Suze Orman Is Worth Millions and Still Uses Coupons -- and You Should, Too

It really is worth your time.

Financial guru Suze Orman wasn't always wealthy. In a recent Motley Fool podcast, Orman revealed there was a period of her life when she was so broke she had to sleep in her car. 

But through the years, Orman has clearly built up a lot of wealth. And it's fair to say that her savings account balance is probably worlds higher than that of the average American.

But despite the fact that Orman is in a really good place financially, she insists that she and her wife still use coupons in the course of their shopping -- and that she actually enjoys finding small ways to save money. And so if you're of the mindset that using coupons is a waste of time, you may want to change your line of thinking.

The upside of using coupons

Coupons don't cost you a thing. But what they can do is save you money on everyday purchases so in the course of a year, you wind up spending a lot less.

Now you may be thinking, "It's not worth my time to clip coupons to save a dollar or two at the supermarket." And to some degree, that's understandable -- especially if you're self-employed. If you earn $100 an hour as a freelance artist, it may not be worth your time to spend an hour each week clipping coupons from circulars that amount to $3 in savings, all the while giving up a chance to earn $100 by doing your job.

But these days, couponing is much easier. Pretty much every grocery store lists digital coupons online, and all it takes is a couple of minutes to load those coupons onto your store card. From there, you'll have access to savings without having to worry about losing your coupons or forgetting to bring them with you when you shop. Plus, while you may not save a ton of money with coupons on a daily basis, you may be surprised at how much you can save in the long run.

Let's say you shop for food twice a week and save an average of $2 per trip by using coupons. A single $2 in savings won't really improve your financial picture. But if you save $4 a week multiplied by 52 weeks, that's a savings of $208. If you're someone whose emergency fund needs work, that's a nice sum of cash to add to it. 

What’s more, depending on what items you're buying and what promotions are available, using coupons might save you $15 one week, or $20. That could be enough to cover a whole other bill, like what you pay for a streaming service.

Follow Orman's lead

Clearly, Suze Orman can afford to shop for food and other essentials without having to save a few dollars along the way. But if she's not above using coupons, then none of us should be. And given the way coupons are available digitally these days, there's really no excuse not to take advantage of them.