Making a lifestyle change when shopping with coupons
Using coupons – even thinking about using coupons – can seem a little scary and even intimidating. If you take a step back and ask yourself WHY you want to use coupons – then you already have stepped up to the plate. My biggest reason for using coupons was because we took a huge pay-cut and didn’t have a choice but to find a way to make ends meet. Using coupons took us from spending $800 a month on groceries and household items for a family of 4 to about $300 for our family of 6. That freed up the money we lost and made it so we felt a sense of accomplishment in knowing we are using free toothpaste, hair care for $1 or less, etc.
It is also nice to think about all the things we having in our stockpile. We didn’t even have an extra tube of toothpaste before, we didn’t want to afford it! And now we have so much, we give it away like candy! lol. Once you answer the question of why, you will be able to have a level of determination which will lead to what kind of shopper you are.
The biggest part of using coupons is making a lifestyle change. You have to become more conscious of deals and saving money. Have the desire and want to be able to save that money in order to actually take the time to make it happen. It can be slow going at first while you are learning everything. I have only been doing for a few years myself, but I couldn’t go back to any other “way of life” if I tried, simply because we have made a lifestyle change, and it “hurts” to pay more for something when I know I can get it for cheaper.
Very rarely will I give into convenience over conscious and buy something full priced. And that is mostly because I don’t have a choice. Even now, my husband will call me before heading to the store to make sure anything we need isn’t on sale or that we can get a better price. It is just a lifestyle chance that has helped us be more aware of how much we are spending and lets us get better deals because of it.
Have you made a lifestyle change when it comes to your finances?
Other great Extreme Couponing Tips:
- When enough is enough
- Using Self Checkout when using coupons
- How to start couponing – Gathering and Organizing Coupons (Week 1)
- Figuring out how many coupons you need and the three types of shoppers (Week 2)
- Cashier Profiling
- Multiple Transactions
- How to save money on groceries when the sales aren’t good
- Shopping the Sales
- How to change the zip code on coupons.com
- How to Save money on ink when you print coupons
- How to Double Coupons at Stores
- Using a Price Point List to compare prices
- Do you “shop” or do you “buy” when Grocery Shopping?
- How many coupon inserts do you need?
- How much do you need to stockpile?
- How to get coupons on your mobile phone
- 10 Grocery Items you should NEVER pay full price for
- 7 important things to know about reading coupons
- What to do when your rewards (catalinas) don’t print
- Easy ways to cut your monthly out of pocket costs on bills and groceries
- How to save money when hosting a party, potluck, or barbeque
- Buying Multiple Newspapers
- Shopping at one store or multiple stores
- Calculating the best price to get the best deal
- 5 Simple Ways to Save Money on Clothes
- Keeping Track of your Printable Coupons
- Stacking Coupons
I am a benninger at couponing I would love to save more at the grocery store. I get the items on sale and I use the coupons but my grocery bill is still high. Can you help me save more money each month. I had watch the 2 women on the news and they only spent $1.34 at the grocery store. Please email me back with an response.
I started using coupons when our expenses went up and our income went down. (Big lifestyle change). I use to cut out everything but it was too overwhelming but now I just cut out what I really use.
Thank you for this article…. I really need to start using coupons!!!
Yes, you’re right! My life changed after I used coupons. I became more conscious of deals and saving money from that day! 🙂
Thank You for sharing your interesting article!