Confessions of a Former Coupon Snob

I guess for me it started when I was in high school.  My very first job was at a Food Lion supermarket.  I can remember how agitated I would get when these women, with stacks of unorganized paper clippings, would come into my line and attempt to sort through them as I tried to move them along swiftly.  Registers back then weren’t like the nice ones we see now days.  I would have to check the journal tape continuously to ensure that none of their coupons were missed or otherwise face a tongue lashing. The pressure was only multiplied with their usual three plus, screaming kids in the cart and my growing line.  Needless to say, that job didn’t last very long.  At any rate, I think that is where my preconceived notions began.

The thought of using coupons never occurred to me when I was in college.  Of course, I would use the occasional a Express or The Limited discount or promo but, that was different. Fast forward a few years and my first daughter was born.  I tried to pay attention to who had the best deals on Pampers, etc. but just going to Sam’s Club or BJ’s and buying in bulk felt like the best option.  I was a career woman and I did not see myself investing the time or energy into couponing.  I also secretly believed that they were for people who couldn’t afford to pay regular price.  I think it was working in retail management that helped me form that idea.  I became frustrated with people trying to haggle, reproduce coupons and so much more.  Honestly, my mood would change when someone presented a coupon.  I was a coupon snob.

Fast forward to 2007. Our second daughter was born.  My husband and I made the well meaning, albeit unplanned decision to become a one income family. Almost simultaneously gas prices were rising and the recession was crowning.  How were we going to maintain our lifestyle and all the luxuries we enjoyed with one income?  We had savings so it did not seem to be an immediate concern.  Then, our 2nd daughter suddenly took ill when she was 8 months old.  She was hospitalized for nearly a month (we were over two hours from home).  My husband did not work the entire time she was in the hospital so we were living off of our savings.  Then came the hospital bills!  Thank God for good health insurance.

At the beginning of every year we all make resolutions and 2008 wasn’t any different.  However, my resolution was.  I was committed to half-price living.  I decided I would enjoy all of the things that I used to for half-price.  We needed to rebuild our savings and figure out how this new lifestyle was really going to work out.  It started with diapers.  I enjoyed finding those $5.00 off Huggies coupons.  Then the baby wipes and other ancillary product coupons began to attract my attention.  Before I knew it I had progressed on to coupons for baby food and so much more.  I began to track how much I saved and I began to challenge myself to save more on the next shopping trip.  Eventually, I was saving over $40 a visit with in-store promotions and coupons combined.

However, I wasn’t completely cured of my stereotypical opinions of coupon users.  I just felt like I was an exception to the rule.  I refused to fumble through an envelope of coupons in the checkout line as my daughters wiggled in frustration with the whole ordeal.  My solution, I created myself a little nifty little binder to organize my coupons.  I began searching the internet and I found women that saved so much they took European vacations–on one income!  Boy, was I motivated and I was certainly cured!  I now consider myself a pro.

The rewards have been great.  We have saved a lot although we are far from frugal,. We have continued to tithe.  As a matter of fact, we actually increased our giving.  I get kind of excited about the Sunday paper in anticipation of the savings folded inside its pages.  The beginning of the month ushers in the new online printable coupons and I just can’t wait.  The moral of the story: never judge a book by its cover.  I wasted a great deal of money and time doing so.  But hey, when you know better do better.

Share your thoughts!

Saving Money Online

Good day ladies!  I hope you are having a wonderful Monday.  I just wanted to offer to you some the sites we’ve found that will help you save money.  We are always trying to find ways to make our dollar stretch, as we know you are.  There are a number of online resources where consumers can print coupons, get rebates for certain online purchase, or receive coupon codes when purchasing online.  These sites have been used by us or they came highly recommended.

www.CouponMom.com

In addition to providing a host of printable grocery and dining coupons, the site lets you sign up to receive weekly coupon and deal alerts for any item on your shopping list. A page of sample and free trial offers yields coupons on diapers, free formula and deals on other baby and child-care essentials. 

Sample coupons: Save $5 on any Leapfrog Didj educational videogame (regularly about $30) with a print-out coupon. Expires March 28. Save $5 on one Huggies Gentle Care diapers product (regularly $14 for a 40-pack) with a print-out coupon. Expires April 12.

www.Upromise.com

Take five minutes to register your credit cards and store loyalty cards online with this free rewards program, and every purchase you make at participating retailers will earn you cash back that gets deposited into a 529 college savings plan. Link to The Children’s Place through upromise.com, for example, and 4% of your purchase will go into a 529.   It isn’t a ton of money, but think of the savings over time.  Every bit counts!  The site’s eCoupons feature lets you click on coupons to load them onto a grocery store loyalty card. Just swipe your card at checkout to redeem them.

Sample coupons: Save $5 when you buy any two 23-ounce containers of Similac baby formula (regularly $27 each) with a print-out coupon. Expires March 31. Save $1 when you buy any two boxes of Post kids cereal, like Honeycomb or Fruity Pebbles (regularly about $4 each). Expires March 31.

www.RetailMeNot.com

This free site allow consumers to access online coupon codes.  Just type in the name of the retailer and it gives you a list of current codes and those that are no good or have expired.  Readers can sign up for updates for the favorite stores.

Sample coupons: Save $10 on your next American Girl online purchase of $30 or more by using code 161357 at checkout. No expiration date noted. Get free shipping (regularly $10) on your purchase at BabyAge.com with coupon code FUNFUR3 at checkout. Expires March 31.

www.Coupons.com

This site puts you in the mind of clipping coupons in the Sunday paper (which is the “gold standard” for those faithful coupon clippers).  Chose the coupons you want and print.  Put in you zip code and coupons for local retailers are included.  Readers will have to download their software to be able to print out coupons.

Sample coupons: $20 off at H&R Block

www.CouponCabin.com

This is one of my favorites!  It combines printable coupons, coupons codes, and sales alerts in a very user friendly form.  Staffers check the validity of the coupons and it is updated 3x a day.

Old Navy Discounts

Good day ladies!  I know many of you are preparing your spring wardrobe.  Whether it  be for yourself, the husband, or the kids, you are looking for deals while remaining “fashion forward.”  Old Navy has a great resource for their coupons.  Go to www.OldNavy.com and click on www.OldNavyWeekly.com in the upper right hand corner.  It will allow you to “hunt” and click on various deals, with are constantly changing.  They vary from dollar or percentage off coupons that are to be used in the store that week.   The coupons can either be printed out or sent to the email address of your choice.  It’s just that simple!

Avoiding the Dollar Menu

Food is quickly becoming the number one concern of cash-strapped Americans according to a recent study from the International Food Information Council.  With the economy in a downward spiral many Americans are opting to eat from the dollar menu at many fast food restaurants to save money.   Unfortunately, the couple of dollars saved today will cost much more later in regards to healthcare costs.

As households struggle with falling incomes and with food prices expected to jump 6 percent this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, families are scrimping on groceries. Nearly six in 10 Americans said they’ve cut back on the quality or quantity of the food they buy, according to an annual hunger survey released this week by Hormel Foods Corp.

The good news is that we can still eat healthy on a budget.  However, it does take some effort. Try these tips for getting your diet and budget to agree.

• Save on staple items:  Watch for sales on milk, bread, eggs, pasta, cereal, rice, dry beans, etc.
• Buy in bulk, but don’t buy more than you will use because waste is costly, too.  Check out wholesalers like Sam’s, BJ’s and Costco.  Some of them even accept coupons so your membership will pay for itself!
• Use coupons.  Check out weekly sales at all of your local grocers.  Combine what is on sale with your coupons for extra savings.
• Plan meals around what is on sale.  (This has been especially challenging for me, but I have seen the fruit of my efforts, so I will stay at it.)
• Say no to processed foods.  Processed foods usually cost more and have less nutritional value.
• Do not pay for convenience.  For example, buy whole carrots instead of pre-cut ones.  You will save yourself over a dollar depending on what store you are in.
• Focus on the perimeter of the store for most of the items on your list instead of the aisles.  The majority of fresh foods are found on the perimeter and more processed foods on the aisles.

Stay tuned for more dollar stretching tips and please share some of your own.