I’ve clipped coupons for years and am a firm believer in it but this week the Wall Street Journal took a look at coupon clipping in a way that most people don’t. They are looking at it as a job, that’s right a job…and I think it’s a great job! : )
They looked at the money saved by using coupons as money earned. What a neat way to think about it! They say that the average coupon savings is $1.44 (that seems a bit high to me but I’ll go with it). A minute to clip it gives you a pay rate of $86.40 an hour. They pointed out something that I had never thought of, this is money that pays no taxes, Social Security, etc. so it’s equal to getting $108-123 an hour (variance depends on your marginal tax rates)! That sounds like a pretty great job, doesn’t it?
Now, we all know you can’t cut out a $1.44 coupon for something you actually need every minute for a full hour but the basic math does prove without a doubt that those small amounts saved are well worth the time it takes to clip and use them.
The writer of this article points out that if the average person can save $25 a week (I do that easily and hope you do too), then that’s $1200 you DIDNT spend on groceries, household supplies, etc. so think of that as an extra bonus in your paycheck.
Even in this economy, 99% of coupons are thrown away each week.
What about you…what do you think?
About Ashley
I think this is a great post! I love my coupons! I see it as my way of earning/keeping money for my family to play with. I saved that $25, and now I can do something super fun instead of just spend it on the same groceies someone with out a coupon bought. I love coupons!
Jaime from http://www.Ihaveacoupon.blogspot.com
I would agree their average is much higher than the coupons I normally use (except for the organics)! It's fun to think of it as being money in your pocket, but for us it's more an issue of staying within our means…keeping under that food budget. Without the deals we'd be eating beans and rice all the time. 😉
I was actually thinking about this the other day, I didn't calculate how much it "costs" me to coupon but I'll keep doing it all the same!
It always cracks me up when I hear people say that they think couponing is a waste of time. I save so much money every time I go to the grocery store. And for other purchases I always look to find a coupon before I buy or go shopping. Sometimes i find one and sometimes I don’t but It doesn’t hurt to look for one. My question is always, Why Wouldn’t You Want To Save Money???? I think people who don’t are weird. haha
Carly
I do too, Carly, I do too! 🙂 Uneducated or weird.