Poor consumers don't use coupons, rich ones do: study

poor or rich what the hecks the difference .i support a family of 5 on $18.000 per year and yes I use all the coupons I can find and they do help and I also make sure that it is cheaper to purchase with the coupon ,if not then i pass it onto someone else so get real open your eyes and see the real world not everyone is well off, so stop stereo typing .if you are so worried about the poor then maybee you could find some coupons that are good for them to use and it has nothing to do with being embarrassed in useing them as i know some well off people that never shop without them .

Thank you to Anne, Coolstretchy, et al for speaking up and condemning the negative stereotypes. I am a mother of a 3 year old, working p/t with a husband who was recently let go of his job. We rely on the coupons, freebies, etc. and use them regularly. I just answered the ipsos-reid poll which asked all about flyers & coupons. Smart shoppers do use flyers and coupons, why wouldn't you? Yes, I agree that not all coupons are worth the value, especially if you are already shopping at Food Basics where you cannot possibly get cheaper prices on food. If you can - please let me know! :0)

Remember people - everyone in this world has a job to do. The front line workers are just as important as the CEO's & President's - after all, who would serve your food at The Keg, show you to your room at the Hilton, and cash you out at the Holt Renfrew?

Not having a computer to access the different coupon sites could be one reason. Lower income families have priorities and to some a computer is a luxury.

Another reason, the weekend paper. Many coupon booklets are in the Saturday paper. Sorry but a lot of my friends don't bother with a weekend paper anymore and those who do buy (I've been told) say there isn't a coupon book in the paper every weekend.

Reasons that lower income people may not use as many coupons as higher income:
1. Coupons do tend to be for pricier items and 75% of the time the store brand is still cheaper than the premium brand even with the coupon.
2. More affluent people are generally more conscientious of what they spend. Read 'The Millionaire Nest Door.' Please note that I said generally, obviously there are exceptions to this rule.
3. Often coupons actually make people spend more. They'll go for dinner because they have a coupon. Lower income people just can't afford to spend as much money, thereby limiting how many coupons they can use.

A lot of the previous answers are pretty self righteous about the 'low income people' who throw away their money of smokes and lottery tickets and don't know how to handle their finances. While this may be true in some cases, please remember that all of us are only two missed mortgage payments away from shitting in a box under a bridge ourselves!

Great job Tom. Wonderful to see that you're managing to save money by stealing. Did you know that it's douchbags like you that raise the prices for the rest of us?

It's because most coupons are for brand name products, and poorer people tend to buy no name products which are already cheaper than the brand name ones , even with the coupon.

I agree melissa. No one know's what hardship may be in the future. A few short week's ago I had 2 incomes. Mine and my now ex. (she moved out) Before I had steak every day if I wanted. Now the only meat I have in my hand is my own. Very sad indeed.

I think people with money , not them all, but those who use coupons, think they are going to be able to take their money with them when they die. So they are scared to pay the full price for an item unless they have a coupon, they would not buy it. I myself am a poor senior who lives from check to check and uses coupons to stretch my dollar.

I think there are a number of factors involved in low-income families not using coupons. Lack of time (I can think of a lot of people who put in a lot of hours while still barely getting by...that's the nature of many low-wage jobs) is one. Immigrants (who do tend to make less than those born in their country of residence, and I know that's a generalization but I'm using it to keep this simple) probably aren't aware of the coupon part of North American culture. Buying stuff that's not brand name is certainly another. They may also shop at stores like Costco where there are less coupons available (they have some as you walk in, but they're usually for such random stuff that I personally hardly ever use them). They may simply be so disciplined at sticking to their shopping list that they often miss deals coupons offer (I wish I was more like that...I've unsubscribed to many of my coupon e-mails because they were mostly offering me coupons on stuff that I didn't need, but would end-up buying anyway just to use the coupon. I know...I'm weak ;) )

What "tom" is suggesting is stealing - I hope the webmaster can remove his post.....

Holly crap Tom you're proud of that! Begging would be better as what you describe is theft.

The reason people with low incomes dont use coupons, compared to those with higer incomes is they do not have the time that a stay at home mom has who's husband is making 70 or 80 thousand a year. I remember my mom sitting at the table a couple of times a week taking the time and going through newpapers and flyers cutting out coupons for the grocery shopping trip on the weekend. My mom would then do the housework and make dinner. My father went to work and made a good income. I highly doubt the my mother would have the time to be doing that if she was single mother working two jobs, trying to stay on top of her kids school and extra curricular activity. Its so easy to judge others as being wastefull with thier money when you have never walked a mile in their shoes.

Whooked ahn foniks werked fur me!

The person that wrote the article about poor people not using coupons at all, must be high on crack. Sir, you are soooo blind on who the people are and your stereotyping is way OUT of line. You see, my husband is on EI and I have two young kids to look after, so our income is poor. So does this means I cannot USE coupons at all to save money "for a rainy day" then?

poorer people are possibly less educated and don't realize the long-term benefit of saving .50 cents now.

Some coupons that I receive are for things that I don't really need so I don't use the coupon because I am not buying the product. Higher income families may be able to use more coupons because they are purchasing more items.

Together, my husband and I make $165,000. Yet I still use and get excited when I see coupons. I mentioned coupons to a fellow at work who I know has money problems. He said "my wife wont use them." I shook my head when I heard that. Guess we all make our choices in life.

I've always used coupons and even buy the Entertainment book which normally have the two for the price of one entres. I've always been this way even though I've earned a high six figure income since my early 20's. I believe that coupon clipping is a personality thing and not an income thing. I get some sort of "pay off" from ensuring I've gotten the best deal. I'm not a cheapsake, I give to charity and am generous with my friends so it can't be about what's left in the bank account at the end of the month.

The the post by Tom. You should be ashamed to say you know the value of money. I hope you get caught and be thrown in jail. It is shoppers like you who drive the price of food sky high. I suggest you spend your 73K wisely and pay your dues, stop stealing.

@Tom

>If you feel real bold that day...peel the half price sticker off..put on late dated meat and steak. Throw both in yer shopping cart..do the trick in an isle when no ones around. Another good one is..salmon for example. ok..buy a small frozen one about 7.00 After home soak the labe off..when you go back for more. Use that label..tear the about 10.00 one off and throw away before going to the cashier.

Theft and fraud... nice. You make $73K a year? Want to throw that away for stealing $10 worth of meat? Give your head a shake.