The ABC’s of Me

C

Coupons

About a year ago, I got hooked on TLC's show, Extreme Couponing.  I watched in awe as these people bought a thousand dollars worth of groceries for  pennies.  Daryl looked at me during one of the episodes and he said, "You know, we could do that."  And thus my coupon habit began.  I had tried using coupons before and always found that I could save more money shopping generic.  I was earning extra money that summer tutoring, so I decided to just coupon that summer and create a stockpile and see if I could save on our grocery budget during the school year.  We finished the summer with a small stockpile, mostly toothpaste, deoderant, shampoo, and feminie products.  I found that to be an extreme couponer you needed some basics that I just didn't have:  about 30-40 hours a week, a lot of extra space, and really...money.  In order to just shop sales and coupon deals, you have to already have your basics.

So....an extreme couponer, I am not.  But I DO love my coupons and my coupon binder.  I save about 30-40% at the store each trip.   I do manage to get things for pennies, but not in great quantities, as most stores have changed their policies due to this show.  And it is the one place that I can stay organized.  In fact, I even get a little excited, even anal, about it.

 So this summer, with my tutoring money, I'll be building up our stockpile again...and just a little  bit giddy about it!