Addiction

Dear Diary,

It's official... I have an addiction!

ad·dic·tion: compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance characterized by tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal

When most people think of an addiction they think of a bad habit. Well, my addiction is healthy. I am addicted to saving money! My husband put me up to the challenge once the television show 'Extreme Couponing' started airing,  and I gladly accepted. Have you ever said to yourself that you wanted to start couponing? It has to be a real hobby that you want to partake in. Here are a few easy steps to get you started on the right track.

STEP 1: It is just like the scenario of when a person says they want to win the lottery... you have to buy a ticket! So if you do want to start saving money, you have to start getting coupons. You can get them in Sunday newspapers, online websites (most of them will make you sign up, don't worry, they only send emails with coupons!), in weekly circulars of each store..etc. My husband told his co-workers that I had started couponing and every Monday they bring him their inserts which is added to my collection.

STEP 2: Find the best store in your area that you will start your journey. Do NOT pick the most expensive store. But on that note, sometimes the least expensive store is not the best either. Sometimes this means you have to drive a little farther, but it will be worth it with all the savings! To chose the right store for you, read the coupon policy for the store. Some key words are "double coupons", "overage", "BOGO" and # of coupons used.

*Double coupons: the store will double the amount of the coupon for the item. Sometimes a store's policy says "up to 99 cents", that means it will double any coupon for less then a dollar. In this case, a coupon for 75 cents will be worth $1.50 or 55 cents will be worth $1.10.

*Overage: if the coupon value is worth more then the item, the remainder will be added to another item. This is how you get your total to be zero! ex: If you have a coupon for $1.00 off, and the item is 88 cents. The overage is 12 cents which will be put towards the rest of your cart. Not all stores will do overage. ( A store that does is Wal-Mart!)

*BOGO: it means Buy One Get One. If there is a deal in the weekly circular at your store that says "Buy One Get One Free" and you also have a coupon for Buy One Get One Free, both items will be FREE! The reason why is the store will pay for one and the manufacturer will pay for the other!

*# of coupons: Sometimes a store will only allow you to use a certain amount of the same coupon.

STEP 3: Get the weekly circular for your store. By looking at the deals of the week, get a coupon to match the deal.

STEP 4: Head to your store and bring your coupons. Once you get to the register, you will get excited to see your final cost.

Some people are embarrassed to use coupons. I'm embarrassed that they aren't saving money!

Once you learn those few simple steps, you will understand how to become EXTREME! Share with me your couponing trips and believe me, you will want to share with someone!

(Wal-Mart is a different science! More to come about that!!)