The Shame of IT ALL
It’s 2009 – A young mom of 4 small children learns to coupon shop. She begins saving so much money and her stockpile begins to grow and grow. She is on FIRE! Saving money is so addicting!
It’s 2010 – Same mom begins a coupon blog for fun and shares the deals she posts. She coupons so much she has at one point 56 boxes of cereal and still wants to buy more. Her coupon drawers are full of toothpaste, shampoo, feminine hygiene products, razors and more. When her family comes to visit she is so happy to share her stockpile with them.
It’s 2011 – She continues to coupon shop. Her life is getting super busy with 4 kids in sports, working with cub scouts, running the blog which has turned into a full-time job while still trying to maintain her home and coupon shop. Busy busy busy!
Summer of 2011 – She decides to take the summer time off from coupon shopping to have fun with her family. This was a wonderful time and priceless memories are made. When fall comes, she is still so busy and it just becomes easier to NOT coupon. However she is able to use up her stockpile and just spend a little more money on groceries.
Now it’s 2012 – Month after month she is using up her stockpile and not coupon shopping. She feels guilty quite often but the idea of getting back into couponing by organizing her coupon box and spending time going from store to store keeps her from going. She notices that her once full coupon drawers are nearly out of toothpaste, deodorant, soap, shampoo and other items. This is SO SAD! When her family comes to visit they ask for free stuff like razors, toothbrush or toothpaste, and she doesn’t have any. She stops teaching coupon classes (mainly because of the guilt of her not coupon shopping herself). Her monthly spending has increased and she realizes she probably SHOULD coupon shop. *sigh* .
Excuses Excuses…
Some of you might think I am a hypocrite for running this blog everyday and for not couponing myself. My excuses for not doing it are endless – it’s amazing how many guilt induced excuses I can come up with:
- It’s SO much time (cry, whine, pout).
- Now that I make money blogging, I justify not couponing because of that.
- I don’t want to spend a day starting my coupon box all over.
- There are so many coupon shoppers in my city and I don’t like feeling the competition of it. Rush here and rush there..quick!
- I can’t coupon shop on Sunday’s because it’s the Sabbath Day – and many other coupon shoppers beat me to all the RiteAid, Walgreens and Fred Meyer deals. Its frustrating getting all my coupons ready Monday morning, get to the store and there is only 1-2 items left on my list. So frustrating.
- Every night I am running around 4 kids to different sports practices and games. I have no time at night.
- Church callings – I work with the youth at my church and spend a lot of time with them planning and doing activities.
- I want to focus on spending my time doing things that mean something..spending more time with my family – being kinder and more thoughtful of others. Time to give up something else that takes a lot of time – so unfortunately couponing was what I chose.
- It’s hard work. Yes, it can be hard work.
Is it Okay Not to Coupon Shop?
I have run into MANY people who USED to coupon shop and it surprises me just how many of us there are. Over half of the coupon shoppers I have talked to quit couponing. People who used to be extreme couponers who now just have lost the passion, or didnt want to do the work or quit for whatever reason. We all KNOW that we can save a ton of money doing couponing, but just have other priorities or have lost the bug. Or have our own excuses. It is okay though? Well I guess it depends on your circumstances. I know it can save a lot of money and who doesn’t like that?
So What Now? Why are you Telling me this?
I want you to know that I do believe coupon shopping can save a ton of money. If I didn’t believe that I wouldn’t continue to run my blog Happymoneysaver.com. I want those of you out there that USED to coupon shop to know you are not alone at all. And for those of you who are into couponing to know that it is okay to have moments where you don’t feel the coupon love anymore or get super busy and can’t do it all. I just don’t think you should beat yourself up over not couponing. And if you do go back to it celebrate it because saving money is awesome!
Ex-Couponers – How do we get back into Couponing?
First off if you loved it before (as I did) I just know once I actually get in there and do the couponing work I just know I will love it. Baby steps folks, baby steps are the key I think to being successful.
Baby step 1: Give myself 1-2 hours a week – preferable the same set hours so I am on a schedule. That is all I am planning on starting with. For the first few times I am going to organize my coupon box the best I can. If it takes two weeks to do that than so be it. The next week I will take that two hours to plan and do a shopping trip.
Baby step 2: Focus on just one store once a week. I will pick just a few items that are on sale at that store instead of trying to do all the sale items. Maybe I will do price matching at Walmart or do some toiletries at Walgreens. For those of you who are working, do your coupon shopping on your lunch break perhaps. It might make for more small trips but might help you get back into things slowly.
Baby step 3: I plan on tracking my spending using this My Coupon Savings Tracker free excel spreadsheet download. When I see how much I am saving it always gives me that little pat on the back to keep me going.
Baby step 4: Allow myself to feel the excitement of couponing. I have felt it before and I just know I will feel it again. That feeling that makes me want to do my happy dance for the money I saved. This feeling might just keep that momentum going.
Baby step 5: Eventually get a shopping buddy to keep me going. There is something about having someone call me up and say “lets go!” that keeps me going.
My goal is to start those baby steps and give myself that 2 hours a week. I may not be the extreme coupon shopper I once was right away, but I will be happy with small successful shopping trips. I plan on tracking my spending using my Coupon Savings Tracker and even sharing some of my shopping trips again with you dear readers.
Thoughts? Are any of you feeling the same way with couponing? Any tips or ideas you have found to get your coupon mojo back?
About Karrie
Food is my love language. But so is saving money. So I like to combine the two a lot and make thrifty make ahead and freeze meals to save time. Because life is busy, and freezer meals can come to the rescue for all of us. And yes, they actually CAN taste good. Read more...
Comments & Reviews
Donna says
Thanks for helping relieve some of my guilt! It’s been a difficult season in our lives, time and energy have been precious resources and even though I still really like couponing, having stockpiles, being able to share with others in need, not to mention having instant gifts in a pinch! I’m also looking at bare shelves and storage containers! Deals that fit our needs AND are still available when I get to the store have been challenging and frustrating to hit. After taking out all my expired coupons, my folders were empty!! I decided to start small and clip the coupons I KNEW I’d use for necessities and keep an envelope divided into food/nonfood coupons in my purse. I miss my 2 floor-to-ceiling stacks of toilet paper and the 100-150 boxes of cereal. (It’s not as crazy as it sounds, we donate a lot of it to a Spokane churches homeless ministry). My kids miss the cereal too, I still have over 20 boxes in a variety of flavors, but they still complain I don’t have the flavors they want! I’m eager to see how things go for you, and hopefully it’ll help me get going too! My goal is to do what I can without overwhelming or stressing me out!
Donna
Thanks!
Karrie says
Thanks Donna for your comment. I love your goal, do what you can without overwhelming yourself. {LOVE} Thanks!
Cathy says
I’m right in the same boat with you too. I too don’t shop on Sundays as it is the Sabbath. It does get really frustrating to try Albertsons on Monday or Tuesday since there is pretty much nothing left on the shelves. It’s hard putting all that effort into it and not getting much out of it. When I got pregnant with my third precious girl, I was so sick, not to mention, too tired to put in the effort. I stocked up a little the month before having her but since haven’t done anything but rite-aid once a week. With my oldest having started kindergarten this year it got even crazier with schedule. What ever happened to full day kindergarten? I also don’t know why my two year old won’t sleep through the night when my two month old will, unless of course she wakes up when the two year old comes into my room. It’s a battle of sleep huh? I was going to start a coupon class but feel like a hypocrite if I do. I know this is just a bunch of excuses but I am exhausted. Why do I feel guilty not trying to coupon shop more? Well that put aside, to heck with the excuses. I’m foregoing naptime today while school is in and going to albertsons. Pray that there is something on the shelves. If not, I’m not sure whether I’m going to try again. There are definitely a lot of couponers in the Tri-Cities. Good luck to the rest of you.
Lori B says
One of the reasons I got into couponing is through the class my friend and I took from you last year. I don’t care if you are actively couponing or not, you are still a wealth of information and you helped us so much. I still follow your blog and always will. I admire you for your honesty, that had to be hard to admit to for fear of recriminations. I’m glad you don’t have to carry the guilt around anymore, although I personally don’t feel you have anything to be guilty about. Your priorities in life shifted a little and isn’t that what life is all about? I hope you find your love for couponing again and you find a balance that works for every aspect of your life. I would be happy to go shopping with you anytime. Hopefully I’ll run into you out “in the trenches” sometime soon! Enjoy the sun today!
mom4me says
It is nice to hear that others have stopped/slowed down. When I first started couponing I skipped church and packed crabby kids into town or spent my lunch hour driving 15 miles to get the deal only to find out everything was already gone. I haven’t stopped couponing completely but certainly have slowed down. Now even though I spend more money, I generally coupon at the grocery store; it is easier for me and that makes it worth the effort. Plus it helps that I have a stockpile (a small one comparitavly) and don’t feel the need to chase down every deal. I will wait until my stockpile is down to the last one or I see an exeptional deal that I am willing to chase. I never use coupon clipping services as I feel that the few items I can get with my one sunday paper is enough for me and my family. Thanks for posting, now I don’t feel like quite the coupon loser. 🙂
Jennifer says
I think that you can coupon without being an extreme couponer. I think that you can have a small, reasonable stockpile (6-8 tubes of toothpaste versus 60-80). You can do this with 2-3 papers a week, 1-2 stores a week, and it is tons less time clipping and sorting to only deal with 2-3 sets of inserts. You can’t get 25 free body wash in one trip, but you probably didn’t need that much anyway! It is also way easier to get caught up if life happens and you skip a week (or several). Maybe you could keep a spread sheet with a count of items purchased as you get back into couponing? I bet you can have a reasonable stockpile in no time at all 🙂
Angela Andersen says
Karrie- thanks for sharing all of this and being human with us!!!!! I have lost some of the drive to coupon, but decided to make some changes and see if I can get some of the drive back. Instead of ordering papers, I have ordered clipped coupons and only get the ones I really want. Then it isn’t so much work to go through all of them!!!!!! I’ve only been shopping at one store when I go. The last time I did this I saved $30-$40. It isn’t as exciting as a “get everything free but go through the checkout 10 times” shopping trip, but it was still awesome to spend $30-$40 less!!! One of the reasons I quit is the frustration of people clearing the shelves. I didn’t like my efforts ending in wasted time and no loot.
Well, thanks again for the blog 🙂 We are all grateful to you for keeping it on. Even if your couponing is on hold. We appreciate your wisdom, ideas, and fun articles 🙂 I am inspired to take up once a month cooking again because of your recent blog. My kids and I are making over 50 meals this week and are using some of your recipes! Thanks, Karrie 🙂
Mary says
First I want to say thank you thank you thank you, for ur blog. This is my number one source for couponing. I have been doing it for almost 2 yrs now and I’m not sure if im doing it wrong, but I
Never seem to have too much of anything. I guess that’s because I tend to stop buying once I have a good amount. Then things start to run low and I add more. I wish I had more especially since my husband only gets paid once a month, and there are defiantly times when I’m glad I have stuff on hand. Keep up the great work. On a side note I have noticed several times lattley when doing doublers the post don’t seem to match my store prices, and I never seem to have the right coupons. I shop at the lee albertsons, and always get 6 papers each week. It’s not a huge concern, because I always find my own deals, and actually enjoy this more. However I just thought I would mention it, curiouse if anyone else has had this issue or if it’s just me;) well thanks again
Karrie says
You are so welcome, glad you like my blog and the deals. Yep, we are working on getting the doubler deals right, we have a new assistant and working on getting her trained. Thanks for your patience, it will be back to being amazing soon!
Heidi says
DEBBIE—-a local one is West Coast Coupon Clipping. She is in Pasco. You can buy how many you want. And pick them up or sent in mail.
Heidi says
I have not quit. Just slowed down. I too do not shop on Sundays. I hate that Albertsons quit handing out the doublers. It’s not a real money saver to buy more Sun. papers for them. I used to drive all over tri cities to each Walgreens or Rite Aid to get the awesome deals. Sometimes just wasting gas and time only to find an empty shelf. Or end up getting waaaayy too much body wash that I haven’t even used one of them yet. I just had to get it because it was free. (with register reward of course) I am just tired of doing that. I still look at your blog everyday. I am just more picky about what deals I do now. Now that my son is lactose intolerant, I will have to use my coupon savings to buy the higher priced food that he needs. Thank you for still doing the blog!!!
Karrie says
So glad you still read the deals and haven’t quit even though it’s tough sometimes. And I totally get it about the body wash, sadly I think that is one of the things I still have 3 bottles of left, as there are only 2 guys in the house that use it. Maybe start using it as shower/tub cleaner? It degreases like nobodys business…. 🙂
Lacey says
I am right with you my stockpile is depleting but I have no newspaper no coupons. I try to go through blogs but I feel the things that I use aren’t on good deal like last year. Does anyone feels the same? I haven’t used coupons in months now . I feel as if its hard to get deals plus every store is going through coupon change policies or rewards program change. I am not sure what to do.
Karrie says
I have been posting the deals this past 3-4 years now, and I definately have seen a decline in the amount of hot deals you can get. If you are able to get a kajillion doublers you can come home with a lot of goods, but if not it’s not as easy to get stocked up on things. I think though that if you can still try to get even a few of each item at those rock bottom prices, you will still see a drop in how much you are spending. Join me, lets do this!
Debbie Touchette says
Can you name some local people who have a coupon clipping service. This is something I would like to try so I only have to buy coupons for items I want.
Karrie says
Westcoastcouponclipping.com is a great place for a clipping coupon service.
Rachelle Benson says
This past summer hit hard. Two graduations in mid June began the train wreck… MIL with a heart attack and then a GI bleed taking us out of town for weeks. ( three to be exact) Come back to find the garden awry ( there goes canning for the year… I am truly bummed, we worked hard all spring to get it in… the whole acre!!!), and then two weddings to process before mid Sept ( Its now July). DH had been out of work with a back injusry since Dec of 2011… and time management was in transitiion. To update…. both older daughters are married and in thier own apartments… and ‘stocked’ thanks to our couponing. Right after second wedding my Dad has a bout of pnemonia that almost killed him so we were out of town again for ANOTHER week. THANK goodness for stockliles to feed the teenage son while we were gone. Dh is recovering from back surgery ( last week ) again out of town again for a week…. and we are presently living in our travel trailer while we put in a new home on the property. Let’s just say I truly appreciate the concept of stockpiling and once the ‘new house’s is in by early Nov… I will once again take to couponing… I ‘like” having 70+ boxes of cereal and more razors than I know what to do with… and its been a ‘godsend’ to get us though this past year… It was a great experiment to see exactly how long the laundry soap would hold out,and the cereal, and all the other ammenities that we had backlogged that are finally depleted. Its time to ‘restock’ so we can take a break again later if need be… 🙂 We can do this… one baby step at a time… have you seen my shoes??? Or did I pack them????
Karrie says
Wow Rachelle, you have been through a LOT! It is really nice to have that stockpile for sure, I do miss it terribly. So funny about your shoes..ha ha! Thanks for the boost, yes we CAN do it!
Melissa says
I’ve coupons for as long as I remember (even clipping from my mom as a kid!). Right now I’m in a season of my life that it’s really hard for me to coupon. I do still a little, but I shop at Winco and Rite Aid and that is about it. I occasionally will go to Walmart and price match, but I just don’t have the time or energy to run around trying to get all the deals. I also won’t just get something because it’s free. If I’m not going to use it, I won’t even consider getting it.
Karrie says
I got to that stage before I quit too, that I was really choosy with my couponing. I liked it that way, because it showed that I had control.
Leah L says
Your blog is the reason why I started couponing!!! Thank you for keeping you blog so I can continue to learn and find deals. There are weeks when I dont clip one coupon and my inserts get all stacked up, then my mom came and saved the day, she clipped and sorted all the coupons! Thank heavens for my mom to give me a boost back into couponing! You have my number, I would LOVE to go shopping with you!
Karrie says
Heck yeah Leah…once I get my coupon mojo back we should totally get together. 😉
vero says
I am with u all. I accidently threw my coupon holder oops., I just felt overwhelmed to begin a new one. I have now ordered from local clipping service so I don’t take much of my time and serves that I pick only what I want. I am also eating more healthy and there are organic coupons coming out 2n
Melissa says
I don’t shop on Sundays either, which does put me at a disadvantage, especially with Albertsons doublers. I almost never shop at Albertsons anymore. It’s just not worth the time to clip all the coupons & then get to the store & find the shelves cleared. It’s time I should be spending with my kids. So now I just shop Rite Aid once a week. I’m still saving money, but I’m not wasting so much time–which is worth something, too.
Karrie says
Yes Melissa, time is so precious. Its great you picked one store to focus on. We should celebrate our success whenever we save.
Christy Bartlett says
I am right there with you! I stopped because I was erring my house ready to sell and the money saved wasn’t worth the time. It would have cost more than I saved to hire someone to do the work. I am trying to get back into it and am finding that it is a long process!! I almost feel like I am starting out all over again! It will be a lot f work to get going again but I am ready!
Karrie says
I feel the same way, it’s like starting all over again. Also I am sure many of the coupon policies will be changed a bit, so we will have to remember that. Thanks for your comment!
Connie says
Another idea is to purchase coupons from a coupon clipping service. You know the products you are most likely to purchase for your family. What is likely going to be free or a terrific price. There are local clipping services that can get you coupons in just a couple of days, plenty of time to scope out the sales, order the coupons and get the products mid-week when the shelves are restocked. If you miss that, grab a rain check and shop a week or two later. Less time clipping and more time with family is well worth the extra pennies.
Karrie says
Yes, I love Westcoastcouponclipping.com – and use them too! great suggestion.
Tawnya says
Thanks so much for posting this. I am in the same boat. Along with a nice family summer also came the dr telling me I had to change everything about the way we eat. I gave up because it all seems so processed. HOWEVER… I forgot the rule of saving. Save on razor’s so I can buy more expensive and healthy options. Save on toothbrushes so I can afford organic produce. I had forgotten about the long run goals of saving. I’m simply startig with buying my papers and even if all i’m getting is an 6 items a week as long as there on sale i’ll consider it a victory. Good luck to you!!
Karrie says
Tawnya, I totally understand that about the processed foods, it can really make it easy to want to stop couponing when you have to change your diet like that. But yeah, the toiletries savings are awesome. I can’t wait to have my drawers all full of them again. Thanks for your encouragement and hope you join me with starting over!
Cheryl says
ME TOO Karrie!!! BUT, I quit blogging too. 😮 Yikes…..
Karrie says
I had considered quitting my blog too, but I figured even if I wasn’t doing the deals on a regular basis I wanted to get back to it someday. Plus I figured that my blog was hopefully helping those that did want to save their family money. It still continues to feel good to help others out so that’s why I kept it going.