trying to scare off the competition?

Whenever you have a hobby or interest, if your friends & family hear or read something about it, they’re likely to tell you about it. So it was no surprise that several friends and family forwarded me this article today and asked me “What do you think?” It also is being discussed, as expected, on the coupon chat boards.

So what do I think? First, I’ll save you some time and tell you it’s a very anti-couponing article. Takes too much time, savings not that great, etc. etc. Sure I could refute each and every point she makes, as I save myself a great deal of money couponing. And I do agree with her that it takes time and is not for everyone.

But here’s the funny part. One couponer on hcw just did a simple google search on the author of the article, and this came up. That’s right, a bargain blog. Turns out Ms. Fontinelle is quite the bargain hunter.

So why would she write such an essay, trying to scare off potential couponers? Who knows. And really, who cares. Maybe the deals are getting harder in her area or she’s finding the shelves cleared, trying to scare off the competition. Or maybe she just wanted to get a piece published, and doesn’t care much about what she writes about. We all have bills to pay.

You can read and bargain hunt on this blog, knowing that I believe in everything I do and write about. If I like a store or a deal, I tell you. If I don’t, I tell you. And I always encourage you to try things out for yourself, because what may be interesting to me or work well for me, may not be for you and vice versa. Like Ms. Fontinelle, I disagree with buying coupons and have said as much. But unlike her, I won’t tell you that coupons are a waste of time, all the while I’m bargain hunting and then posting about it.

I think credibility is important when dealing with money issues, even if it’s just grocery shopping.