2
Jan

Thoughts on Coupon Shopping

   Posted by: MotherHen   in Extra-Categorical

michaels

I just want you to know, I was gonna buy some yarn.  I was gonna pay retail.  I was gonna buy it tomorrow.   I was gonna go to Michael’s tomorrow and pay retail for some yarn.

Then I got my mail.  It was “junk” mail, all of it.  I decided to look through it, I don’t know why.

I found a Michael’s coupon for 40% off any one regular price item.  But there’s a hitch.  It’s only good from the 4th thru the 10th.  Tomorrow is the 3rd.

I started to throw it out.  I mean, I want that yarn tomorrow.  I need more yarn.  I can’t start any more projects until I have that yarn.

But, I’m never gonna change the way I shop, until I change the way I shop.

So, I changed my mind.  I’ll wait and use my coupon.

This is not my normal mode of shopping.  This is gonna take some learning.

Can you tell I feel a little sullen about this?

Help!  I’m wallowing in a habit.  And a little fear of coupon shopping.

I’m not much of a resolution maker.  But I favor change when change is warranted.

I am really coupon challenged.  If there’s a way to spend more money using coupons, I can do it.  But that has to change.

The info is out there.  The coupons are out there.  I’m gonna learn to shop the coupon way.

I’m not gonna buy stuff I don’t need just because it’s free, or nearly so.  But I am gonna learn how to buy the stuff I already buy for cheaper using sales and coupons.

So, this is gonna impact you, dear reader, because I’m gonna post about it.

Y’all know I need incentive and reminders.  I wanna be able to log on and search my coupon shopping category and find those incentives to stay the course and reminders of how much money I have saved thru my couponing efforts.

I know I’m not the only coupon handicapped shopper out there.  So, if you have ever wanted to be one of  “them”  now’s your chance to sound off and join in.

Leave a comment to encourage me, or ask for encouragement for your own efforts at learning the coupon thing.  We’ll learn together.

coupons

Related posts:

  1. Shopping with Faith – part 2
  2. Shopping with Faith – part 1
  3. More Homeschool Stuff

This entry was posted on Friday, January 2nd, 2009 at 6:00 am and is filed under Extra-Categorical. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

12 comments so far

Petersonclan
 1 

Let me know if it works. I don’t get the Sunday newspaper so it would COST money to save it. And I am not sold on the fact that it is worth the time for me, since we usually buy generic. I’ll look forward to reading about it!

January 2nd, 2009 at 6:45 am
Faith Marandola
 2 

Seriously, who cant use (dosen’t NEED) some free Ben & Jerry’s? That is encouragement! Go starting sunday to Walgreens. The B & J is on sale 2/$6, go to their website…fill out the form…print two coupons….viola! http://www.bandjpromotions.com/

January 2nd, 2009 at 9:07 am
Julie
 3 

Here is a website to REALLY encourage you on your coupon quest…

http://jane4girls800dollarannualbudget.blogspot.com/

In 2008 this “Jane” dared heself to stick to an $800 ANNUAL budget for her and her 3 children on food, personal items and cleaning products. This included eating out.

She just did a recap. She SPENT $792.46 and SAVED $7096.74!!!!!

WOW!! I’ve been doing coupons for a while and it really helps. My goal this year is to write down my savings so at the end of the year I,too, can look back and see my savings.

I look forward to following your jouney.

BTW….great job on waiting to go to Michael’s. When you do go and use that coupon, you will be so happy you waited!!!

January 2nd, 2009 at 9:36 am
MotherHen
 4 

Well, I am determined to make it work. Carri, I kinda feel the same way because I have no other reason to take the paper. So, I also have to spend money to make some. But, the paper only costs $1.50 and I hope to save much more than that each week. And we also usually buy the cheapest variety of things, but Faith keeps showing me how I can “buy” better quality items for free or really cheap, so that should turn out to be the cheapest option in the long run. I think it’ll be loads of work too, but I hope that it lessens as I get the knack.
Faith, I am totally getting the ice cream! I already printed my coupons and wrote where and when on them, lol. My vitamin run to CVS didn’t work out though. I don’t think my CVS carries that sort. I’ll keep trying.
Julie, thanks for the info. That’s an awesome thing to spend so little and save so much for a family in a year. I can’t wait to go read about her! And I found out that the yarn is on sale for 50% off, during the same time period, so I can use my coupon for something else. This should make shopping even more fun!

January 2nd, 2009 at 10:42 am
Faith Marandola
 5 

I just went to cvs yesterday and got my total spending for the last quarter of the year. My cvs stats were $84 spent for the whole year (3 quarters for me as i started in may) savings of $2500. I have shampoo and conditioner to last 6 months, razors, aveeno for the baby, lotion, diapers (8 months worth), wipes (30 tubs), allergy meds (summer), tylenol for children (5 bottles) (2 bottles advil), adult tylenol (15 bottles), excederin (10 bottles), bath sponges, gas x (baby), desitin, balm x, benadryl cream, neosporin, band aids, body wash, pledge, scrubbing bubbles, windex, mr. clean magic erasers, laundry detergent (8 bottles), soda (yes, we drink soda sometimes :) …), q tips, vitimans,dish soap, food items, coffee, robitussin, toothpaste, toothbrushes, floss, 2 sonic toothbrushes, and the list goes on and on….now, i have also made sure to recoup my losses by packaging together baskets of glade products and putting them on craigslist….reselling extra packs of diapers at a huge discount, taking stuff i dont use to the flea market and offering huge discounts, and of course I give back to the needy, we made homeless bags to hand out when we drive by a homeless person with all the normal body care necessities, some food, and some of God’s Word. (TY Jenny for that idea) shopping with coupons has allowed me to do several large donations to the Christian Caring Center. My hubby also appreciates this, as it has the added advantage of being a tax deductable donation. So, the trick is to not HAVE to buy anything because you are out. But to catch the sales and coupons at a time when the price is much lower than what you normally pay and stock up! Take into consideration that the list of items I just rattled off are things that I no longer have to take money from my grocery budget to purchase. So, this year has changed my shopping perspective. I used to be just like Jenny and Mrs. Peterson, I purchased generic and was pleased that I didn’t spend as much as others. Tried to forgo things that were not necessities, and do without when I didn’t have the money.

January 2nd, 2009 at 1:01 pm
Melanie
 6 

Well, I have the opposite problem. I am obsessed with coupons and have trouble spending money not using them. I am trying to find the middle of the road. If you read the blogs I read, you find TOO much good information, and I feel compelled to act on all the good information, and that is simply impossible, so I often feel frustrated.

January 2nd, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Kerry
 7 

The thing is, you NEED to buy the things that they pay you to take, whether you will use them or not. Buying only the things you would otherwise buy doesn’t quite work….I would NEVER have purchased name brand anything, or the good razors, or make up…in fact I would add that to the list of things that I wouldn’t use…yet because I have it for free I do use it, and there is always someone who can use it, so just pass it along.

For awhile we were able to buy into a food program where we were able to purchase pretty much anything for 16 cents a pound. What a blessing, right? Well we no longer have access to that program, but I am doing far better now. I wouldn’t trade back for anything. My stockpile from just 9 months of playing the game is unbelievable. We had a HUGE 15X12 ish pantry that we have stuffed to overflowing, and we have a wall about 12 feet long, 18 inches deep, 5 rows high, and another wall about 10 feet long, 12 inches deep, 6 rows high, all stuffed with food, toiletries, diapers…you name it.

In fact, my husband just cleared more space last night because I scored about 10 packages of Pampers nearly free.

We put together Christmas baskets from our stash, we donate mass quantities, and we haven’t done grocery shopping since I started. We only make deals. I have a family of 7 and the kids are here (eating) all day long. I would estimate at this point that we are spending $250 a month and we could right now live a year from our stores.

This is like that parable of God sending the boat and the helicopter to the man stuck in the flood. You know what you need to do…

January 3rd, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Kerry
 8 

To the person only buying generic…that was us. Buying from the dollar store was a great deal. Now I wouldn’t pay a buck for a tube of paste or a bottle of shampoo…we went to Walgreens the other day and had the opportunity to get the expensive name brand stuff for 25 – 50 cents each. We decided that it wasn’t worth it because we had so much in storage that we got for free. It sounds like it;s too good to be true, but trust me, it works.

Don’t worry about buying papers, there are ways to procure them for free, and to really simplify you can follow deals and only buy the coupons you will use from the coupon clippers.

January 3rd, 2009 at 12:50 pm
MotherHen
 9 

OH.MY.WORD! Kerry, that is awesome. Yes, I think I understand the concept of “buying” the stuff that they will pay me to take. I can’t believe you can do this for your family for so little a month. I mean I can, but my word. That’s great! See? I totally have to get in on this. I already told my hubby that he and the Pirates will need to build me some shelves so we have room to store our stock pile so we don’t have to buy things as we need them. It truly is a different way of going about acquiring things, isn’t it?

January 3rd, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Faith Marandola
 10 

AMEN SISTER! GOD IS GOOD! Yes, Kerry is so much more articulate than I am! I ditto what she said! That is the point I was trying to make. I don’t have to agonize over purchasing the cheap stuff anymore and making room in my budget. I can be patient and wait for the good stuff to go on sale or free! Ditto on the razor and toothpaste situation! Ditto on the makeup, the food, the coupon clippers, the newspapers (i work some into my deals, and folks bring me more), ditto on the stockpiles, ditto on the donation thing too! But, what I want to know is…what do you mean about the only making deals on the food? Is there something you can teach me?

January 3rd, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Kerry
 11 

Yesterday I went out to a local chain for an amazing deal. Did I NEED diapers? Well, I had about 10 packages in storage, but SOMEONE needs diapers, and maybe that someone is me in the future, right? I came home with 19 packages of Pampers diapers and 17 bags of Pampers wipes 180 ct refills. I paid $36 OOP for all that. In the past, that is what I would have easily dropped on one case of diapers. Now I have enough diapers to last me till God knows when, and some to donate to people who can’t afford them. How can people afford NOT to do this?!?!

I also came home with a bunch of “filler” items. I didn’t NEED those either, nor did I need the Dawn dish detergent or the shampoo they paid me to take home.

Faith, I used to do a big grocery shopping once a week, like most normal people. Then I started doing the deal, playing the game…whatever you want to call it. When something is free or nearly so, I buy as much of it as I can. 30 boxes of potatoes seems excessive, but I will never pay for them again. They will last us until they are free again. Ditto on the soup, cake mixes, cereal (this is kind of funny…my friend was helping me make room for more cereal…we must have 75+ boxes of name brand stuff that I NEVER would have paid for. Anyway, she pointed out that if she didn’t know better she would think I was VERY rich to have all that cereal! haha). We have crackers that I LOVE but rarely bought because crackers are SO expensive, a fridge full or cream cheese, a freezer full of bread and vegetables to feed an army (or my family for a year!).

Does that make sense now? I only grocery shop for the deals, and buy in huge quantities. I’ll admit that our diet isn’t as healthy as it once was, but you can work in the good stuff too. Hope that helps!

Get out there and make some deals! Bring home some free crap!! haha

January 4th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
Faith Marandola
 12 

I am with you now, i do that too…we only have one fridge….I really donated a lot of food this year. We cut back, there are only thre of us right now. I quit going to the grocery store unless i have a coupon deal to make. I found a meat store with a fresh butcher that only sells in bulk at a huge discount and past the best if sold by date prepackaged items(I get staples that my deals don’t cover cheaper), and a produce terminal I purchase in bulk from too. I am down to about $120 a month in groceries, but we eat rather extravagantly…..my husband loves imported cheese and some other high end items. And, we eat a ton of meat! But, without the bulk meat store we found…we’d be eating much differently.

January 4th, 2009 at 5:23 pm