Is that "deal" you found worth your integrity?
Wal-Mart just changed their coupon policy a few week ago, when I first read it I was so excited that I would be able to make sure and get my overage every time and that I wouldn't have to worry about them freaking out over my coupons. Them I thought, How many people are going to take advantage of this?
Maybe this new coupon policy won't be the best thing...
I recently heard if a guy who went to Wal-Mart and got over 90 travel size packs of Purex 3-in-1 laundry sheets, he had a $3.00 off coupon for each one... He had over $150.00 in overage... Nothing to attach it to, he just wanted the cash back. The cashier and the customer service manager were rude in addressing the issue, while they didn't have a rite to treat the man the way he was treated, you can totally see where they were coming from.
This new policy just reminds me of how careful we need to be when being thrifty, frugal and doing our best to stay afloat in this crazy economy. I am passionate about coupons and they have allowed my family to become more self-reliant and take control of our finances as well as our lives. But it makes me d when people take advantage of it, like this man clearly did, in my opinion.
There are fraudulent coupons all over the place, and because of these coupons a lot of stores will no longer accept printed coupons, even when they are legitimate, because they won't be re-imbursed for them, and the stokers cannot sit there and look at every single printer generated coupon to see if it real, so they simply won't take them anymore.
I can't help but feel that it is just a natter of time until one of three things happens if people keep abusing Wal-Mart's new policy.
1) Companies will start limiting the price and/or quantity on every single coupon they print, resulting absolutely no chance for overage ever, and very few deals like we have all been able to get before.
2) Wal-Mart will change their coupon policy back to what it was.
3) Many different stores will notice, and a lot of different stores may stop allowing overage all-together.
While none of these scenarios is favorable for any of us shoppers, the companies involved will have just reason to do so.
Now I ask again, are these deals worth your integrity? Ask yourself if the deal you just found is too good to be true, if it sounds like it might be, then it probably is.
In our endless efforts to stay on top of our bills and our finances, and keep our families lifestyles the best they can be, we need to strive to keep our integrity in tact. I started coupling because we needed the extra money.... But I would never think about robbing a bank or stealing from the store to save money. When you use a fraudulent coupon, you are stealing. Plain and simple. And people abuse the overage and other policies for whatever reason, you may be getting a great deal on something, but think about the potential repercussions, they could affect everyone.