is truly needed. It is not always a “handout”. It can also be considered a “hand up”. A “hand up” that God has provided.
My husband makes over $100k on his own, and with my salary added in we are well above that mark. I WAH, and while my job is not my life’s dream, it’s a really good salary for a really convenient, flexible gig. My job goes in spurts though. Sometimes I am uber-busy with a lot of complicated projects, and sometimes I have a lot of free time with maybe just one project on my plate.
So during those slow times, I am good about couponing. But when things get crazy I don’t really coupon (except my Coscto coupons). We are contemplating me requesting to go part-time, and eventually just do my own thing (cakes/cupcakes) versus working for the corporate world. If/when that happens, I will be a constant couponer as I’ll always have the time to do it. 🙂
Right now I am a very faithful meal planner, which is also a money/time saver.
My family makes over $100,000 per year, and I have a college degree and I coupon, so it makes sense to me. I DO NOT have a smart phone. With a computer at home and work I don’t see a reason to get one.
I think the book “The Millionaire Next Door” has the actual statistics to show that it is a significant higher percentage of people in the higher income groups that use more coupons. Our familyof seven has used coupons just to help pay for the basics and I’m so thankful that they exist!
I can see how this would be true. The surge in coupon use has taken away some of the stigma associated with being frugal, and that’s a great thing.
Are you kidding me that most people who coupon make over 100,000? We make 2,000 a month. I am a stay at home mom to two kids. We have no debt. My husbands works incredibly hard to provide for our family and I work hard to spend his money wisely. This includes coupons and sales and not buying things we don’t need. Money isn’t what makes the world go round and it doesn’t provide happiness. We live humbly and happy in our little piece of heaven on earth because we are together as a family!
At the same token, I know of MANY people that make “too much money” to use coupons. I tell people that I feed my family on $150/mo. and strictly buy healthy and organic. They actually roll their eyes! I doesn’t bother me anymore… but it sure used to. Now I just chalk it up to “to each their own”.
The fact that some people cannot even imagine why low income families don’t coupon more shows that they either don’t know what it’s like to really be poor or they forget. Being strapped for cash while you’re in college is not the same as year after year of knowing things will likely never change. Having children, hanging your head at the checkout stand to use WIC while people stand behind you making nasty assumptions, having grown up in the kind of brokeness that cripples you in life and having zero family support system because everyone is so messed up. That is more the reality of being poor.
We are in our mid 30s and were debt free including our mortage by our mid 20s even though we weren’t making a lot of money at that time. We both have college degrees and my husband has his MBA. I stay home and homeschool our children. We’ve lived a frugal lifestyle the whole time and continue to do so even though we wouldn’t have to. We want to be good stewards of the money God has entrusted to us. I think it is so important to teach our children God’s financial principles from an early age. It’s important that we teach them to be givers and to live lives that aren’t self centered. I like most of what Dave Ramsey says, but it seems that he motivates people to get out of debt so they can have it all. I know he reaches a wide audience so overall it is good, but I believe it is still important to be good stewards even when we could spend more. I still shop thrift stores, rummage sales, use coupons, and buy generic brands. I don’t have a cell phone because I don’t need one. We don’t have cable. Some things we have spent money on are adoptions (best thing ever), and we built a house. I’m totally rambling… 🙂
I will add… as a low income family some of the reasons I don’t coupon are: can’t afford printer ink (to print online coupons), $2 is a lot, even for the Sunday paper, driving around looking for abandoned coupon inserts is sometimes a waste of resources for me, same thing with traveling to different stores to get the different deals and also I am, at times too mentally exhausted from our quality of life to do what’s involved in couponing in general. Other poor families may even have fewer resources.
I have been on both sides of the fence of this. I grew up on public assistance with a single mom who only worked part time most of the time – she didn’t have the education to get a decent job. Now I am a college graduate and have worked my way up to a really decent job and am married to a college graduate who has also worked his way up the ladder. We are “rich” by most standards. That said, we drive old but reliable cars. We don’t spend lavishly and we just went on our 1st vacation last year (after being married 5 years) because we were finally debt free! I think the thing to focus on is DEBT LEVEL, not necessarily income. We live in a nice area – most of our neighbors drive BMWs and Mercedes or luxury SUVs. They go on fancy trips and have the best of everything. Same goes for our colleagues (who laugh at us for being so “cheap”). Our oldest son will ask why we don’t/can’t do those things and we have to explain that it is b/c we only spend the $ we have after we pay our bills and save for our retirement. We can only hope the day will come when his college is paid for thanks to us saving/investing for him and his brother and we are secure in our retirement without mooching off of them. Then maybe he will thank us! 🙂
My husband and I are in our late 20’s and make over 100k a year. We have 2 kids and a 3rd on the way. We coupon, garage sale and bargain shop. I stock up on things when they are good prices (especially diapers and toilet paper and grocery items). I know we save alot of money and we would rather have the money for unexpected doctor expenses or finishing the basement or builing our kids a playhouse:) Neither of us likes to clothes shop for ourselves, so that helps too! Plus, we are both in construction and are really big do-it-yourselvers.
My spouse and I make over $100K. I was raised in a tightwad household, and that’s how we try to live now — why pay more if you don’t have to. I didn’t read the article, but I’ve heard the statistic before. It may be that people with less incomes have less access to the internet to find the deals, to a printer to print coupons, to buy the newspaper with coupons, to use the gas to drive the car to dumpster dive for coupons….you get the point. They may be living paycheck to paycheck and not able to spend the extra $20 to stock up on 20 jars of peanut butter at $1 each, so they buy $2 worth. And yes, I know….I fear the days of even $1 peanut butter are gone. I stocked up when it was $1.49 at our local store last week….3 years ago that would NOT have been a good price to me!
Interesting. Being rich or poor in this country is often not what it looks like on the surface. It could be a number of different reasons why lower income folks don’t coupon. One thing that comes to mind is that being poor is stressful, and often you do what is needed to survive each day, and couponing seems like a time consuming, frivolous activity (not saying it is… I do look at this site after all!)
We make quite a bit less than 35k a year and I am a sporadic non-committal couponer.
I have an MBA and a salary above the 35k mark and we still are avid couponers. Our student loans account for nearly 45% of our income so couponing for us is a must regardless of the amount of money we bring home each month.
On paper, my husband earns a very respectable income. Additionally, I work small jobs to supplement his income. We have 3 children and a pretty hefty mortgage having bought at the height of the real estate boom in an already pretty expensive area. Couponing gives us wiggle room in our budget. Without it, we wouldn’t starve and we’d still pay our bills on time, however, we wouldn’t be able to eat out or go to the movies. Interestingly enough, when times were far, far leaner I did not coupon. It just didn’t seem worth my while until I came to your website a couple of years ago and learned more about how to do it effectively. I wish I had known. Do you think access to the internet to learn more about couponing may be an obstacle to those earning less than $35,000? Many deals require printing out coupons.
My husband makes well over 100k per year, but we are super frugal and do use coupons to keep our grocery budget in check (although we eat mostly “whole” foods, so our coupon options are limited). We do this because we know that money comes and money goes and he could easily be unemployed tomorrow like many other families. We have also read The Millionaire Next Door (excellent book!) and know that those who live like “millionaires” are actually poor and those who save and make wise and frugal choices can build wealth and security (and as Crystal often mentions GIVE much more abundantly). There is no disclaimer on the coupons saying that you are not allowed to use them if your income is high – they are there for everyone to use. Why wouldn’t I?
My mom always said that you save money where you can so you have the money to pay for the things you can’t save on. For example: mortgage payments, health insurance, school fees/tuition, etc. If I can pay .50 below my “buy price” that’s .50 I can put toward something else.
I believe it! We do not coupon out of necessity but we coupon to afford more luxuries! I could not even imagine paying full price for items when you can get them for a lot less. I have an MBA and close to a 6 figure income. Its just another way to challenge my brain and have fun too!
we made 33,000 last year and here in ohio have been told we make too much money for any assistance, family of 3. also we went up a tax bracket and pay 15% on that 33k, which puts us back down to 28k. My sister in law got me into couponing and has really been the difference for our grocery budget, I find it hard to believe that there arent more couponers in the lower income ranges. I will never give up couponing now but have had trouble finding good deals since that show started.
Lets be careful to not assume that everyone who uses government assistance is uneducated and that they aren’t wise with their money. I have many friends with college degrees who currently make low incomes because they felt called to serve in the ministry or served in missions during their younger years and are now just starting out in their “careers.” I also know plenty of people who make 6 figures and have loads of matching 6 figure debt. It would seem that frugality and wise stewardship have less to do with your earned income dollar amount and more to do with personality, faith and values and maturity. Many of those “millionaires next door” came from working, middle class families who taught them the value of a dollar and a hard day if work.
YES! My husband and I are considered VERY low income for where we live, because he is in the ministry and we have chosen for me to be a full-time, at home mom. Income does not always have to do with someone’s education level or intelligence.
On the other hand, though, the way you deal with your financial life has everything to do with your spending habits. We know many people who make MORE money than us and, though they don’t know how much we make, make comments about how they think we have more money because they see us be able to stretch our dollars more. (Ex–knowing ministry income rarely rises, we chose to pay off school loans and our one car before having kids, so I could stay home. Because of that one decision, we are able to save money for occasional, frugal vacations. We have lived in a nice house, but we bought it as a dirty, hole-in-wall foreclosure and spent time cleaning and fixing it up with money made from garage sales!)
Unfortunately, because of our culture, many of us probably know people personally who fit “stereotypes” of low income or even “stereotypes” of wealthy people not caring, but we have to remember that stereotypes are perceptions, and we cannot judge ALL people by our experiences. I think couponing is all over all income levels, depending on what kind of value people put on budgeting, savings, and how they choose to work toward those goals.
I love your kind words about stereotyping and people’s perceptions. Great comment!
My Husband brings home under $35,000 a year, and we have one child. So, for a family of three who has no need of government aid, we do just fine. I do use coupons often, but I do a lot of my cooking from scratch and with fresh vegetables and lean, healthy cuts of meat. It does take some work to ensure our budget is being adhered to, but we do just fine. Coupons of course make it a lot easier, but I do sometimes skip a few weeks of using them because I am busy doing other things.
I am a firm believer that one does not need to make a lot of money to be happy and live a full and complete life. We have taken wonderfully fun family vacations, dined at nice restaurants and have given our child more than he needs.
Thank you for this humble statement.
I can almost see where this would be true. I lost my job in November 2011. I was the bread winner for our family, but being huge (end of second trimester) noone wanted to hire me. So now we are trying to make it on my husband’s salary which is a third of what mine was. I was an avid couponer and was actually getting pretty good at it. Now, we can’t afford anything that is non-essential (including stockpiling and newspapers). Unfortunately, we live in a county where “dumpster diving” or getting out of the recycling center paper container is illegal. I am returning to work at the end of the summer and plan to avidly start couponing again!
I find it interesting. I have been on both ends of the spectrum. Starting out making $18,000 and rising to making six figures. And both gave me good perspectives. When on the skinny side on money, I spent less because I didn’t have it! And when I had more, I knew how hard life had been with less and worked to keep what I had earned. We have been hit hard by this economy. And our biggest goal was capital preservation. If we hadn’t saved like we did when times were good, we would have drowned. I coupon like crazy.
I don’t think anyone has come through the last few years unscathed. It hit every income point. So I’m not surprised that high income earners coupon. And statistics are just numbers. Obviously there are a ton of people that earn more and less of the numbers in story.
I think this board reaches beyond income levels. There are many of us who make less by choice. Our couponing money lets us make other decisions for our families. My choice is I feel drawn to have my children in a christian school. I have had friends act like I am a snob because I have done this. Yet, we scrimp in other areas of our life to accomplish this. It is certainly not easy. It is my choice. (I have to say I am surprised people are so vocal about it to me – like I am somehow being critical of them. Yet, I say nothing when they take vacations and do other things that we do not do so we can pay tuition. ) Live and let live. It is all choices – and all the scrimping and saving I do for our family I do gladly every day!
Thank you for a very reasoned and well-thought out comment. I have been struggling with how to express these same thoughts.
Thank you for your kind words Marsha.
Statistics show a snap shot just like averages. People below and people above. However I think this board reaches beyond income level. It speaks to a group of people trying to make the best financial decisions for their families. I think we all hate waste. And we all struggle to get the “waste” out of our budgets whether their is plenty in the bank account or barely enough.
I totally agree with the comments about the book, The Millionaire Next Door. That book is exactly what I thought of first when reading this post. Personally, my household income has increased by almost 20% this past year, putting us just into the 6 figure mark, and I just started couponing. I coupon because I value frugality and want to maximize the amount my husband and I save (currently we save 40% of our income). We don’t *need* to coupon to survive, but we do so because we want to be good stewards of our money and live debt free. Also, my husband was laid off several years ago and had to work in a lower paying job for a couple of years until his company could hire him back. We realize that our good fortune in our current job situations could change at any moment and we want to take advantage of our current salaries so that we’re ready for any situation that may arise in the future.
For me, making more means I don’t coupon at all, but it’s a matter of time, not money. I was a SAHM, we lived on about $18K for a family of 5, and I couponed my little heart out. Now I’m a single mom, I’m making about $28K, and I haven’t used a coupon in probably 8 months. But time is money too, and when I’m barely getting dinner on the table and putting kids in bed, coupons are gonna have to wait. They were a blessing and they got us by, but now I have the income to just buy something I need.
I think both the CNBC article and the Coupons.org article are very interesting. I would caution to not infer too much into the results. Without knowing how the questions were worded, how the people who participated were chosen and how many people participated it is dangerous to make any assumptions on the facts given. I did see that Coupons.org has a list of sources in the very, very, very small print – looking at these could probably shed some light on these statistics.
It’s also important to remember that using coupons is not necessarily synonomous with spending less cash. For some people using coupons will be a big part of their frugality, for some it will be a small part and for some it will not play a part at all.
My husband and I make well over that 6 figure mark with our two incomes. However, it seems to me that in our culture, the more you make, the more you spend. We had been caught up in that and were seeing our savings get smaller and smaller each month to the point we were going back a little more month by month. I started couponing when we had our second child as a way to keep my grocery budget the same each week and still pay for diapers and the added food. I’ve since backed off the couponing to a degree and started embracing other, more frugal options (making our own cleaners and laundry soap, etc.). The last few months, we’ve actually started saving money again each month and have set goals to pay cash for things we want that are luxeries (a new deck on the house and a finished basement).
We are blessed that we have the income we do and could certainly get by with much less than we do. But we are also trying to teach our kids to work for what you get and make rise choices about how you spend your hard earned money. It doesn’t matter how much you get, you should still spend wisely.
I haven’t read through all the statements but from my experience I have found that families where both parents work they tend to coupon less simply because they have less time to plan shopping trips and cut coupons. Families that have a SAHM or SAHD have a little more time to coupon. When you have a lower income family usually both parents work making it hard for them to find time to coupon? This is just an assumption.
I’ve noticed this, too. I have family members who are trying to reduce their spending all over the place (and implement Dave Ramsey principles). I explained how much money I had been saving since starting to use coupons and plan my food purchases around sales and they said it sounded overwhelming. When I reflected on it, I thought back to when I was working full-time, add a couple of kids and their busy schedules, and I can see where it would feel that way, even though it would be a fairly quick cut in cash outflow!
I would agree with that. Plus I don’t think income necessarily reflects whether someone likes to pay full price. Ever since I started couponing and shopping sales, (when I became a SAHM) it feels like I’m being swindled if I pay full price on something. It’s almost painful.
We make over the amount listed in the article, both have college degrees and use coupons on a regular basis for our groceries. Our only debt is our house. We have found that our income has not risen the last few years (grateful we have jobs), yet our bills are, so we started using coupons (among cutting back on other things) to keep to our budget. In addition, we have been able to save enough to pay cash for our oldest college tuition cost (we don’t believe in debt). Coupons, no matter what your income or education level is a great way to make ends meet during these tough economic times, so it is no surprise that folks are tapping into this.
I did find the article to be interesting. I don’t make $100k per year. I am a teacher and my husband works in security. I was raised on welfare and he was raised in a “millionaires next door” household. His parents saved, shopped generics, and used coupons. My family blew our month’s worth of food stamps in two weeks, never used coupons, and never saved a dime. As an adult, it took a long time for me to learn how to manage my money. I now live frugally and I’m paying off a lot of debt. My siblings are all still in poverty and have no interest in using coupons. I am always amazed when my sister can’t afford her son’s ADHD medication, but insists on buying her daughter Pampers for $9 or more at Walmart. I have a child in diapers, too and I’d never pay that amount because I can get them at a drug store for 1/2 that price or less. She says it’s just too confusing and sounds time consuming. I think some people just get overwhelmed.
It’s true! My husband makes that much but we have so many medical bills for my daughter with special needs. We live on a tight budget and I love to use coupons to save as much as we can. I have to think about saving for her future when we aren’t here to take care of her anymore. I tried to teach my sister how to “shop smart” but it didn’t take. Her husband makes third of what mine does and she ALWAYS complains about money. I recently realized that after learning to coupon and saving money in other ways, I worry less about our financial situation.
I moved from a less affluent area to a more affluent area (avg income 75,000+) and I’ve couponed there and where I currently live. I have to admit that it’s almost humorous because here in this community I’ve never been to the grocery store here without seeing someone with their coupons and/or coupon binder. Consistently the items that are great coupon/ sales match-ups are usually gone or maybe only a few left…something that was rare in my previoous area. Also, I don’t see many of the expensive cars that were a more consistent feature in my previous neighborhood. So I think that this is definitely anecdotal support for this article.
Let me just say this right up front, OUR FAMILY INCOME LAST YEAR WAS 19,193.00 Less than twenty thousand. There are 4 of us . ME, MY HUSBAND AND OUR 2 CHILDREN. I get NO public assistance of ANY KIND. So I’m not gonna swallow this nonsense about those making 5 times what we do NEEDING to use coupons. Walk a mile in MY shoes. And I have a college degree. FYI….. there are still NO jobs out there people. I worked all last year in fast food just to help our income. I made 5100 doolars. TRY IT SOMETIME.
I remember being a full time college student/ single mom and crying because I found a coupon that would allow me to afford cookies for my son. Now, my husband and I have been blessed to make a decent income, but we still use coupons. It’s a way of life for us. Ive seen both sides of the fence and can’t imagine not using coupons in either circumstance, its like free money to me. For those of you struggling and using coupons to survive, good for you for working so hard for your family! I know it can become tiring and frustrating, but God will always provide and your faithfulness will not go unrewarded!
Also, to me it seems like Some of these transactions, store coupon policies ect. are so complicated, it almost takes a phd just to understand it all!
Mazell.. May I ask you something? Why ARENT you getting public assistance?
Back some 30 years ago, when I was newly married, my foolish husband quit his job (from a business his father owned no less) and wouldnt go look for a job anywhere, while we lived in an apt & had 2 babies.. One was 2 & one was a newborn. He spent every penny he got his hands on for pot and I never knew where the next penny was going to come from for formula, diapers, food, or electricity either.
A friend from church thankfully brought us a box of church donations (what a Godsend that was) and asked me if I had tried to apply for food stamps. I was horrified & said a resounding “NO!” and she said, “Why not, I get them.” That made me kind of embarrassed one, but but more than anything it made me realize that sometimes everyone needs help, and we definitely needed help. I applied & actually we ate better on food stamps than we ever had before. We were on & off food stamps for the 10 years I was married to him, but I as well as my girlfriend were able to use the assistance as it was meant to be used, as temporary help, and eventually get off the system. Today, she is a school principal and Im an engineering technician and we both made pretty good money & both use coupons. Theres nothing wrong with using the system when you need it. Whats wrong is making a living off the system which many people do. Go get yourself some help, Girl.
Those who earn less than 35K likely qualify for plenty of government assistance…so they probably think “why bother with coupons?”.
I know not ALL low income families think like that, but I know there’s plenty in my town that do!
That was my first thought as well. I don’t mean it in an ugly way, just a factual way. I know I read recently on another blog that a family of 4 was getting $167.00 a week in food stamps. That is more than $650 a month for four people! They get even more if they use WIC. For just food. My family of seven cab afford to budget $120 a week for all our groceries, including toiletires and cleaning stuff. I can’t imagine I’d feel the need to coupon if I had three less people to feed *and* an extra $50 a week for food alone. I am not “smarter”, just need to stretch my food and household budget a bit more.
That was supposed to be “can” afford to budget $120 a week, not “cab afford”. Sorry for the typo. That also includes two in diapers.
My husband and I are blessed to make 6 figures a year. I am a very avid couponer. We haven’t always made that kind of money. We didn’t have fully funded college funds for our kids but we are able to pay cash for their educations. I feel that if God blesses you with it, it is your responsibility to honor that blessing and be a good steward.
We are a single-income family, but a lot closer to $100,000 than $35,000 income. ($35,000 in Massachusetts is basically at the poverty line for a family with kids.) If I worked too, we would be well into six figures… but I quit my out-of-house work when we began to have children; and so we coupon, wait for bargains, drive our well-used cars 100,000+ miles, etc. The only “real” vacation we’ve had (ie. not staying with family or friends) was our honeymoon eight years ago. We’re not struggling to make payments, but that’s mostly because we have had the benefit of a great education, relatively high-paying jobs in IT, and have consistently made frugal choices since we married.
I don’t necessarily believe this to be true. My husband and I live on about $2K/net month. My husband works a blue-collar job. I use coupons sparingly when warranted because we don’t eat a lot of processed stuff in general, mostly they are used for hba items and some healthy grocery items. We also have zero debt.
The assumption that because one makes more money makes them smarter is a little bothersome. I’ve seen many a person who makes considerably more than we do put their noses up at the thought of using coupons. Would it make them “appear poor” perhaps? There are people I know who make $100K or more and are loaded with debt. Does that make them smarter? I think it actually shows the reverse. Just because people make that kind of money does not mean they are also saving a lot of it.
Also, just because someone is on food stamps I don’t think it’s wise to assume that everyone who is poor does not how to manage them. Could there be more education out there? Absolutely. And yes, there are some who just choose not to learn to be wise with their money (or food stamps). But I find that to be the case on both ends of the spectrum.
I’d love to know what people were interviewed for this? I think a lot more lower middle class folks use coupons more and would agree with Crystal’s theory. Again, another story not in touch with mainstream America I’m afraid.
I agree with you Lyn. We have a few friends who “have to” have 2 incomes and put their kids in childcare… why? Because they have mountains of debt and aren’t willing to make significant cuts in their lifestyle. That’s not smart.
I agree. I wish I’d managed my money more wisely when I was young. Instead, I foolishly ran up credit card debt and I’m still paying it down today. If I had been smarter then, I’d have so much income freed up and I wouldn’t NEED coupons…but I’d still use them.
Amie, the wonderful part is that you learned something through this. I doubt when you become debt-free that you’ll want to end up in debt again. That is what happened to us. We actually got out twice, and part of that was due to medical bills, but we are determined to stay out of debt now if all possible.
fantastic insight i agree totally 🙂
I don’t know that it is out of touch so much as we don’t know how they are classifying ‘couponing’ and other money-saving activities. Also, it didn’t seem to imply that someone who makes more money is smarter, just that they are more likely to hold a college or higher degree, which does correlate to higher income. While book smarts don’t trump common sense and frugality, it is likely that those in higher socioeconomic brackets have greater access to information (and possibly time to pursue it) via things such as smart phones and high speed internet connections that make couponing so much easier now. I know that if I had to just rely on what I could clip from the newspaper inserts, I wouldn’t even bother!
Totally agree.
In my area, a RN that holds a bachelor’s degree can expect to earn around $60k per year whereas a RN with an associate’s can expect to earn $15-22 per hour (the higher end IF he/she is fortunate or has many years of experience in skilled nursing). It made more sense for our family that I hand in my scrubs for something that earned more money. I chose pharmacy, which gained me triple the income and many more opportunities for employment (meaning, I wasn’t “stuck” choosing between a hospital or care center).
That is not the typical story you hear at the Social Services office. We were on assistance for 2 years while paying cash for chemo treatments that our insurance did not cover. I continue to be grateful for the assistance we received during those years; the experience motivated us to accomplish more and become wiser with our finances.
I just graduated with my ADN (no bachelor’s yet) and my starting pay will be $27 .xx. I have no experience and only graduated in December.
I’m curious as to where you live where they pay nurses so little!
I’m in central Iowa.
Cindy, my thoughts above were more related to some of the comments here (not the article itself). I don’t feel though that economic success necessarily leads to wiser financial choices in life. Also, a degree today in many circumstances doesn’t go very far if there are no jobs to be found. There are a lot of well-educated folks out there making way less than they could be because they can only find low-paying jobs. Personally I wouldn’t want a smart phone because I think it’s a waste of money, so I stick with my archaic prepaid phone. 🙂 As for coupons, I print those that are worthwhile online, but I’m judicious because yes, printer ink is expensive. I don’t get the newspaper (I would agree with you) as it’s not worthwhile for me for a bunch of processed food coupons. I’d personally rather pay a small fee for some coupons if I could get a really good deal on something I’d actually use. I think when it comes down to it, whether we make $30K (of which me make) or $100K, there should not be any general assumptions by others because we are all different and I don’t feel that people should be lumped into any categories as a whole. I don’t feel the article (minus Crystal’s opinions) was in touch only because it didn’t seem to broadly connect to people in all walks of life. Maybe the article could have clarified things more. Just my .02. 🙂
I agree with so much of what you said. It goes along with my interest in how people’s perception of their social class or status affects how they handle money. My husband and I have a higher standard of living than either of us grew up with and we live differently and view money much differently than many of our friends. I think it also makes us much more aware of how fortunate we are.
Our income is much higher than $35K and I don’t coupon. I did for a few years but stopped for various reasons. The foods I buy changed, the couponing policies and values changed, and it just became one more thing and more paper to juggle in the house. But I have tremendous respect for the way some people are able to stretch a buck using coupons.
I believe the statistics also. My husband and I earn over a six figure income and I coupon so we can have the extras like vacations and things for the kids and not feel guilty. This way we also have enough to put back for their college and savings, too. We live in an area with a lot of poverty and most on food stamps and low incomes around here just haven’t been exposed to couponing or ways to save.
I really believe this statement :
“College-degree holders are also twice as likely to use coupons as those who did not graduate from high school.”
I’m a 23 yrs old and I’m almost graduating in June (FINALLY:D!!) I’ll be the first in my family to ever accomplish this. I started couponing when I was 20yrs old . I have even taught my boyfriend and now I made him a couponer ! 😀 I also have helped my family especially my brother of 16 yrs old to buy things for our family since I live away from my parents. I make him a list step-by-step on the things he needs to buy and how much he will pay. At first my brother was embarrass using coupons and making all this transactions but I guess he started realizing that it helps our parents save a lot of money and later didn’t care anymore that he had to buy 10 bottles of shampoo or bodywash 🙂
CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR GRADUATION!!!!!
That is awesome!!!!
My husband and I do make over that figure. I coupon because I love saving money and I want to keep saving money My motto is, why pay full price when you don’t have to. To me, that is just silly. Since Extreme Couponing, I cannot find the deals like I used to. The coupons are poop and the sales are just as icky. The coupons are scrutinized like crazy, and you’re made to feel like you’re stealing. I work full time, and it’s so hard now to find the deals in my area. I think they really ruined it for us. Oh, and if you do find a great deal, some fool goes and buys so many of that one particular product that the deals are being stopped mid-sale.
I agree. The couponing was much better and better deals were available when it wasn’t popular, or a trend, whatever it is these days. 🙂 Now that it’s the cool thing to do, the great deals aren’t as available as they were say 4 or 5 years ago. I can’t wait until this phase dies out and the good deals are there for those of us who have always been couponing, even in the un-cool days of couponing.
In my state, if you are a family of 3 and make less than $35k, you are eligible for every type of government assistance. I am guessing that explains some of the lack of couponing.
I agree!
My husband and I qualify for food assistance… but thanks to couponing, we don’t have to use it. I’m able to feed my family from our own organic garden and the use of MANY Coupons
Thank you!
Good for you Ashley!
That’s along the lines of what I was thinking. If people are low income, often times they are receiving assistance so there’s no need to coupon. People with higher incomes may be couponing to hold on to what they make…that’s the case for us. I sah and my dh makes a 100k+ salary. I don’t want to watch our money go straight to the grocery store, so we coupon and save to keep what he worked so hard to get!
When my sister was recieving assistance she would still coupon and buy generic just to make the most of what they were recieving. She cooks almost all of her meals from scratch. I was impressed with what a good job she did staying away from processed convienance foods.
agree. we make 29k a yr family of 5. we do get government assistance. ppl on food stamps i have found have quite the bad reputation. i get nasty looks from ppl behind me quite often when they see the ebt card. However, I get complimented quite often by cashiers they rarely see ppl on fs with coupons, not buying junk food, buying marked down meat, etc. its really sad that the majority gives everyone a bad rap. do i feel terrible getting fs? yes. quite. is it a necessity for us right now (i save money every way i no how and we still dont make ends meet). yeah. so i guess its all in how you look at it 🙂
Grace, it is sad that people in certain situations often get labeled. When it comes down to it, everyone is not the same and does not make the same choices. People should not be viewed so broadly by others. You seem to be doing the very best that you can and that is commendable.
I commend you and your family for what you’re doing and NEVER be ashamed because you need a helping hand right now. You work and pay taxes each year, you are entitled to a little help and I am very glad that you’re receiving it!
That being said, I liken some of the generalizations of food stamps(people who receive them) to something like racism. Most of the opinions and generally accepted views are wrong. More and more people have some kind of public financial assistance and not because they are lazy, unhealthy or any other reason that runs with it. They are on it because the economy is in the tank, prices for everyday necessities are increasing and people plain out need help!
I will NEVER understand the need to judge another, for any reason. Live and let live and do what you can to be a good, contributing person in our society by being a kind hearted individual. Everyone has something to give, even if all you have is a kind word. *end rant*
I agree Lyn!!! It is wrong to try and label certain groups and put everyone in the same box. People are individuals and should be treated as such.
Grace, the fact that you are so frugal when you are getting assistance is a sign of your character. You are clearly an honest person that I – and I think everyone else – would never begrudge a “hand up” during difficult times, and I am so glad that there is help for families like yours who genuinely need it right now.
To be fair, though, I do understand why the negative perception exists and I don’t think it’s “something like racism” as one comment suggests. A few years ago, I stood in line at Walmart and watched a well-dressed couple with two children in boutique-quality clothing, as she checked out a cart full of groceries and paid with EBT, then he followed behind and paid CASH for a flat-screen TV. I was stunned, and must have looked it, because when I got to the register, the cashier said, “Honey, that kind of thing happens all the time.”
Everyone’s heard stories, but this wasn’t an urban legend, I saw it with my own eyes. Now … do I give nasty looks in the check-out lane? No. Do I assume everyone is cheating the system? No. I know there are people who absolutely need help to put food on the table, and I want them to have it. But that (and things I’ve witnesses first-hand since then) did open my eyes to the fact that not everyone on assistance really *needs* it. It’s sad but – just like comments from others about the effects of the ‘Extreme Couponing’ show – the rotten apples sometimes do spoil the whole barrel.
Not arguing one bit about the flat screen thing, but as far as clothes go….(and again, I’m not on assistance, just a low income SAHM to 2), my children and my husband/me all have what would be called “nicer or boutique” clothing. The trick to being, almost 95% of it is second hand. What is not second hand is purchased when it’s 70% off or less and saved. We often buy things a season ahead(if not a little more if it’s 0.50 a piece or less) and the things we buy are almost always in like new shape with little wear. I don’t do this with shoes and underwear of course, but we’re lucky and thankful that we’re able to do so. 🙂
Grace, I don’t begrudge you or anyone else using food stamps! I’m not naive to the fact that there will always be people who take advantage, but I think it’s way too easy to place blame. Even in the situation Beth describes above….WE DON’T KNOW THE WHOLE STORY. That family could have saved money for a very long time to afford an indulgence like a new tv. And if you’ve ever been stuck in the poverty cycle, you may be aware that it’s lot easier to find $250 for a splurge purchase than it is to find the $2500 you might need to go off food stamps. That person buying steak and cheesecake on food stamps could be celebrating a birthday, or welcoming home a loved one from deployment, or any other number of circumstances. I think we as a culture find it easier to be judgemental because it convinces us that we could never be in that situation. Guess what? We could, and it could happen overnight.
A few months ago, I watched a woman at Target buy $1500 worth of clothes. I was appalled. I vented to a co-worker and she mentioned a local charity that buys clothing for needy families, and this is probably what I saw. Lesson learned: we never know the whole story.
Here here Sara! Beautifully said. We dont ever know what someone else is going thru or the circumstances. Let God take care of it & let us take care of ourselves.
I wish it had been a $250 purchase, but this was a fairly *large* flat screen, several years ago before prices came down a little, and the gentleman in question paid just over $1100 for it. I watched him count out the bills from a sizable wad in his wallet. So, while I admire the “glass half full” faith in other human beings, please don’t insist that it was all a misunderstanding.
And I hate to point out the obvious, but saying that “it’s a lot easier to find $250 for a splurge purchase than it is to find the $2500 you might need to go off food stamps” is part of the reason that people get “stuck in the poverty cycle” to begin with. If you can’t afford to put food on your own table, your goal should be getting to the point where you don’t need it assistance any longer – and you won’t get there by splurging on a luxury purchase because you managed to scrape together the money to afford it.
I wish it had been a $250 purchase, but this was a fairly *large* flat screen, several years ago before prices came down a little, and the gentleman in question paid just over $1100 for it. I watched him count out the bills from a sizable wad in his wallet. So, while I admire the “glass half full” faith in other human beings, please don’t insist that it was all a misunderstanding.
Sorry for the multiple (similar) posts … my 3-year old was playing on the computer while I finished dinner, and must have hit the “submit” button while I was in the middle of a draft. Oops!
While I agree with ALL of what everyone above has said. I also want to add things that some people just seem to not think about. We all use the government to our advantage somehow – rich and poor alike. If you’re poor enough you are welcome to all sorts of aid, but I (and many others I’m sure) decline because the judgement you are made to feel is through the roof. You (the collective you) may send your child to public school while I live in technical poverty and homeschool. The money all comes from the same pot. Tax dollars. People can argue, “Oh….well, that’s different.” How so? Secondly, lately it seems people who are well off financially are SO fired up about how poor people “pay no taxes” yet get “huge” tax refunds. Ha! I have witnessed first hand how the wealthy actually pay little to no income taxes yet make boatloads of money because they hire their fancy accountants and hide their money through tax write offs and deductions. It’s all very twisted if you ask me and just another example of how the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. It may sound trite but it really is true. We are a nation of greed and I’ll be the first to agree that our government is in over it’s head but everyone needs to be honest with where our tax dollars go. The poor are only visible because they are vulnerable. Wealthy people benefit from taxes just as much, if not more – they just hide it.
I found it funny that the woman profiled in the article is from Brooklyn. I thought – no wonder she needs to coupon! We used to live in Brooklyn, but left because we couldn’t find any houses under the 1 mil. figure that didn’t need complete gut renovations! We now live in an admittedly upscale suburb of NYC – and we are extremely lucky that my husband is an attorney who makes nicely into the 6 figures. But we drive old cars, rarely eat out, grow veggies, keep chickens – and I coupon like crazy and scour the weekly circulars for deals . . . it is true that we have made certain life choices (having big family, me being a SAHM, living in an expensive area) that necessitate our living frugally. And it is a privilege to have these choices to make . . . but I still rely on coupons and deals to stick to our modest food budget. Today I found that someone had left a “$2 off your next shopping order” coupon in the grocery cart. 6 figures or not, that is the kind of thing that makes my day! 🙂
“I found it funny that the woman profiled in the article is from Brooklyn. I thought – no wonder she needs to coupon! ”
Ha! I thought the same thing.
I could see how those using smartphones and such would have high incomes compared to people using newspaper coupons. I think they should have seperated those two groups.
I agree. I prefer to have a more basic phone, mainly because I do not want the higher bill. I’m not sure how many more coupons I would have to use with a smart phone to justify having it just for coupons. Sometimes though I feel left out when I see the codes that can be scanned by smart phone. I always wonder what benefits they give.
I got an iPhone mainly to combine bills with my husband to make life easier 🙂 i thought at first it would be fantastic save money etc. I did save money but not nearly as much as the extra bill. The main perk was I sell stuff on eBay both for myself and a friend and their app saves tons of time (like hrs 🙂 which for me is equivolent to money) i bought a cheap 5.00 att go phone and put the iphone sim card into it (and then sold the prepaid sim card on ebay for 4.00). the great thing with iphones and i think most androids do as well is that i still use the phone because it connects to wifi. ipod touch is the same thing i believe. it may be worth it to have even on wifi (im in a suburb of philadelphia most stores i go to have wifi and the malls certainly do so i can still take part in most of the sales) i have googled and used coupons without having phone service but occasionally if i pull out my phone to look up a coupon a super nice cashier will offer me a coupon code 😉
I do use basic phone for same reasons as you Stephanie. So far I havent seen many good coupons coming to smartphones. Right now I can save using printable coupons and coupons from newspaper. Hope it will stay this way for same time.
btw. our combined income is below $35k – only husband is working full time; i do part time job and taking care of our small kids. With coupons we live comfy on our “low” income. We dont have to eat out, have expensive car or go for expensive holidays. We dont have any mortgage – we have been able to save enough to buy our house in small rural town in cash.
Think that people with high income know how hard they have to work for their money so they learned how to save. Those with lower income could be people with limited access to internet.
I thought the same thing for a long time and refused to upgrade my phone (through Verizon) because there just wasn’t a phone I wanted more than the one I already had (even thought I wanted a smart phone I WAS NOT going to pay $30 more a month for it). Verizon kept calling and pestering me to upgrade and I finally told the guy it was just too expensive and I wasn’t going to pay it, well he gave me a deal on it because they were losing business to another company that had a cheaper plan- $10 a month instead of $30. I could stomach that 🙂 SO, just keep asking for a discount.
How does a smart phone help you when you are grocery shopping for food? I don’t even have a cell phone so it may be a dumb question. I understand scanning coupons at checkout, but how can smart phones be used like a coupon. Just wondering……
Some stores have rewards that the put out in apps on smartphones. I have an app called Checkpoints. I earn points for scanning items while I’m shopping and I can redeem the points for giftcards. I can also use swagbucks on my phone and earn points for amazon gift cards.
I noticed that either AC Moore or Micheals will now accept their coupons on your phones screen, so you don’t have to print them out. You just show your phone screen with the coupon. I’ve also received the “screen coupons” at restaurants for checking in.
O.K. Thanks for clearing that up.
We’re DEFINATELY low income, do not get assistance….I’m STILL a SAHM(with a child with special needs) and we coupon as a means to help us survive.
Some of the things I’ve read as I browsed the comments, such as inferences that people making a large yearly income are smarter than people who do not, make better choices because they are “college educated”, and the well circumvented putdowns about people on public assistance(GOD forbid some of you EVER need it from the attitude in a few replies)….are extremely hurtful to those of us who are not blessed with a large income, regardless of how intelligent and hard working we may be. I’m not saying anyone intended to hurt anyone else’s feelings with their comments, but this is probably the one and only time I’ve read the comments on this blog and felt that the overwhelming majority was something I wish I hadn’t read to start with.
Good article, I wouldn’t necessarily believe all the stats, but good writing nonetheless. Keep it up Crystal 🙂
I am also a SAHM to 3, but one of my sons is special needs. When my son was first born we were very low income and did recieve assistance. For many years now we have not and we are somewhere between middle and low income.
Lisa, thank you for sharing your thoughts. You expressed exactly how I feel as well.
Thanks for writing. I have a master’s degree and my husband has two bachelor’s degrees. Three of our four parents have a Master’s Degree or more. We made around $80,000 a year when we were both teaching. We chose to enter youth ministry, and for me to stay home with our kids. Now we make less than half of what did before. So no, I don’t believe that education correlates directly to income. I appreciate your sentiments. 🙂
Thanks for saying! I “qualify for everything” and the only reason I get less for food stamps now is because I am now a single mom and I make more than my ex did! Gotta admit some of these comments have really put me on the defensive.
We had NO money ($18K/yr, 3 kids, and ex did not make the wisest choices, but at least I was a SAHM), sometimes I couldn’t buy diapers or even laundry soap! So coupons were a HUGE blessing when I found them. Since we had oodles of food assistance I would start my Register Rewards with food items and get that rolling into the non-food things. I saved so much using coupons that not only did my stockpile grow, so did my unused food assistance. I even turned it into money by selling stockpiled stuff at garage sales and doing surveys and such. Now I work, make 28K, and haven’t touched a coupon in months because I have no time. I’m still on assistance (you pay $350/week in childcare with a $450/wk paycheck!) but I try to be responsible, and God is providing.
I work with low income folks. You, Lisa, and the others on this site who earn less than $35k a year are not the norm for that income bracket. You are the exception, folks working hard to create a good life for their families, and your income does not define who you are or your lifestyle. The vast majority of the people with whom I work would never even consider couponing, nor cooking meals from scratch, nor homeschooling. The majority of them have an attitude of entitlement and using coupons is not something they would waste their time with. When I do get the pleasure of working with a low income person who truly wants to better themselves–look out–I will do back flips to help them. I don’t get the chance to do back flips very often. :o(
Don’t be insulted by the comments made on here because, sadly, they are true. You are just an exception–an awesome exception and I wish there were more people like you.
Agree with Kathy. Values and work ethic are hard to come by these days.
Thank you.
There are obviously (lots of) exceptions to every rule, and I don’t think you should be hurt by those observations. School teachers, for example, are (hopefully) educated and intelligent, but that isn’t a job that pays a lot. Same with ministers, librarians, social workers, etc. Still, in this country where we don’t have rigid class systems, socioeconomic status is highly correlated with a number of psychosocial values, and people in high income brackets are often blessed with a number of advantages that people of lower SES don’t enjoy. I think that is probably what most people meant to point out. Keep fighting the good fight, and remember, it isn’t having what you want so much as wanting what you have.
Ahhh…so agree with this highly sad but true statement. It’s incredibly frustrating to hear the cries of “capitalism works” for those in the good ole USA that believe this while I, myself, live in the real world where the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. People with money don’t even think twice about the free company car, free cell phone, free internet, free dinners, etc, etc. Nor do they blink an eye when their $70,000 a year job’s health insurance only costs their family $200 a month while ours is close to $400 a month (without dental mind you) and my husband makes less than $25,000 a year. He does have a bachelors degree btw and I do stay home with our three children and we survive without living off the government. I coupon, shop sales, cloth diaper, and on and on. I often find myself wondering why God allows so many to have so much $ and others not to and I’ll admit it bothers me at times, but I know HE has a reason for everything.
My sister and I are the only ones in the family who use coupons consistently despite the fact that our incomes are significantly higher than most of the rest of our family’s. Couponing allows our one-income family to live comfortably even though I am putting both my son and husband through college. Our yearly income falls in the $50,000 to $75,000 dollar range.
I can definitely see where the statistics in the article could be true. My husband and I’s combined income is close t0 (but still under) that figure and I am an avid couponer. I do not grocery shop without coupons, we use Groupons all the time, and I won’t go to the mail with out my store coupons or discount cards.
I have always been frugual no matter what our income was but we do not coupon to put food on the table. We are blessed to be able to use couponing to help us afford to travel, renovate our home, afford nice dinners out, and to grow our savings.
Most of the people I know in my area who coupon do so because they enjoy saving money despite their income level.
I coupon not because I have to but because there are so many other ways I can spend my hard earned money than by paying full price. It is also nice to know that if Heaven forbid something happened to one or both of our incomes, I have the ability to provide for our family for less and also have a stockpile to fall back on if need be : )
If you haven’t read “The Millionaire Next Door” by Thomas Stanley, I would highly advise you to do so. Through dozens of statistics and interviews, Stanley finds that most millionaires do not drive expensive cars, live in expensive homes, spend extravagantly, or finance their children’s expensive whims. (Those people are what Dave Ramsey calls “normal…and normal is broke.”) Most millionaires live next door…in modest homes while they pinch their pennies, drive reliable old cars, and teach their kids to live (independent) frugal lives as well. The article above makes complete sense in light of “The Millionaire Next Door.” 🙂
I love that book too, and I totally agree. It shouldn’t matter what your income is to coupon. My husband make a really nice living for our family of 4, and I still coupon like crazy and rarely buy something that is not on sale.
That would be my parents. My Dad’s income quadrupled the last 15 years he worked due to being promoted to administrative positions at the university he taught. But my parents didn’t adopt the high profile lifestyle and still live in their rundown little house they bought in 1980 when he was making $16K per year. I’m so glad they have the financial resources for retirement and to live the way they want but I’m very, VERY, grateful I grew up with a more modest income.
This is very true of many multi-millionaires I knew in Texas, some of my family included. They were just good ol boys and girls, living a good clean life & working hard.
Most people with money dont flaunt it, especially older generations & older money.
People who are impressed with money and the things money can buy flaunt it so they can say “See, I am worth something” when in reality, their self worth is generally lower than average. Its sad but I’ve seen it a lot in my life..
Sounds like a good book.. I’ll have to check it out.
Even though my husband’s income is well over the six figure mark, since we live in an area where double income is required to live a decent middle class lifestyle, I have to coupon and shop on sales. After taxes, our very modest mortgage payment and bills and giving money for missions and such, we barely get by here in So Cal area. If I did not coupon, we would have no money to save for anything. Regardless of our income, I believe we still need to be good stewards of our money.
totally agree! We don’t ‘need’ to coupon – but we did (in part) to fund our adoption process – now that we are done adopting (at least for now) we donate what we save to several charities we believe in – it is SO easy at this point to coupon – we do a lot of cooking from scratch and eat mostly whole foods, but we use coupons for toiletries and other things =)
My husband’s income is 6 figure as well, but it doesn’t go far in the NYC metro area and I am an avid couponer so we can live on just his income. I like what jj says about being good stewards of our money. Coupons are money back in our pocket and we don’t take for granted that in this economy we’ll always have six figures to live off of.
I find this comment interesting. I also live comfortably in the socal area, but only on half the income. I guess it depends on what you need to be “comfortable”.
We are a double income home that makes well more than $100k and I used to coupon but just don’t have time for it right now. Once I become a SAHM, I plan on picking it back up, and we’ll still fall in the $100k+ category. Why pay more if you don’t have to?
My husband makes well over $100,000 but I still coupon. I’m not sure why people wouldn’t want to save money no matter what their income is. If I can save $120 per month with coupons then that is $120 per month more that I can put into my children’s college fund. I also consider it a fun hobby. If it stopped being fun then I would probably stop.
This article makes sense to me. Have you ever read The Millionaire Next Door? I have two close relatives who make well over $100k, and they don’t spend a penny they don’t have to. They’re not miserly; they’re quite generous and don’t skimp on quality. But if there’s a discount or coupon to be used, they use it!
Making more money than the average person is no excuse to spend it indiscriminately! And that’s all frugality is: spending wisely.
Our income reached $100,000 for about two years. It has since decreased considerably since I became a housewife. Those two years with a high income were when we used coupons the most. Part of the reason was that being in a higher tax bracket, we weren’t saving as much as we felt like we should at that income. We wanted to take advantage of that income while it lasted. I still use coupons, but I don’t invest as much time and energy as I did before.
Makes sense. If you’ve ever read any of the millionaire next door books that was one of their main points. Many times people get rich by being frugal and then keep their good frugal habits.
Agree.
One luxury people with college degrees and higher incomes have is time, and it does take time to coupon. I can see why someone working two jobs to get by and taking the bus to shop wouldn’t think she could make time for coupons.
We’re close to this income level, but we live way below our means and save tons. I guess you could say our couponing fits the income level we Feel like we have.
I hope that doesn’t sound unappreciative. I know we are soooo very blessed, but my hubby and I do sometimes look at his pay stub and say, “Wow. It doesn’t feel like we have that!”
Anyway, in answer to your question, it does strike me as a high average, but it’s not totally surprising now that I think about it, especially if they include folks who just use coupons every once in a while.
My mom hates couponing, but even she will use one every now and then.
I’m a college educated person with a higher household income who works full-time outside the home, and one luxury I DON’T have is time. I had to significantly cut back on couponing after returning to work after my second was born (I was home for about a year during a transition from grad school to my current position, which was when I learned couponing). Yes, someone working two jobs to get by probably does have significantly less time than someone like me, but I would argue that time is definitely not a luxury that most educated people with higher incomes have.
@Emily, I have to agree with you. My husband and I both have college degrees, work full time, and have 2 kids in elementary school. We do make over 100k, but the one thing I don’t have is time. We leave the house at 7:15 AM every morning and get home around 6:00 PM. Once we get home we make dinner, kids do homework, give kids baths, spend a little time with kids. Time for kids to go to bed. After that I am usually exhausted from the day but often try to squeeze in a load of laundry or clean up a room so it is not all left for the weekend. I do coupon, very close to the extreme level, but it is not because I have more time. It is because I chose to so that we can have luxuries else where, nice family vacations, a dinner out at a nice restaurant, newer vehicles, contributions to charities, larger contributions to 401k’s, etc. While to some that may sound petty, but if I am going to make good money I want to be able to enjoy it.
I currently feed our family of 4 on $300 a month and that includes cleaning supplies and toiletries.
Quite honestly if we made anywhere close to that amount I would shop sales no coupons. It’s a super main and more time than it is worth. But my hubby and I have 3 kids and make slightly under 30,000 so we are forced to. And for the statistics I didn’t finish high school 🙂
We make more then that and I coupon (not extreme, but still) because I don’t like to waste money. We’ve also saved since day one and if we live long enough so we can actually spend all that money in retirement we’ll be golden. 🙂
I think the salary range is really wide. If you live in new york city or the bay area, like we do, you will most likely in the 100K+ range. However, it does not mean that you have more disposable income since expense is higher in those areas.
I would say couponing could be a fun project for most people from time to time. Furthermore, saving money is a good practice, whether you are the 1% or the 99%.
Not sure if I agree, but it makes me feel richer. I love couponing and getting a great deal. We all should get our coupon on….. 🙂
I just read a book called “Stop Acting Rich and Start Living Like a Real Millionaire” by Thomas J. Stanley. His research supports the notion of the CNBC article. Millionaires are not people who make $1,000,000, they are people who have over $1,000,000 with investments and the like. The average millionaires are smart with their money and are more than likely to use coupon. It was an excellent book. It changed how I think.
http://valleyofsunshine.blogspot.com/2012/02/book-review-stop-acting-rich-and-start.html
we fall over that income and i coupon a lot. there is a bunch of other research to support this. for example, the research that surveyed a few hundred millionaires and showed that most of them don’t feel rich and most of them act very frugally with their money.
I’m at home because my husband makes a great income and my couponing efforts increase the amount of money we can spend on our kids education (our biggest goal/expense) without adding taxable income … I was behind a Mom using food stamps to buy formula once and accidently got her catalina cash coupon. I caught her in the parking lot and gave it to her, but I wasn’t sure she really understood that she could go back in the store and spend it like cash. I hope she did.
Lower income families might not use coupons because they might be buying the staples like bread, milk, rice, potatoes and meat and not so much the convenience food that other families with higher incomes are more likely to buy. My guess.
Growing up we were very poor and we just bought the most basic of basic. Flour, rice, beans, beef (sometimes). No coupons need. We bought the cheapest shampoo, paper products and we never ever subscribed or purchased a newspaper.
Whenever I’m in the store (and I shop at a discount grocery outlet often), I see the lower income families buying just about everything but the staples. Tons of convenience food and junk – and no coupons to go with it. Makes me sad – I want to show them how much farther their money could go, but such advice would probably not be well-received!
I am not sure how you can “see the lower income families buying just about everything but the staples.” You might assume this is true, but you certainly can not tell who is lower income and who is not by looking at them or at what they buy.
I agree. Unless you know the family personally, I don’t know how you could know that they were lower income.
I live in the bay area and always take note of how much people spend in front of me in the checkout line and whether they get any good deals. I am not anti-food assistance but whenever I see someone with a 200$+ bill with lots of full price items, their form of payment is often food stamps. Last time, there was a man who bought a loaf of bread that was on sale “buy one get one free” (so at my store they always ramp up the full price of the one you “buy”). The checker offered to the man that he could get the second loaf for free. He turned down the offer and paid with food stamps. About 175$ worth of food. And making only 35,000$ a year in the bay area would definitely qualify you for food stamps.
I’m glad someone else notices that buy one get one free trick. My mom and I were saying the other day that a bag of chicken breast that is normally $7.99 suddenly goes up to $14.99 when it is on sale for buy one-get one free.
Yes, Crystal, I think you are interpreting this incorrectly. They are saying that the higher income households are just more likely to coupon, not necessarily that the number of higher income families outnumber the lower income families who coupon.
I fixed the title since I realized what I had initially posted was confusing. Thanks for suggesting I fix it!
I work from home, coupon, and have 2 kiddos 🙂 I can’t imagine paying full price for any of our household items or groceries. We have a nice income, but no matter how much money we make I will still continue to coupon. I can’t imagine wasting the money we work so hard for. When I stand in line at the grocery store I always wonder about the people in front of me with $100+ tabs. It seems so wasteful.
There are three adults and three children in my family, plus we often feed an extra adult. I usually grocery shop alone. I almost always spend more than $100 per week, even with coupons and sales. We eat some organic food (including meat) and a lot of produce.
Me too. We are a family of 4, and our kids are fairly young and so aren’t huge eaters yet. I spend about $150/week after coupons and I am not wasting money. That’s what our grocery bill is. We eat mostly organic produce (and dairy and meat when I can get it on sale), and I know that contributes a lot to our costs.
I agree with the person who mentioned Food Stamps. I worked at a grocery store in high school, in a very low-income area. We almost NEVER got coupons. Granted, not as many people couponed back then (it’s been about 7-8 years now)… but those who were on food stamps had to pay the tax on any coupon they used, and they rarely used them.
My husband and I certainly aren’t in the 100k category, but we’re both college graduates and fairly affluent, active, young people (we’re 26) I have a nice savings because that’s what happens when you don’t have a car payment or student loans. We don’t HAVE to coupon- we choose to.
People ask me how I’m able to go on cruises and vacations every year… well, it’s certainly NOT by going to Starbucks or out to lunch every single day like so many of my peers- it’s by buying 4 boxes of cereal at once because you can get it for 50 cents a box after coupons, shopping at Aldi for produce, and having the same car I drove to college :). I’d bet most of the people who are making 6 figures are making it because they took steps like this- couponing, saving, not driving the latest and greatest car, careful with money, etc.
“I’d bet most of the people who are making 6 figures are making it because they took steps like this- couponing, saving, not driving the latest and greatest car, careful with money, etc.”
I’m not sure what you’re trying to say…
And there are a lot of people who do these things, like not going to Starbucks every day, couponing, and driving ten year old cars who don’t go on cruises every year. You don’t say how you managed without student loans. I was lucky enough to have parents who paid for college–not everyone is that fortunate.
I can completely understand these statistics. We fall into the slightly over $100k category and because my husband is blessed with a good salary (and because I was out of the job market for 25 years raising children) I now see my role as one of SAVING money rather than earning it since my earnings would be taxed at a higher rate. We are debt free, drive modest cars, and I coupon and use retailmenot on everything! I keep my printer going with really inexpensive compatible cartridges from megatoners.com. (Don’t have a smartphone, though!) In contrast, I think people with under 35K incomes are probably just trying to survive, may be both working and don’t see couponing as something they have time for. Also, they would be less likely to have home printers or newspaper subscriptions to have access to said coupons.
I am not surprised. The really low income have food stamps and although you can use coupons with Food Stamps the majority of folks do not.
We fit these statistics to a T. Both college graduates, income over 100K. We live in a high COL area and the couponing I do (not extreme) helps keeps our discretionary costs down.
Hmmm… Not this couponer. It’s not a hobby for me. It’s a necessity.
Whooee! I think you must earn $100k or have a college degree to understand the statistics presented.
i believe it. i did not use coupons until i found your website. i use moneysavingmom and hip2save. buying newspapers everyweek takes a few dollars a week, having the resources like a computer and a printer (i would not be printing coupons if i did not lave a laser printer- ink is expensive) is necessary too in order to take advantage of most of the deals. i could not imagine having the time or the resources to do it if i was still working minimum wage and going to school full time. kudos to those that are able to do it.
It makes sense. Couponing takes time, money, energy and resources! You need a computer with internet access, a printer with lots of ink and paper, savvy with social networking sites where many coupons are offered, time and energy to sit down everyday and do the “homework.” You need a car with gas or at least a good transit system, and the time to go the stores and find the items. All that eliminates a good portion of the population from playing the coupon game.
I KNOW I make less than $100,000/year! A lot less! However I have been able to save a fortune couponing and I am so appreciative of the blogs that help us, who have just been doing it a few months. I concentrate on Kroger and CVS because those are the stores in my area and I have been able to accumulate a stockpile and still be VERY generous with friends, family members, and the church. What a wonderful feeling. It seems like once you really get in to it and organized (a must!) it just snowballs.
Interesting. Now that I think about it most of my friends who coupon are college educated. I don’t think many of them make $100,000 plus though!
I believe it, I think that if you have a higher education level or are just a smart person in general you will see the benefits of saving money while using coupons.
Just because people make a lot of money does not mean they throw it around, they are generally better at being more financially secure and setting themselves up for the future.
Siobhan said it perfect! We’re an over 100k household that coupons and bargain shops. I enjoy it.
I will add that I grew up in a low income household with a mom who couponed, so it’s always been a way of life.
I think it’s important to note the distinction between “Most couponers have household incomes of $100,000 or more,” and what the article actually said, which is, “Households with incomes $100,000 or more are twice as likely to coupon than those who earn less than $35,000.” Being part of a group that is statistically more likely to do something does not necessarily mean that most people who do a particular thing are part of that group.
Additionally, there’s a very good reaso people who are wealthy stay that way: they work to not waste their money.
Thirdly, there’s a huge disparity in incomes between $35,000 and $100,000.
I’d say the statistics are accurate. Higher income people are more likely to have internet access at home to access the on-line coupons and follow blogs like this one that show you how to maximize that coupon. Higher income households are also more likely to subscribe to the newspaper. We used to make over 100k before I became a SAHM mom, but I was just as avid a couponer when we had disposable income as I am now. I grew up clipping coupons with my mom, so I can’t imagine not using coupons. My mom never pays full price for anything and drilled that into my head from the get-go! Would be interesting to see how much of an influence an individual’s upbringing has on coupon use.
That’s a good point. My mom has never done coupons and I’ve never been able to do it (for some reason, I just find it way too stressful and overwhelming). I wonder if I would feel differently if she had done it and I had grown up seeing that. If I happen to have some coupons for things I will be buying (like diapers for example), then I definitely use them, but I otherwise don’t coupon.
My household makes that much and I coupon like crazy! I think it’s smart to save money no matter how much you make though.
I live in a VERY expensive part of the country, so my money doesn’t go nearly as far as many other places. We also have a big mortgage (man I wish we read TMMO before we bought our house!), and that eats up a HUGE portion of our income each month.
For us, coupons allow us to pay down our mortgage faster (we have no other debt, have an emergency fund, are saving for college and have fully funded our retirement funds for 2012). For other people making the same, maybe it allows them to give more freely. It’s very hard to judge someone’s financial situation just based on how much they make.
Just reiterating that saying that those who make over $100k are twice as likely to use coupons is not at all the same as saying most couponers have household incomes of 100k or more.
We fall into just one of the categories. My husband and I both have college degrees and make under $35,000. For us, couponing is not a hobby, it literally helps us survive!
It’s interesting to read. I am a SAHM but our income is $40k before taxes. I have a BA and JD. I do not coupon and do not plan on doing it in the future. Now, if I come across coupons for things we use, then I will use them, but I do not plan our meals based on deals and coupons. We don’t read newspapers and I can’t justify getting a newspaper just to have the coupons (when we might use three total out of all the inserts). Couponing, the drugstore games, and planning our meals based on deals has always caused me a lot of anxiety and stress. I have no idea why, but I find it so completely overwhelming that it’s not worth it. We just find other ways to save money.
As an avid couponer making well under $100,000, I think they should send me all of their coupons…lol…
Yes, I do think it’s accurate. I fall in that category as do my friends and we all rarely make purchases without carefully researching discounts and coupons
I think it’s pretty accurate. I’m a stay @ home Army wife that coupons. I do it to save money but I also do it because it’s fun. There is a rush I get when I walk out of the store with a great deal! To have money you have to know how to manage your money and that’s where the educated part comes in. I also agree with the TLC part. Ugh that show has made it horrible!! I get looked at like I’m committing a crime sometimes when I”m at the checkout. 😉
It’s true!!
I don’t come close to a household income of that magnitude. However, the more restricted my income, the more I stick to basic staples and goods that don’t often have coupon offers associated with them. I find that coupons cause me to consider products which consume more of our household resources.
For example, boxed cereals lead to higher milk consumption. Boxed cereals don’t last long in our home. If I were to serve these for breakfast on a daily basis, I would easily spend $30 per week on the cereal and milk used at breakfast time. Coupons wouldn’t do much to trim these costs for us. On the other hand, $13 to 15 every quarter buys me a 25 lb bag of oatmeal through an ordering co-op, and it lasts three months in our home. The milk consumption is much less, and my weekly expenses in oatmeal, milk, and add-ons for breakfast are less than $10.
When the budget isn’t pinched tightly, I may allow these luxury foods back into the rotation, and I will certainly take advantage of coupons in the process.
They could be accurate. Our annual household income is well above 100K and I’ve always been very frugal (for most things). I agree with other posts I’ve seen that it helps to have a larger home with room to stockpile as well as the time (I’m a SAHM) to spend on the deal hunting. I imagine that those people with half our income – many households where both people work, sometimes even more than one job, and come home to a small house and children don’t have as much time or energy to deal hunt.
I can’t speak for everyone, but I do know that our household income is than the figures that were quoted in the article 🙂 Both my husband & I have college degrees, and I am a stay-at-home mom. My mom was a couponer and I grew up helping her with that, but I did not begin couponing myself until I became a stay-at home mama almost four years ago.
I know how fortunate we are that my husband has a good, relatively stable job and how blessed our family is that I am able to stay home with the kids! We have been able to do many, many things that we never dreamed we could since changing over to a (mostly) cash only budget and utilizing coupons. I would agree that since the debut of extreme couponing, I have had a more difficult time couponing and finding the deals I once did. But there are still deals to be had, especially through meal planning and daily deal sites.
Thanks for all you do for us!
No. We are around there and we DO not coupon for food. We do coupon for household items.
I agree with both previous commenters. I would think the median household salary for couponers would fall more in the $50,000 – $75,000 range. For my family – and many of my friends – we fall into that salary range, which makes it possible for me to stay at home with my children. Possible, but not comfortable. So I use coupons to supplement and stretch and make things a little less tight. And like many of my SAH friends, I am a well-educated former professional who manages my home much like I managed my work. That means paying attention to our bottom line and maintaining our budget.
Well said! I’m an MBA-holding SAHM so planning my meals, shopping for deals & yes, using coupons, helps me feel like I’m still contributing financially (along with the incalculable value of raising the kids).
My competition is driving expensive cars: Mercedes and BMWs. 🙂
Also in less expensive areas people with $50000 income have the same quality of life as people with $100000 in more expensive areas.
I honestly think that couponing is the new hobby for many people, so it is not surprising that higher income families are trying it. It can be a good way to save money on groceries.
We are on the lower end of the spectrum (under $28,000/yr for a family of six) and I stopped couponing. I found that I can save more money by using other strategies and couponing just took too much of my time.
Well, first, it isn’t saying that “most” couponers earn $100K+, just that those with $100K+ incomes are more likely than those with incomes less than $35K to use coupons. I would bet that the average income of couponers is still below average, but that there are some discrepancies in the extremes of the income scale (perhaps those with higher incomes have easier access to printing out online coupons/accessing mobile coupons). Not that the article or its source really gives very detailed information, though. Plus, it appears they are defining “couponing” pretty broadly, as I could be considered a couponer just by using a 15% off coupon at Macy’s or a Groupon at a fancy French restaurant.
In a way, it makes sense. Stay at home moms (who probably make up a majority of couponers) are probably more likely to fall in that upper-middle class range. I know that isn’t always true, but it does happen.
makes sense, besides, making 6 figures is not what it used to be. with daycare costs, retirement, medical bills, tithing, it just takes a lot!
I was thinking the same thing. We both work, but it does cost us a lot in day care expenses.
We definitely made less than $100,000 last year and I am an avid couponer. I don’t own a “smartphone” yet (someday?) so paper coupons are the only way I go right now. I do agree with you about the TLC show. I know I work retail and it really caused people to frown upon couponers.
I am not sure I agree with the exact numbers, and I think income and cost of living vary by region, but I do agree that people who are good stewards of the money they earn are often good stewards in other areas of their life…making it more likley for them to be educated and successful.
It doesn’t say that most couponers earn more than $100K, it says that there are more couponers at the high end ($100K+) than at the low end (less than $35K). I’m guessing the vast majority of people who clip coupons are somewhere in the middle, earning from $35,000 to $100,000. According to the chart at http://visualizingeconomics.com/2006/11/05/2005-us-income-distribution, just over 40% of households fall in this range, so that’s not surprising. (40% earn less than $35,000 and 20% earn more than $92,000.) It does sound like a higher-income families clip coupons much more than the lowest-income families, but that doesn’t mean it’s representative of couponers as a whole.
That’s a good point, Wendy.
I feel that people with the higher incomes will have more access to coupons through home computers, smart phones, etc.
I agree… I’ve used my iPhone multiple times while standing IN a store to see if there was a coupon I could use. Lots of places will scan it right off your phone.
Agreed, Wendy. The title of this post is a misinterpretation of the statement in the article. It’s easy to do that w/ statistical info, but important to avoid, as it promotes misinformation!
That being said, I agree w/ Crystal (good job on the interview, BTW!) that this is really interesting info.
I realized how I initially titled it could have been confusing. I fixed the title to make it more clear what the statistics were. Thanks for weighing in!