6 coupon myths debunked

September is National Coupon Month, which means that coupon bloggers are preaching the mantra of money-saving. Their experiences (and mine) are quite different from the ones cited by Kentin Waits in "5 reasons I don't clip coupons," over on MSN Money's Smart Spending blog.

Some coupon bloggers and I are giving five rebuttals, plus another myth-and-debunking thrown in for good measure.

Waits, a staff writer at Wise Bread, says he won't clip because: 

• You usually have to buy something to get a coupon.
• Coupons attempt to modify behavior.
• Coupons encourage overbuying.
• The savings versus time investment is low with coupons.
• Coupons typically push prepackaged, processed foods.

Let's do this methodically. His first quibble is that while some coupons are mailed out free or are accessible online for free, most are found in the Sunday newspaper.

Not only does he not read the paper, he doesn't want "to have to buy something in order to be offered the chance to save money. It seems contradictory and is a bit too complicated for my taste," Waits writes.

I've talked to a lot of people who use coupons to stretch super-tight budgets, not to get a shot at TV's "Extreme Couponing." They obtain their Qs in creative ways: 

• Buying the Sunday paper at the dollar store.
• Asking friends/family to save unwanted coupon inserts.
• Visiting coffeehouses, fast-food joints and anywhere else Sunday papers are read and tossed aside.
• Pulling coupon sections from recycle bins. (Here in Seattle coupon sections are mailed with the Wednesday food ads. I've gotten extras from the lobby recycle bin.)
• Trading coupons with other users.
• Keeping an eye out for "blinkies," coupons that pop out of little machines attached to store shelves, and "peelies," Qs that are attached to products.

Working the system
"Coupons attempt to modify behavior." Well, of course they do. It’s called "marketing." But consumers can turn this to their own advantage by combining coupons and sale prices. Stephanie Nelson refers to this as "strategic shopping," and it's a lot easier than it sounds.

"This is not your grandma's coupon clipping. This is an online, savvy way of doing it," says Nelson, author of "The Coupon Mom's Guide to Cutting Your Food Bill in Half."

Sites like her CouponMom.com and The Krazy Coupon Lady do the matchups for you. So do lots of other sites, many of them regional. Do an Internet search for "deals" plus the name of the store, and "you'll find (a local blogger) has done the work for you," Nelson says.

"Coupons encourage overbuying." Waits says that "often" multiple items are required, and he doesn't want to do that, especially if it turns out he doesn't like the product. (Post continues after video.)

Here's an antidote: Don't buy in, so to speak, to multiple-item offers if they don't work for you. Stick to the deals you know will benefit your budget.

And if you don't like a product? Chalk it up to "well, it was worth a try." If you did buy more than one, donate it to a food bank or return it for a refund.

Beyond Froot Loops
"The savings versus time investment is low with coupons." When a coupon is worth only 50 cents, is it worth it? Depends on how you use the discount. Strategic shopping, again, is the way to go.

"You need to take advantage of sales by stocking up when prices hit rock bottom, while combining coupons and other store promotions. This will avoid the need to buy at full price until the next sale comes along," says Laura Harders, who blogs at Beltway Bargain Mom.

• Bing: What was the first-ever coupon?

When people complain "there aren't any coupons for the items I buy," blogger Karen Rodriguez replies, "I hope people are buying toilet paper and toothpaste."

Adds Rodriguez, whose site is called Saving the Family Money, "There are organic coupons, toiletries coupons and even produce coupons, if you know where to look." 

She also notes that the money you save on toiletries and household items can go toward the products for which you can't find coupons.

Finally, here's a myth Waits didn't mention but that I've heard from time to time: "Coupons are only for families/people with kids." Personally, my heaviest use of coupons took place when I was a midlife college student working part time and paying down divorce-related debt. Strategic shopping meant getting a lot of items free or nearly free both for myself and my daughter. What we couldn't use we donated to a social services agency and my church's emergency pantry.

Not an all-or-nothing
Waits questions whether the effort of couponing can really pay off. "Wouldn't buying generic save me just as much without all the hassle?" he asks.

Not unless they're giving away generic products for free. I'd also suggest he try one of the "5 ways to get cheaper generics."

Couponing doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing practice. Some weeks I use zero (in part because my cupboards are fairly full already), and some weeks I use lots. It's been years since I paid full price for certain items, especially toiletries; I routinely get them for free and never pay more than 25% of the retail price.

Here's what I suggest: Read sites like CouponMom, Krazy Coupon Lady or a localized shopping blog. It takes only a few minutes to see if any of the deals suit your needs. Download or clip the necessary coupons, and you're on your way.

No matches? No worries. Couponing is completely optional. But don't dismiss it out of hand. You might be surprised how much fun it is to walk out of a store with free or nearly free items. What could the extra $10 to $50 a week do for your bottom line?

Note: Learn more at "Couponing 101," a live Facebook chat presented by some of Savings.com's "DealPro" shopping experts at 6 p.m. PDT Sept. 5. In addition, five DealPros will present a live webinar (with Q&A) on coupon and savings tactics at 2:30 p.m. EDT Monday, Sept. 10. It's free; RSVP here. 

More on MSN Money:

• 5 tips to fight rising food prices
• Put a dent in your grocery bill
• Big Grocery is watching you
• Challenging the supermarket scanner
• Online shopping codes: Virtual coupons