You give couponers a bad name!

Seriously, take a look at this video. The woman is charged with forging coupons in order to get many items for free. Stuff like this always makes those of us using them legally look really bad. It just angers me! I know I'm nowhere near Oregon, but it still affects all of us using them properly. Think of that the next time you try to sneak a coupon by a cashier that isn't quite the right product. It's fraud and you can go to jail!

Even the Wall Street Journal is acknowledging coupons for what it is.

Couponing is an Extreme Sport, Fueled by a Recessionary Spurt of Frugality

I find this quote interesting:

"All the deal making isn't great for grocers, some of which have seen their profits squeezed by discounting. Craig Herkert, chief executive of Supervalu Inc., operator of Jewel, Albertson's and other supermarkets, recently told analysts that shoppers with an eye for discounts were "executing with surgical precision."

Thing is, yeah we're doing it with precision but so are grocers. They stock impulse items all over. Candy is at eye level to tots. We're basically saying that our money is OURS and not the grocers. The manufacturers are trying to help us buy THEIR products by giving us these discounts. They get an extra $0.08 per coupon. How is that making their profits smaller?

The Ethics of Bending the Coupon Rules

You might want to check out this post by Guy With Coupons. He's been having an interesting... well, let's just say issue happening at his job lately. In this post he addresses the legality of expiration dates on coupons in certain states. Now, let me state one fact here: I do not condone coupon fraud! However, he makes some interesting points/counterpoints in his post. It's definitely worth the read.