"Happiness is making the most of what you have." --Rosamunde Pilcher
Friday, May 20, 2011
Love, Hate Relationship
Coupons... ... sometimes I LOVE them other days I HATE them. As you all know I love saving money...LOOOOOVE IT. That is were the love part comes in. On the other hand I HATE being stressed out and that is what coupons seem to do to me. I feel like they take up too much of my time. I feel pressured to use them because I'm paying $20 a month for them. I won't go to the store without them , but I don't have time to go through them, so I never go to the store and then we have nothing to eat in the house. That makes me very ornery/stressed come meal time! It's a vicious cycle! I know I'm probably not doing it right and I need to find my own niche and what works for me but as for now I've canceled my newspaper, and I feel A LOT less stress in my life. But I have to admit as I shop I often think, "I bet there's a coupon for that." and I feel a little sad that I don't have them. :( True fully though I did save a lot of money especially when it came to non-food items. Such as, razors, ziploc bags, face wash, shampoo, laundry soap, etc.. I found myself not using a lot of the food coupons though. I don't know...see my inner struggle!
On Wednesday I went out shopping by only doing price matches. (I did use 4 coupons that came on the package of the lunch meat I bought) I spent 1 hour the night before making my list and doing my meal plan for the next week. I then spent 1 hour at the store, that's with two kids. I spent a total of $104.53 and got...
...all this..
...and this...
...oh and this...
That is A LOT of food people. It is over 2 weeks worth for us on most items. I even had to have a CM come over and okay my total because I saved so much money. :) I LOVE IT when that happens! I know you couponers out there are thinking, "I could have gotten it down to $20." Still I did pretty good with only two hours spent and NO STRESS. :)
Oh, and did you notice my stack of Ramen Noodles? I can't wait to try out my new Cookbook. Cost me .25 at last weeks yard sales. Whoot, whoot!
Here is a video that KSL ran on Couponing vs Deal Shopping. What are you're thoughts? I really can't make up my mind. Should I give couponing another shot? What to do, what to do...
If couponing is giving you that much stress, than bag it! It's sooo not worth it. Plus, when I couponed, I noticed that I was mostly getting boxed/processed foods. AND I wasn't really spending less, I was just buying more. It did save $, and it can go really well with the "deal" buying, but it's just not worth it for everyone--me (and you) included.
Also, have you tried some of the sites out there that you can go to and print out just the coupons you want? I think Pinchingyourpennies.com has a few and there's one that I can't remember right now that allows you to add coupons directly to your 'value' card (like your smith's card) - that was aWESOME! Unfortunately, I've moved so I'm no longer near a store that uses a value card, but if you are, I'd recommend finding a site like that! It was a whole lot quicker and more efficient - all of the coupons were in one place and while it only offered a few, the variety was growing all of the time. If I find it again, I'll let you know exactly what the site was - hope this helps! That's exactly why I don't coupon - too much stress and time! (though heaven knows I could use a few extra dollars!) Good luck!
I am SO with you about the stress! With 4 kids and hardly time to take a shower, I cannot find time to clip/organize coupons. I say forget the coupons unless it's convenient...but I may just being saying that so I can know there is at least one other person on this planet who can't seem to do the "crazy couponing"!
I am all about no stress! If couponing is stressing you out that I am all for "Cutting it out." Ha Ha If I didn't love couponing so much I would go with the ksl non coupon shopper because she is also planing your meals and your shopping list, how great is that!
I also cancelled my subscription after 5 months of love/hate. I feel so liberated. I probably spend more money on food, but that's a combination of lots of things I started all at once. Lately we've been trying to eat MOSTLY whole foods. It's definitely a learning curve, but I'm learning lots. Maybe I'll even start a blog. You've inspired me. One really great money-saving thing I've learned to do lately is make yogurt. It's easy and yummy. Here's a link: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/04/13/monday-mission-homemade-yogurt-the-easy-way/ You inspire me!
If couponing is giving you that much stress, than bag it! It's sooo not worth it. Plus, when I couponed, I noticed that I was mostly getting boxed/processed foods. AND I wasn't really spending less, I was just buying more. It did save $, and it can go really well with the "deal" buying, but it's just not worth it for everyone--me (and you) included.
ReplyDeleteAlso, have you tried some of the sites out there that you can go to and print out just the coupons you want? I think Pinchingyourpennies.com has a few and there's one that I can't remember right now that allows you to add coupons directly to your 'value' card (like your smith's card) - that was aWESOME! Unfortunately, I've moved so I'm no longer near a store that uses a value card, but if you are, I'd recommend finding a site like that! It was a whole lot quicker and more efficient - all of the coupons were in one place and while it only offered a few, the variety was growing all of the time. If I find it again, I'll let you know exactly what the site was - hope this helps! That's exactly why I don't coupon - too much stress and time! (though heaven knows I could use a few extra dollars!) Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI am SO with you about the stress! With 4 kids and hardly time to take a shower, I cannot find time to clip/organize coupons. I say forget the coupons unless it's convenient...but I may just being saying that so I can know there is at least one other person on this planet who can't seem to do the "crazy couponing"!
ReplyDeleteI am all about no stress! If couponing is stressing you out that I am all for "Cutting it out." Ha Ha If I didn't love couponing so much I would go with the ksl non coupon shopper because she is also planing your meals and your shopping list, how great is that!
ReplyDeleteI also cancelled my subscription after 5 months of love/hate. I feel so liberated. I probably spend more money on food, but that's a combination of lots of things I started all at once. Lately we've been trying to eat MOSTLY whole foods. It's definitely a learning curve, but I'm learning lots. Maybe I'll even start a blog. You've inspired me. One really great money-saving thing I've learned to do lately is make yogurt. It's easy and yummy. Here's a link: http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2009/04/13/monday-mission-homemade-yogurt-the-easy-way/ You inspire me!
ReplyDelete