Why I Do What I Do

If you'd have told me two years ago what I would be sitting here doing right now, I would have laughed in your face. Me? Couponing? Please. And then blogging about it? Does anyone even read those?

What a difference two years can make! My husband has always been better with money than I am. I have had much to learn since we got married, and talk about taking a crash course! Money has never flowed freely by any means around here, and then we had a baby. And then my husband started law school. Six weeks later! With the economy declining steadily, he went from three jobs to two. Not awful, but the money was missed. Then he went from two jobs to one, and we were building up school loans at a rapid clip. It was time to get serious about how I was handling my end of things (groceries, household goods, etc...) With the tiny budget of $250 per month, I had to make it work.

The problem was, I knew enough of about food to know I couldn't just buy the cheap things. That was going to cost us more in other areas, such as health care. So not only did I have to make the money stretch super far, it had to be used to buy mostly (not all) healthy, organic stuff.

Since failure wasn't exactly an option, I started to learn the ropes of paying less. I was already really good at not paying full price for things other than groceries, so why not transfer the skills? I started to pay attention to what I was paying for certain items. I set limits on how much I was willing to pay for those items, and then I would reassess those limits from time to time to see how realistic they still were. I am NOT good about keeping logs and writing extensive lists. I just started to be very observant about particular items until slowly but surely, I got the hang of it.

My first really good deal with coupons was at Publix, and it was totally on accident. I had several Target coupons for $.50 off 1 Kashi Waffles, and I also had some manufacturer's coupons to stack. I was wandering around the frozen foods section not really paying any attention when I saw a sign on the waffles saying they were 50% off. I could not believe my eyes! I started doing quick math (I had to have help...you guys have NO idea how bad I am at math!) and realized I was going to be able to get these waffles for pennies. And sure enough, I got several boxes for $.17 each! I was so excited that I started telling everyone. Most everyone thought I was a little crazy...I was really REALLY enthused. I finally "got" it. The coupons were great by themselves, but if you used them at the right time, they were practically gold!

The rest is, as they say, history. I have gotten really good at doing this, but it's taken time and practice. The other thing it's taken is the acceptance that sometimes we'll just go without. There are things that I have to buy whether they're on sale or not and whether I have a coupon or not, but the rest of it is totally based on what I can get a good deal on. And since I'm very picky, that means we go without quite often!

I guess I write all of this to say, I understand so well where you're coming from. But having very little has taught me how important it is to buy the very best that you can. You'll be happy you're supporting good companies, and you'll be healthier too!

Comments

[Paula Laird]

Thanks so much for blogging because I could not get the good deals without your help!

[Nancy]

You have helped me save a lot and I really appreciate that. My reason was a layoff to start seriously couponing.