It’s easy to fall off the coupon clipping wagon. Heck! It’s hard to GET ON the coupon clipping wagon. Here are a few ways to make it a cinch.
- Turn coupon clipping into a game. Appeal to your competitive side by seeing who in your household or pool of frugal friends can save the most on their groceries.
- Set a time limit. Part of the reason I put off coupon clipping is that in my mind the task will take forEVER. Instead, set the kitchen time for 15 minutes and madly tear through the newspaper coupon inserts and websites to print coupons. I find it easier to focus and get started on a task if I have a firm deadline.
- Create a reward. Tell yourself that if you can save $10 on groceries by using coupons, you’ll get to spend $5 on a fancy latte or frozen yogurt. Save the other half. Sets appropriate dollar amounts for your situation and chose a reward that motivates you.
- Clip with buddies. Sounds ridiculously domestic, right? But I like to think of it as harnessing girl power. Gather your frugal friends for a coupon clipping gab-fest! Set out a dish for coupons folks want to swap.
How else do you motivate yourself to clip coupons?
UPDATE: One reader said she gets her kids involved! Whatever money she saves from the coupons they clip go toward whatever they are saving for (currently, a Nintendo Wii). Here’s her video about it.
Related:
Paying for coupons: two reader recommended web sites
My 20 best tips for saving at the grocery store
Are delivered groceries a deal?
June 17th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
“Create a reward.” I like that idea!
June 17th, 2009 at 3:09 pm
When I come home from each grocery-shopping trip, I check the sales slip to see how much I’ve saved by using coupons. I then put that amount in an envelope to be saved for Christmas shopping. More than $100.00 per month is easily accumulated.
June 18th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
I started subscribing to the paper a month ago specifically for the coupons. This month I’m tracking my savings progress. The money I save will be just that! No special projects or lattes or Christmas shopping- though those are all excellent ideas!
June 19th, 2009 at 5:44 am
I joined a coupon train. I feel obligated to clip all the coupons and send them off to the next person so they’re not disappointed. I also get a nice big envelope of coupons in my mailbox to go through every week.
June 19th, 2009 at 7:11 am
What is a coupon train? Do you send on every coupon you clip or just the ones you don’t want? This is such an interesting idea I’m going to look into it. Glad you mentioned it!
June 19th, 2009 at 8:50 am
Wow, you must be very popular around Christmas! This is a great way to save for the winter holidays (and I’m one going to use in an upcoming blog post!)
June 23rd, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Dont subscribe to the newspaper when there arent coupon inserts in every issue. Plus, by subscribing you get 1 issue per week. When you buy them on your own you can purchase 2-5 depending on how many inserts and what savings are offered. Then you can stock up on those items and thats how you save BIG money!
Here is the Sunday Coupon Insert schedule that will tell you what coupon inserts are coming out on what days.
http://www.couponboom.com/coupon-insert-schedule/
Happy Savings!
June 23rd, 2009 at 4:30 pm
Thanks for this great coupon resource, Helen!
June 24th, 2009 at 4:55 am
Whether or not you use an Internet database, it’s generally the holiday weekends where there are no coupons.
Examples from my area newspapers this year: there were no coupons on Easter Sunday or on President’s Day weekend.
June 25th, 2009 at 8:13 am
[...] comment about how she motivates herself to clip coupons, which, you may remember, is not one of my favorite activities. I talked to her recently about a growing trend called coupon [...]
July 2nd, 2009 at 12:27 am
Julia, I don’t understand comments such as yours on June 25 @ 8:13 a.m. I see these cryptic entries among the comments on many topics and I can never figure them out or why they’re there. Can you explain?