Hello, this is Frank.

Today’s topic is about those beloved discount coupons.

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[Question]
I got a weekend special discount coupon from my local supermarket. Of course I should use it, right?
(40-year-old office worker)

[Answer]
Well, I won’t go so far as to say you *shouldn’t* use it… but let’s just say you’ve fallen straight into the supermarket’s marketing trap. Be careful. That little percentage off? It’s often baked into an inflated original price. So in reality, you might end up paying more.

Here’s a simple example: You buy a loaf of bread for 100 yen and get a 10% discount coupon. Feeling like a smart shopper, you return a few days later to use it—only to find the bread now costs 120 yen. So you proudly use your 10% off coupon… and end up paying 108 yen. That’s 8 yen more than last time. Ouch.

Worse still, during the coupon-valid period, other items are often sneakily marked up too. The discount coupon becomes more illusion than value.

Carl Gustav Jung, founder of analytical psychology, once said:

“One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”

In other words, human nature contains both light and shadow—and real understanding only comes by recognizing the shadow side.

Likewise, that shiny little discount coupon? Treat it as a metaphor. Look beyond the surface. Sometimes, the best move is to toss it in the trash and save yourself the illusion.

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Thank you for reading today.

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