Wednesday, April 13, 2011
How Big of Bargain is it really?
It's fun to come home from a store with a big bag full of stuff and tout how little you paid for it. As I read blogs about people who are always out for the deal, I'm challenged to follow the money or lack there of and think about how I would like to keep my country afloat and have jobs created for people here and not sent overseas. If I go to the grocery store and pick out $100 worth of items from the shelf and in the end my total goes down to $50 because of coupons and deals, what has just happened? What would be the affect if I somehow got the total down under $5? Are the prices higher so the store can still make money on people like me who use coupons? Are those who don't use coupons then paying even more to cover my cost? The store will get reimbursed for the coupons, but how long do they have to float the money before they see reimbursement? What does that do to their bottom line? If I get the total down so low, who is actually paying for the food? Who is paying for the transportation costs? Who is paying for the laborer who harvested the food or butchered the animal? Is it more important for me to temporarily get a "great deal" where the money doesn't go out of my pocket right now? or is better for me to support local business and actually use my money wisely so living wages can be paid to everyone involved in the food chain and keep as many jobs in our country as possible?
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2 comments:
Great post! I have just started getting into couponing and realized very quickly realized people can get really crazy with it! Our family chooses to spend more on produce by purchasing from our local farmers market instead of the store. When it comes to deodorants/hair care/etc, we buy most of that organic from STL. The rest of our groceries we purchase from Aldi's or another local grocer. I know the employees at Wal-Mart need their jobs just as much as the next person, but for some reason, I feel like I'm supporting my community better by shopping at small, locally owned stores.
Good thoughts! I have wondered about those things, too. I'd like to do some couponing, but I want to be balanced as well, and purchase conscientiously and in a way that supports both local and individual sellers (like etsy!).
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