I have heard many people say they don’t have time to cut coupons. I realize we all lead busy lives, but cutting coupons is something you can do while talking on the phone, watching television or chatting with your family around the kitchen table. While I am not one who saves 1,000′s of dollars a month on coupons, I do save about $60 a month using coupons only buying the things I would purchase anyway. $60 a month equals $720 a year. Over a lifetime of grocery shopping I can save $36,000!
I have incorporated coupons into our homeschool, and even if you don’t homeschool, your preschoolers can help you with coupons during the day.
While I cut the coupons my little kids are given all the extras to cut. They happily cut coupons and pictures from the inserts.
Once we all finish cutting we clean up the mess, and trust me, there will be a mess. I then give the kids paper and a glue stick and they create a collage from the coupons they have cut. They have a great time creating masterpieces and I am able to get all my coupons cut and filed.
My kids who have graduated from coupon art sometimes cut coupons for me. Beware, when your children cut coupons you will find lots of coupons for Chuck E. Cheese, Cap’n Crunch, and Fruit Roll-ups in the pile.
This is a great way to work on cutting and pasting skills as well as getting your kids use to the idea of coupons.
Fun. My kiddos also sort and help me go through them all to see which have expired.
I tried doing the coupon thing for a while. I found that I just don’t get enough of the things they make coupons for to make it worth while. I wish I could make it work for me though, any little bit helps.
It was so nice to meet you at OGC yesterday! I have really enjoyed getting to know you through your blog and through your mom!
I am using coupons to teach my oldest (33 mos) to cut and sort into piles (keep, toss, etc.). I have also used coupons to teach other school age children to read the dates and reconginze if a coupon is expired.
Thanks!
I don’t know whether it is the fact I am looking in the wrong place but i can never find coupons that i would really use. I use coupons at times but then I realise that I am buying items I would never normally buy
I do not want to hijack this post but I did feel led to share: My family (one hubby and three kids, ages 6, 3, 1) and I have cut our grocery/household item budget from way over $600 a month to an average of $250 a month by using the stockpile-coupon method. There is no magic involved, just a little attention.
What started as a coupon binder grew into a website and then a ministry. I love seeing other families use the information that God brought to us when we were desperate to see similar savings in their own homes. If anyone needs any help, please feel free to contact me. You can link to my website by clicking my name or email me at pennysaved(at)bellsouth(dot)net.
What a great idea to get the kids involved!
For me personally when I start cutting coupons I’m lost and confused. Much of what is in the paper is stuff we never use and if it is I’ve been able to get it for more then half the price by going to generic grocery stores or buying the generic brands.
If they started giving coupons that were good on generic brands then I’d be a cutting fool!!!
My daughter helps me the same way. Couponing is a way of life for my family and the money we save has helped me stay home with my daughter this last year.
I can’t believe how short and how adorable F’s hair is!
To Alaina:
I have found that by using coupons, I can usually get brand name items for less than the generics. You’re right, you don’t often see coupons for the generics. But if you use coupons when a brand name item is on sale, you can get many items for just pennies, if not completely free. There are even “moneymaker” items where the amount of the coupon is greater than the cost of the item, but the store deducts the entire coupon amount anyway. There are lots of websites that can help you sort it all out.
I put my 2yo in charge of trash/clean up. It’s a win-win.