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Why do you coupon?

HarrisFamily

HarrisFamily

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I am just going to ask it plain and simple "WHY DO YOU COUPON??"

I was sitting her trying to think of an exciting way of asking or what not but I just would like to know...

Why?
How long?


Thanks!
 
To survive..... June 2009... it's almost my anniversary... awwwww..... :congrats:
 
Come on 19 viewers and only 4 replies...

Am I being to nosey? LOL!

I started couponing back in Oct. 2009. I was invited to a neighbors in Sept. to cut coupons I wanted out of the multiple inserts she received from her family members that delivered the Chicago Trib. I did grab some coupons but never used them. "OUCH" that hurt to type... LOL! I decided to jump online one day and searching couponing in Illinois. That's where I found this wonderful forum!!!!!!!! I have not been the same since. I NEVER realized that you could use a piece of paper from the newspaper to get items for FREE!!! I now save TONS of $$$$$$$$$, I have given up smoking (an addiction I had for over 1/2 my life) and filled it with this AWESOME addiction of couponing. My pantry, closets, cabinets, garage, freezerS, fridgeS, and additional storage cabinets are FILLED TO THE RIM!!!! I am able to tell my children YES when they ask for items like new shoes, baseball items, clothing BECAUSE we now have extra money.

That is why I coupon to save $ and fulfill my need of being addicted to something... And YES to be able to tell my beautiful children YES instead of NO!
 
I have always have a thing for getting good/new things cheap. It started out a clothing when i was in my 20's working in retail , then I found out about gettiing jewerly at wholesale prices at the gem and jewerly shows. I just love doing this !
Plus money has been tight- I am working pt time and have 3 kids and pets so very penny counts! It pays for the tax :)
I really do enjoy the thrill of the hunt. It can be addictive. So even if I had of alot of money I would stll be doing this. I would have a very very large pantry and a few freezers!!! I would be able to give more away too plus maybe start a group showing others. since i woudl have more free time and less stress.
 
Started out of necessity.....dh's salary was cut in half. It has helped us survive the past year. Plus I totally get a high from it.....I used to get that from regular shopping but this is so much better!

Oh and congrats OP on quitting smoking....I know first hand how hard it can be!
 
HarrisFamily said:
Come on 19 viewers and only 4 replies...

Am I being to nosey? LOL!

I started couponing back in Oct. 2009. I was invited to a neighbors in Sept. to cut coupons I wanted out of the multiple inserts she received from her family members that delivered the Chicago Trib. I did grab some coupons but never used them. "OUCH" that hurt to type... LOL! I decided to jump online one day and searching couponing in Illinois. That's where I found this wonderful forum!!!!!!!! I have not been the same since. I NEVER realized that you could use a piece of paper from the newspaper to get items for FREE!!! I now save TONS of $$$$$$$$$, I have given up smoking (an addiction I had for over 1/2 my life) and filled it with this AWESOME addiction of couponing. My pantry, closets, cabinets, garage, freezerS, fridgeS, and additional storage cabinets are FILLED TO THE RIM!!!! I am able to tell my children YES when they ask for items like new shoes, baseball items, clothing BECAUSE we now have extra money.

That is why I coupon to save $ and fulfill my need of being addicted to something... And YES to be able to tell my beautiful children YES instead of NO!
Click to expand...
What a neat story!!! Great to be able to tell your kids YES!! I still just say no mostly- unless have it in my stock pile. Someday I may say YES
 
It saves my family a ton of money--it is one way that enables me to stay home with my kids--and I love being able to help others and do random acts of kindness when there are such fantastic sales
 
I've been doing it about 6 yrs now when I had my 1st son and realized how much kids are.
Grew up poor and had lots of genarics and ex husband was a brand name snob if you know what I mean
So I saw a show one night about a woman in western NY that rebates and thought wow she's good.
jumped on the computer and found out all I could.
I've gotten a system that works for me now and it's a cool hobby
I know it's weird when people ask "what do you do for fun" and I say shopping
But I enjoy this a ton, and its a hobby that takes the place of something I "have" to do anyway and makes it fun.
Right now is when I see how much it helps.
I stopped working single mom of two boys ( who eat like horses) and go to school full time and moved to a poorer part of california. I talk to other moms in the situation of just making it and think WOW i am lucky. I know how to work it so I can still put cash in the savings account at the end of the month.
 
I was looking for ways to save money. We really needed to. I was making my own laundry soap and hand soap. I even tried making dish soap - not good. We were eating pinto beans and hoe cakes and milk shakes without ice cream (oil). If someone needed deodorant I had to cross food off the list. I would grab straws when I could find them and then wash and reuse. So, with all this I was always reading anything I could that was about money. I read some article on MSN about saving money and AFC was mentioned. I checked out the site. Didn't get it at first, because, how could I possibly save money buying "regular stuff?" I ordered a CVS card after reading about it on AFC. I'd never set foot in CVS. I thought getting ecbs was great. Then Wags had bodywash FARR. I had no coupons, but got 4 bodywash. I never used bodywash before - too expensive. I was trying to find more Jewel deals on AFC and was given info on CW. I love buying stuff for my family that there is no way we could afford otherwise. It also makes me more mindful of getting the best price I can on everything. So far, this year, we have not yet had to touch our income tax return. We usually use that to live off of so that it is gone a few months before the new year. I'm a little sensitive when my relatives use the term addicted. We need this money; it's not just for fun. OK, so I do love the thrill too. Well, I think that's good. It would be miserable to do so much of something and not enjoy it. We made $650 on Saturday selling a small portion of our excess at a yard sale. My dh's relatives say, "Oh, now you can afford to come out here on vacation in June." Us, "Uuuuuhm, no, this is to help pay for books for our kids for school." So, it is not excess. This savings is needed and it helps us as we try to be more financially secure.
 
2kittens said:
What a neat story!!! Great to be able to tell your kids YES!! I still just say no mostly- unless have it in my stock pile. Someday I may say YES
Click to expand...


I don't give my children "anything or everything" but I use to have to tell my kids no to stuff they really should have had but we didn't have the money. That hurt!

Quick example:

The other day my DS6 coach said he really needed a new glove for baseball. Truly in the past we would have to wait till a payday to budget that in. My husband went and grabbed it that night with him and didn't even tell me about the convo or the glove till they got home. It made me SOOOOOO very happy in two ways, 1) we didn't need to wait for the payday 2) my husband didn't have to come to me to ask if we had the $. My husband makes decent money, he has worked his butt off since he was 18 at the same job moving up through the years. It hurt me so much for him the "bread maker" in our family to have to come to me to ask if he could get something for one of our kids. Now he knows we are ok and of course he can spend $25-50 on an item without asking. Yes I work too but he makes twice as much as I do and deserves it too!
 
I've always used coupons. I started using them the right way about 18 - 20 months ago. :) I started with SuperJill's site and then made my way over here. I do enjoy the rush of getting so much for so little, but I really started because we were having trouble adjusting to our new financial situation when I resigned my teaching position in order to stay home with the kids. We've now reached the point that we can not only pay the bills and feed the kids, but can also afford extras like T-Ball, dance classes and the occasional family vacation (coming in October...so excited!).

I too would continue to shop this way, even if I went back to working outside the home (currently run a home day care). I come from a long line of deal seekers, so now that I know how to do this, I can't even conceive of not shopping this way. :lol:
 
Because with pay cuts and DH working a second job we still could not afford food. Now we can. Still struggle with everything else but now we can eat. And food makes for less crabby kids, lol.
 
Couponing is allowing us to move into a very nice but more expensive apartment. The one we are in has mold issues and we HAVE to get out of here!

I'll go out of my way to do deals just for the food pantries or struggling family members, and it makes me happy. The time spent planning and shopping is a form of service. I would never be able to donate on this level if I had to pay full price. And we can still save money!

Don't want to leave out the security of having a full pantry. I feel much better about weathering any future storms when we have a large stockpile.
 
hsmomof6 said:
We made $650 on Saturday selling a small portion of our excess at a yard sale. My dh's relatives say, "Oh, now you can afford to come out here on vacation in June." Us, "Uuuuuhm, no, this is to help pay for books for our kids for school." So, it is not excess. This savings is needed and it helps us as we try to be more financially secure.
Click to expand...


OH MY THANK YOU FOR A WONDERFUL IDEA!!!!!! I was planning on having a small sale but HELLO your post reminded me that I have to pay the boys school fees by June 1st I think. What a great idea to use the $ I make toward that. Oh that's like lifting a ton of bricks off my shoulders, thank you! Now to get to work on getting the stuff ready!! My kids (all three of them) will be working to help me with this one!!!
 
I am a sahm mom now (after the birth of our 2nd child). As a sahm I thought it was my job to do the best I could in all areas. My hubby and I took a Dave Ramsey class and someone gave me this website and I am learning. We have so much, more than we ever have had. Stuff we have never had, brand names for free. I love being able to provide in this way.
I have been doing this since Jan 2010. It's like a shopping high.. We don't go to the mall or anything so buying "brand name" groceries gets it done for me! lol
 
Barb09 said:
The $2 off any paper item wt was the best thing in the world to me many years ago!!! Stocked up on paper plates, paper towels, napkins, envelopes, etc...
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I just ran out of my stockpile of the paper plate deal from 2 or 3 years ago...I remember my triplets were in preschool still and it was this time of year....I need another deal like that one!
 
cause I can't stop
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