Creative Coupon Clipping

With school starting soon, I know school supplies is a big issue for families right now. My friend Tawra offers some great reader comments and advice on her blog, Tawra's Tightwad Tips, Tawra is the person behind one of my favorite simple living sites, Living On a Dime. I interviewed Tawra for an article on simple living for Focus on the Family. Tawra is not only a great person, but she is an inspiration to me on my simple living crusade.

Special note: The Walgreens in my area has phenomenal coupons for 9 cent items. That's right! I said 9 cents! Pencils, folders and other school supplies are on sale with the coupon.

Coupons are an integral tool to save some much needed cash. But, I found out that there are rules and techniques that you must adhere to or your money-saving potential flies out the window right along with your cash.

First, don't buy something just because you have a coupon for it. If you family never eats tuna fish, yet you stocked up and bought 15 cans at a great price, what is the benefit here? (Besides being able to donate it to a food pantry.) If you fall into this trap with perishable goods, then all you have is a decaying mess in your cabinet. Stick to the things you and your family like to eat. That is where the savings count.

Second, be careful with the "buy one, get one free" campaign. This is often a great bargain, but on occasion the price of the item may have been increased to accommodate the sale. For example, I saw those wonderful and ever-useful grill lighters at a local supermarket marked as "buy one, get one free." The price: $3. Good deal? Not if you go to the dollar store where they are $1 each. Watch the original prices of merchandise. How much are the lighters when they are not on sale? A bargain is not always a bargain.

Third, I know for me, buying a newspaper turned out to be a total waste of cash. I never get around to reading it no matter my best intentions, and all I do is clip some coupons out of it. More often than not, the money I would save from my creative coupon clipping did not even cover the price of the newspaper. So, guess what? I spent more in the end in an attempt to save. My mother's friend solved this problem for me. She loves to get the newspaper, so when she clips coupons, she keeps an eye out for items she thinks we will like. She is so wonderful. She brings me soy milk coupons, veggie burger coupons, and all the dog food and cat food coupons she can find. This way, the coupons are being put to good use, my family saves some money and my mom's friend gets the total use out of her Sunday newspaper. A win-win situation. If you have friends who would like to join you on your quest for simple living, form a Coupon Exchange. It's a fun way to get together over coffee and danish (bought with a coupon of course) and trade coupons before they expire.

Fourth, I've never seen this anywhere but at my small-town library (I love living in a small town.), but they have a coupon basket at the front door as their Coupon Exchange. I always grab coupons for disinfecting wipes when I'm there and leave behind any coupons that I received from friends that I don't feel I'll get around to using.

I hope this creative coupon clipping tips help you on your way to Simple Living, Christian Style. Saty tuned for tips and tricks to keep your life simpler and your cash where it belongs--safely in your pocket.

Take care and God bless!

DMM :O)