Extreme Couponing Vs. Realistic Couponing
While most of you have likely seen the show on TLC about Extreme couponing, I think it’s fair to say that a lot of people have gotten ideas about what couponing is and at what level they can be couponing based on the individuals in the show.
The name of the show… “Extreme Couponing” pretty much says it all. The situations portrayed are not normal for the average consumer, and the amount of planning is practically that of a full time job. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great that the amount of planning has allowed for these families to get a ton of products for free. But completely emptying a shelf to stock up on more deodorant than you can use in 3 lifetimes is a bit much.
How much preparation time is realistic for couponing each week?
The amount of time you spend each week will obviously depend on how much you are trying to save, as well as to what level you are trying to stock up. If you are trying to accumulate things you don’t need your time can increase drastically from that of just getting what you need to feed your family.
If you want to save 40-50% on your grocery bill you really shouldn’t need to spend more than 1-2 hours per week. This includes the time finding and clipping coupons along with the time you spend creating your shopping list.
Being satisfied with your savings
One thing that you realistically need to understand if you are just starting out with couponing, is that just like anything else time and experience is the key to saving more money. The longer you hone your skills to saving money with couponing the better you get. Organization is truly key. You would think that with more organization comes more time spent trying to save money, but its just the opposite. The more organized you become the more time you actually save because you are able to develop a system that works for you.
If you are just getting started we suggest you read over our starter guide to couponing to help you prepare for how you will make the most of your time.
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