Comments on: Can Coupons have an impact on your life? http://madamedeals.com/2009/10/29/can-coupons-have-an-impact-on-your-life/ Living Life Within the Budget Wed, 08 Sep 2010 13:06:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 By: Adrienne http://madamedeals.com/2009/10/29/can-coupons-have-an-impact-on-your-life/#comment-2751 Adrienne Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:38:30 +0000 http://madamedeals.com/?p=5988#comment-2751 My husband and I are just a two person household, but once I actually kept track of how much we were spending on food (including eating out) I was appalled! We were spending 500-600 per month on food, dog supplies (we have 3), and health / beauty supplies!!! I knew we were wasting a lot of money on convenience food (eating out) but I had no idea it was so substantial. After a string of medical issues in the last year adding to our pre-existing debt, our budget was strapped... our credit lines tapped... and then the local construction economy tanked and my hours were cut at work. I started couponing at the end of March. I started really slow. We decided that we would stop eating out unless there was a special reason (or someone else was paying). I remembered how my mom used to cut coupons when I was little and asked her to forward her now unused coupons to us since we didn't get the paper. I began following blogs and researching deals. By this summer, I had the hang of the system and we cut our food budget down to $50 / week... and then by mid-July we were only spending $25 / week on everything!!! Mid-September we made our very last credit card payment! Our CC debt was substantial, and it wasn't just couponing that helped dig us out... we have cut unneccesary expenses like cable, taken on moonlighting work, and sold most of our media collection... but clipping coupons and watching our food budget made a HUGE difference in what we were able to accomplish. I still haven't recouped my hours at work, but you would never know it from looking at our bank accounts. We have accumulated a very nice savings balance, and we no longer have to panic when concerned about "what-ifs". Just following CVS and Rite Aid deals have kept us from having to purchase health and beauty items! We are even putting together miscellaneous baskets for our family for Christmas with all of the free stuff we continue to accumulate. Yes, coupons can have a major impact on your life. I may not be able to get our budget down to $5 / week, but by starting small and continuing to re-evaluate our food budget... we have been amazed at what we have accomplished! My husband and I are just a two person household, but once I actually kept track of how much we were spending on food (including eating out) I was appalled! We were spending 500-600 per month on food, dog supplies (we have 3), and health / beauty supplies!!! I knew we were wasting a lot of money on convenience food (eating out) but I had no idea it was so substantial. After a string of medical issues in the last year adding to our pre-existing debt, our budget was strapped… our credit lines tapped… and then the local construction economy tanked and my hours were cut at work.

I started couponing at the end of March. I started really slow. We decided that we would stop eating out unless there was a special reason (or someone else was paying). I remembered how my mom used to cut coupons when I was little and asked her to forward her now unused coupons to us since we didn’t get the paper. I began following blogs and researching deals. By this summer, I had the hang of the system and we cut our food budget down to $50 / week… and then by mid-July we were only spending $25 / week on everything!!!

Mid-September we made our very last credit card payment!

Our CC debt was substantial, and it wasn’t just couponing that helped dig us out… we have cut unneccesary expenses like cable, taken on moonlighting work, and sold most of our media collection… but clipping coupons and watching our food budget made a HUGE difference in what we were able to accomplish.

I still haven’t recouped my hours at work, but you would never know it from looking at our bank accounts. We have accumulated a very nice savings balance, and we no longer have to panic when concerned about “what-ifs”. Just following CVS and Rite Aid deals have kept us from having to purchase health and beauty items! We are even putting together miscellaneous baskets for our family for Christmas with all of the free stuff we continue to accumulate.

Yes, coupons can have a major impact on your life. I may not be able to get our budget down to $5 / week, but by starting small and continuing to re-evaluate our food budget… we have been amazed at what we have accomplished!

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