Coupon Thief Strikes again in Brantford

[i_forget]

I do not see a problem with teaching people to coupon and do better with their finances and charge them for it. There is nothing in life that is free, and this is just one way to show people the true value of money. I went to school for business and finance and know a LOT and have helped family and friends save many thousands of dollars over the years. Why should anyone spend their time teaching people for free? I had to pay a college to learn about finances, how is teaching someone a transferable skill any different?

I am NOT the person that teaches people to coupon, but I have thought about it. I think it is a great idea.

[sharkie]

I agree totally... although what they are trying to say is the lady is taking all the tear pads and selling them at her classes which would be illegal...that being said i find it very doubtful that it is happening....if it was why did they not call someone and complain? I konw a women in London who I give all my expired coupons to and she uses those for her classes....she gets paid for her classes, which she should but does not sell tear pads...

[addismom]

Oh darn I see my post about all this didnt go through last nght.. Basically in a quick to the point summary, Sharkie I saw this person with new recent whole brand new tear pads at the local show, when I checked out what she was doing, it was said that if i signed up for a class (paid money) i would get current coupons given to me and she pointed to the nw tear pads and said some of these. So yes it is a scam and there are more levels than what Im posting on here or discusing with anyone. As for your statement "why did they not call someone to complain". Well who said it hasnt happened ??
As for the comment i_foget made, it would be a really really sad life if we all felt that in order to help others out we needed to get paid and recieve something from the other. If we all felt entitled to everything and we didnt help out others with something we may have more experience,education,knowledge,etc than the other our world would be even more screwed up than it already is. When I say this I mean more poverty,more abuse,more neglect,more violence etc etc (the list could go on and on) The amount of people who volunteer or donate material goodsand money to so many different things is massive and what is recieved back to a volunteer is strictly a feeling of pure happiness that you made a difference in a life or many lives. I enjoy all my volunteer work, just as when I have had people ask me to teach them how to coupon, I am happy to help them out and if it makes things better and easier for that person and if they have a family then thats a few more its helped than great! Since I have lived in Brantford I have seen a level of poverty that I have not seen before (other than when on vacations) I know some are sincere and some its there job to beg. Either way I have made my decisions of how I can help. When I was moving and the very young mover commented on a white bed frame, and said he didnt have a bed for his young daughter yet, and he said if you decide to sell it I can pay you xxx dollars. He did see it was going in basement and not being used. (yet!) I look at how long it took him to make that say 20 dollars, and what the bed frame would mean for him and what it means to me. Well that 20 dollars wont make or break my day but it is alot more for him and harder and I would rather a child have a bed than it sitting in a room collecting dust. So I tell him come pick it up, no money. Geez I gave my working hot tub away the same way. Really all Im trying to say and the one I wrote last nght was detailed and better than my rambling now, why not just share your skills with others here that want help and truly want a better way of life. If they are ahown and follow it than their kids will also do it. On the flip side of it all I do know the handouts and everything cost money, but being there is a free of charge teaching couponing that is in the works of being developed in Brantford, we should encourage those to attend that since it will have lots of help about budgeting. I can see people charging a small fee in other places to cover the cost of handouts I suppose, a place that isnt so high in poverty and people on Welfare, Disability, Unemployment etc. Just my thoughts, take my thoughts as you want just as I take yours...

[sharkie]

well addismom if you did complain that is a great thing....if this woman is doing this, then that is wrong and she should be stopped...it is illegal what she is doing.....like I said in a previous post, i know and woman from London who teaches classes and she uses expired coupons and expired flyers....i do agree with this practice.....she also only charges $1 per class....just enough to cover her gas, which I think is fair

[sharkie]

by the way I think it was great gesture about the bed

[i_forget]

I agree that taking an entire tear to sell or give away in one of these classes is wrong.

I also agree that there is a lot of poverty in Brantford and that something needs to be done about it.

I also agree that there is a lot of good to be done volunteering ones time. A lot can be learned from it and it is something that makes a lot of people feel good.

HOWEVER, we all have to make ends meet. We all need to take care of ourselves, and our families.

I too have a kind heart. I am always putting things at the end of my drive way for people to reuse. I am always dropping clothes off at the mission store and value village. I take in stray cats, I was the woman that fought with Brantford Transit over their no stroller policy. I take my kids out for walks and clean up the ditches....I do not feel entitled. I know the value of a dollar and I know the value of hard work, unlike a LOT of other people out there.

Have you ever driven through any of Brantford Housing? Have you seen some of the cars that the people that live in housing drive? They are so poor that they cannot afford to pay market value rent, but they can afford to drive $40,000 cars and $60,000 trucks? To me, those are the people that are the ones that have the sense of entitlement.

Sure, there are a lot of people that truly need help, but there are also a lot of people out there that do not need help but choose to live in such a manner because they feel like they deserve it and are too good to do this job or that. It is the way a lot of people in society are....from people sitting on EI because they cannot find a job in their field, to people sitting on disability because they are mentally ill and refuse to try to manage it with medication, from people on welfare who sit on welfare for years because they can. These are all services that were implemented to be temporary assistance for people when they need it, but the numbers are showing that they are becoming lifestyle choices for repeat and long term users. Canada is turning into a Nanny state, and something needs to be done about it. I am a believer in trying, fighting for what is right, sticking up for what I believe in and if you can you should.

Now, as for the coupon classes. When I was working, I proposed a concept to my supervisor to teach field workers how to do their own billing. From concept, to development, to implementation and to teaching, I spent hundreds of working hours.
Developing a programme to teach someone something is not something that you can just go into a room and do. Out of all of the workshops and seminars and training sessions that I have been to in my life, I have been to some that were very well done, and some that you could tell were done off the cuff by someone with no prep work done. There is a LOT of preparation work to be done, regardless of the subject that is being taught. Asking anyone to do all of this work and to not pay them for their time is ridiculous. If there is something being developed by the city, I can guarantee you that the person working on it is being paid.....and if it is free, that is because the city or whoever is supporting the project is paying for it.

Do I share my knowledge with others, yes, all the time. Would I spend many hours working on a project as big as developing a coupon and budgeting class and then teaching it for free? NO. There is way too much work involved and anyone that even thinks that a project of that magnitude can just be done quickly and for free has no idea of how much work is actually involved for it to be successful.

[sharkie]

I agree with you totally