
I had the pleasure this morning of meeting with my friend Jenny at her weekly moms' group! What a great idea - each week, these ladies take an hour and a half out to chat over coffee while their kids play downstairs. They even arrange childcare to ensure they can truly enjoy themselves. From what I gather, every week they'll find a different topic to discuss. This week they wanted to talk coupons, so can you guess who they called?
I only had an hour because I got horribly lost (sorry ladies!), but you know what? I think I managed to encourage a few of them how to save money. Have you ever explained to a friend how to get started with couponing? After doing this a few times, I think I've come to understand the importance of FIRST starting with the bigger picture, and THEN drilling down to the "nitty gritty." (And yeah, I've converted more than a few people as a result of these talks!!) Here is a recap of what I shared with them today:
1. Frugality is about saving money and time. As a busy work-at-home mom, my time is valuable. I'm sure yours is, too. In doing a deal at the store, my goal isn't just about saving money. It's about saving time. So if I find a great deal on basic food or household items, it's worth it to me to spend an extra 15 minutes planning the trip if it means I will save myself extra trips at the store for those items in a month or two. This is also how the freezer cooking fits in. I don't mind investing a little time on the front-end if it means I save twice or thrice the amount of time at the back-end.
2. The majority of your savings will come from sales and store trends. I can't stress this one enough. So many people get hung up on having to use a coupon for everything. But actually, most of my savings just come from shopping store loss leaders or paying attention to what's on sale when. For instance, I've mentioned that Superbowl season is great for buying Mexican food ingredients, frozen items, chips, snacks, chili, and soup. The coupons work to make the savings sweeter.
3. Start simple. Find even one or two great deals a week to stock up on. Again, these may or may not involve coupons. That's OK! Even if I wouldn't have had a single coupon, I still would've participated in last week's Quaker sale at Albertsons, because I know that $1.40 for a 42-oz tub of old fashioned oatmeal is a GREAT price. Continue to buy the items you need doing the best you can. Shop at stores that are less expensive. Buy generic. Buy in the bulk bins. Use your head a little. And watch those unit prices!
4. Every family saves differently. One family might care about only buying grain-fed beef. That's OK, then save on your toilet paper so you can afford it. Another family may only want salon-brand shampoo. Fine, how about saving on rice and pasta? One family might just really have a lot of fun gathering all the "freebies" at the stores with coupons, while another family can only manage to hit one store per week. You know what? This is all OK! So long as you are making a meaningful dent in your budget and so long as you feel like you're bringing your household into balance is what matters. This is not a race; this is not a competition. Your grocery cart may look vastly different from the couponer's next to you.
5. Have fun! I firmly believe couponing should be fun and that far too many of us take this seriously. Sure, we can all perfect our "couponing skills," but if you save $10 at the store using coupons, great job! That's $10 that you would've spent otherwise. At the end of a year, that's $520! Be patient with yourself as you learn and enjoy the process. Share what you learn with friends and trade coupons, "freebies," and encourage one another along. Give what you can't use to friends, family, food pantries, and shelters. Be generous.
Even though I didn't get into all the specific details about couponing, I feel these gals "got" it today! So if you have someone you've been trying to explain couponing to, I encourage you to try this approach. Get them to understand the bigger picture of what you're trying to acheive with shopping sales, couponing, and stockpiling. THEN the details will start to make sense.
Good luck, ladies!
If you want to learn more about getting started, why not check out the tab I've aptly named "Getting Started?" You'll find my very best posts geared to helping you save money.