Wouldn't I Save More if I Didn't Pay You in the First Place?

I love books and podcasts and websites and just about anything else about saving money and people getting out of debt and what not. I think it's from being a bookkeeper. I've realized that accounting in general is what I'm really passionate about (next to knitting). I love doing our house financials, and I loved my job doing it for my dad. I've even considered doing it for others as a home business, and maybe going back to school for some official papers. Playing with numbers gets me high. (Seriously, I go a little crazy. Just ask Ben.)

Since I do spend a lot of time listening and reading about saving money I've seen lots and lots of ideas and systems to help you do so. Things like a pre-made cash envelope system. Or coupon binders. Or books on how to get out of debt. I've started listening to the Dave Ramsey podcast lately and I have to admit I love it deeply. It's so fun to listen to and he just sounds like nice Christian man. There are others who are out there to help you save money but they all seem to offer you something you have to buy (even Dave).

Which leads me to the question - Why would I PAY you to save me money? It just doesn't make sense to me. Maybe it's because I've always been pretty self sufficient and I don't really need anyone to hold my hand. Some people do. Some people need that push in the right direction. But I'm just having a hard time understanding how spending $30 on a book (that you can get at the library) or $29.95 on a binder system (that you can make yourself for a 1/4 of the price) is supposed to help anyone. Wouldn't that money be better spent in a savings account or going toward a debt payment?

You also have to consider how long it would take you to actually "save" by using such an item. Let's say, for example, you buy a coupon organization system for $30 and you got about $5 a month in coupon savings. It would take 6 months for that coupon organizer to pay for itself and for you to actually start saving by using it. Or you can ignore coupons for the most part since most of the time you can get store brand cheaper than name-brand-with-coupon anyways and keep that $30, plus some.

I understand the need/want to make money. And if you have a legitimate system/idea to sell that really works then more power to you. But I think that if these people really wanted to save you money then they would be offering their advice, or telling you how to make your own binder, for free. Which would really save you money.