...I Could Cry!" Mr. Pinch is at work, Princess Pinch is at Camp, Young Jedi Pinch is busy with his Wii Star Wars game and Puppy Pinch is at the spa getting her nails done. I just called Sleeping Beauty and she is unavailable. No...she's not sleeping! I forgot, she has a J-O-B this week. She is helping a friend out at his store. (I wonder if she gets a discount!!) Mr. Beauty is changing Baby Beauty's diapers today. Maybe I should go over to the Beauty house and have a cup of coffee with Mr. Beauty. Maybe not, the thought of a dirty diaper suddenly makes me want to gag.
So what's a girl to do! I could be organizing the stockpile of dirty laundry in the hamper. Nah, I'm not that bored! Nobody really needs clean underwear, do they?? I know what I'll do. I'll tell you a little bit about myself and how I started this whole coupon thing.
About four years ago, I was looking for ways to save money. I came across a coupon message board that made me curious...did these people really save that much money using coupons or were they exaggerating? I had used coupons before...feeling good if I saved $2 off my weekly grocery bill. Most of the time I would forget to take my coupons to the store or, if I did remember, the coupons were expired. I usually shopped every day for that day’s meal. You know the drill, go in the store for a few things but end up spending way too much money. But this message board got me inspired. I became on-line friends with one of the members. And she became my mentor. (We actually met in real life several months later...she is a really nice woman.)
Anyway, I started getting deals and shopping like they were shopping. Before this, I was spending over $150 a week for groceries for two people. And we were still eating out several times a week. Since I wanted to save money, I cut my grocery budget down to $100 a week and we only went out to eat once a week. Then I started major, heavy-duty couponing. The difference between the $100 and what I actually spent I put in a savings account. At first I was saving small amounts. Then I went full-steam. Soon I was saving $50 a week at the grocery stores and drug stores. I had sooooo much food and my stockpile of non-food things grew. Mr. Pinch and I decided we needed to buy a freezer for all the extra food I was getting with coupons. We never had so much food! And we had more money at the end of the month. We loved it.
This went on until the Spring of 2009. Then the bottom fell...Mr. Pinch’s job was almost nonexistent. No money coming in, but bills still needed to be paid. And we still had to eat.
We paid our bills with the money I had saved from coupons. Except for bread and milk, I didn’t even shop at the grocery store. Drug stores were out, too. I stopped buying newspapers for a while. We lived off our stockpile. I was grateful that I had saved the money and I was doubly grateful that I had stockpiled food.
Things are better now. Work has picked up. In November, I started buying the newspaper again to get the coupons and began to build my non-existent stockpile back up. In January, my good friend Sleeping Beauty started couponing with me. It is sooooo much more fun to shop with a friend. (SB was hesitant at first, but she has turned into a first-rate couponer and money-saving machine. She has made me proud.)
Here is another example of how couponing has helped the Pinch household...A couple of months ago, one of the kids got married. My in-laws, my oldest son and my grandchild arrived from out of town and stayed with Mr. Pinch, the two oldest Pinch grandchildren, my daughter and me. My sister-in-law, niece and nephew also came from out of town, but did not stay with us. My mom and my daughter’s friend were here a lot also. With that many people around, someone was always hungry. It felt good to not have to worry about feeding that many people for almost a week. I had everything here. I did make one special trip to the store to buy potatoes but that was it. One person forgot their shampoo...no problem, they shopped in my stockpile. My son forgot his razor and shaving cream...no problem. The youngest grandchild got a cold...I had something for him also.
The point I want to make is that if you are looking to save money, you should be using coupons. I have saved money...not just saved it at the grocery store, but physically saved the money. I have averaged a savings of 80% at the grocery stores and drug stores. That is amazing! We have more food than ever before. We have stopped eating out. Not only is it was too expensive, there is no need to eat out. We have what we need to eat right here at home.
If you are not using coupons, Sleeping Beauty and I can help you get started. Don’t be afraid of coupons...coupons are your friend and will put money back in your pocket. Just think of what you can do with the extra money...pay off bills, save for a vacation or just survive in this crummy economy. You have two choices with your money...give it to the store or give it to yourself. If you want to keep giving it to the store, so be it. If you want to keep your money, let us help you. After you take our classes, you will have the knowledge that you need to help you save by using coupons.
Okay, enough about me. Tell me about your first time...using coupons. I'm still bored and I DO NOT want to do laundry!
**Pinch**
No comments:
Post a Comment