Are you overwhelmed by your coupons or the thought of couponing at all? Has a bought of “deal chaising” left you with a bad taste in your mouth for the drug store game? Is it just too much to add to your life?
I have been in all of these places on my coupon journey. When CVS first came to town after the Savon buy out in California I was bent on NEVER missing a deal. When we bought this house last year and were in full makeover mode and then moving 10 years of our lives into the new (to us) house the thought of shopping at all…let alone couponing…made me ill — even though we needed more than ever to be pinching our pennies. And now — as I have adjusted to being at home and loosing the 2+ hours a day on the commuter bus (I can NOT believe I am missing this at all but I am a tad) that I used to plan shopping trips, cut coupons and balance my check book — I have found making the time to work these in nearly impossible. Nearly – but have made it work as best I can.
The keys to attaining couponing success and keeping your sanity has boiled down to these few steps…
1) Make it a priority. Schedule it like you would an appointment and make it part of your routine. If you think you will just fit it in when you can chances are it will fall by the wayside. Just as I get up before my family does during the week so I can work on this blog everyday I make use of that time on Sunday to cut and organize coupons and get my shopping trips lined up. I don’t always finish before it is time to get ready for church but it is at least started and I can work the rest out later in the day or on Monday.
2) Keep it manageable for YOU. If you can only hit 1 store every other week, once a month or whatever that is ok. Make sure you are doing your best to stockpile on that one stores sale cycles. If you don’t have the time to research prices or sale — use a website like The Grocery Game. Corrie at “Cents”able Momma shared with us how she uses The Grocery Game and Coupon Mom to organize her shopping and had great tips! My way isn’t even always the right way for ME — so it is definitely not for everyone else either! Keeping it manageable for YOU will make you more likely to stick with it and that is what is most important.
3) Know it is ok to miss a deal!This can still be hard for me but I have to remember that my time is valuable also. I used to live down the street from 4 major grocery chains and both Walgreens and CVS. Now I live close to 1 local grocery store and everything else is far enough away to be inconvenient. Since I can not just pop in and grab the deal on my way home from work anymore I often have to skip it but you know what I have found? There will almost always be another deal soon!
4) Take a break if you need to. If I need a shopping break — be it a week or two — we eat from the stockpile and have enough drug store items to take month long breaks too. If I just need a break from couponing I stick to only shopping for the perishables that likely don’t have coupons anyway and again rely on my stock pile. Occasionally I will also ask for help. My mom works near all those stores I used to live by and since she does not have 4 kids in tow it is a faster and less complicated stop. I try not to ask too often and I return the favor when I can but I love that she is willing and able to help find those great deals for me. Do you have a friend or family member that you can share this duty with too?
Do you have any tips? As back to school approaches I am about to be thrown into a new routine and my job search with intensify. I would love to hear your tips for working couponing into your life and what is working for you.
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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Good reminders! I am getting ready to do a couponing class so, I am interested in everyone’s take on how they work their coupons. I think the point of “You aren’t going to gt EVERY deal out there” is a huge thing. At first, I thought tat every deal that I posted on my blog, I needed to take advantage of. I found it impossible. And that would aggravate me.
Once I let go of that concept and set up a loose schedule for myself regarding when and what deals I would take advantage of, I felt much better.
wow, I really should re-read a comment before I hit send! LOL