crazy coupon lady

make sure you save money, not spend even more!

i am happy to say that i am again enjoying the world of couponing, after recovering from a total FAIL! i began couponing with the intent to mimic the people i had seen on reality tv. i now realize that, for the average person, it is more than ridiculous to attempt to pull off those shopping sprees and stockpiles! and not only is it ridiculous to attempt, it can actually cause you to spend more money than you would have without using any coupons at all.

for a while, in the beginning of my coupon endeavors, i thought that i was getting amazing deals! i jumped in to the coupon pile, head first, without checking to see how deep it really was. i soon realized that i was wasting money instead of saving money. i may have never stopped if my husband didn't step in! he told me that i needed to show him the math so that we could see exactly how much we were saving, in order for him to continue on with a particular deal i wanted to get. i was horrified to see that i would have ended up losing money on that particular "deal". once that happened, it made me question all i thought i had done right.

so here are some things to consider when jumping into the coupon pile:

• first, always do the math ON PAPER! see exactly what you are spending and saving.
• consider all of the expenses, inconveniences, and outright catastrophies that do and could go with the WHOLE PROCESS! i mean, stuff you definitely aren't thinking of yet: coupon site fees, printer paper and ink, storage or the lack thereof which usually causes lots of tension with the husband, and even getting a virus on your computer that causes it to be a total loss! Yes, i'm serious, and that one is incredibly hard to admit! and never rule out the possibility of fake coupons. i've seen the embarrassment and trouble it can cause!
• evaluate if you are honestly getting good deals on things you ALREADY use, or if you are getting sucked in to the habit and spending money on things you don't really need just for the sake of a fun coupon experience!
• evaluate if you honestly have the storage for bulk purchases or if you are causing a strain on your family! plus, you need to make sure that you can use all that bulk stuff before the expiration dates!
• compare in-store "deals" to other stores. don't go to Winn Dixie for a catchy special if it is cheaper at it's regular price in Walmart.
• look in as many local grocery store papers as you can. decide if one amazing deal is worth shopping at that store for the week, or if you could just make an extra trip. decide if all your extra trips to various stores are worth it at all, and sometimes they are but sometimes they're not!
• try to clip as many old fashioned coupons as possible!! they're free and usually have lots of grocery-food items, plus fast food restaurant coupons as well!
• always combine your coupons with in-store deals.
• organize your coupons according to expiration dates!
• pass the savings along! if you see something that you wouldn't use but that someone you love would, clip and give it to them... even if they think you are a crazy coupon lady!

i am done with being sucked into "great deals" that i just can't pass up and have no where to put them once i get home and probably won't use before the expiration date and would have never bought anyway if there wasn't a coupon to put the idea in my head!!!!!

i now stick with simple, not out of my way, coupon clipping. i clip only what is realistic for me to buy.

be smart and make coupons SAVE you money, not cause you trouble!

the organized life...of my alter ego

what reality really looks like

meals planned, coupons and shopping lists organized, laundry folded and put away, clothes ironed, house clean, homework checked, and kids in bed on time. all of this with clean hair and a fresh face...
dates with the husband are priority, and there's even time left just for me!

not in this life! 

REAL LIFE looks a little bit different...
the last time i did something "just for me" happened to be a parenting Bible study! imagine that?!
the only dates i've had with the husband for the past few years have pretty much consisted of going to lunch or dinner and coming right back so that we could get our oldest from school or put the kids to bed.
the only meals i've planned in the last six months have been when choosing which frozen dinner fits my mood!
oh and my recent laundry schedule is bringing back, not so fond, memories of when i worked outside the home. i was in so over my head then that i'd either wake up in the middle of the night to do laundry because i realized no one's uniforms were clean; OR i'd throw dirty uniforms in the dryer with two dryer sheets to "freshen them up" because i hadn't realized that there were no more clean!! AND my husband did all of his own laundry plus 70% of the cooking back then. it was insanity. i'm not quite there again, thankfully!

i am the type of person who does think it is important for my home to be clean and orderly. i feel like i do my best at being a wife and mom when my days are organized and on schedule. there was even about a two year period when my home was almost chaos free. almost! and, no, it wasn't before i had kids! it was when i first stopped working outside the home; but before i had my third child! it seems like throwing another baby into the mix, and beginning to homeschool has just put me into a land where i cannot seem to reach my organized self who is now just my alter ego! i am now trying to figure out the best way to deal with this.

i think dealing with the feelings i am having about my now unorganized life will require a few things from me.
i think that i will first have to be honest about how much effort i'm putting in now and how much it will actually require to reach my goals. i think that i'll have to accept that i'm in a season of life that makes my organized fantasy an impossible reality. i will have to let some things go! that means i'll have to be really focused when deciding my priorities; because i don't want to let my own desires climb to the top of the list, while i ignore things that will benefit the entire family. and most of all, i need to put my plans into action! i'm pretty good at planning out, but not as good at following through.

while i have to give myself a "C" for the current state of chaos in my homemaking; i'd like to give myself an "A" for honesty and desire to change! i don't have dreams of being perfect. i really don't. i just want to be my most comfortable me, in my own home!