"THE COUPON HONEYMOON"!

I wrote this for another site but was not quite what she needed so I am sharing it with my fabulous friends. It's kind of a funny take on coupons and how sometimes we can feel about them...

“THE COUPON HONEYMOON IS OVER!”

When you first begin couponing it’s so much fun! You’re getting these fabulous deals and wonder how did you ever live with out coupons before. Then after the “coupon honeymoon” clipping coupons becomes a chore, forget the binder because you haven’t even clipped the coupons from last week. You make plans to go to the store but can’t find the time to clip, organize, make your lists and shop so you do what so many people do...you leave coupons behind and never look back. Although from time to time you have regret over what “might have been.”

Well I am here to tell you that although the “coupon honeymoon” may change you can still have a fabulously wonderful and fulfilling relationship with coupons!

The old saying “Time is Money!” is so true. Driving around to several stores may save you money but how much gas are you spending and how much time are you spending trying to get those deals? So you need to ask yourself “How much time do I have each week for clipping, list making and shopping?”

For most moms it’s not a lot of time! I think you can do all your shopping and get great savings in 3 hours per week total! And this is how:

• Visit chicks dig coupons or other blogs that list the store(s) that you shop at and print out their coupon match up list. 

(As a coupon savings blogger I can spend anywhere from 1 to 3 hours on a store coupon match up. All the                     work is done for you, all you have to do is print. That’s easy breezy right?)

• When looking at the coupon match ups remember that you can price match at Walmart and Target. This can   be a real money and time saver.

• Now get out your coupons. I personally do not clip the coupons I actually just put the inserts into an accordion file according to the date and pull them out as needed. That’s another resource coupon bloggers do is tell you in which insert the coupons are in so don’t spend hours clipping and organizing. 

• Now that you have your coupon match up and coupons, plan your shopping list with your budget in mind.  If your budget is $75 then you definitely don’t want to spend $40 of it on shampoo and toothpaste. So be mindful of what your purchasing.

• Also as you plan your shopping list ask yourself if you can meals from what your buying. (As you buy and stockpile you will be able to have more options for planning meals.)

• Now that you have your shopping list complete and your coupons pulled it’s time to go shopping!

• If you want to take extra coupons or a binder for those oh so fabulous clearances by all means do so but always be aware of your budget and you grocery needs.

Now that you’ve reached this new point in your couponing relationship that requires you to be more mature in your purchasing choices and not just buy because Lord knows you don’t want to let that coupon expire. You will find that coupons are still fun, faithful and yes you can still get those butterflies in your belly when you score an amazing deal! 

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