Love Your Coupons - And Use Them!!

Being on a budget can suck. Not having money for something that you want, not being able to pick up that movie you've been wanting to watch for months, the dusty wardrobe. Yeah, sometimes it is no fun at all. But, I'm trying to be optimistic. And I've learned that a smart person on a budget can completely KICK BUTT!!!

I've learned a lot in the last couple of months. Specifically: ALWAYS LOOK FOR A BETTER DEAL. So, I always check and compare prices online before I go out.

I also scan all my coupons and check to see if something I want has a coupon available or a rebate.

For example: last weekend, I saved over $30.00 in coupons and rebates!! It was great. Most of my savings was at Walgreens, which I am starting to get the hang of, the next good savings was Target (I used coupons on items which also provided me with a $5.00 gift card), and the rest was on groceries. I couldn't believe it after I got home and did the math. And DH - he just sat there and stared at the receipts for like ten minutes.

I used to think that couponing was too time consuming, hard, and a waste of money. But guess what?!?!?! I was completely wrong. Being on a budget has all of a sudden opened up a lot of time for me to search, cut, compare and print. You can find coupons in your paper, in other people's papers, in coupon bins and through trains (groups that forward coupons), and even online. They are everywhere. You can even get them mailed to you directly from the manufacturer.

This evening I was looking for a specific coupon and decided to Google the item...and I found this website: http://www.powerofresolve.com/

It's pretty neat. I registered for the connecting website (http://www.homesolutionsnews.com/) and was able to print out coupons for $2.00 off any Veet product, $1.00 off 12 oz or larger of Lysol spray, $0.75 off jet dry dishwasher cleaner/rinse agent and a $4.00 off any Air Wick Freshmatic Mini Automatic Spray Starter Kit.

Last night, I was looking for some toiletries for DD (she's going away for the first time to her Nana's!!) and I found this: http://www.listerinekids.com/smart-rinse.jsp It's a link to a $1.00 off the Listerine Smart Rinse. Yay!!!

DH thinks I'm totally losing my mind because I get excited when I find coupons for something I like. Really, I think he should just hush...it's absolutely ridiculous that I do get excited about this stuff, but he should thank his lucky stars that I'm like this and not out running the credit cards into the ground.

Ahh...a few dollars saved, a few extra dollars for my debt snowball. It's a nice feeling knowing that I saved money. I hope you enjoy the feeling, too.

Have fun couponing!!