You know the feeling. The burnout. The feeling of dread when you know you have to go to the store but realize you haven’t cut out your coupons yet. The anticipation of receiving your Sunday newspaper to get caught up on the news only to remember that along with the paper comes coupons that you are supposed to save, use and NOT just place in the recycle bin. The feeling of guilt after leaving the grocery store knowing you didn’t use any coupons. You are burnt out.
I’ve been couponing for 9+ years now. Through the years I’ve had periods of time where I’ve loved everything about couponing – I’ve loved the highs of getting awesome deals (that felt more like “steals”), overflowing stockpiles, and finding those amazing deals where you know you will never get a better one (I mean really, can you beat getting paid to take home toothpaste by CVS?). But along with those highs, I’ve also had some lows. The moments where exhaustion from parenting, working full-time and trying to maintain a home have overcome me and instead of shopping with coupons, I have skipped shopping entirely because I didn’t want to feel the self-imposed guilt from knowing I spent full price. I’ve also been so frustrated that Tampa, Florida no longer gets Red Plum inserts that I’ve wanted to kick, scream and throw a tantrum while at the same giving up on couponing entirely. The disappointment through the years as I’ve watched the cost of food rise and the value of coupons decrease. The highs are always fun. But the lows are always just as disappointing and frustrating.
Through my years running this blog, I’ve had countless friends give me excuses as to why they don’t coupon.
Some say “I only buy organic food.” (and then I look in their shopping cart and see non-organic ice cream, cake mix and chips…).
Others says “I don’t have the time.” (and then I see them commenting on Facebook all.day.long which leads me to think they do have time – they just use it on other endeavors.)
While others will say “I don’t know how to use coupons.” (and then I feel bad because it’s my job to help them learn how to use coupons and obviously, it’s my fault they are confused.)
But the truly honest will say “I hate couponing.” And to you, I want to tell you that it is OKAY for you to hate couponing.
If you are someone who experiences the highs and lows of couponing like me, when you get sick of couponing and find that it is more of a frustrating chore than an empowering endeavor, TAKE TIME OFF. Stop buying Sunday papers (Yep – I said that). Save your ink and computer paper and stop printing coupons. Go ahead and pay full price without paying attention to what is on sale for a couple weeks. And then, once you feel ready to start saving money again, ease back into couponing slowly. The world will not stop if you take time off from couponing.
If you are burnt out, examine how much time you spend couponing. You should not be spending hours and hours each week getting ready to shop. (Unless you are a frugal blogger like me in which case every minute of the day is spent looking at coupons and online deals 😉 )
When your grocery store’s sales flier comes out, flip through it and buy what’s on sale. If you need something that isn’t on sale and it’s urgent (i.e. bath tissue), buy it full price. (Yep – I said that too.) If you need something but have enough to last you a week or two, hold off paying full price and wait to see if it goes on sale. Then buy it.
Then, slowly integrate coupons back into your life. Start with printable coupons. I’ve found that within the past two years, 75% of the coupons I use are printables. Honestly, if I stopped buying the Sunday paper, I probably wouldn’t miss many deals (especially since I no longer get Red Plum inserts being that I live in Tampa).
I post high value coupons daily. Head HERE to bookmark my High Value Coupons page and once you are ready to start using coupons, follow this page. And once you are ready to buy what’s on sale, head HERE to see if I post your local grocery store’s coupon matchups. I try to do all of the hard work for you.
If you are saying “I hate couponing”, take time off to regroup. Once you are ready to start couponing again, it will be fun and you will once again be empowered as you save money that you can put towards debt, savings or luxury items. Couponing should be enjoyable. Not another job. Let’s be honest, we all have a lot of jobs already don’t we?
Have you taken a break from couponing? If so, why? Do you think you will get back into couponing? Share your thoughts – I would love to know that I’m not alone!
Thanks for coming to Addicted to Saving! Here’s a little bit about me so you can know who’s behind all these posts!
My name is Liza and I began my money-saving journey in the Spring of 2009 as a way to stretch a limited household income. I had lost my job and my hubby was self-employed. I launched Addicted to Saving in November of 2009 and it has grown by leaps and bounds. Since then, my hubby and I have struggled with the ups and downs of two failed adoptions and are now LOVING being parents to our little man Asher who we brought home from Ethiopia in August of 2013. I feel incredibly blessed to be able to help you save money. My goal is that you will have FUN and become empowered to save more and more money each week..
What an inspiring and completely true article. I felt exactly this way and ceased couponing all together for years even though I would save tons of money just because I felt it became a chore/job. I appreciate you taking the time to share all of your ideas and thoughts with us!! 2016 resolution is to get back into couponing and came back to your site to see some great deals. Because of YOU I bought the fit bit for $100 and a dyson vac for $200! I’ve been watching the dyson vac for YEARS, and could never bring myself to pay over $300 for a vac let alone over $400! Thank you Liz! Thank you!
Thank you so much for the comment Monica! First of all, my husband and I are constantly saying how getting ourselves a new vacuum for Christmas was the best present ever!! So I am so glad you got the $200 deal AND got the Fitbit! With couponing, I think I (and so many others) often have an all or nothing approach. We have to either put 100% effort into couponing or none at all. And that isn’t the case. Sometimes we need to take a step back to get refreshed and then get back into it again slowly. Hopefully you will get back into couponing, when the time is right, and begin to enjoy it again. Because it really is enjoyable — as long as we maintain perspective and continue to have fun with it. 🙂 Let me know if I can help you at all as you get back into couponing! Thanks again for the comment!
I do hate couponing more than I love it.. but then I get food for free and I feel a rush of accomplishment for helping my family financially! See I have 8 children and we live on 1 income, so even if I am tired of the couponing, it is a necessity for our family. My daughter once told me that she would rather have me coupon than go to work.
So thank you for all of your hard work. You really help families like ours stay afloat! I also thank you for introducing us to Zaycon foods, that has helped us tremendously!!
Thanks again from a fellow Floridian.
Melanie
Thank you so much for your comment Melanie! I’m in a similar boat as you. 🙂 Well, not quite – I just have one kiddo. But for us, couponing is a necessity. It is my “job” with this blog and also, we have a tight budget so I have to use coupons when I go shopping. It gets tiring and I do get burnt out so I’ve just recently learned I have to give myself time off. And then, like you said, once I get great deal I feel so empowered and energized to keep couponing. 🙂 You are very welcome for introducing you to Zaycon! I love them. Our freezer is always stocked with ground beef and chicken and I love not feeling “guilty” about the price I pay on their bulk meats.
Thank you so much for posting that! I too have ups and downs with couponing. If I have the time to do it, I love it! And it seems the more I coupon, the more deals I get. Especially at CVS which is my favorite store. But when life is hectic or I’m burnt out and need a break, I start to lose the desire to spend so much time on coupons. And then I would feel guilty about spending full price or even just buying something “on sale”. Heck, even just using one coupon for something instead of stacking seemed like I was cheating on myself. But with the help of my husband, I am realizing that this trade that I have learned, and with the help of you, it is okay to just buy things sometimes worry free of whether or not it is the best deal. I stress myself out MORE by monitoring prices on something that I just bought for two weeks to see if it goes lower and I can get money back. I’ve decided it’s not worth it anymore. No more looking back once I buy. And when I have the time and desire, I coupon my brains out! Lol I really love it. And I help teach people about it now. My motto is “I’ll never pay for toothpaste again”. I mean really, why would I??? Lol thank you so much for all that you do on this website. You probably don’t hear it enough from your followers, but you rock!!! Many blessings to you and your family this new year.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts and experiences Ann! I’m so glad you have learned that it is not worth it to stress out over prices or savings. In the end, if you are consistent using coupons, you will save bigtime – even if you miss out on the best deal here or there! And can I be upfront and tell you that we are on our very LAST TUBE OF TOOTHPASTE!! I may have to pay full price! eek! But the next free deal I find, you better believe I will be taking advantage of it 🙂 Blessing to you too! I’m so glad my blog helps you out!
Great post. I’ve recently started shopping at Aldi, and have noticed that some of their items are the close to the after coupon prices I used to stock up on. I’m a lot less stressed out about household shopping, and I know I can go somewhere and get a decent price, when I’ve run out or the sale cycle hasn’t synced for me yet.
Awesome! I especially love that you are less stressed out shopping there!
I love this article! Thank you for sharing….I do sometimes DREAD going grocery shopping these days. I don’t have the time/energy to do my match ups (even though it only takes me about an hour). But I can not bring my self to pay full price for things that I know I could get for cheap/free with coupons. So I don’t stock pile as much, I just get what I need that is on sale and hope the excitement comes back. I still save 50% on groceries…I just tend to run out of things that I used to stock pile. But I know it will come back!
I also agree with all of the excuses, I have tried to get my friends and family to coupon for years and I hear them all. I just want to say….I spent 1 hour couponing and 1 hour shopping and saved $90….how much do you make an hour? LOL
Thanks for all you do.
I’m pretty sure you wrote that about me. Lol While I occasionally use a few coupons here and there, I don’t use nearly as many as I used to. I was saving $50-$80 every grocery trip. But then like you said, food prices went up and coupon values went down. It got frustrating trying to save money. I work full time and own a photography business so it’s not always worth my time to clip a bunch of coupons. My local Market Basket here in NH has a damaged section that I can literally do a full shopping off of. Seriously it’s that good. And they always have a ton of day old breads and cakes. I save a ton of money there and I have a teenage boy and all of his friends who never lets the goodies go to waste. I actually have a couple of coupons from the 80’s that my mom gave me and they never expire. Weird thing is, I don’t wanna use them. I love the nostalgia of them. The fact that one of them is a $1.00 off a tube of Colgate toothpaste. With the basic kind, I could get it for free ! But I stored then away in my memories box. I used to have 2 full 5 tier shelfs of canned/boxed goods and household items and cleaning supplies. I’m down to one Shelf because the deals are so far and few between now. It’s sad because I love saving money ! I shop at thrift shops for my whole family. I calculated that I save on average over $1,000 a year by being frugal ! I’ve gotten a lot of great deals through your site and daily emails. I appreciate the fact that your doing a lot of the work for me ! Thank you for that and I hope you’ll continue doing this for as long as possible !