Not to long ago I was one of those people who thought couponing was a waste of time. I didn't see the point in spending hours cutting out coupons to save .50 on a $10.00 item. I was confused by all the lingo and the fine print. It seemed like more trouble than it was worth. But one day I was sitting at home and on came TLC's Extreme Couponing and I sat there wide-eyed as people were taking home mountains of groceries for next to nothing! I couldn't believe it! I watched a few more episodes before I started to think it was something I might be able to accomplish.
Not knowing where to start I started looking in my paper that came in the mail. I quickly got discouraged because there wasn't really any coupons in there. How was I going to make this work? So I put in on the back burner until a month later I went to an actual class. Boy were my eyes opened! It was like all the sudden everything made sence and I was able to apply those things which I learned and it soon added up to real savings!
The reason I am writing all of this is so you can see I started out like the rest of the population :) But it was only AFTER I made the Mental Switch into coupon mode that everything clicked. I had to throw away my preconcieved notions and just go with it.
So I say it's time to throw out your images of only the poor needing to use coupons and embrace the facts : Research has shown that coupon usage is higher among the better educated . Coupons.com says that "users of digital coupons are better educated than the general population overall, dispelling the perceived low-brow stigma of couponing." Studies also show that the majority of coupon users are coming from households that make $70,000 +.
So don't hang your head in shame because you are using coupons, be PROUD! Flaunt your binder full of coupons around! Yes you may spend an extra half hour at check out but the savings you'll be getting make it all worth it!
