2 Months

One step in the evolution of my coupon holders

It's been about 2 months since I stepped up my coupon game.  In the beginning, I was constantly looking for sales, coupons and deals and going after as many as I could.  Sometimes I'd go to several stores, days in a row, and probably did a little too much.  I've heard this is normal in the beginning.

My coupon holder went from a little handheld thing to a Longaberger basket to a plastic bin to a Vera Bradley lunch tote.  I've now figured out a way to keep all my coupons handy and easy to find when I go to the store - have a secondary coupon holder in the car.  No binders for me!

These last couple of weeks I've finally seen what I've heard about - coupon cycles.  Some of the flyers seem to be near repeats from a few weeks ago.  Ho-hum, clip 'em and save 'em and hope for a deal.  I've also accumulated enough in my pantry that we can eat from it without having to run out to the store for stuff.  It does mean we plan our meals differently - by what we have on hand instead of what recipes we want to make.

I can wing it now in a store, if I just run in to kill some time waiting for hubby.  I can recognize deals and know which ones I have coupons for, what are steals and what are duds.  There are still many items and deals I'm discovering along the way.  My focus used to be so narrow that I didn't see the other brands and items on the shelves.  For example, I've never heard of the Lindsey brand, but there it is - in the olive section.  And with coupons, I can get a can of olives for about $ .30.

No longer do I run to the store for every "hot deal."  I may already have enough on hand or can wait until the next one that comes along.  My spending has also dropped a bit.  This week I've spent about $25 after a trip to Target, Walgreens and Walmart.  I have a couple more trips planned because we need cheese and I want to bring my MIL couponing, but I don't think I'll get to our weekly budgeted amount of $50.

I'm settling into a little rhythm, though is a bit more harmonizing to figure out.  I may even be ready to take on CVS or Rainbow soon and move onto more stores.