Thank you Chameleon John for sponsoring this post. All opinions are my own.
When I was a beginning couponer, I didn’t mind spending hours each week preparing to shop with coupons. It was such a thrill to see how much I was saving compared with what I used to spend. I’ve been using coupons for about four years now, and I still love saving money whenever I’m shopping, whether its for groceries, clothing or at a restaurant. However, I am no longer okay with spending hours of my time preparing to buy groceries because even though saving money is great, it’s not worth wasting hours of time just to save $150 a month on groceries, when I could use that time to make money by listing items on ebay or making crafts for my Etsy shop. So I still use coupons, but I am conscious of how much time I’m spending. I’ve found several ways that I can coupon in a simple “non-extreme” way and still save money.
5 Ways To Save Money While Shopping – Without Extreme Couponing.
1. When grocery shopping, choose one store to go to that week and find a coupon match up for that week on a blog. Many blogs will highlight the “hottest” deals or items that work out to being free, so you can’t tell at a glance which items are the best deals. No shopping at multiple stores or scanning blogs all week long for deals. Just look over the ad-match up half an hour before you leave to buy groceries, print and collect the coupons you’ll use and go.
2. Use electronic coupons. My favorite grocery store is Meijer and they offer the Mperks program. I log into my mperks account online and “clip” (click on) coupons that I plan to use. Then at checkout I enter my phone number into the debit card machine and it automatically uses any coupons that I have clipped that match the items I’ve purchased. Many other stores have similar programs such as the Kmart shop your way rewards card and the Kroger loyalty card. They prevent you from having to gather or clip physical coupons.
3. Plan your weekly meals around your sale ad. If you see that tortillas and ground beef are on sale, plan a taco night. If lettuce and croutons are on sale, plan to have salad with a few dinners that week. Buying whatever you want regardless of the current price is a quick way to break your budget.
4. Set a budget for everything. If you’re someone who regularly purchases new clothing, set a budget for clothing shopping. As long as you aren’t struggling to afford the basics, it’s also important to budget for “spending money”. This is a great way to keep track of how much money you’re spending on non-essentials and hold yourself accountable instead of going over.
5. When shopping online, check for online coupon codes. Whether you’re shopping at Sears, Best Buy, Forever 21 or Kohls – it only takes a few seconds to check for online coupon codes that might apply to your order. In the past I’ve gotten free shipping, 20% off my entire cart, BOGO deals & more just from taking 30 seconds to look for a coupon code before paying for an online purchase.
Do you like to save money without extreme couponing? What are your best tips & tricks?
Hi there! I am Emily Evert, the owner of Emily Reviews. I am 28 and live in a small town in Michigan with my boyfriend Ryan and our two pugs. I have a large family and I adore my nieces and nephews. I love reading memoirs, and learning about child development and psychology. I love watching The Game of Thrones, Teen Mom, Sister Wives and Veep. I like listening to Jason Isbell, John Prine, and other alt-country or Americana music. I created Emily Reviews as a creative outlet to share my life and the products that I love with others.
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