Lately, it seems as if my daughter is quite the sponge when it comes to us talking about things at the house…… just a few short weeks ago, she was telling me that she needed empty boxes of "food" for her school – they had a lesson "grocery store" coming 
up.
GREAT! I totally felt like a hero mom that week…… this is perfect! I have PLENTY! Ta -dahhh! Finaly something I can partake in!
The teacher asked parents to bring coupons too…well gosh! That’s even better! I have TONS! So I loaded Gwen up and sent her off to school – with boxes & coupons – the whole shebang.
On the way there, she says "mom, you’re my mom but you find deals that’s why you blog. I call you my blogger mommy." —> WOW…big words for a four year old!! I said "Yes baby…do you love coupons too?"
“I do mom, and I’m going to tell everyone at school they save money. And when we save money we can buy things with our cash. And I’m going to buy a red Honda.”
Red Honda – ha! Funny stuff. A little later that day, I picked her up. The whole demeanor changed… it seemed as if "peer pressure" had gotten to her. She must have told people at school how coupons are important, and the kids told her that coupons were stupid, that they didn’t like them. She says to me, out of the blue in the car:
"Mom, all the kids said I’m stupid because we use coupons. But mom it’s ok. I still love you. They don’t like to save money mom. So I’m not going to talk about it anymore at school."
WOW…….amazing!
With that said, I have heard many stories from you all on things your kids have said – one of you (Monica) told me your little one calls coupons POOPONS….."I have a POOPON" — ha! Funny stuff.
I would love to hear some of your experiences with your kids – what are some of the things your kids have maybe said – or learned with this crazy obsession you have?
My little one has seen me “obsess” over the coupons. So now anytime we go to the store and she sees something she wants, she will tell me it’s on sale and it is only one dollar. It cracks me up. :-)
My 4 year old will ask for yogurt at the grocery store and will accept that I cant buy it because I dont have a coupon for it. He also tells his friends he cant play cuz he has to work on his coupon binder.
My 3-1/2 year old daughter loves to sit next to me and cut “coupons”. She clips pictures of things she would like to buy, and then asks me whether or not they are on sale this week! Sometimes, if I lament the fact that an item was not free, she’ll say “Oh mommy, that’s too bad. Maybe it will be next time.”
My six-year-old son (who is also a professional printable coupon cutter) was discussing the prospects of being married with all the other kiddos in our ‘van-pool’. He was having a hard time justifying being married until he came up with a brilliant idea…..”Mom! I could get married, and if I get a computer……I could just print COUPONS!!!”. His wedding is planned for this coming summer.
My 6 year old Grandson who goes shopping with me on occasion is a real chatterbox to anyone who will listen.. He tells the cashiers that his Grammy really saves alot of money using coupons. One time my bill came to $17.00 and he said ” Oh, Grammy, you didn’t do very good this time!” Even though I had over $100 of stuff, he was so used to me only spending a buck or two! I let him have the candy coupons sometimes when I know he will get it for freap. He gets so excited while checking out and seeing that he got it for pennies or for free and has to tell everyone what a deal he got and that his Grammy showed him how to coupon!
Cheryl, how delightful it is to hear your daughter loving what her mommy does/loves. There is no better training anywhere in the than when she is with you, modeling what you do. (not just talking coupons)
Standing up for what she believes in (even at 4!) is excellent character building and training.
What a little blessing you have!
Jen B. in Tucson
My daughter notices that I do the whole coupon thing, shes 3. One time I called to check up on her, and she was so excited on the phone because she had found a coupon for me at the store. This Saturday night, I was heading to get her Bambi of course with the ten dollar coupon, and I realied I had forgotten my cash, so I said We have to turn around I forgot cash, she must of thought I said coupon because she got really sad and said “Mommy, we can’t buy Bambi because you lost your coupon?”, it made me want to laugh, but she was literaly about to cry because she thought we couldnt buy Bambi since she thought I lost the coupon.
My kids are my little helpers…..they come home with the Sunday inserts and any other coupons from thier teachers at school and friends!! Seriously from thier friends…..that’s just amazing to me!! They get all excited about it….and I have even gotten my kids up to 16yrs asking for coupons from anything like gum to McDonalds…..love it!!
My kids are in school so they don’t shop with me a lot (thank heavens). Last week, using some excellent catalinas, the frozen food coupon, etc., I had an amazing trip to Fry’s — the kind you wait until you get to your car to give a victory yell. When I got home I made my 14-year-old and 11-year-old line up all the groceries I bought and told them I’d give them a dollar if they could guess within $1 how much I spent (under $4). Even knowing how much I usually save, they were both way over. I told them this was why they saw me printing, clipping, buying three boxes at a time, etc. Since they are the ones devouring it, I need them to understand why certain things are in our pantry, or not.
my kids call me “El Cheapo” as a term of endearment! LOL They also understand now that if I don’t have a coupon for it, they don’t get it. They have an amazing interest in what coupons there are each week now! LOL
haha!! I LOVE IT! So does my father in law – calls me that too! LOL!!
My 2 1/2 daughter suddenly flew into a nasty temper tantum complete with super loud screaming and crying when she saw the Walgreens ad fly out of my cart on that super windy day earlier this week. She kept yelling for me to go get it and then cried even louder when she saw it blow up into a nearby tree. She continued crying for the next 10 miles and when she finally calmed down I asked her why she was so upset about my paper blowing away. She said it was because my coupons blew away and she thought I would be so sad.
In typical teen fashion my 2 boys call me ” The Crazy Coupon Lady”. The oldest (19) asks how many boxes of cereal do we need, and he is the first to ask how much I saved when I get home from the grocery store. My youngest (16) says he likes to watch me “coupon” at the store. That is watch the coupons being deducted lol! Both love that I can afford to put gas in their vehicles!
My 21 year old comes home to shop in moms stash closet. My 19 year old sons girlfriend called me the other day to tell me he wouldnt buy something at the store because he knew his mom had a coupon for it and could gte it cheaper. We actually shop together now. My younger daughter voluntered me for the bake sale..Just the buy the stuff so they could make more money. Her home ec teacher and all the teenagers were blown away by how little of money it took and they now help look for coupons for me. And to think they all use to be snobs..lol
HA!! I actually have a friend named “Bev” and her kids (and their friends) call her closet of stockpile “BEVMART” – cracks me up!
My 4 yr old asked me today if we could go to the store and look for a good deal so she could get some more vitamins. When we are in the store and she sees something she wants, she asks me if its on sale and if I have a coupon for it. I love that she is growing up learning that she can’t have everything whenever she wants it and that the time to buy something is when it is on sale and there is a coupon!
My “little girl” is now 24 and I have taught her well. She shops at thrift stores and immediately goes to the clearance rack at clothing stores and the clearance areas at department and grocery stores. She and her boyfriend were going out to eat with friends – where are we going? – she immediately went to restaurant.com and proceeded to puchase and print out a certificate to use. She also gets comments from friends about “why are you bothering with coupons … it’s so lame?”. She informs them that what I save here I can spend on something else and has actually turned some of them over to our side!
My little guy (6) went to the U of A basketball game and they were handing out plastic cards for Jiffy Lube Oil change discounts. He was so excited that he put it in his pocket to bring home to me. When he got home he told me “Mommy, I got my own coupon!”
I began couponing in July 2010. I started stockpilling and had to find space for my new found treasures. As I cleaned out a closet (games and stuff) to make room, I told my son we were making our own “store.” As I finished the ‘store’, I wanted to share with my son – I was so proud of my stash!
ME: So…what do you think of our “store”?
SON: Wow, Mom…it is almost perfect.
ME: Almost??? What would make it pefect?
SON: We need a blinkie thing!
One of my proudest moments…LOL
Kim
iheartcoupons.blogspot.com