When the going gets tough, the tough ... cuts coupons? Sure you can save a buck here and there with coupons but do the savings really matter?
You may laugh at the average saving per coupon (about a buck fifty) but that's before Brett Arends of The Wall Street Journal did some math:
Do you cut coupons? Are they worth the hassle?Average saving per coupon: Just $1.44, according to the Inmar report.
But let's treat this low finance topic for a moment the way we treat high finance. Let's subject it to the same math.
How long does it actually take to clip and use a coupon? Certainly the more you use, the less overall time you will spend per coupon, because so many of the costs–getting flyers, sorting coupons and so on–are generalized. Let's assume you spend a minute per coupon.
Saving $1.44 for a minute's effort is the equivalent of saving $14.40 for 10 minutes'.
Hourly rate: $86.40. [...]
Furthermore, money saved comes with an additional benefit. Unlike the money you earn at work, it is tax free. No payroll taxes. No federal or state income tax.
If your marginal tax rate were, say, 20 percent, you would have to earn $108 before tax to take home $86.40. If your marginal tax rate were 30 percent, you'd have to earn $123.
How would you coupon cutter's feel if instead of getting your $1000 paycheck, you got $700 and a 30% off coupon?
See you at Walmart stingies!
I would rather save then not.. :)
LA Times Sunday Only subscription: $0.50/week
Amount of time it takes to cut coupons; 15 minutes
Average amount saved per week: $20
Pretty simple, really.
So, I feel too guilty to use coupons myself, because I imagine the people in line behind me to be looking at me like I look at coupon users.
Also, food is pretty cheap anyway. Groceries aren't a big part of my budget, so it's also not worth the effort it was when I was younger.