Guest Post from Sarah at A Thrifty Mom about a question from one of her readers, She asked if Sarah ever gets sick of couponing. I know I have from time to time.
Question…
I have a question for every couponer out there. Do you ever get sick of couponing? I’m a stay at home mother of 3 and I’ve been couponing for about a year now and I’m starting to hate it. I have two weeks of inserts not cut and I haven’t even looked through yet. Am I in a coupon funk? I use to love clipping and organizing and seeing all my savings but now I’m loathing going to the supermarket. Has anyone ever gone through this before?
Answer…
YES YES YES!!!! As much as I love couponing even I get sick of it sometimes, here a few tips:
It’s ok to miss a sale- If you are like me you get a little rush every time you get a Thrifty deal. But it is best to take it slow, pick your top “Thrifty Deals” for the week and just try to snag those sale items.
Only shop 1 or 2 stores- It is FUN to get the hot item of the week at each store, but if you run to every store that offers a good deal you may have an awesome stockpile…but you WILL hit coupon burn out way to fast!
Don’t get behind on your clipping- I have to admit that clipping and putting away my coupons is my LEAST favorite job. But it should only take 30-60 min each week to do this. To view my video on how I clip my coupons click here…the only thing I do different now is staple them together before I cut them. If you do get really behind it is OK to just leave those weeks uncut…and start fresh ( you can always go back just clip the ones you need, but that way it is not so overwhelming)
Take a break- Yes I said it is OK to take a break. (but still check in my blog…wink) Before I wrote my blog I would take a few weeks off from couponing when life just got too busy. Live off your stock pile for a bit, that is what is there for right! All it takes is one trip to the store and paying FULL price for a cart of things I know I can get for free to get me excited to coupon again…but the break is nice.
Count your savings- Keep track of how much you are really saving. That is why I do my weekly budget review, it helps me see the big picture of how much I really save. It makes me feel like my hard work is really paying off…and yes proud of what I have done. It gives me the energy to keep it up!
Save for something fun- Take the money you are saving from couponing and put it towards something fun. Like a surprise family trip. Start out saving for something small like going to the movies, or night out with your hubby… so you can reap the rewards of saving.
Get a coupon buddy- I know lots of people shop with a friend, it is fun to hang out with your girl friends and save at the same time. OR I know some people coupon with a “buddy” ….you shop one week and your buddy shops the next week and share the weeks savings. That way you never miss out on the sale, but you only have to shop every other week.
What are your feelings on this….and what tips do you have? Would love to hear from you all!
I do get into coupon funks. In fact, I JUST cleaned out my coupon binder because I had ALOT of coupons that expired on 7/31. I was finding that when I was out shopping I would pull one out and it was expired. I now have them in a mailing envelope and plan to send them overseas. I just file my inserts in my binder and take them with me into the store if I can’t get to it. Yesterday I was in Walgreens and knew I had a toothpaste coupon in an insert so I pulled my scissors out of my binder and cut it right there in the store!
Currently I have on my kitchen counter my coupon binder and all of the coupons that I just cut for the next few months. I put them into piles on the counter and then just file from there. It seems like its a lot of work but really I only spend an hour on organizing my binder each week–which really, is nothing.
I get in funks but I get out of them quickly. I have been doing this since April and I see how beneficial it is. Its ok to take a break. Have you ever thought about having a clipping party with your family? If they are old enough and can cut well, thats a good idea. I thought about having the neighbors three kids cut coupons for me and I would give them a little allowance. But–I haven’t gotten that far behind. But that is an option!
Read about my coupon binder here:
http://frugalfreegal.blogspot.com/2010/06/tips-for-beginner-couponers.html
I get tired of couponing sometimes too, and just ignore the sales for a week and buy only what I need.
Then the next week when I see all the hot deals on blogs it gets me excited to go at it again.
Another way I avoid burnout is I’ve taken to only using coupons for things we need. We have enough free razors and bottles of shampoo to last for a year, so I don’t bother with those sales and deals. This saves a lot of time!
Lastly, I use the clipless method so I don’t have to clip coupons every weekend. Blog matchups and coupon databases keep me on top of available coupons, and this way I don’t get behind on sorting coupons.
I think I might be over doing my couponing.
Oh why lie I am a Couponaholic and I need help! “OK sweetie I finally admitted it publicly. Are you happy now?”.
I’m a 50′s Something Gener who retired a few years ago and have gone through a lot of changes and activities to keep me busy, but my new role as stay at home house husband has led me to couponing.
My couponing started innocently enough as I remember back in the early days (two months ago). I would clip an occassional coupon for the products I normally bought and felt a bit of a thrill, but it wasn’t enough to keep me amped, so I started hitting the coupons pretty hard, buying extra newspapers, looking in the recycling bin, asking family and friends for a fix. I found I could get a get even more on eBay. I had a scare when my computer hiccuped and bought another computer (“Honey the other one is old and slow and it’ll pay for itself in no time”.). Then bought another printer in case one didn’t work or ran out of ink, bought two more printers because I had coupons for Staples, then bought a laser printer so I could print cheaper and faster. I justified the all the coupon printing as a way of sharing with other less fortunate, the children, friends, random strangers in the supermarket, and don’t forget the troops overseas, etc, etc.
I now have 2 computers, 4 ink jet printers, two laser printers, 5 full cases of paper (had coupons for them!), a high speed cable Internet connection, carpel tunnel, angry wife, lonely chihuahua.
I have basically been consumed by coupons, I dream coupons, I take my coupon baggage with me whenever we go out, I carry the bag into the restaurant and setup a desk so I can sort, cut, compile while waiting for my food to arrive, get upset when the server wants me to move my coupons so they can sit the plate down. I can’t wait for the next deal, I belong to every coupon blog site imaginable and print out the strategies.
I know I’m going on a bit, but I think I need help, maybe professional counseling. My wife says she’ll counsel me or did she say cancel me, afraid to ask.
Oh I didn’t mention, but as a result of my crazy couponing I have accumulated an enormous amount of food and HBA items that I do not need, but my wife won’t let me give them away or donate them because she paid for them and she’s going to use them, so that has led to the purchase of 3 huge 5 shelf chrome plated storage racks so my booty could be stored out of the living areas.
I feel like the poster child for bad couponing habits. I am hoping that early intervention by family and friends will pull me back from the brink. I think I took the first step to recovery today. Thank you for your time.