The thrill of the hunt

Who knew "coupon" was a verb?  I was always taught that a verb was an action word to describe something you do.  Well, I do, "Coupon," so I guess it has become an action word!

I began couponing about an year ago when my sister told me how much money I could save on my grocery bill. At the time, my husband had become disabled and we were waiting for his federal disability money to begin.  All we had was my paycheck, along with two children and a mortgage.  I HAD to find every way I could to cut corners, so on a whim, not thinking it would work well, I started doing it.

Now, if you know me, you know that I do not do ANYTHING half way.  I give 1000% to every thing I do...but I did NOT want to be one of those "crazy coupon ladies" and I was NOT interested in extreme couponing.  I set a goal that I would try to save at least 50% on my first shopping trip and anything above that would make me extra happy.  In the beginning, it took me a long time to find the coupons and plan my shopping trip.  I did not like spending SO much time preparing for my grocery trip, but I did like the savings I was seeing...so I created a compromise.  I set my timer for thirty minutes and promised myself that even if I wasn't finished, I wasn't going to spend any more time than that preparing to get groceries...After all, I am a wife and a mother and those people need my time as much as they need me to save money.  It didn't take too long and I was able to easily plan the trip in 30 minutes.  Now I do it in 15.  I had to remember that in the beginning, anything takes practice.  I didn't just pick up instruments and play them...I struggled...I worked...and now I succeed.  It's the sticking with it that's difficult.

Today, on average I save about 60% on my grocery bill, but I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that the thrill of the hunt excites me.  Occasionally, I love to go into a store just to see how much I can save...I smile a lot on those trips because I know that often times the store is PAYING ME to take the item home with me.  (Isn't that nice of them???)  I've always been competitive, so occasionally paying a dollar for twelve items sort of gives me a shot in the arm to stick with it more.  It makes me feel good to know that I saved our family money.  Now, I get upset when I don't take coupons with me and pay full price for things.  I feel like I'm wasting money...And PLEASE don't let a coupon that I might want to use expire!!!!

Marc now has his disability money coming in and we are once again a two income family...but we are still called to be good stewards of our resources.  Just because we are more comfortable now doesn't mean that we can be wasteful...we can share with other family members, donate to shelters or save money for a family vacation.  To whom much is given, much is expected.  A friend told me once (when we had NO extra money) that I wasn't poor...I was broke.  All of us are rich, but some have more money than others.  What a true statement that is...There have been times when I was broke, but I have never been poor.  May we all realize how truly RICH we really are!