Thanks to everyone who participated in the poll we had on our sidebar last week asking you how much you spend in a month on groceries for a family of 4. Most of you fall in the "More than $300 a month" range. A few of you are below that (way to go!) and I am sure some of you spend a lot more than that. Wherever you fall with your grocery budget, you may still be frustrated with how much you are spending and want to spend less. Over the next few days I want to give you some tools that will help you save money whatever your budget is. Keep your overall budget amount in mind and use these tools to help you cut $$$$ out of your budget.
1. Find your motivation
2. Couponing the right way for YOU
3. Saving money in little ways can add up1.
FIND YOUR MOTIVATION
Why are you working so hard couponing? And, ladies, it is hard work. You spend hours clipping and sorting. Not to mention the endless trips to multiple stores. Oh, and the time spent defending your new "hobby" to your husband...Here are just a few of the reasons people are couponing:
It is the newest "fad" and friends are doing it together
It is very fun to get great bargains (I call it retail therapy)
You want to save a little money so you have more to spend in other areas
You MUST spend less money because of job loss, lower salary, increased living expenses, etc.
All of these are great reasons to start or continue couponing. Whatever your motivation is, identify it and passionately commit to it. This will help you focus your time and energy on the long-term benefits of couponing and help you from being frustrated.
What is my motivation?
I have not taken up couponing as a new hobby (I am busy enough as it is...) I am blessed that my husband makes a good salary and we can live comfortably without needing to race to Albertson's as soon as double coupons are printed to get things for free.
My motivation is this:
"Live like no one else so that later you can live like no one else."
This may not make sense to anyone who has never heard of Dave Ramsey. But it basically means that I am willing to make sacrifices today so that my family can be enriched for years to come with financial security and the ability to help other people through our resources. Basically, I use every penny I save through couponing to pay off debt. My cars, student loans, eventually even my house. Couponing is part of my plan to be COMPLETELY debt-free. At the rate my husband and I are going, we should be debt-free in less than 10 years. Yep, this INCLUDES our home. I don't just rely on couponing to do this. If I did, I would be REALLY frustrated from time to time and feel like I wasn't really getting ahead. My husband and I focus on not just saving money, but also on finding new ways to earn money. I love the book The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey. It is a book that can help EVERYONE no matter your financial situation. Go buy it. Go visit http://www.daveramsey.com/. Who knows, you might just find your motivation. OK, now that you all know way too much personal information, I will get down off my (free with coupons) soapbox...
Because I know what my motivation is, I don't get too frustrated when the store is all out of a specific item I wanted at a bargain price. I don't feel like I have to buy 100 bottles of BBQ Sauce just because they are free. I know that deals will come around again, and sometimes they will be even better. I save money when I can on my groceries, but I keep focused on my long-term goals. This helps me from being frustrated.
What is your motivation? Leave a comment so all Discount Queens can read and learn from you.
In the next couple of days I will talk about two other ways to help keep the frustration away:"Couponing the right way for YOU" & "Saving money in little ways can add up"
4 comments:
I don't get frustrated either. I just try to save money on a few things at the grocery store so that I don't feel guilty when I splurge on bigger things. I get one Sunday paper and buy ONLY what I need/use. Although it is fun testing out new brands when the prices are low.
I don't get frusterated either...espcially since a friend taught me to special order.
I love to coupon, because it allows me to stay in my small budget easily! I feel like I'm "helping," finacially, my husband who works hard so I can stay home.
So, I save each week, stay in our budget, and some weeks even have some left over for something "fun!"
I took hubby couponing on our date last week....for those of you who haven't tried this yet....DO IT! So fun, and he got to share in the fun of SAVING! especially because he sees first hand his hard earned money being saved. It was a blast!
My main motivation is to see how little I can pay for my groceries - it's a game to me. But, I do get frustrated when I have gone to a couple stores, for an item I actually need, only to find that the shelves are bare. Or, when I go to the store and am told that some lady came in earlier and took all the ads, so there are no doublers to be had. Or, in the middle of the afternoon, when two ladies are tying up an entire checkstand with two full carts and LOTS of three item orders. I work two jobs (1 full, 1 part-time) and have limited time to shop/play. Greed and inconsiderate people are making things frustrating. I've been couponing/rebating for 25 years, just because its fun and occasionaly to have things on hand that I would never buy.
I have been couponing since i knew what a coupon was. I dont buy things i dont use and i dont buy a years supply. I give alot of things to someone close to me that is having a hard time with the ecomomy. Loss of hours and cuts in pay make it hard for a family they say they dont have time so i do it and work two jobs and i also get frustrated when in line and someone has 7 orders in front of me my time is limited so i am always in a hurry. I usually do no more than two orders when it comes to the doubles. I read this blog every day so thank you for the much appriciated information. I love being able to go in and know the deals so thank you again.
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