Why I coupon...

I've been thinking about writing this for awhile. Mostly to have all my reasons written somewhere when I begin to feel overwhelmed by it all!

***I've ALWAYS been a bargain hunter. It's just kind of a thrill knowing you got a good deal and feels like I'm not letting those big, impersonal stores get the best of me!!
-I don't think I've ever bought clothing either NOT on sale or not at a discount retailer.
-I've always tried to buy generic food and the cheapest toiletries.
-I LOVE garage saling and cannot wait until spring every year to see the signs pop up!
-I've done the drive from store to store trying to find the best deal.
-I've written down the prices of items I normally buy at Wal-Mart and compared it to Costco's prices. I've even created a spreadsheet with that information to consult when checking weekly ads.
-For most of my married life I've been clipping coupons and checking all the grocery store ads weekly to find the best deals and then price-matching at Wal-Mart.
-I've returned recently purchased items to stores if I found an item cheaper at another store (or the SAME store!)

***But recently, I've upped my game. My friend really got into this couponing craze called Savvy Shopper. She was telling everyone she knew about it. She would occasionally call me and tell me about a good deal I should take advantage of. I thought it was wonderful that she was all excited and that she was making money, but I also heard about all the time she was spending cutting coupons from multiple papers, researching her shopping trips, and shopping at multiple stores to get it all. Her husband was unemployed at the time and so this was able to help them in a stressful time. (He also was able to take care of the kids while she did her lengthy deal shopping runs.)
-Finally I attended a class she and another friend were hosting. A lady from the GrocerySmarts website taught us about using multiple papers and their website to save 50 - 75% off your shopping totals. That inspired me to order 3 more copies of the Sunday paper (4 total.)
-At first I started clipping any coupon that I might ever possibly need. My old organizing system (a small accordion file) just wasn't cutting it anymore. My coupons started piling up everywhere.
-Later, I finally took the plunge and decided to make a coupon binder. I pulled out one of my old 4 inch binders and purchased a large pack of baseball card pages. I spent all of conference weekend making binder labels and organizing and inserting my coupons.

***I don't consider myself a full-fledged couponer. I don't run to stores to buy thing I don't need just because I could get a rebate or a catalina and possibly make money on the deal. (Also, I've never come home, laid all my purchases out neatly, took a picture and blogged about it!) I just took baby steps from where I was to where I am now. Here's my weekly routine:
-Sunday: I clip all coupons for items I routinely buy, items I'm in need of, high-value coupons, and items I know go on sale a lot. I try to get them filed that day - but often it's left until Tuesday. I also go through all the ads. I've begun saving them all for a week because Target requires the entire ad to price-match. I separate the food and non-food ads.
-Tuesday: I try to get all ready for Wednesday's shopping run. I go through all the food ads and write down the store name and items that they have for a good price on the back of my shopping list. I go through my coupon binder to find matching coupons for the items that are already on a good sale (that I've listed on the back of my shopping list.) Mostly I shop at Wal-Mart and price match everything. But every now and again Target and Walgreens has their own good coupons that I need to use in their stores.
-Wednesday: After I drop Ella off at dance, I do all the little errands I need to do. After I pick her up, we do the big Wal-Mart run. I have my list, coupons (in the same order I walk through the store), occasionally my binder, and WIC booklet all ready in a ziplock bag that I just pull out as I enter the store. If I buy an item that I have a coupon for, I stick it back in the baggie. If I decide not to use a coupon, I stick it back in the front of my binder. In theory, this should all work perfectly. But in reality, I'm often one-handed pulling my cart behind me and trying to keep Eden from grabbing my coupons and list and shredding them. When I get home most of the items are for my storage, so I dump them in our storage room - to be shelved at a much later date...by this time, I'm exhausted!

***But I have learned a lot!
-I've found 5 thrifty websites that I check multiple times everyday!
-I've learned that there are websites for printing your own coupons.
-I've learned that you can stack coupons. Not only should you be only using coupons that are ALREADY on sale, you should be stacking manufacturer coupons with store coupons and stacking them with buy 1 get 1 free coupons if possible.
-I've learned that often I CAN get brand-name items for much less than generic.
-I've learned that there are some items you should never buy - only get them when they are FREE! Some free items I've gotten lately are lightbulbs, dryer sheets, batteries, bath soap, wipes, tacos, toothpaste, photo books, various types of crackers, cereal, marshmallows, hot chocolate, and more.
-I've learned that there are coupons for EVERYTHING! I used coupons to purchase most of our Christmas. We were able to have a lot more under our tree thanks to a lot of thrifty shopping.
-Restaurants also want to get in on the dealing. As well as frequent coupons, there's a website to purchase gift cards at 80% or more off the regular price. Also, they often have freebie days. Dennys and IHOP have free kids meals days. I've gone to Free Float night at A&Ws, free hot dog and ice cream day at Weinerschnitzel, and today I got a free Fresco chicken taco at Taco Bell!
-I've learned there's deals and coupons on the internet all the time. Luckily the websites I frequent let me know about them so I don't have to do the searching.
-I've learned you don't have to chase every deal. I've also learned that some stores and some employees are nicer and more helpful than others. I've TRIED to learn to let the not so helpful stores and employees roll off me.

***My food storage is growing.
-Like I mentioned earlier, most of what I buy every week goes straight to my food storage room. My weekly list of things we need or have run out of gets smaller and smaller every week. So I use my weekly grocery budget to stock up on the great deals for the week. As we need food upstairs, we go "shopping" downstairs. The girls LOVE to go shopping with me at "Kim's" - where everything is FREE!! I make a list of what we are short on upstairs and we go shopping downstairs. I give the girls a grocery sack each and fill it up with cans and boxes. They take it upstairs, unload it and come back for more!! Then I fill up the pantry and we are set for awhile!
-Unfortunately, I only have 3 shelves, an outside freezer and various other nooks to stash all my food. I'm doing my best though, and hopefully we'd at least get through a few months if there was a disaster.
-I do need to work more on more lasting food storage - those dreaded #10 cans and buckets of grains and powdered milk!

***So, that's why I coupon.
-I can't say I'll do it forever, but finding good deals is just in my blood (thanks mom!) I hope to show my own children to be frugal. I hope to show them that we don't need to always buy what we want right now - we need to wait until it goes on sale and we have the money for it. They're always asking me if the cereal they want or chocolate milk or something is on sale that week. They love clipping out the coupons I didn't clip out. Ella thinks that if she cuts out a picture of a toy she wants, that she can buy it because it's on sale!
-Steve was out of work for about 3 months a while back and then ended up taking a job that paid considerably less. We're working on being able to stay in the black every month, and I feel that this is just another way I can help the family budget.
-I've also found a few ways to give service while couponing. Not only was I able to share generously to the ward food drive, but I've also shared tips with others. Recently I've learned that the military stationed overseas can use coupons for several months past their expiration date. So at the end of each month, I gather all the expired coupons that I didn't use and mail them to a lady in Idaho that collects them and then sends them to the appropriate place. It's great to be able to find ways to serve that fit in my lifestyle!

So, wish me luck in continuing this deal-seeking journey.