Obviously we are individually for coupon usage ... or arewe?---should we be? True, there's the immediate pay-off of 'a discount'; but--if everybody uses discounts--how long until sellers need to raise prices again? I 'satisfy' any worries about that with the 'knowledge' that there are people the main product-producers HIRE to examine every incoming used-coupon and factor it into the company's books, so I (and others who use coupons) are supporting national employment-stats by using those coupons---coupons that might be 'speeding-up inflation.' Is that how it works?
I like to use coupons on items that are a little pricey but yet are necessities. Examples for our household include cat litter, laundry detergent, and toilet paper. I scour the web and newspapers for high value coupons that I can use on those products. A con to coupons for me is that I will sometimes I will buy something I don't need. I will see a new product on the shelf and think, "oh, its okay if I go ahead and buy that because I have a coupon!" When in reality, the coupon is only 25 cents off so I'm not saving that much AND to top it off, I didn't need the new item anyway! Of course, at the end of the day, that's what coupons are supposed to do: pull the customer in and get them to buy something new. So I gotta hand it to the manufacturers: they know how to do their job!
The pros of coupons are that they save you money. The cons of them are that they may get you to buy things you otherwise wouldn't buy, just because you can get a discount.
Sometimes, I'll find a coupon for a 'Name Brand'-version of a product, take it to the store, and find that--even with the discount--the 'Name Brand' is more-expensive than the 'generic' or 'store-brand.' Good thingLog In displays all the versions of a product RIGHT NEXT TO EACH OTHER! Your response shows why I need to rethink my 'using questions as subjects' (I don't think that was a question, but we forum-pros DO sometimes insert a silent-'What Are' before the visible text 'Pros & Cons' )---I STATED the pros & cons, and ASKED whether my 'large-scale economy'-view were accurate!
I don't consider the national economy when I use coupons, because coupons are just marketing. Coupons are just a way for companies to sell their products so it's no more harmful than free samples or sales. Companies that are launching a new product, create high value coupons to get people to try the new product and hopefully they get hooked on it. Why should I feel bad or worry about the national economy just because I use coupons that are designed to get me to buy products? How are coupons any worse than any other kind of marketing? Their advertising budget probably includes the cost of coupons.
