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Ever since its inception, couponing has been firmly associated with women. It seems there is something inherently cozy and domestic about a housewife spending a Sunday morning clipping coupons out of a stack of newspapers and magazines. So much so that even now, with traditional gender roles no longer being an issue for most people, this image persists; my editor could not find one photo of a man with coupons while there were hundreds of women with coupons.
Most online resources on couponing are run and frequented by women, and many men who coupon seem to be somewhat embarrassed about it. There is nothing unbecoming about clipping coupons. Here are five good reasons to get started with couponing:
1. Couponing Saves Money
Obvious as it may sound, couponing can be a great relief for your wallet. Couponing is traditionally frowned upon as a way to waste a lot of time to save a little money while buying many unnecessary things in the process. However, when done properly it can be of great help to your personal finances, as important and financially savvy as having a savings account and investing your money wisely.
2. Couponing Saves Time
The times when you had to spend hours clipping coupons from papers are not exactly in the past, but there is no need to spend inordinate amounts of time doing it, either. There are enough online services assisting you in finding the best deals to take the most time-consuming part out of the picture, making it an easy, efficient and effective way of improving your budget.
3. Couponing Helps You Discover New Products
Couponing can help you discover and try out outstanding new products you wouldn’t have otherwise bought because they are just not what you usually use. If you have an interest in new and untried things and striving for discovery in you, there is no reason for you not to use coupons.
4. Couponing Helps You See the Bigger Picture
Most successful people will tell you that planning is one of the very important ingredients of their way of life. If you use coupons, it naturally pushed you toward organizing your spending, both on groceries and in other spheres, towards the coupons you have. By planning your spending ahead and stringently keeping to the plans you’ve built, you can not only save some money but teach yourself discipline and gain more control over your life.
5. Couponing Work Pays
One of the most common arguments against couponing is that the time spent on it can be more usefully spent doing something else. But look at it this way: if you spend an hour a week couponing, and it saves you $50, it means that this hour effectively earns you $50. Of course, if your time is more expensive, don’t worry about it; but there are plenty of men looking down on couponing who earn much less.
There is nothing unmanly or unbecoming about using coupons. So, don’t hesitate to do so, and don’t be embarrassed about it. As with all issues of masculinity, how you see yourself is what matters, not somebody else’s opinion.
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Photo credit: Getty Images/Tom Grill