Most Sunday’s my wife and I scour the paper for two different reasons. I’m a news junkie who reads the paper front to back. My wife pulls out the thick coupon section and pages through each one with scissors in hand. She meticulously organizes each coupon in one of those expandable file folders and then she’s off to the stores.
Once at the stores, my wife goes up and down each isle, coupon folder and list in hand, picking items and further reorganizing coupons for checkout. The payoff? On most shopping trips she saves 10-15 percent. Let’s say we average $100 per week in groceries. This represents $10-15 per week saved or approximately $750 per year.
So, what do I think of this? I’m very appreciative of the time and energy she spends each week to save us money. In fact, it made me want to bring my lunch more often (more on that in next week’s blog post).
Clipping coupons, eating in more, sharing meals at restaurants. Perhaps it’s the economic climate right now. Whatever the reason, I think these simple behavioral changes make a big enough dent in our bottom line that we’ll stick with them long after this current recession is just a memory.
What positive changes have you or your family made that you plan to retain even after times aren’t so tough?
I love coupons and not only do I use coupons for
grocery items, I use 10%/20% coupons when I shop. If I don’t have one, I will ask the salesperson
if she has a store coupon and 90% of the time, they find me one.
I love stores that have “You Saved this amount” on the bottom of the receipt. Makes shopping fun!
I clip coupons ALL the time and it always pays off! I also use the CVS coupons alot as well. Check out southernsavers.com!! It’s a big help!
My husband laughs at me every Sunday when I start clipping coupons. When we go shopping he is amazed at how much money we save. I also use coupon books for local attractions or ask if they have locals discount, some places do not post this so ask them about it. Every penny helps.
2 for 1 restaurant coupons are the best…no shame in using them…the restaurant wouldn’t have gone through the trouble of printing and distributing them if they didn’t expect people to use them. Just remember to tip on the full amount of the bill, before discounts!
What changes have we made that are now permanent? In 2005, we moved from a house built in 2002 to a house built in 1979. It had a lot of work to be done to update it. So when we moved we didn’t renew our cable TV subscription. Therefore when there’s nothing on TV, might as well paint, or peel wallpaper, or put up crown molding. We’re going on 4 years now without cable TV even though the house is where we want it. Now when nothing is on TV, we go for a walk, read a book, or play in the yard.
Yes, my friends still think I’m crazy.
I try to use coupons but am not very consistent with them. There are many times my shopping trips are unplanned, or I go out to eat on a whim only to find I had a coupon at home. One thing I have done to remember to use them is to always keep them in my car when I get them. Many coupons are printed along with grocery receipts and that is a perfect time to put them in an envelope in the car. BTW-to hi_c…I love the no cable idea!
Who can pass up a good store coupon? However, who has the time to search for the coupons you can actually use AND clip them out of the newspaper. Nowadays, you can make one quick check on the internet and find dozens of store product coupons. You can even sign up for companies sending YOU special offers by email. Grocery stores even have that little keychain thingy that you show when you checkout…. to get instant discounts on your purchases. I believe…..more and more companies are realizing that people have less time to do anything, so they search for easy ways to get our business and make saving money more convenient for the customer!
Since we are writing about Clipping Coupons | SiMPLE CENTS, You can get coupons from magazines and newspaper ads. Pay close attention the to the expiration dates on them as well. If you have access to the internet go to the sites for the products you use. Many of them offer coupons that they will mail to you or that you can print at home. If these sites offer an opt in list for you to get promotions and coupons by e-mail then take advantage of it.