Coupons—a Help or Hindrance?

“Coupons–moms either love them or hate them.  Do you think coupons are a great money-saver and worth the effort of clipping and collecting OR are they just too much hassle?” 

Sara Sloan, Douglasville mom to Harrison (4) and Hailey (3)

Coupons are a valuable way for our family to stay the course on our monthly budget.  Couponing is no longer a means of clipping away at the Sunday inserts. Deal blogs, printable coupons, Facebook, and even electronic smart phone couponing has created many avenues for saving.  While I feel it is impossible to keep up with all areas of clipping and saving, it is possible for everyone to find at least one or two time friendly ways to clip, subscribe, and save.  Choose one or two stores where you shop most often and follow deal blogs where bloggers publish coupon match-ups.  Bloggers will provide links to instant printable savings and applications to print your shopping list.  It's that easy and it saves our family at least 20% on groceries, household goods, and clothing each month.

Sabine Robertson, mom to Madison (6) and Brice (8)

I know my husband will cringe when he sees this but I can’t be bothered with coupons.  It’s just too inconvenient and confusing.  I don’t like those people at the checkout line that use coupons – it’s rude. I’m not sure that I would be saving all that much and the frustration would far outweigh the benefits, I think.

Minde Herbert, Douglasville mom to 5-year old twins, Sam and Jane

Coupons are great!  We rarely shop without them; my friends laugh because I keep my Coupon Keeper in my purse at all times.  I often search the web for specific coupons, print them out, and then wait for a good sale.  My challenge is finding coupons for the products we use most (we eat mostly organics and all-natural foods) but they’re out there if you know where to look.  I routinely save big on my grocery bills by making sure that I’m shopping smart, armed with coupons and the knowledge of store sales.