Photo by ladybugbkt
The following is a guest post from Shelly at Coupon Teacher:
Time. One word means different things to different people. The phrase “time is money” is probably familiar to all of us. Many times I am asked, “Shelly, how do you have time for all the coupons?” My response is usually a joking, “No kids yet.” Honestly, as a teacher, I have 22-26 kids for 10 months out of the year. I also bring home work on a daily basis, attend church, and spend as much time as I can with my husband. So how do I make time for coupons, rebating, and blogging?
1. I think of it as a part time job. Coupons and rebates have quite literally saved us more money this year than I would have earned at a part time job. The plus side is flexibility and no extra taxes!
2. I enjoy it. It is much easier to find time to do things we enjoy.
3. I cut and sort coupons while watching t.v. with my hubby. When the channel flipping starts, I have something to do!
4. I take refreshing breaks from it now and again. I didn’t even buy a newspaper this past week.
5. I utilize many resources available on the web for coupon match-ups and deals (including Deal Seeking Mom!).
6. I love the feel of giving away groceries to a needy family or friends in a pinch. I have given away hundreds of dollars in groceries for pennies.
People are asking me the wrong question. It shouldn’t be, “How do you have the time?” The question should be, “Why do you make the time?” The answer is to help my family to become financially successful during hard economic times.
Shelly is the author of Coupon Teacher, a 4th grade teacher, and a deal seeker!
Sarai
I’m an avid coupon-er and have people tell me all the time that they just don’t think it’s worth the time. Well, it’s just me and my husband, so I only buy groceries for 2, but in the past 9 months we’ve saved over $1,000!! The other day, we figured out that it’s basically paying me $10/hour to cut, sort and use coupons. If that’s not worth it, I don’t know what is!
Tracie Merritt
I couldnt even imagine leaving the house with my box of money,now its my binder aka book of money!I hardly ever buy anything unless I have a coupon.I know there are some things you never get coupons for but I try other alternatives.I save so much money its worth all the time and effort put into couponing.If people really knew how much money I save they would never leave home without coupons.We all work so hard to live a good life so why not lighten the load with coupons.Anyone who say’s it isn’t worth it.Well
Im to much of a lady to say what you are.
Michellem
I have been clipping coupons for about 6 mo. now and saved enough to pay for all my christmas shopping . I’ve been saving my $5 gift cards that I get from Target for special sales and will give them out as additional stocking stuffers. My husband went with me this weekend and was amazed that I purchased $68.98 (at Target) and only paid $1.98 for the whole order. not all trips are this good, I average a savings of 60-50%. the $1.98 receipt hangs, framed in my kitchen to keep me motivated.
Jennifer
Well said! I think that once you get started you just enjoy the treasure hunt that couponing becomes. You get to save money, try products that you would have thought of as too expensive before, and be creative. It takes some serious creativity to score the best deals! And it’s fun to blog and share them with others who are trying to save money.
Swap Savers
Great post. I agree I think people make time for things that are important to them or for things they enjoy. It is time consuming but as you stated it is similar to a job.
Amy
I have been couponing since the first of this year (2009) and am amazed at how much money I’ve saved!! I don’t have a total, but it’s well over $1,000 by now…I also think of it as my part-time job.
My husbad doesn’t think it’s worth the time and effort that I put into it (we have a 5-year-old and 14-month-old) but I just don’t think he understands the frugal way of thinking….oh, and he hates that I stockpile! :) However, he does like that our grocery bill has gone from $100+ each trip down to around $35-$40 per trip. I don’t see how that’s NOT worth it, but whatever… :)
However, it sure is nice that I can buy things for super cheap, stockpile several of the same item, and not have to worry about having to pay full price for more of it when we run out. It also saves me “quick trips” to the store to buy things we run out of…and we all know you don’t just get the one thing you’re there for. I just keep like items stored together so that I know when I’m running low and need to restock soon.
andrea
Amy, I can relate. My husband likes the idea of couponing but he hates the stockpile. He understands the need for it in theory but he still hates it. Maybe in time they’ll come around.
I have noticed that since I started couponing (about 8 months ago), shopping CVS etc. that I am much more careful in how I spend money on items for which I don’t have a coupon. That is, I stop and think and usually refuse to pay full price!
Donna Krum
I love coupon clipping and checking web sites for the coupons that I need. My husband hated going to the store for me with my coupons but after he seen the savings he will take the coupons off the products that are at the store no problem! And I send him with cash and tell him that what ever is left is his so he is getting to be a coupon lover like me!!!
Christine
This is a great post. I couldn’t agree more. I feel like I’m printing dollar bills every time I print a new coupon. Since I started couponing last January my husband estimates that I’m spending about 1000.00 less each month. Admittedly, only about half of that is on groceries, but using coupons has changed my whole mindset. Now I question the value of all my purchases and often decide that I don’t need all the “stuff” that seemed so important before. What astonishes me now is that there are people who don’t use coupons. If they only knew…
KellyH
I agree with thinking of it as a part time job. I couldn’t afford to work outside the house, with 3 under 8. However, we eat much better than if I didn’t scour for deals and use coupons, price matching, etc.
KellyH
cheryl
I lost my job like many in the us have. An one day saw this site and I have to say it feels great to get what I want at a price that I want to pay. I am not in bad shape and worried about money. I never used coupons before and that was a mistake. I love the feeling that I get when I leave the store with twice as many name brand items as the person in front of me and paying less. thank you
Denisse @ The Coupon Chica
My husband actually gets excited when we leave a store with lots of groceries and household products having paid only a few dollars. We have two babies :) a three-year-old and a ten-month-old, and I also work part-time, my hubby works and goes to school, AND as busy as we are I still make time for coupons. I’ve been using them on and off for a few years but in the past few months I’ve really made an effort and the savings are just incredible. I am getting a lot better quality than most people I know for a fraction of the price. Now all my family and friends want to do the same and they even asked me to start a blog for all the deals I tell them about. They all know Deal Seeking Mom and how much it helped us!!! Thanks, Tara!
Milk Donor Mama
I’ve shopped with coupons for groceries since college when I shared my first apartment. I cranked it up when as a newlywed in grad school (2002-2003), my husband was making minimum wage and we had NO money! Then in 2007, when our DD was 10 months old, my husband lost his job. It was shortly after that I discovered the joys of CVS and really wratcheted up the couponing. And all that said, I work full time outside the home and I have a 1 hour commute on public transportation to get to work, my DD is now 3 years old, and she loves to shop with me and asks for her own coupons!
Metro East Mom
I do think of it as my second job – my first job is to be a mommy. I’ve been a SAHM for a year and a half now and I consider it a job for me to help contribute financially by saving our money. I had no desire to use coupons when I was working full time. My FT job was so draining that the last thing I wanted to do when I got home was more work – and I still do consider couponing work. I need to set aside a good deal of time to sit down and research the sales, deals, freebies, register rewards, etc. Since I’m raising a toddler by myself right now (husband is deployed), I don’t always have a lot of time for this job. Thankfully, it’s all volunteer work and I can do as much or as little as I please!
Staci B
I just want to thank dealseeking mom.com for all your help. It is a job in itself to cut and match the coupons we find to the great deals that are out there. Sites like these really take the guess work out for people. I really do appreciate it. I look at it like free money. I have a good friend that does it and even trying to get my parents to learn how to do it. These days this is makes such a difference for folks like me!! My family gets to do things that they mite not been able to because of great coupons out there. Bless you and keep paying it forward, Staci B.
Ruth Ann
I’ve been couponing for years…learned from my Mom. She started seriously couponing when I was in junior high. I learned to love the diversity of foods we got with the coupons (I learned that you could actually buy cereal other than Cheerios and store brand corn flakes…who knew?).
This Sunday I had to make a Walgreens run before heading up to church for youth group (I’m a volunteer) and had one of “my kids” (youth group kid who got dropped off at my house a little early) with me. I quickly explained “the game” that Walgreens shopping is. He asked how much the items in the basket would cost before coupons. I explained the deals to him and he totaled it up to roughly $25. I paid $0.32 out of pocket. He was amazed…and intrigued by the transaction. And he liked the caramel that I grabbed as a filler item. I may have a new convert. :)
KC
I agree with everyone’s comments. Coupons are so worth it and those who do not think so just have not experienced the savings. Everyone who has been to my house and seen my stockpile or read my blog has started to get into couponing. Someone else also mentioned it changed their whle mindset and that is so true, no matter what I buy, services, insurance, tires etc I never pay full price. I always look for ways to save whether its cash back programs or rebates and coupons.
Jaime
I’ve always used coupons, but a few months ago started researching internet coupons and came across these money saving blogs. What a difference! I haven’t kept track of any savings yet, but I think that in January I am going to start…if I had to guess, it is at least a couple of thousand dollars since the summer! My employment situation has slowed down tremendously, and any little savings helps! Which reminds me of something that happened last week…I spent the better part of an hour last Sunday clipping and sorting and making my shopping list. I use the binder, but I pulled out all of the ones I intended to use and put them in an envelope and stuck it in the side pocket. I grabbed the entire binder and went into the store. Went to the HABA aisle and grabbed some Suave ($0.75 each, had 2 $1 off 2 coupons…$0.25 each!) and went to get my shopping list and coupons, and NOTHING! Somehow my envelope fell out. I went to my car, not there, and looked around the parking lot. I found my shopping list, but NO COUPONS! I was traumatized! All of my hard work vanished. I went into the store, this time only to get the bare necessities for dinner, when lo and behold on a shelf in the entrance, there sat my envelope, and all the coupons were there. WHEW! Boy, was I relieved. Towards the end of my trip, in the frozen food aisle, a woman passed by me and said, “Oh, I see you found your envelope!” She had found it in the parking lot. I thanked her several times, explaining all of my hard work. THEN she proceeded to say, “Yeah, I thought thought there was money in there, but I saw that there was just coupons. I was mad it wasn’t money!” WAIT A MINUTE! If it wasn’t bad enough that she was willing to swipe an envelope of money, she minimized what the envelope held…$35.00 in coupons! Yeah, maybe it wasn’t hard cash, but it sure was money to me! My total bill that day was about 64% less. I will make the time every week to clip and sort!
John DeFlumeri Jr
No time for coupons equals pleanty of time for THROWING MONEY AWAY.
Sandy
I started saving coupons for my daughter when she was expecting. I have been able to buy diapers for $1.88 a pack by using coupons and rebates. and saved hundreds on formula and food. The money that has been saved can be used for the holidays. And even the gifts will be bought with coupons and rebates.
Bandit
My husband was anti-coupon for awhile. He’s slowing being converted. He sees the benefits when we got to old navy and spend $25 and come home and add up the original prices $103. He was equally impressed when I saved over $75 at victoria secret (the 10 panties deal a month or so ago) and our last trip to vegas we ate almost every meal with a coupon.. in our short 48 hour trip we saved about $150 on food and drinks.
Those successes are slowly swaying him into use the .55, $1, $2 coupons for daily shopping
I rarely buy anything that isnt on sale, clearance and/or has a good coupon attached.
Nilufer
I am a student, and also work 25+ hours a week. I have two kids and one on the way. I handle all the household and mom duties (except cooking, my mother in law does this and my darling husband does the bills) like parent/teacher meetings, doctor appts… I also do my homework and help my kids with their homework. I am involved with my kids’ school and take part in community events. If I can find time for coupons, how can others not?
Erica @PracticallyDomestic
Yes, I’m right there with you. I agree with all of them, especially #3 (I cut and sort coupons while watching t.v. with my hubby. )
Lisa
I’m very interested in the ROC exfoliating cleanser at Walgreens. I see it is mentioned again that the usual 9.99 price is onsale for 5.00 less, plus the recent coupon for 3.00 off, making it 1.99. I went to Walgreen’s few weeks ago when this was also mentioned, and the cleanser was 9.99, but the salesperson had no idea about the 5.00 off. Anyone know if this deal is happening anywhere?
jaime
There was an in-store coupon last week in the circular for $5 off. I don’t think there is one this week. What a hassle! The register did not want to accept the $5 off (2 different stores, same problem). The coupon said $5 off all Roc skin care. I won the argument both times and used both the $5 and the $3.
Renata
I had the same trouble with the ROC cleanser last week as Jaime; the manager (a woman) tried to tell me and the cosmetics counter gal that cleanser was NOT skin care so I couldn’t use the $5 coupon, only the $3. We both disagreed and the manager finally manually ran my 2-$5 coupons through. 2 ROC cleansers for $1.99 each!
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