To coupon or not to coupon?

This is a discussion that has come up several times lately amongst different friends. I have tossed the issue around many times myself over the years asking the same questions. Is it worth it? Won't I be buying things I don't even use? Why not just buy store brands, they're cheaper? How long is this going to take? How in the world do I organize all those coupons? And on it goes.

My hubby's mom is a wonder at using coupons. She has told me over and over how much she saves using them. There have been times when I was given a few specific coupons and used a couple of them on a shopping trip saving a dollar or two at most. That was not enough to convince me to take on what seemed like such a daunting task of cutting out coupons. I guess what it boiled down to for me was I was lacking direction (ok and motivation) to get started. I had a little coupon pouch that I would store coupons in that I came across on ocassion or were given to me. I carried that little thing everywhere yet never remembered to pull it out and use them. When I would think of it they were expired! Again, I determined coupons are just a hassle.

When we moved we knew it was going to take some drastic measures to make it work so once again, I revisited the idea of couponing only this time with determination to MAKE it work. On one of the many weekends T was away after we moved here I stopped to pick up a paper after church and went home to get to work. I decided though that I would only cut out those which were items we already used. I was not in the market for trying out the new products or things that look just plain yummy. It had to be practical for us or it didn't make the "cut"! I tucked them away in my little coupon pouch and saved them for our next shopping day. I also looked over the Kroger ad and checked out the good deals on things we use and tried to plan our possible meals around what was in it. I did this for a few weeks. I almost always have my kiddos with me when I do any shopping so we would spend a couple hours on a shopping trip as I pulled out a section of coupons and flipped through until I found what I was looking for. Our kids did really well for the most part to spend that amount of time in a store with nothing to do but watch mom searching through the coupon stacks. If we needed to stop for a minute and discuss a discipline issue we would and then keep going. The main thing was I could tell we were saving some money! This encouraged me to press on.

I knew there were other organinzers so I did some internet searches. Sure, you can buy a nice one for thirty bucks but I wasn't about to do that. I dug out a binder and some page protectors, dividers, and thick paper. All things we had not being used and I made my own coupon organizer. I used the divider to separate into sections similar to the order of the aisles in the store. Then I used teeny pieces of sticky tack to attach the coupons to the paper. After I had everything divided up and attached I stuck the pages into the protectors. Voila! My own organizer!

I also make a very detailed shopping list now adding a symbol next to items that I have a coupon for and those that are in the sale ad. Yes, this takes more time to prepare but the actual shopping trip time is shortened and much more pleasant because I know what I am getting. I rarely get an item not on the list. I still try to plan our meals on what is in the ads and a lot of times I have coupons for those things too! I stock up on things like toothpaste, deodorant, and shampoo because there are endless coupons for those every week. The best thing of all is standing at the cash register and watching my total drop!!! Where I shop they also double coupons up to fifty cents!

Is it worth it? Yes! Do I buy things I don't use? No! Are store brands cheaper? Not always! How long does it take? However long I put into it. The longer it takes the more I save! I don't have a "job" like a lot of people do but I am to be a keeper of my home. I now look at couponing as one of my household tasks. I may not be earning a paycheck but I am saving on what comes out of the paycheck that my hubby works so hard to earn!!