How I Became An ‘Extreme Couponer’ And You Can To

I started my coupon journey a little over a year ago now and I began as an "extreme couponer". Now what does that term mean exactly? I define an extreme couponer as one who gets 4-5 Sunday papers a week, shops at more than 3 stores per week, and spends at least 10 hours per week planning and executing. I was drawn to the coupon world very quickly once I heard that it was a way to save a ton of money on my grocery bill. My husband had just graduated from college and we needed to pay off student loans asap and plan for the future. So I jumped in head first! I was crazy, so crazy, that after about 2 months, I got burnt out and didn't coupon for the next 2 months! Talk about a crash course into coupons though! After my 2 month hiatus I decided to slowly get back into it, because after all, in my first month of couponing I spent $430 and saved a little over $1,000!!

I have a better system down now and I don't overwhelm myself anymore. I've always said that "couponing", or I like to call it "frugal living" is really a way of life. And just like with everything else, life can get in the way. Which means, you'll probably find yourself shopping like an extremist when you can, and other times just heading to Costco because you simply don't have time for anything else! I rarely couponed this entire summer because we were so busy working on our house. But no matter how you shop, you've just got to be smart about it in order to save money!

If you want to see how I organized my coupons and the biggest thing I do to stay within my budget, click here.

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