5 Reasons We Gave Up Using Coupons

 

Clipping coupons is a lot of work. And I’ll be honest and say to some, bringing home $127 in groceries for just $.25 is impressive to most. 

The truth is.. using coupons is not always feasible.  Do people still have trips like that? I don’t know if they do.

Many of you found this blog by searching for help on how to use coupons. You have been following the weekly grocery store lists every week – in addition to the Weekly Price List which is more of a reference if you need to stock up on produce and milk, meat too.

When I first took the transition of working FULL time to staying at home with the kids, I spent a LOT of time checking out various blogs online. One of the common themes was that they were ALL heavily into coupons.

People would showcase their trips that were mere pennies and come home with bags and bags of food and personal care items.  Many times items would be completely free. This .. obviously, was fascinating to many.

I DID read several coupons ites, and I DID do many shopping trips – I can’t say I ever bought more than 2-3 newspapers, but I did have a fairly nice stockpile of items.  We started this blog ON Coupons – how much things have changed!

I even blogged many of those trips – and I have put together really nice gift baskets every for family members that include couponed items.

Did I coupon for those all year? Nope. I sure didn’t.  I waited until around Nov. 1, then picked up items that were free just to make baskets. We had a few ‘great’ deals at Fry’s that were in a 2-week period so I basically grabbed those deals and called it a day.

Over the last year, many of you have asked me to share my grocery trips and my couponing videos here on the blog – I haven’t done that. In fact .. I hate to say it but it won’t be happening.   

So what changed? 

The coupon policies at several stores changed drastically a few years ago – they went from coupons to $1.00, to doubles, then to face value.

Limits per imposed, and then slowly it seemed like coupons were losing steam – although occasionally we will get a few great ones, most of them require you to jump through hoops to redeem (ie. Cartwheel, Target Coupon, Manufacturer, all for something I really don’t want to feed my family). 

And if you want my honesty, hauling 4 kids to the store to find empty shelves, for items I later saw for sale on yard sale sites just made the trip to the store pointless. Because in the end, that was TIME I spent = and time for me is money.  When I had one child, trips were easy. With 4? Not so much. Leaving them with Dad?  Just not going to happen! (I’m just being HONEST – he’s GREAT with them but they are mischievous!)

There is NO doubt that couponing was ONE way we were able to cut back our budget – combined with a better approach to our finances, and a spouse that was gone for over 18 months to Military School, then an additional year deployed to Iraq, we were able to refocus – pay off our student loans, pay off ALL consumer debt, and regain control of our money. 

After that, we shifted our focus to eating better – thanks to several close friends that supported our endeavors, we slowly got rid of processed items; we took control of our health in the form of self care versus prescriptions, and we made strides to save more – not just in our emergency fund but also towards college funds for our children. 

We learned how to say “NO” to ourselves on more than many occasions – and as a result, found ourselves with new goals. It’s amazing how much your wellness, and finances play in your well-being. SUCH a huge part!

So why haven’t we been clipping for a while?   

Obviously we DO love to save money – but we have always said that coupons are just ONE way to save. They aren’t the only way to save – and understandably there are MANY ways to save on food besides using coupons. 

Coupons are GREAT – if you actually eat and use the items they are for. Do I get excited to see cheap Kids cereal and Little Debbie Snacks? Not really – it doesn’t motivate me.

It takes a lot to motivate me in terms of a deal, and perhaps that’s why you will not see me screaming from rooftops with some of the deals we have – sometimes I don’t feel like they are the best value over all. Value extends far beyond monetary amounts – value extends to the actual PRODUCT, the company itself, and the value it has on you long term.

Does that mean we won’t post deals & matchups? We will… but you won’t be seeing me piling up Oreos and Doritos… or Soda, from my next trip.    Love Oreos?  You might find a deal on them in the matchups on the blog – we will still continue to work hard every week and have the matchups for you so you can clip & shop.  We still watch sales and keep ourselves in the know so that we can pass some of the best deals on to you each week.

We respect those that love to coupon … there are a few of you who still do!  But this last year we have seen and heard from all too many of you through emails and comments that you haven’t clipped OR touched a coupon in a LONG time.  Many of you have seen this blog shift focus and you love it. 

Here are FIVE reasons we slowed back our couponing and haven’t been clipping.   Many of you MAY be able to relate.  

1. Nutrition

Once coupon policies started to change, and with each child we had, I read more and more natural food blogs and medical journals. Believe it or not, I don’t read any deal blogs (ANY…..) because there isn’t ONE that interests me in the least.  

We slowly started making strides to learn about where our food comes from – we saw the correlation between coupons and subsidized food, and after reading and watching many documentaries, over time shopping for those sale ads became less and less necessary.

It did not take me long to realize that natural food blogs and nutrition did NOT correlate to coupon deals – not a bit.  

Although to many, coming home with all that food for mere pennies is a pretty radical accomplishment, those items aren’t something I need or want in my pantry because it simply isn’t really GOOD food.   And while you can get coupons for natural foods (every so often).. in most cases, those items are for packaged organic items that are usually more expensive to start with, or can be made cheaper at home.

Not always, but in most cases.

2.  Time

It’s not that my time is any more stretched than any of you, but I find that with 4 kids and working full time, it’s an incredible challenge to study sales (especially for things that really aren’t all that good for you), buy papers, clip, drive all 4 kids to the store and deal with a policy that has changed so drastically.

We don’t subscribe to the local local paper. In fact, while I do agree they have great inserts, they love to get sales, and they will go to great lengths to call you non-stop to get you to buy their paper. It just gets old.  

And while I can drive to the 99 Only store on a Sunday, right now my time is spent getting kids bathed and fed breakfast.   My 99 Only has some great deals – occasionally. Organic food? Yes – but not consistently. I just can’t be driving 15-20 minutes to “check” to see if they have Organic salad when I can make ONE trip to Costco for Spinach or Greens and know it WILL be in stock. Priceless!

We shop 2 times a month at Costco, and their prices on Organic items are in most cases better than the regular stores, they always have stock, and don’t require clipping. Plus, with our big family, I can buy what I need without having to worry about empty shelves. 

I still believe that for many of you, shopping with coupons is a fabulous way to save money.  

We aren’t spending HUGE amounts of money on groceries, a little bit more when we were shopping regularly with coupons. The only difference is that I am bringing home better items.  And I’m not making a million trips, or throwing away stuff that expires. 

3. We participate in a local farm CSA

We do occasionally pick up organic produce at Costco, and if I spot a 3 lb bag of Apples for cheap at Sprouts I’ll pop in.. but we also participate in a local CSA … every week we bring home a huge pile of fresh fruits/vegetables which greatly reduces our need to go to the grocery store.

You can purchase a full or half share.  I think the best thing about a co-op is that I’m helping the local farmer and he’s helping me ~ i’m supporting someone who feels and understands the value of GOOD food. Not many do.

4. We support our local dairy {Drink Raw Milk}

We are blessed here in our area with a Dairy Farmer who believes strongly in producing good {raw} milk – and so once a week we make the trip pick up our Milk.  Unlike the  processed dairy in grocery stores (including Organic) .. we opt for Raw Organic Milk.  It’s a little higher in price but so worth the health benefits.

Although we realize it’s not something everyone may choose to do, we feel strongly in our choice and it’s important to support that Dairy Farm – because there aren’t too many who share the same values.

We know there are other families who believe in the same, beceause when we go there to get milk each week there are MANY others there too.. many of you are Moms of littles just like I am.

Combined with our CSA pick up every week, we rarely if ever step foot in the grocery store. What a GREAT feeling!

5.  We use other alternatives

This is such a broad statement, but it’s true – we simply don’t buy dryer sheets or laundry soap, we make our own.  We use homemade cleaning products that are cheaper and just as effective.

For the babies, we used cloth diapers and cloth wipes and it worked out great.  We also don’t buy disposable plates, plastic cups, napkins or even paper towels – for us it’s wasteful – so it’s not an expense we need to worry about.  

When it comes to personal care for our own family, we don’t buy shaving cream, hand soap, deodorant or shampoo with coupons – Castile soap works effectively, and we have our Essential Oils for our DIY personal care items. They work super.  

What do we use for medicine? We don’t buy over the counter items .. we have our Essential Oils for our wellness support and they work great.

Thankfully there are many ways to save money without using coupons – we wrote about those HERE on our last post.

In the end, the decision to use or not use coupons is a personal choice. You have to weigh the against all the other factors – your time, budget, your goals, perhaps your dietary needs.

Can you still save without them? You bet.  

Will you have shelves upon shelves of food? Probably not. But can you still feed your family well? Yes – in fact you can.  My kids eat well. 

But you know what we have discovered? It’s SO much less stressful when you don’t’ have to constantly run around to get deals. We can pick up some GREAT deals at Costco on Organic items, and I have FINALLY found some sanity!  

Does that mean we won’t be making Christmas Baskets like we have the last few years? No – we probably will. We will grab what we can, when it works for us – but we won’t be the one standing in line at the store transaction after transaction or making 3-4 trips that week just for personal items. Not going to happen!

We will still afford you the opportunity to save through grocery and drugstore deals on this site – so that in the end, you can be inspired to find your own ways to save for your family.. while at the same time being honest about what works and doesn’t work for us. Groceries are just one of MANY areas to trim your budget – not the only area.

If you find yourself upset because you think we aren’t here to help you save, then you are wrong – because we have no intent to discontinue matchups/deals – but I will say that our focus may be slightly different than other blogs.