The Cost of Using Coupons

We all love a bargain, which makes coupons so appealing. Why pay more for something if you don’t have to, right? Some people take couponing to the extremes, like June Shannon (aka Honey Boo Boo’s mother), almost to the point where they might be considered hoarders. But is it worth it?

When it comes to saving money, it’s a big picture type of thing for me. I’m not only thinking of ways I can save money today, but how I can save money in the future. This is why I don’t actively search for or clip food coupons. More on that later.

Out of curiosity, I got on a grocery store’s website to see the digital coupons offered for food products. It’s a store that I shop at for some of my groceries. I didn’t download a single one. Why? Because every single item was unhealthy or potentially unhealthy. Every coupon was for a processed, pre-packaged item.

Like many people, I’m trying to watch what I eat and make better food choices. I strive to buy as little processed food as I can. I’m cooking more at home so I know EXACTLY what I’m putting into my body. As a result, the weekly grocery list is comprised of mostly fresh fruits and vegetables and very little processed food.

Processed food scares me. We’ve had listeria show up in ice cream, E. coli in bottled water, and metal parts in boxes of macaroni and cheese. There was a listeria concern with spinach, so fresh produce isn’t completely immune from being tainted either. Processed foods also contain ingredients that we can’t pronounce or clearly picture in our mind, much less know how our bodies truly react to them.

Our eating habits have changed over the years. We eat more fast food and cook less because we’re all busier than ever or, at least, we perceive ourselves to be busier. When we do cook, it’s from a box to minimize the time from stove to table. We’re consuming more meat, more sugar, and more fat. Childhood obesity is more prolific than it was 20 years ago; so prolific that gastric bypass surgeries are now performed on children before they reach their teens. The procedure wasn’t even an option for children decades ago. Also, the medical profession predicts 1 in 3 Americans will have diabetes by 2050.

So why don’t I clip coupons? Simple answer is that there’s nothing for me to clip. There just aren’t coupons for fresh produce. Organic and other healthy foods rarely have coupons available either. Am I spending more money than the neighbor? Probably.

But that’s only for now. I sincerely believe that what we eat today will affect us in the long run. I am willing to spend an extra $15-$20 per shopping trip buying healthy food versus saving a few bucks but running the risk of having medical complications in the future because of the unhealthy food I bought with a coupon and ate. I’m not a doctor, but it just makes sense that unhealthy eating can lead to medical problems down the road. We all know how expensive health insurance and medical bills are. Think of how much they’ll be 20 years from now!

That extra $15-$20 is my investment toward the future. A future where I will have a lower risk of serious medical issues, a lower risk of paying exorbitant medical bills due to those serious issues, and a higher quality of life because I feel good. It’s not a 100% guarantee, of course, but I’m stacking the deck in my favor by eating right.