No Inserts This Weekend! Now, What?
I was so disappointed this morning when I went outside to retrieve my Saturday newspaper. I subscribe to the Washington Post and always look forward to the 2 pound pack of worthless news wrapped around the treasure trove of ads and coupon inserts. I love Saturday mornings!!!
But alas, no inserts this week and my Saturday newspaper probably weighed less than two or three ounces at most. It had only one advertisement from CVS. Needless to say, I am officially in the midst of an insertless coupon withdrawal.
So, what should we all be doing instead of gleaning the inserts and ads for sales and promotions this week? Well, here's what I will do:
- Go through my coupon binder and remove all expired coupons.
- Apply sticky notes/notations to coupons that will expire in the next two weeks.
- Make a shopping wants and needs list for groceries, health aids, and pharmacy items.
- Take my shopping wants and needs list and look through some coupon databases to see if coupons are in my insert files or available for printing.
- On Wednesday and Thursday, look through the new grocery store ads online and add to my shopping list (most grocery stores run their specials from mid-week to mid-week & pharmacies from Sunday thru Saturday).
- Go through my stockpile and remove any items nearing expiration and donate them to our local homeless kitchen. They will use them up in just a few days.
- Rearrange my freezer so that my oldest frozen items are on top and/or near the front for easy access.
- Do a spring cleaning in my basement refrigerator.
I must admit that my personality borders on obsessive compulsive about things I enjoy doing. My faith, my family, traveling in my motorhome, and couponing. So, it is not unusual to find me still looking at coupon videos on You Tube at 4 AM because the rest of my day is usually spent enjoying my other obsessions! Oh, yes! I do not have a 9 to 5 job. But I do work everyday as a caregiver, cook, finance officer, and housekeeper in my home. I get about 5 to 6 hrs of sleep each day. On a good day, I may snatch an afternoon nap.
Couponing does not need to be as time consuming as I make it. If you use coupon databases and file your coupon inserts, you can minimize the time and energy spent looking online, cutting, and organizing your coupons.
My niece is a stay-at-home mom with two little ones and a hot husband. She does not have the time to spend sitting around for two or three hours a day clipping and sorting coupons. So, I sent her a few online resources to help her use her time more efficiently.
If you would like to try couponing without clipping coupons every waking moment, check out these clip-less coupon websites:
- Organize Your Coupons Using the Whole Coupon Insert Method
- Several You Tube sites have videos about coupon organization Coupon Without Clipping Coupons. Scroll down through them and you should find 3 or 4 about couponing without cutting coupons each Sunday.
- Coupon Databases: Coupon Tom, Coupon Mom, A Full Cup, Living Rich with Coupons, Coupon Divas, Money Saving Queen, Saving with Shelley, and The Grocery Game (w/monthly fee after 30 day free trial.)
- For more coupon databases, google "coupon database(s)".
Have a Blessed Easter!
