Coupon Beginning

I think I'm late to the game, but I just cannot figure out this extreme couponing thing. It just feels so overwhelming when I look at the work involved in making this work for my family. Now not only to have to clip coupons from my Sunday paper, I have to print them out from web sites and cut those out. I have to download digital coupons. I have to learn to coupon policies for my local stores. And my brain just doesn't work this way.

I am the occasional couponer right now. I clip coupons for the things that I use, but generally the store brand is cheaper, even with the coupon, so I end up with my little sandwich baggie full of unused coupons that eventually expire and get thrown away. I use Kroger's digital coupons, too. But I know that you can't combine the digital ones with the paper ones. So now I have to print out the list that tells me what digital coupons I have loaded onto my Kroger card. Not so bad yet...

Today I did some research and found a ton of online coupon sites. Some you have to pay for and others are free. So far, I am having trouble justifying buying coupons, but I suppose if you buy a newspaper, you are in essence, buying coupons. I'll keep you updated as to the ones I find to be the most helpful.

Now, I need to learn the coupon policies of my local stores. This means that I have come to the conclusion that shopping is now going to take me at least twice as long. That kind of sucks, but I guess if I can make this work then it may be worth it in the end. Not every store will have the same policies. For example, I know that our local Kroger's will no longer double or triple coupons, but another store nearby might. Additionally, one store might offer a better deal on something than another store does. So it looks like multiple trips for me.

I have a lot to learn... And my brain is on overload today. One thing that my husband and I agreed on is, "NO HOARDING!" Not only do I not have enough space in my house, but I am already trying to get rid of the clutter I have. I certainly don't need the clutter of pasta sauce and razors filling up my extra space. We decided that anything that we can't use (but can get for free) we will donate. Right away. We could all use a little extra change in our karma piggy banks, too.