Oops. I fell off the wagon. The last week of January my 6-week chest cold (the "plague") finally wore me down, and I just didn't have the energy left to play the game well. I made two separate trips to the store with no coupons and both kids, which as any mom knows is a losing strategy! On each of those trips, I managed to save a mere 8% & 9% respectively by buying products on sale. Not great, but better than a full-on shopaholic retail therapy splurge.
I may have stumbled a bit at the end of the month, but I still got 2011 off to a strong start. My average savings on groceries and household goods for the month was 29%, nearly a third off of retail costs. For some veteran couponers, that's not much, but that's 29% more than I was saving last month! Not only did I manage to squirrel away $96 for a rainy day, but there's healthy food in my pantry & freezer, and my stockpile of toiletries is really starting to grow. For the first time ever, I'm "long" on deodorant, body wash, toothpaste and tissues, all in everyone's favorite brands and all purchased well below retail cost. I even had enough in the budget to splurge on treats for the dog, and at "2 for 1 + 1 free" prices, why not?
Now, there are 2 schools of thought on couponing: stockpilers and sharers. Stockpilers use their coupon savvy to build a large inventory of favorites for their families, and sharers use their talents to get as much stuff as possible to share with others. I've just assigned those titles off the top of my head, and both are worthy uses of practiced skills! Most people seem to start as stockpilers, then become so good at saving that they have the goods and money to give to others - clearly a win-win for everyone.
Perhaps I should have identified the beginner phase - the savers, because that's where I am now, just trying to save a few bucks. I'm just trying to stretch my dollars a bit and take care of my growing family with less cash. I think that's probably where (and why) most people start using coupons or savvy shopping techniques in the first place. Gradually, as we get better at the Game, we begin to stockpile certain items, and then someday, we have an abundance to share. Well, I'm still trying to save money and learn the game, but I'd like to build up a stockpile for next month when I'm out of commission with a newborn, and of course, I'd like to help others, too. But one step at a time. First, I'm learning the game and saving money. The stockpile will come with time and practice, and I'm sure my cup with runneth over before I know it. My point is that it's hard to work through the learning curve, but it's a natural progression. You can't build a stockpile in a day, and you can't give to others until you have something to share. You're not being selfish or greedy while you're learning the Game, you're learning how to provide even more for your family and community.
So that's where I am, after my first month of playing the Grocery Game- a saver working on her first stockpile, saving about a third off her usual household & grocery bills.I hope your year is off to a good start too, and I'm looking forward to sharing more - with you!
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