coupon-pile-question-markIt has come to my attention, after speaking to several moms and reading some blogs that some people do not “coupon correctly”.  What am I talking about?  I’m talking about spending money unnecessarily because “well, I have a coupon for that!” Is this you? I know it was me at one time!  “But I saved $13 at the grocery store this week! Of course, I spent about $30 more on items that I didn’t need…” hmmmm.  See the dilemma?

Let me be the first to tell you – I fell into that trap but it’s been quite a while ago that I realized that it’s not “saving” money if you’re spending more than you would WITHOUT the coupons.  The main factor for couponing to be a success is to ONLY buy things that you would normally buy OR get things for FREE or next to free. 

For example, I CVS.  And I love it.  I am completely and totally addicted to CVS-ing and I can’t get enough.  Yesterday I went to CVS and purchased $74.22 worth of stuff for $21.13.  The only reason I spent that much is because I didn’t have many Extra Care Bucks to use.  But I got everything that we needed using ECB’s, rolling them over into another transaction, and using tons of coupons.  I now don’t have to buy: Lucian’s shampoo for the next 6 months (1 big bottle lasts that kid 3 months or more I swear), Lucian soap, toothpaste, shaving gel, Snack potato chips, and more… and I won’t have to buy it for a while – more than 5 months.  So $21.13 (which includes makeup) for a 5 month supply of things we NEEDED averages to $4.23/month.  I would complain about that.

But, there are times where I go through my book of coupons (which I still have to take photos of this thing and instructions on how to get your very own!) and think “oh man.  I could absolutely use that!” but in reality - nah.  It’s not in the budget and it’s not what  I need.  Case in point – Sea Breeze Astringent.  It was at CVS for $4.99 in a 60% free bottle.  I had a $1 coupon and Extra Care Bucks. I have to use ProActiv because I break out. So is that a good buy?  Probably not.  Not to mention I didn’t get any ECB’s for buying (yuck).  So, clip all of the coupons that you can find and get a good stash.  But only use those coupons if: 1. you USE the product regularly. 2. You can get the product FREE or NEXT TO FREE (less than $.50). 3. It’s something that you’ve budgeted for and it’s going to be used. 

Couponing is not helpful if you spend more money to coupon.  It’s easy to fall into the mental trap of “but I have a coupon for it!” and end up digging yourself into a hole that you didn’t mean to do. 

Best of luck and HAVE FUN CLIPPING!

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