There is a new show on TLC called Extreme Couponing that shows people saving 98% on their grocery bills. I am all for saving money. However, I do have problems with some of the strategies.
The main strategy is to save coupons and then when the item goes on sale in the store, 'buy' as many as you have coupons for. In one episode, a woman had coupons for Tylenol. With the sale price and her coupons, the Tylenol was free, so she got 114 bottles. Tylenol has a shelf life of about 2 years. I ask you, how many headaches is this woman going to get in two years?
On another episode, a set of twins shopped together. They saved coupons for diapers and then 'bought' them on sale, making the diapers free. One twin bragged that she had to most diapers. What is my problem with this??? She didn't have kids. What is she doing with those diapers? If you eat at her house and she hands you a napkin, look at it closely before using it.
Another woman had coupons for mustard and coupled with the sale price, made it free. She 'bought' 64 bottles. We use about one bottle of mustard a year at our house. Do you really want to eat a bottle of mustard that is 64 years old?
All of these people started couponing because of a financial crisis in their lives that caused them to rethink saving money. I applaud their effort and I have also had financial crisis in my life. There have been times when there were few groceries in my house. There have been days of tears because I didn't know what I was going to prepare for my family to eat. But these people have stock piles of food. Some enough to last several years. Some of these people have groceries under their beds, in the their closets, garages, basements, and in their children's closets.
My main question is: Is that how God wants us to live? II Corinthians 5:7 says, "For we live by faith, not by sight." Does God expect us to prepare to care for our families? Absolutely. Does He expect us to use our resources wisely? Most definitely. Does He expect us to use wisdom in purchasing products? Without a doubt. Does He expect us to be so prepared that we don't have to depend on Him for anything? I don't think so. What do you think?
1 comment:
I totally agree with you. I saw the same one with the Tylenol and thought the same thing you did. Someone had said they wondered how long it would be before these people ended up on the show about hording. However, I did see an episode last week about a woman who shops with her coupons for her family and then also provides her "good deals" to some of the shelters in her area. I think that is wonderful. It is all in the way we use what we are given!
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