Boys and girls. Ladies and gentlemen. Friends and family. I have a confession.
I've been getting high.
You may be asking yourself what substance it was that took such a straight laced girl as myself down. Well, I'll tell you...
It's coupons (gasp).
You may have remembered in an earlier post that I mentioned Ryan and I were on a saving kick... We (and by we I mean ME and Ryan would agree) to be debt-free in three years. That means no consumer debt. As in, no more credit card payments, and no more car loans. Both (!) our car loans will be done in just under 3 years, leaving us at that point, hopefully, with just our mortgage and my student loans. Which are both reasonable, and I'd argue, perfectly acceptable according to most personal finance gurus. They are considered to be the only "positive" forms of debt because at some point they will both pay you back in a sense. We don't have a whooollleee lot of debt, but things build up over the years (especially with one of us in college for the past umpteen years) and we decided it'd be better to be free and clear.
So I figured my options were: make more, or spend less. I've worked as many as 3 jobs at once in the past. And I'd do it again if I had to. But I would really, really rather not. I'd done the "make more" bit and while it worked out ok, I wasn't really super happy doing it. (Read: I was exhausted and grumpy all the time). So I decided to spend less. The only real way to do this was either eat nothing but Top Ramen every night, or bite the bullet and learn about this whole "couponing" mumbo jumbo.
ADDICTED. It can be, at times, like legal stealing. Without the moral or legal implications. When you get a good deal, it's what I imagine getting high feels like. Giddy, excited and a little lightheaded. (Ok, I exaggerate a little) And I'm not even very good at it yet. YET. But I will be. I've only been at it for 2 weeks. The first week I got my feet wet with a few double coupons at Albertsons and a few manufacturer sales. I was interested, but not impressed. But then this week was much better. I got things for free, planned an entire meal for Ryan and I that cost a total of $1.50, and today at Target I saved $30 dollars on about $74 dollars worth of groceries and personal items (tampons, razors, etc.) I paid $44 dollars, plus got a $5 dollar giftcard to use on my next Target trip.
The one thing I'm having an issue with is the idea of "stockpiling." Avid couponers swear it's the only way to really be a successful couponer, but I'm not convinced I really have the space for that sort of thing. I was considering putting some shelves in the garage, which isn't really being used right now since Truth Remains has vacated it, and we don't park in there... I could even buy a stand alone freezer for out there... hmmm...
SO. In conclusion... I <3 coupons. Don't judge. And here's the most helpful websites I've been using:
http://www.frugallivingnw.com/
http://thekrazycouponlady.com/
I found both of these off a friend's facebook page. So, friend, if you're reading this... thanks and sorry I'm a creepy FB Stalker!! :)
ALSO! If you want to get your feet wet, here's my favorite coupon tip most people haven't seemed to catch on to: You can buy the Sunday paper, with all the inserts at the DOLLAR STORE. Making it half price instead of the $2 it normally is!! WooHoo!
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