Are you a “addicted to couponing?”
Do you…
-get overly excited when you see a coupon?
-spend hours a day searching for and clipping/printing coupons?
-dive in dumpsters to find coupon inserts (and have your children help)?
-have piles of inserts and coupons laying around your house?
-have huge stockpiles taking over your house?
-head from store to store each day just to use your coupons?
-go to sleep/wake up thinking about coupons?
-get anxious if you can’t get your coupons organized?
-spend time away from family to clip/organize coupons?
-have family telling you that you spend too much time on couponing?
-feel anxious, overwhelmed, and even depressed since you started couponing?
I am not a doctor and do not have the qualifications to diagnose anyone, but if you answered yes to many of these, you may be “addicted to couponing.” At one time, I could have answered all of these with a “yes” (except for the dumpster diving–don’t get me wrong, it crossed my mind when I took items to the recycle center and saw newspapers laying in the dumpsters.) I was heavily into couponing and thought I was going to be the next “extreme couponer.” I ended up finding out that it just wasn’t for me. I would rather spend that precious time with family and doing other fun activities then sitting down clipping and organizing coupons for several hours a day (especially when I knew I wasn’t going to use about 75+% of them).
I believe there is a healthy way to coupon and an unhealthy way. The unhealthy way is mentioned above—when I mention getting anxious, overwhelmed, or depressed since you started couponing. If you feel that way, you may need to step back and reassess your couponing techniques. It is easy to get overwhelmed when newspaper inserts are piling up and you haven’t had the chance to go through them to clip what you need.
It’s ok to admit that you may be addicted to couponing, but it’s not a good idea to continue to be miserable in the process. These are coupons we are talking about. Coupons are fun and exciting, but only when used right. That’s why I stepped back a few months ago, reassessed my situation, and made a change. I vowed to only use coupons on items I needed and used (not for the sake of getting them free or cheap). I also vowed to create my grocery list first and then search my Coupon Database for the coupons that matched what was on my list. By using this method, I was still saving and I am only bringing home items that my family consumes. I am no longer throwing out items that we didn’t eat or want (but that I was able to get so cheap at the grocery store–what a waste!)
I still consider couponing to be fun, but it no longer consumes me. I hope that some of you find this article helpful if you are struggling with finding a balance between couponing and living life.
If you would like to read more about my adventures with couponing in the past, read my articles: The Dangers of Extreme Couponing and 5 Reasons Why Cutting Back on Coupons Has Saved Me Money.
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