I am regularly asked at the store, and by friends, why do you coupon, and have even been called a hoarder! I shudder when I have to think back to my pre-couponing days, or The Dark Ages. However, yes, I used to be one of  those normal shoppers long ago. In a time of  an empty fridge and an empty pantry! My husband lost his job back in 2009, on my oldest daughter’s 1st birthday, and two days later, we found out we were pregnant with daughter #2. My life felt as though it was falling apart — how was I going to support a family of four off my meager part-time job. I don’t know if it was my amped up hormones or not, but I just cried! I had no idea what to do! So a few months went by and we lost every luxury we had, TV, phone, you name it and it was gone! My fridge and pantry had the barest of essentials and we were eating lots of cheap items - including Ramen Noodles!

Then I started getting random coupons here and there for Huggies (even at my brokest point, I still had to use Huggies because of my kids’ sensitive skin) and other name brand items in the mail. However, when I went to the store, even after the coupon savings, it was still cheaper to buy the generic brand. Until one day, I was in the mark down area, and I got some KC Masterpiece BBQ Sauce for $.09! I was so excited! Then I realized the importance of using coupons the right way, wait for a sale on that item.  I started to hold on to them in my wallet, then a little file holder, and eventually in a binder. My couponing journey started out a very slow pace — until I scored my first freebie — and then my question as to how I would feed my family of 4 was answered!

Finally, there were food items in my pantry, instead of cob webs. There were items in fridge again other than milk, eggs, and cheese. Best of all — we were able to eat items other than a whole bunch of Ramen noodles!  Two  years later — My pantry is stuffed full, my fridge is filled, and I need an extra freezer!  I also now have an overflow, to where my spare bedroom has turned into what my three year old calls “Mom’s Store” or my stockpile. (Also the husband has a new job, which has allowed to me to be a stay at home mommy!)

I know that starting out with coupons can be overwhelming, and that with the amount of people doing it, it can be disappointing to not find that sale item of the week or that freebie! Don’t worry, the sale will come back, you will see it again, so don’t get discouraged! A stockpile, like the one’s you see on Extreme Couponing, do not just happen over night. Pace yourself slowly when building your stockpile. Meaning when you see brownies for $.49 a box, don’t go blowing half of your grocery budget on that item just because that is the cheapest you have ever seen them! You will see that sale again, only get what your family will use for a 3-4 month period, and wait for that next sale.

I have also seen some nasty glares in many of my local stores when I walk in with this intimating binder. You may have also seen those lurking eyes in your own store. Whenever someone at the store says any kind of harsh comment to me, I always just say to them, “Everyone is trying to save their family money, and this is just another way I do it.”  They usually leave it at that, and walk off doing their own thing.

All in all, couponing fed my family, and gave light to my very darkest of days. Now that I am in the sunny days of my life, it has also allowed me to do one more important thing, giving to others. Through multiple months and multiple sales cycles, I have accumlated well over 500 razors, thousands of packets of misc. food items, and over 100 BBQ sauces! Now if I were to keep all of these for my family, then yes, I suppose you could call me a hoarder. However, I like to save these items up throughout the months, and then take them to different food banks in my area. There are families out there being hit harder than my family was, and it’s heartbreaking. There is nothing better than knowing that you helped someone, or families  in need.  With Thanksgiving and Christmas just around the corner, I’m getting my piles ready!

So, now that I put it all out there for you, how and why did you start to coupon?

If you are a new couponer, you may enjoy this post on Couponing 101!