Couponing Excuses

While talking about couponing with people, I hear a lot of excuses as to why they "can't" coupon. Here are a few of the biggest excuses.

I don't have time.
Wouldn't it be great to add a few extra hours to the day? So you can sit down and read a book, or watch your favorite show, or to start couponing? This will never happen, but couponing takes as much or as little time as you allow it to. Sure, you hear of people spending 40-60 hours a week searching the web, gathering, clipping, wasting their life away with coupons. This is not normal, and by no means do I recommend this. Couponing is not supposed to take over your life in a negative way. For the average couponer, it may take a couple hours combined over the course of the week to make your shopping list, gather and clip your coupons. If you don't have a couple hours over the course of the week, then cut it down to just 30 minutes. 30 minutes is enough time to get the essential coupons together. Obviously the more time you put into it, the more coupons you can print and gather and use. But if you don't have a lot of time, you can still save a substantial amount off your shopping trips. If you can spend 30 minutes to couponing, and save even just $50 off your grocery bill, for most people, that is worth a lot more than 30 minutes of work.

The items I like don't go on sale.
This is just a lie. While not every item will be free after sales and coupons, every item does go on sale. Even if it is just pennies to the dollar off the retail value, that is still a sale. If you have to have that specific item, then stock up when it is just pennies off. Over the course of the year, this really adds up.

I don't have any space.
Yes, stocking up on items takes up space. Most of us live without the ability (or want) to turn the garage into a warehouse or a shower into a toilet paper station. And even if you could, why would you want to? I want to live in the space we have, rather than convert my liveable area to stashing my booty. But if you don't stock up, you will have to go out and buy that item 1 at a time when it's not on sale. So this is a give and take kind of deal. If you have cabinets half full or an area under your stairs or empty space above your washing machine, store items there. Put items anywhere you can. I have a 5 tier shelving unit in my kitchen for my food items. I keep my condiments and jarred items in the cabinets above my stove. I have a 45 gallon storage bin under the counter for all of our health and beauty products. I keep our toilet paper, paper towels and detergent on top of the shelves above our washing machine. Yes, the shelves and bin take up space, but I am willing to give up that small area of space for a large stockpile.

I can't go couponing with my kids.
Not every child will tolerate going on a couponing trip at the grocery store. If your kids run wild in the store, it will not allow you to keep 100% focus on your shopping trip, and you may make mistakes. If this sounds like you, try to bring someone with you to the store to entertain the kid while you focus on shopping. Or leave the kid at home with a spouse, friend, babysitter. Yes, if you have to get a babysitter, you will spend money. But if you pay $7 an hour (just an estimate, I have no idea how much a babysitter costs) and you save $100 at the grocery store, that pays for itself over and over (and you may have kept your sanity at the grocery store!) I am very blessed with a well behaved baby in public, but that is because I know how to keep him happy while shopping. I wear my son in my ergobaby carrier while I shop. It keeps him happy, which keeps me happy.

Another word of advice: Don't be brand specific!
If you've used Dove body wash for years, then it's a pretty good guess that's your favorite body wash. In my whole time couponing, I've never seen Dove body wash go on sale to be completely free, but I have seen other brands for free (and even moneymakers!) If you never try any other brands, you will never know if you like something different. Try to not be so specific. If another body wash will make you $1 to buy it, then buy it and try it. If you end up hating it, oh well, you were paid $1 to figure that out. This is one of my favorite things about couponing. You get to try out so many new products for a fraction of the cost, or even free! You never know, you may find something you like even better!