There are a lot of stereotypes out there about couponers, and certainly supercouponers. I pick up my inserts (free!) on Mondays, so come to my house any Monday and you’ll see a huge stack of coupon inserts on my kitchen table. Monday is clipping day for me. After the boys go to bed, I clip. It takes me about 30 mins to get through a week’s worth of inserts. Certainly I don’t go through each insert individually, I spread them out page by page, stack them up, then clip several pages at a time.
And I’ve been doing this long enough, that I pretty much know which ones will get used and which ones won’t. The “won’t/maybe” stack gets put in the drawer, just in case of a future moneymaking deal. (Like the Keebler snack crackers! No, I won’t eat them. But if you’re going to pay me $5 to buy them, I’ll do it and donate crackers to food bank.)
I remember several years ago, on a moms board that I used to be a part of, someone posted a link about a mom whose husband was upset because she was just clipping coupons all the time–all her free time, in the car, at the dinner table, during…wait, no, she didn’t post that.
But overall, that’s a misnomer. I don’t spend all my free time doing this. I pick up my coupon inserts on Mondays and clip. Takes me 30-45 minutes, tops.
I peruse the various coupon message boards daily. 20 minutes, if I don’t do the social stuff.
Shopping–1 regular weekly trip. If it’s a good week, another trip or two to get freebies. I did my regular weekly trip at Superfresh on Friday. Yes, I had been to Giant a few times, but a rolling-catalina-freebie deal like that isn’t common. When it happens, if you use those products, you do it!
It’s a pretty slow week this week as far as deals, so my only plans are the swimming pool. I’ll clip everything I need to clip today while baby is napping and older child isn’t home from school yet. Then, other than checking message boards daily or every other, that’s it.
This is just a small part of who I am and what I do for fun. You do have to enjoy this (supercouponing) to make it work. If you view it as a chore like cleaning the bathroom, then you probably won’t be successful at it. I love the thrill of finding freebies. Of purchasing dozens of items and having the customer behind you in line drop their jaw at your final total. I love saving my family money. I love not paying for things. It’s just a part of me–I blame my Nan. And if you knew her, you knew she was the original bargain hunter.
Until you learn it, it does take more time, I won’t lie. But after a while, your brain starts to think in deals. Seriously. I can walk in to any store, and I see a deal posted, and immediately my brain goes into “How can I get this cheaper?” drive. It’s just about adjusting your thinking with your purchases. Think of it like exercising. All the health experts tell us now, that it’s not necessary to exercise for hours on end every day. It’s about the little changes here & there, that eventually become a part of your lifestyle.
Same here. Little changes here & there, that eventually become a part of your frugal lifestyle. You re-evaluate the big, fatty donut before you put it into your mouth, and choose a bagel instead. Same goes with spending–before you take a bite, think if there is a cheaper way to do it. And I’ll show you some tips along the way.
And not everyone has to become a supercouponer, nor is it my goal to change everyone into one. But simple changes can reduce your weekly shopping trip by 10% or more–for most families today easily means $50-$100 monthly in savings.
Why would you pay the grocery store an extra $100 a month if you didn’t have to?
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