There was a time, not so very long ago, that I was the “Coupon Queen.” And by “Coupon Queen” I mean that I was pro-active at printing them out (or getting them from the Sunday papers), organizing them, and actually USING them (now there’s a concept, huh?). I was not in any way, shape, or form as good as those on TLC’s Extreme Couponing but let’s face it… some of those people are using coupons illegally… though that’s a whole other story.
Lately, however, I’ve fallen off of that bandwagon. And I can tell. With our finances. I am truly amazed at how much money we were able to save by couponing. Again, it was not $500+ on each trip, but it was enough to make a difference and that’s what matters to me. I don’t think there’s any one reason why I’ve neglected couponing but I do have several guesses.
1. Life. It’s hectic with an [almost] 1 year old. I’m busy until my head hits the pillow at night.
2. I haven’t been grocery shopping “for real” in a long, long time. I’ve gone to the store to get things here and there as we needed them, but I haven’t been paying close attention to the sales, etc.
3. It’s a lot of work. Seriously. I spent HOURS upon HOURS each week couponing. If you’re gonna do it, you gotta do it right so you get the most ‘bang for your buck!’ That means, it’s more than just printing and cutting.
(Not my picture… found it through search… but this is how my “work station” looks on coupon days).
Regardless of how much work it took, I do miss couponing and the rush it would give me when I saw how much I saved! I’m planning to start back once Luke returns from AT because we really don’t need much before then.
Do any of you coupon? What are your tips/tricks for saving at the grocery store?
