About Rewards And Coupons

Once upon a time one would go shopping and purchase goods - with cash - based on need, price and yes, loyalty to a merchant. A small wallet was sufficient and newspapers were primarily for news. Today goods are purchased based on discounts associated with a merchants “card”, the cash rewards on a particular credit card and more importantly the credit limit on a card. The expiration date of a coupon has bcome sacred and God forbid if a coupon is allowed to quietly expire. Newspapers are valued more for their coupons rather than their news. Where coupon clipping was once associated with wealth it is now a means of coping with the inflated price of goods. Wallets are now practically back packs in order to hold countless merchant cards , credit cards and coupons, with cash occupying little space. Merchant loyalty? Only if they honor double coupons and rewards. We have become a plastic and paper economy. Not satisfied with promoting unmanageable consumer debt and reaping profits thru the lure of large credit lines, the credit card companies keep hammering away with their message of spend, spend, spend and reap cash rewards. We live in a house of cards which the big bad wolf is waiting to blow down.