Welcome to Centsable Savings Stories and Struggles! This week we are featuring LIZZY’S LANGUAGE Story.
My family: According to my sister, being at our house is like being in a home with six children (we only have two). I’m not sure if I should be offended or reaffirmed that I do live in crazy place at times. I am a part-time stay at home mom. I work about 10 hours outside of my home and another 10 hours a week inside of my home. I have a three year old son and a 1 ½ year old daughter. My husband is a worship pastor so we are a very busy family! Working part time with a husband in the ministry causes our financial situation to be interesting at times. For me, saving money is not just about making our dollars stretch, but it is also about being a good steward of what God has given us.
My struggles: When it comes to clothes and shoes I’ve never had any trouble finding a good deal, but when it came to groceries and toiletries I guess I just never really put much thought to it. I have always planned out my meals each week. My routine was to plan my menu, and then go buy what I put on my list. Coupon clipping seemed so tedious and quite frankly “old” and “out of touch”. I never really wanted to be that kind of mom. You know, the kind with 8 kids trailing behind her in the grocery store, no makeup, grey sweats with a t-shirt on that she bought 10 years ago at Myrtle Beach, and a pile of coupons that she throws at the cashier making everyone behind her wait an extra 10 minutes. I was determined not to fall into this “stereotype”. I guess my “struggle” really was pride. Clipping coupons just wasn’t a part of the image I was going for as a young mom.
On my way: About five months ago a friend introduced me to CVS. I have to admit I was completely overwhelmed at first. I felt like I was stepping into a whole new world with a completely new language. What is this ECB, OOP, BOGO, business anyway? Who has time to figure this all out? The first couple of weeks I did CVS I lost money, spent hours trying to decipher the secret code, and became very frustrated. I started to get the idea behind the whole CVS thing, but that was all. I didn’t even want to try to penetrate the “secrets” of other stores. I continued with the whole meal plan; buy what’s on my list, and not even take a glance at the sale items. Little by little I got the hang of CVS, though.
Almost there: I really started getting into the whole world of coupon bloggers and money saving websites. I started to realize that the women doing this were just like me. They weren’t old, out of touch women. They had lives just like I did. I started reading blogs like never before, and I began to realize that there were great deals to be had! I started looking forward to Thursday because I knew the new ads for grocery stores would be coming out. I began planning my meals around the sales in the store fliers and matching my coupons to these sales. Even with all of this, there was an element that made this whole “coupon thing” even more fun: my sister. We started clipping coupons together on Sunday afternoons after church. We would make our CVS run and come back to our husbands with excitement over all the free stuff we were able to nab. We started calling each other throughout the week with deals we would find and money that we saved. It was a game for us. We were playing the stores, and winning! I highly encourage getting a coupon-buddy. It really is so much fun and a great bonding time for us.
My weekly plan: Plan, plan, plan, that’s really not me. I think it used to be, but somewhere between pushing out my first baby and cleaning up dried, stuck-to-the-floor Cheerios I lost the determination to plan. However, I am observant. I know what the deals are and what coupons I’ve got. I check the internet regularly to see what other moms are finding and I write them down. I go to CVS once a week and stock pile on our toiletry items. It has honestly been 5 months since I’ve spent a penny on anything that goes in my bathroom, shower, medicine cabinet, or cleaning closet! I probably visit a grocery store (usually Kroger) once or twice a week depending on what’s for sale. I very rarely buy anything without a coupon, and I stock up on meat when it’s on sale. The temptation is to stockpile when you’ve already got a stockpile. For example, I’ve got about 10 boxes of frozen vegetables in my freezer right now. Even though I know I can get a good deal at Wal-Mart on frozen vegetables I am going to with hold my temptation to go and get more. Even though it is a good deal it is still a small amount of money, and we don’t need it right now. Same is true for meat. If you stockpile every week on meat you are really not saving money. The trick is to stockpile when you find a really good deal and wait a little bit so that your stockpile can dwindle and then find another good deal down the road. I really do have fun with all of this. My husband thinks it’s great, and he’s so supportive of my money saving techniques. Do what works for you. Some women have tons of time to devote to this and all the power to them. If you don’t have tons of time, that’s okay, too. Every little bit helps–fifty cents here and there really does add up. Just do what you can and have fun.
Each week we feature a different shopper’s story. If you are interested in sharing your family’s story (successes and struggles alike!) contact Chrissy (centsable.chrissy[at]gmail.com). Non-bloggers welcome!!
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Now – time to share your great deals for the week!
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