John Campbell
Staff Reporter
Hundreds of coupons were given away at Bronco Bash, but how many students actually use them? When surveyed, most students said they do, in fact, use coupons, but others still haven’t jumped on the coupon bandwagon.
“I’m far too broke not to use coupons,” said WMU junior, David Cooper.
Senior Mike Lindauer said he has been using coupons since high school.
“If there’s a coupon that’s worth it, I use it,” Lindauer said.
Despite the trend, some students haven’t gotten on board with using coupons.
Junior Taylor McKinstry said he uses coupons once in a while if he has them with him. “I don’t think I use them enough for it to do too much for me,” he said.
Students who live on their own and have to buy their own food and other items were more likely to use coupons than students who were depend on someone else to buy the groceries. Amanda Vanaman said she doesn’t use coupons because she still lives at home. “I’m not responsible for buying stuff,” she said.
Many students may not know this, but there are several different types of coupons: online coupons, print coupons, purchasable coupons, free coupons, expiring coupons, non-expiring coupons, etc. The list goes on and on.
Lindauer said he uses both in-store and manufacturer coupons. “I use coupons to save money on already discounted products,” Lindauer said. “When an item is already on sale, I’ll use a coupon to get an even cheaper price.”
With the growing coupon market, students say they are getting them from all kinds of places. McKinstry said he usually gets coupons from the coupon books handed out on campus during events like Bronco Bash. Cooper said he gets his coupons online or by subscribing to email lists.
“The Internet is an incredible database for coupons,” Cooper said.
Vanaman, however, said she doesn’t trust the internet coupons.
“I’ve heard about printing them off online and about coupon fraud,” Vanaman said.
Students also differ in the products and businesses in which they are willing to use coupons. Lindauer said he usually uses coupons in stores, while McKinstry said he uses coupons for mainly pizza deliveries.
Vanaman said she would use coupons for clothing, dining, and grocery shopping if she did use them.
“It would save me money if I committed to it,” Vanaman said.
Cooper said he uses his coupons for food and entertainment.
“I will never in my life buy a DVD before I can get it for $10,” Cooper said. “You just have to be frugal or be persistent.”
Cooper said that businesses can also benefit from giving coupons.
“I think any business that consistently offers coupons will do better in the long run and accumulate a more substantial clientele base than one that doesn’t,” Cooper said.
Cooper pointed out that student discounts are another great way for WMU students to save in addition to coupons.
“You catch them when they’re students, you catch them for life,” Cooper said. “Almost everywhere in Kalamazoo has a student discount.”
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