With the lure of a new lifestyle ahead, I jumped into couponing head first, speeding out of the driveway the minute my son lay his head on the pillow.

I would spend entire evenings collecting my wares: egg noodles, Toy Story band-aids, and the Holy Grail of all: FREE {or nearly free} diapers!

As if floating on air, my grocery bags could not weigh me down when I returned from the hunt, high on my most frugal of finds. 

Emptying my bags onto the dining room table, hubs oohed and ahhed over my purchases, intently listening as I retold of my travels to faraway Walgreen’s locales and Albie’s aisles.

Then, I birthed another son.  And, 20 months later, a third.

Suddenly, my life was a blur.  I could barely get my boys through the grocery store without cracking open a box of Cheez-its, yet alone attempt using coupons.

Slowly, I stopped collecting inserts. 

Over time, my binder and I just, well, we lost touch.

We grew apart.

I was just not the person I once was.  And, I had three little people grappling for my attention. 

So, I threw in the towel and stopped couponing altogether.

My stockpile turned into nothing more than a…pile, of miscellaneous non-perishables. 

Looky here:

Stockpile that needs a makeover

My binder collected dust in the closet, where it now sits, bloated with outdated inserts.

See here:

Expired almost 6 months ago...oops.

I realized how bad things had gotten one day, when to my horror, I was forced to pay full price for cereal.

I knew things needed to change.  I had to get back to couponing, and fast.

The Tortoise & the Hare

In the race to save money, I had irresponsibly chosen the hare’s approach, sprinting from register to register, begging for multiple transactions.  At that pace, I quickly lost my motivation.

This Fall, I’m starting over with couponing.  And, this time, I’m Team Tortoise.  Slow and steady wins the race, er, at least cheap toilet paper. 

What changed, you ask?  Why now, you question?

With 2 boys soon to be in preschool {yes, I did hear the angels singing}, I’ll only have my Little Bubba to tote along to the store.  So, I’m planning to make couponing a part of my new weekly routine. 

I’m inviting you to join me as I journey back to my love of couponing, with a few new Team Tortoise guidelines.

• I will only shop at stores along my normal route.  Right now, that means Fred Meyer and Walgreens.  I usually make a mid-week trip to these stores anyhow, so now I’ll just be more intentional about couponing there, too!
• I will not let couponing prevent me from living my life.  In the past, I would forego doing fun things with my boys or miss out on entire evenings better spent with the hubs.  Not this time!  By making couponing a part of my weekly routine, I’ll be able to continue to do the things I enjoy. 
• I will not feel guilty for missing out on a deal.
• I will create a manageable and useable stockpile.  In my first few months as a couponer, I accumulated 14 tubes of toothpaste, 36 cans of Progresso soup and 10 bottles of Gillette men’s body wash for the hubs.  We ate the soup pretty quickly.  The other stuff?  Let’s just say we’re still working our way through it.

I’ll also create some goals for myself each month.  In September, I will:

•  Clean out the stockpile.  Donate any food I don’t want to the food pantry at church, or throw it out if it’s expired.
• Organize my coupons, binder, and folders.
• Subscribe to the Tacoma News Tribune.  Flipping through multiple copies of the paper while standing in the middle of Fred Meyer is no longer my idea of a good time.   
• {most importantly} Have fun!

I’ll be posting at the end of each month with my progress.  If you’ve fallen off the wagon with couponing, I’d love for you to join me!  Look for me on The Coupon Project Facebook wall for updates throughout the month.

::

What are your personal couponing guidelines and goals?

Have you ever lost your love for couponing?  What helped you rekindle your affections?

*****************************************

Keri is wifey to Mike and supermomma to 3 adorable boys and 2 weiner pups.  Her favorite things to find with coupons are free toothpaste, Quaker oatmeal, and chocolate.  Read more of her words at Pop Parables.

{ 43 comments }