The Ethics of Couponing

Many people use coupons at restaurants, retail stores and grocery stores. Coupons are a great way to save money. Most people use coupons without realizing that there are actually ethics involved. Shows like Extreme Couponing have glamorized people who fail to stick by these ethics in order to get a great deal, but having a lack of coupon ethics is not a smart move.

If you want to use coupons, you have to use them correctly. The following are a few coupon commandments.
Thou shall not use expired coupons.

If your store does accept expired coupons, you can forget this altogether. But most stores do not take expired coupons. Sometimes, though, the store's register will not recognize that a coupon is expired, and sometimes, the cashier won't pay enough attention to check if it is before scanning.
Using an expired coupon is coupon fraud. If you know that a coupon is expired, throw it away. Don't try to get away with using it.
Thou shall not use coupons on the wrong items.

"Barcode decoding" is actually the term used for this practice. Sometimes, a coupon will work on an item that isn't listed. For example, sometimes a dog food coupon will work for dog treats too, even though it's not supposed to. Some people notice when a coupon scans for an item they didn't purchase, so they continue to buy other items and use the wrong coupon because they know that it will scan. This is a big couponing no no.
Thou shall not copy coupons.

Coupons will usually say directly on the back that it is not to be copied—so don't copy it. Before the Internet made printable coupons possible, nobody could get away with copying a coupon because they didn't come on regular paper. Now, people are copying coupons and using them multiple times and getting away with it. Even though copying coupons is easy, don't do it.
Thou shall not use multiple computers to print coupons.

Most websites that allow users to print coupons don't allow users to print more than three coupons. Some people will use a different computer so that they can print more than three coupons for the same item, which is not right. The whole reason websites limit the amount of prints is so people don’t hoard coupons. There’s a reason for the limit, so you need to stick to it.
Don't clear the shelf.

Just because you have enough coupons to purchase every item on the shelf doesn't mean that you should. There is no reason you need 20 packs of 18-ct. rolls of toilet paper. Instead, save some for other people. You're not the only person in the world who uses toilet paper.
So if you want to be a couponer, or if you are a couponer, just remember to utilize some couponing ethics. Not only will doing so give you a clear conscience, but it will also save you from performing coupon fraud, which actually is punishable by law. And do you really want to pay a fine or go to jail for not using coupon ethics?

Ashley Cole is a stay at home mother with 3 beautiful girls who is an expert at saving money with coupons. One of her favorite coupons to take advantage of is an Eco Tools makeup coupon as she is never caught anywhere without her makeup brushes.