Do you ever feel like you need a vacation from couponing? Do you get tired of all the clipping, sorting, comparing, and shopping? Do you ever get burnt out? I do.
Don’t get me wrong, I love coupons and the deals that I find from them. But lately I’ve realized that I’m just not as excited to cut out the inserts each week. I love my coupon organizational system, but I’m not as pumped to organize each week. I still love to find the deals at stores, but I don’t jump at actually getting them anymore.
In my effort to understand my burn out, I came up with some signs that may point to this phenomenon:
Top 5 Signs You Need a Coupon Vacation:
1) You can’t find the kitchen table through all the stacks of coupon inserts.
2) The recycle bin is too full to put another newspaper.
3) Family activities only involve cutting, organizing, or matching coupons.
4) You hide from the newspaper boy.
5) Your scissors need sharpening.
In all seriousness, I do think you can get burnt out from couponing and I think it is important to take a break every once in a while. The truth is that deals come and go, so more than likely that AMAZING deal will come again. As we discussed in the Frugal Series, it is not necessary, nor feasible, to hit every sale you come across.
It is also important to remember that our time, as well as our budgets are limited, so if you can only shop one store (as opposed to 3 or 5), then that is ok. If you are only saving half as much, you are still saving. Coupons can help your budget, even if you are only able to use a few a week, so don’t worry if you don’t get them all.
Other ways that may help to relieve the need for a coupon vacation:
Use eCoupons, which allow you to use coupons without having to cut, organize, or carry! Place to get them include:
Shortcuts.com
P&G eSaver
Kroger Family Stores (Fry’s)
Cellfire
Ask for help from other family members every once in a while. Make it fun (break out the chips and dip) and enjoy each other’s company.
Take a break for a few weeks to get refreshed and excited again. Don’t worry about getting the paper inserts (gasp!). You’ll still find amazing deals when you are ready to get back into the swing of things.
What do you think? How do you combat coupon burn out? (or does this just happen to me?)
Don’t forget to Download the Saving Cents with Sense Toolbar. Have a smart phone – Get the iPhone App or Android App to keep all the deals at your fingertips!
