You know, I've been reflecting on this whole money-saving by using coupons/shopping ads campaign I've been on, as well as the one where I'm using cash only for groceries.
Here are some conclusions I've come to:
1. There are a lot of coupons out there, yes. Besides healthy and beauty coupons however, most of the coupons are for junk, junk food, not the things that are so healthy for you. If you try to save money by making those sorts of purchases, you may add to your waistline or just not eat as healthy.
2. A lot of the weekly sales also follow those coupons are are the things that aren't so great for you.
3. It is easy to overspend, or almost overspend one's budget trying to shop sales and get good deals to stock up.
4. CVS can have some great sales with their register rewards but it takes some planning to get back into the store again and make a thoughtful and needed purchase with those earned bucks. Otherwise their prices seem high on others items. That takes some planning. I had a good situation a few weeks ago where I needed sunscreen, used $3.99 in RR on a $5.99 sale item, so only paid $2 plus tax. I had to really think about that purchase though, and as a working mom, that's tough.
5. I realized I had a lot of success this summer, when I had time off, but realistically, I only have time for one grocery store and 1-2 other stores during the week. I already typically do Target once a week also, so it leaves little else. I also had more time to menu plan this summer.
6. Lastly, I need to experiment, yes, to save money, but also be able to work within parameters that are reasonable and HELP me save time and money, not add more time/planning than I'm already doing.
On the cash only, 3-month trial, that's going pretty well. I have one more month to go. I've actually liked it, in that I've had cash too for those quick out-to-eat purchases and it has seemed quicker to pay that way too, with less to track in my budget.
What have you learned lately related to saving money?
Great conclusions. I also found that becoming obsessed with coupons was starting to take a lot of time...time to spend with family, time to be working, etc...just had to find a balance.
ReplyDeleteLove the cash only idea though...will have to get brave and try it one of these days.
Great conclusions! You gotta do what works for you! Not what works for everyone else. And you are totally right about the coupons and sales being for junk that you may not ever have considered purchasing until they went on sale. I'm still working the saving money approach out, but you have to be able to get to lots of stores. Everyone has to decide if it's time or money they need more (even if just a little). And for some, It's time. For others, it's money. Great job figuring it out so that you won't be swayed by others!
ReplyDeleteI forgot to say that I will miss you figuring this out with me! :)
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