i have waged an internal battle against coupons for about the last 6 months. i have never used a coupon in a grocery store. never. now, do not get me wrong. the bed of money that kyle and i sleep on is not always comfortable, but it keeps me from having to flex those coupon clipping muscles. actually the money bed is very comfortable...it is laziness or probably better yet, lack of organizational skills of which i blame my schooling that keeps me from clipping the night away.
i look on with jealousy (or awe) as others have saved big money by using coupons. betsy, leslie, and allison have all shared the benefits of coupons and while i listen i feel like a dog chasing a car. a really, really fast car. i just cannot keep up with all of the double coupon days, spreadsheets, and price matching hoopla. i smile. act as if i understand, because they clearly believe that it is all as simple as pie. a pie that they were actually paid to buy by the grocery store because it was on sale for half price and then it was double coupon day and they had a coupon that they clipped from a competitor's circular. i am beyond impressed, but i just do not get it.
i have devised my own money saving system that has seemed to work and a new article i just read let me know that i am not alone in my anti-coupon disorder. however, i too can save money!
here are a few ways that i save money.
1. i shop at aldi. i love aldi. their fit & active brand is really delicious and they offer a wide variety of products from cereal to ice cream treats.
2. i try to limit grocery trips to 2 times a month. this forces me to make due with what i have in the cabinets instead of simply going to the grocery. every time we get to a old mother hubbard status in the kitchen i feel like i have accomplished something great. i look at my bare cupboards with pride. thankfully, i am blessed enough to replenish those cupboards when they are bare because i do realize that there are people in this city, state, nation, world that cannot do the same. to me it is a game...to them it is their life. (which reminds me: i need to take the canned goods to the second harvest food pantry)
3. i buy the cheap brands.
4. i travel to different stores to get the cheap brands...example: i go to target for diapers and baby food, walmart for toiletries, and harris teeter and food lion for awesome sales on produce.
with these steps i am sure i have made good use of the money with which we have been blessed. i may not have a cabinet full of 65 tubes of toothpaste that i paid $.25 to get, but we have what we need and have managed to maintain a little of my sanity. the latter of which is priceless.
for those out there like me:
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/The-Lazy-Way-to-Save-on-fool-780282098.html?x=0&.v=1
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
4 comments:
I laughed out loud as I read this because I, too, share your coupon disorder. or maybe it's disdain. It's not that I do not appreciate the beautiful benefit of a penny saved, but...well, enough of my excuses. I loved this blog. :)
This is one of my favorite blogs ever, Cassie! Aldi is the BEST... we even like their diapers. My goal is to never have to go to Wal-Mart with the kids... but I can manage Aldi's four aisles, plus, I like Fred's and Dollar Tree, so it's actually fun to go to the Aldi in Belmont.
Cassie,
I enjoyed this. I too am not a coupon clipper probably because my mom was insane about coupons and as a preteen it embarrassed the crap out of me. When I do my shopping, I look at the receipt where it says how much I saved and put it in a piggy bank because then I really did save it. That piggy bank was useful this summer since I am not working.
Love ya Cuz!
Cassie,
I definitely appreciate your thoughts! This is something I've been working through for the past couple years. I started off getting all into the free things at CVS, Rite Aid, etc when Isaac was very young. And it was kind of a fun game for me. How much free stuff I could get - and for good purposes. God has opened opportunities for those free things to go to those who are in need of them way more than we are. (And with my stock of toothpaste I always have some to donate to shelters, toiletry drives, etc. without having to go out and spend extra money that's not in our budget.) After a while of clipping coupons and getting these great deals on a weekly basis, though, I got tired of the "game". Over the past year, I've really found that what works for my family (and that's what's important!!) is to shop at Aldi, Trader Joe's and Walmart, buy lots of store brand stuff, just buy what we need each week or every other week, and still get some awesome toiletry deals at the drug stores every so often. I've even gotten away from using my spreadsheet because I found that a handwritten list works just as well for me right now. But I must reiterate "right now" - I think there are seasons in each of our lives when we change things up either out of necessity or just for fun. For instance, I still enjoy jumping back into the "game" every so often when there are great deals to be had and I have time and energy to take advantage of them. A few weeks ago, Leslie mentioned on her blog about HT super-double coupons. I didn't really even know what that meant, but I did some research and found that I had some coupons that I'd been mailed that I could use during HT's promotion. I went out that morning and got several boxes of cereal and frozen waffles (things I'm always buying) for free. I was pumped because I was stocked up for a few weeks, and I didn't have to spend any money on those things that are always on my grocery list.
My opinion on all this couponing, etc. is that each family must do whatever works for them. I don't have too much time each week for planning, clipping, etc., but I do make the time to make a very basic meal plan and grocery list. Then I determine where I need to go. If I need lots of cleaners or diapers, I'll make sure to stop by Walmart for those. If I'm stocked up on those things, I treat Isaac and myself to a trip downtown to the farmer's market for fresh fruit and then Trader Joe's for their incredible specialty foods that are comparable in price to Walmart and Aldi. Maybe it's the pregnancy, but I've been craving lots of TJ's foods lately, so that's probably where we'll be going for a while. But, like I mentioned about the seasons, this one is about to end for me - the season of having only one baby to tote around. With two in tow, I'm sure my methods will have to change up quite a bit. Maybe I'll just let Steven take over... ;)
Post a Comment