Motivation to Coupon

i used to be a huge coupon queen. all organized by expiration date and item type. then i just got sick of it.
i love costco and do almost all my shopping there, with the rest happening at local farms and farm markets. but i DO use the costco coupons!
:) khairete
S.

I do not coupon. My opinion is it is a waste of my time and my time = $$

Think about it, going from store to store for the deals....wasting gas, wear/tear on car and time does not add up on a .50 coupon for me.

I go to Costco about once every 3 months and spend about $500-$600. My basic stock ups are toilet paper, paper towels, butter, dishwasher and dish detergent, clorox, peanut butter, noodles, canned veggies and more I can think of right now.

I go to my butcher about once every 2 months and spend about $250 on prime beef, pork and chicken products.

I am at my local grocery, Market Street, almost daily for fresh produce, veggies, etc. I probably spend a good $150+ per week at Market Street.

My pantry is very large and it is well stocked as well as my freezer. I just can't see the "deals" of couponing if you shop smart. I'll add that I am anti Walmart and I will go out of my way to stay away from any store affiliated by them.

Just be smart about your shopping, don't go hungry, and take advantage of the deals at the store.

I think the Extreme Coupon show makes people think there are real deals out there but those people are just sick hoarders who buy stuff to get it. it is a game to them. I wish they would at least donate all the extra to shelters instead of hoarding.

I coupon on and off. When I do it really well, it pays off. But that means only buying stuff I normally would. And I don't drive to a million stores - that eats up time and gas, and results in some impulse buying, which negates savings.

A lot of coupons are for processed food, and we've stopped eating those. They're mostly empty calories, chemicals and salt.

A lot of coupons now are for $1 which are not doubled by the stores (vs. a 75 cent coupon which is worth $1.50). I also take advantage of a local market that gives gas coupons - they give you 10 cents off a gallon for every $100 you spend, and there are frequently bonus coupons (an extra 20 cents a gallon for a purchase of $50.) So careful shopping yields good savings.

If your house is already full of stuff and you're still shopping, something's off. I'd suggest you make an inventory of what's in the freezer, and start creating some meals out of those items. Challenge yourself to see how creative you can be and how economical at the store. Sometimes when we shop in bulk, we do it on impulse, and then we get tired of what we bought, so it's sits there. You can probably find some great recipes on line or on this site. But it will be easier if you list that you have 20 chicken breasts, 20 pounds of hamburger, 3 bags of frozen vegetables, etc. - or whatever you have. In general, casseroles, chills, soups and Mexican food (tacos, enchiladas) make great use of miscellaneous items and they aren't dependent on exact quantities.

Price are going way up and they're going to get worse because of a) gas prices (for transporting food to market and from market to home) and b) the huge nationwide drought. The drought is a triple whammy because 1) produce is scarce now and therefore expensive, 2) a lot of agriculture is used to grow feed for animals (cattle, pigs, chickens) and so if their feed cost goes up, so does the meat cost, and 3) a lot of farmers are sending their herds to slaughter early because they can't afford to feed them, so that means that meat may be reasonable right now but when it runs out and those animals aren't there in 6 months, scarcity will drive the price way up.

So I'd skip the couponing unless you see something you would absolutely buy anyway. Work on your huge stash of food right under your nose.

Personally I don't find couponing worth it anymore, unless it is an item I regularly buy. Most of my shopping is done between Aldi's, Sam's, and Walmart. The only place that accepts coupons is Walmart, but there typically aren't coupons for the things I buy there. So I make it my goal to simply get the best possible price on the things I do buy and basically forget the coupons.

I have to admit that I'm so glad you aren't one of the extreme couponers. I watched 2 of those shows, and those women were kind of scary. They didn't seem to care what product they bought as long as they had a coupon for it. They picked up sale items with the coupons and took ALL of them off the shelves with no regard for whether they needed them or whether other people should have a chance to buy them. They fought with the sales clerks over pennies. Yes, they paid $6 for $600 worth of stuff, but some of that stuff I wouldn't bring in my house if they cost me nothing. When I was buying some stuff at Target a month ago, the lady asked me if I had coupons. I told her sadly no, but I wished I did! She told me that she has to ask people now because there are people who let her ring them up and then give her a bunch of coupons, and she was not allowed to take them like that. She has to have the coupon when she scans the item. I was really surprised and asked why. She said it was because of extreme couponers. She told me that they get really ugly with her, and that it's a form of hoarding. After seeing that show, I could understand what she was talking about.

I understand what you're saying about the staples - they are expensive and it's hard to find coupons for them. I think that the way to get your motivation back is to look for coupons for those staples - toilet paper, paper towels, etc. Sometimes drug stores like CVS and Walgreens have sales on some things, like two for one, things like that.

I have made it a goal when my freezer gets full, to pick something in it every night for a week to fix a meal around. That way I use it up and get more room in my freezer. (I need to do this more often!!) Maybe you can go "under budget" doing that to help you with your budgeting while you look for coupons. Maybe you could do that, and work on paring down your pantry too, like making it a competition with yourself.

I doubt I've helped, but what you said reminded me of that show and my conversation with the Target lady. I hope you find something that helps.

Dawn

Okay, there is a smart way to coupon.

First...is it a coupon for something you would ALREADY buy? If yes, clip it. If it's a coupon for something you would NOT have bought otherwise, don't bother. It's costing you more money, then.

Also, I do not go around to a bunch of different stores on different days to get my "best savings." I go grocery shopping on the 7th of every month, and I go so Aldi's (our cheap store) and WalMart (also cheap.) I use whatever coupons I have at WalMart. THen, on Wednesday (nice if it also falls on the 7th, but if not, whatever) I go to Hy-Vee to get my youngest's GF food for the month, because it's 20% off that day and yes, that saves me a ton to wait until Wednesday.

It sounds like you need to make a list more than you necessarily need to coupon. I hate stockpiling, and I've never done it, because I really think it's hard to stay in a budget that way (and I can't afford to do it that way regardless.) Plus, I just really don't want extra stuff in my house. If there's a great sale I might buy ONE extra, but that sale will come again. In fact, Jack Daniels #7 barbeque sauce has been on sale for 4 for a dollar (GREAT DEAL) but I still on bought two, because how long will it take me to use those two bottles? A while.

Anyhow, making a list can help you stick to a budget, because you won't buy a lot of things you don't need.

Oh, another couponing tip...if you are okay buying generic for a certain product, don't bother with the brand name coupon because the generic will probably STILL be cheaper.

I do use coupons...but like I said, only on stuff I'm going to buy. I like P&G Saver coupon books that come out in the newspaper, because they have "buy one get one free" coupons on things like Herbal Essence and Dove, 2-3 dollars off Luvs, etc, 2 dollar off Olay body wash, 2 dollars off Gain, etc...all the stuff I already buy, so yes, a coupon is worth it. I do all my non-food shopping at Target, because I've found them to be cheaper and have more variety with this stuff than WalMart, plus I hate WalMarts paper towels. :)

Feeling the same as you! Seems like prices have gone up so much that even with coupons, I'm spending the same amount as I did before I even started using them. It's very frustrating to spend that much time and not see your savings like 2 years ago. I'm trying to get my coupon mojo back though by treating myself to a new laser printer so I don't have to keep buying those stupid ink cartridges once a month which cut into the budget like crazy. Good luck!

I used to do coupons and found buying smart at Costco actually saves more money. I know I am supposed to motivate but I can't motivate something that I found actually wastes money. Sure I paid next to nothing for some products but they were actually products we didn't use or preferred not to use. So really I was spending next to nothing on next to nothing, that isn't savings.

If you really want to save I would say invest in one of those vacuum sealers, they sell them at Costco by the way. The only thing that really holds people back at Costco is storing meat, chicken, and fish. Well the chicken comes portioned. So what we do is get out our sealer when we get home from Costco. Okay Troy is pretty detailed so he gets out a scale too but I don't think that is necessary. So we portion and seal and write on the outside how many it will feed. Next time you are at Costco look at the meat prices, I save a fortune right there and still eat pretty darn good!

Oh, and if your budget is blowing up it could also be the prices are going nuts!

My parents give me their weekly coupons (they cut the darn things, then never use them). I only cut coupons for the things I already buy - so in one weeks worth of coupons I may just cut one or two coupons. I have found that store-brand is often cheaper than the national brand WITH the coupon. Often, the way I save money is to shop the ads. Here where I live there is only one grocery store, plus Walmart, SuperTarget, and then health-food-stores. My mailbox just gets one grocery store ad, so I shop that ad only. I am not one to spend my time driving around town - my time is money plus the gas I spend probably doesn't make up for the savings.

Costco - I compared their price per unit on my 'usual purchases' and so now only buy certain things at Costco. So my suggestion to you is to comparison shop. Make a spreadsheet and start writing down prices at Costco vs. Your other fav store. ie - Toilet Paper and Laundry Detergent were cheaper or the same price per unit (or sq foot) at my grocery store than they were at Costco. Well I'd rather buy the smaller package if it's the same price per unit, so I just go to my regular grocery store for that. (Plus, costco is 40 min drive, grocery store 25 min). Things like cheese and POM and Hebrew National hotdogs were way cheaper at Costco, so I will try to get those at Costco when I am nearby a Costco. So just make yourself informed. Costco isn't always cheaper!

And yes, sadly, grocery prices are going up. Not much we can do except join co-ops, grow our own crops, raise our own animals, conserve what we use, etc. If I were you, I'd start dwindling down your stash. Maybe once or twice a week decide to make a meal from your freezer. Try allrecipes.com where you can type in some ingredients and get recipes.

Is there a store that offers double coupons? Then you might have more incentive as your grocery bill comes down at check out time. I also look at the ads on Sunday. Several ads reference the coupons in Sundays paper and if that is something i want to buy I will find the coupon. But i have noticed I cut fewer and fewer coupons these days too and am spending more time at Costco.

Suggestions on getting the motivation back.. Join some couponing groups on Facebook. Keep up with your favorite couponing blogs. Extreme Couponing on TLC is pretty motivating but I would never recommend stepping into that kind of craziness.

I have my oldest child help me find coupons. She receives the coupon savings in cash sometimes. Other times we put the coupon savings towards a special activity or meal out. We sit and chat while clipping coupons. In my area the savings aren't as great either. If its too much effort hand it over to your child(ren), if possible.

**Ohhhh, you're pregnant and have 2 & 4 year old children. Okay, then you're super tired. I paid my mom to fill my freezer + fridge with home cooked meals. Of course my mom would do it for free. However, I value her time. It seems like you're so tired you just aren't couponing or cooking much. Pay/barter with/beg a relative, friend or church member to fill your fridge and deep freeze with home cooked meals. Especially closer to the end of your pregnancy.

What keeps me going is when the cashier hits total and I hand over my coupons then see my balance in the end and what freebies I have or next to free.Having 4 kids and keeping up with all the snacks,toiletries for me I need the savings plus the companies want us to save or they wouldn't supply coupons to their consumers.I have never been a name brand or 1 type only buyer so keeping an open mind in what we use as long as it fits my budget is great.I gringe at paying full price but I will if I need it