Coupon Madness Has Begun

A couple of weeks ago our church put together a coupon class. In an attempt to help us all save a few dollars on our household expenses we got together to learn how to be successful coupon users.

It was pretty overwhelming at first. Lots of little tricks to learn. Trade secrets that are only shared from one coupon clipper master to the novice. I have never been above using coupons for meals or family entertainment. I have always been a supporter of the school coupon books. Usually using about 5 or so to get the value for my 10 bucks.

Any one that knows me or has been to my house knows that I have paper stacking issues. Seriously, I own filing cabinets but never use them. I apparently enjoy the stress filled moments of digging through stacks of unopened mail and school notices to find the important document I need. Really, this is a serious flaw in my personality. So, couponing has always been a bit of an intimidating thought. I do what I can to keep my paper clutter to a minimum, coupons do not help. My first thought is that I will have stacks of unread, unopened newspapers and magazines just waiting for me to find the time to clip coupons out of them. Can you imagine my halls lined with stacks of paper? Irrational I know, but this is a real fear of mine. It is genetic, you should have seen the stacks of newspapers my Great Grandparents kept in their house.

I digress......back to coupons.

So, this very handy little class got me motivated. I have bought into the idea that this could potentially save my family some money on our household expenses. I have gotten myself a notebook, baseball card sleeves, subject dividers, pencil pouch, scissors, paper clips, pens, a notepad and envelopes. I have been at it for about 3 weeks now. Guess what?!! I am saving money, almost 40 a week on our basic grocery bill.

Let me put a disclaimer on this coupon thing, it takes time. I mean, time to organize and learn. Time to clip and compare. There is an investment here and you have to decide if it is worth the work. To my family, right now, it is worth a few hours a week on my part to save whatever I can. Hopefully, the better I get and the more I learn, I will make my 40 turn into 60 dollars of savings a week. My current $800 a month budget for our household goodies is already going down to $660.

As mom, manager of all things household related, I feel pretty good about this couponing thing. I am hoping to continue to see more savings as I get to know more tricks of the trade. Hopefully I will share a few nuggets of info with you too.

Here is the pick of my couponing notebook and my bin for things that need to be clipped and sorted. Thought I would start out with an organized routine so that I can avoid the newspaper lined home.