God has blessed me with this gift of couponing. It kind of sounds foolish saying that, but I have had a revelation and I really want to share it.
How many low income or homeless families do without things that we take for granted? Deodorant, toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, toilet paper....
In the last week I learned how to get floss for free and have 12 cents left over from the coupon towards another purchase. I also figured out how to get trial size deodorants for free. Toothbrushes for about 25 cents and toothpaste, trial size, for free......
Here's the deal... I don't need 80 packages of floss. But I have the ability to get 80 packages of floss for free. So I am in search of a ministry to give these things to the people who need them most desperately.
I'm not a shelf-clearer, greed will not overtake this God given talent! I am looking to give back to God through His people.
Now to find a ministry. =)
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I keep trying to get started with couponing but find it too time consuming and overwhelming. And the small amount of coupons that I don have are so unorganized that I don't know where a coupon is when I want it. Then it expires... Any thoughts on the baby steps of getting started?
ReplyDeleteSure thing!! I have been so blessed by this already!
ReplyDelete1. Get organized: get a binder to keep them in. A 3 ring binder. Many people get baseball card holders off of ebay to hold the coupons. They have 9 slots per side. I recently found them on ebay and got 5 packs of 5 (25 total pages that have 9 slots in each) for 10$. It's well worth it to be able to see them when I need them.
2. Recognize that you can't save overwhelming amounts overnight. Start small like with laundry detergent. I started with cereal. I got about a month's worth of cereal for less than a dollar a box.
3. Start collecting coupons, but don't spend a fortune doing it. Use small local cheaper papers and don't print online ones unless you absolutely know you will use it.
4. Combine Combine COmbine!!
Pick a store, so far Kroger and Tom Thumb work well for me. Look at the sales each week, especially the 10 for 10 and find corresponding coupons that match up. Today I got cheese for 79cents (regular price over 3$, they had a sale for 1.79 and I had a 1$ off coupon saved from a couple of weeks ago).
It takes patience and time to figure it out, but if you start with one essential item at a time, it becomes a lot less overwhelming. Plus, once you get into it, it is sooo totally worth it!!
Stockpiling: If you saw the show on TLC, they made it look like couponers are hoarders that would do anything to steal the deal. That's not reality. Stockpiling is not hoarding, I use everything I get, and donate other stuff to people who really need it. But stockpiling is the basis for why it works so well. If you get enough to last you until the next sale then you never have to pay full price for it. Sales come in cycles of 6 weeks-3 months. SO even if you don't get the deal right away, it will be back around eventually. If you "stock" up, like you would going to Costco or Sams club, then you can afford to wait until the next sale and save a ton of money doing it.
Hope that helps! I am so thankful to God for allowing me to partake in this amazing blessing!!!
Thanks, Trish! I like your idea of picking ONE item to start with, and one or two stores. I have started and failed so many times already. The baseball card holders is a great idea, and I might even have one around here...
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