It can be difficult for anyone to start couponing, and can be especially difficult in more remote areas. This is such a personal article, and it really hit home for me that you truly need to DECIDE to SUCCEED!
When I started couponing a few year ago, I would get my inserts and put them away for '"safe keeping", then completely forget about them Though my intentions were great, I never actually did anything except improve on my kindergarten skills of cutting on the dotted line! Now, couponing has become a part of my everyday life, from cutting, searching, asking, trading and hunting!!!
My husband, who is now a pretty frugal guy, came home mid-November of 2011 and signed up to all the mail to home sites he could. It wasn’t until these coupons arrived in the mail, that he decided to share in this adventure with me. And so, our journey to extreme couponing in Corner Brook Newfoundland began!
As I began to look through the many, many sites about couponing, and looking through all the "brags" of great shopping days of so many couponers, I kept thinking "why can’t I do that?… where are all these people getting coupons from?"... I needed help.
My help came from perseverance! I pushed past my frustration and asked to join any trading groups I could find through Facebook and elsewhere online. I contacted many companies requesting coupons and I entered any contests I found, just to try and build my coupon stash. I had decided that the first step to going to the extreme with this would be to get every coupon I could.
It took a while to get a steady flow of coupons coming in, but now they come every day from all over Canada! The Canadian couponing community is awesome, everyone is so willing to answer questions and share their knowledge, that really understand the actual value of that almighty coupon!
Couponing in Newfoundland is a little tougher than in other parts of Canada because of the lack of competition here. We have our basic stores like Walmart, Shoppers Drug Mart, Dominion, Zellers, Colemans, Foodland, Price Chopper, and Coop. However, these stores often have such a great distant between them that they are not "direct competitors" to one another, so often times price matching for the great deals is not possible. I took this and turned it into a positive though, because it has taught me to be patient! I am learning sale trends of each store, and am keeping a price book, that I attached to my binder, so I know what each products lowest price can be!
When I started to really feel comfortable with my knowledge of couponing, I wanted to share what I know with other Newfoundlanders, so they too could get in on the huge rush of having a lower grocery bill. I know that in my family of 7, (5 kids, a cat and a dog) grocery bills were heartbreaking at times, and although I was always trying to maximize savings, I never felt like I was getting anywhere.
I started my Facebook page, the Corner Brook Couponer, to get some local interest and make couponing a common practice here. Everyone I spoke to (family and friends) thought I was nuts… “Why share things, you’re going to lose out, and end up ruining it for yourself".
But I am so thankful to now say, I persevered, and they were wrong!
First, I found that there were others couponing and saving, just not able to get the best bang for their buck. Secondly, there were others that wanted to start couponing and didn’t know how! And of course there were some laughing at the whole idea of a little $0.50 coupon actually saving anything on a grocery bill.
I am now educating people everywhere I go on the art of couponing;
Sales + coupon = SAVINGS!!!!
No we are not allowed to stack, and we can’t price match all the great deals, but we can be sale savvy and become knowledgeable in store coupon policies, flyer match ups, and Couponing ABC’s. I like to think that all couponers take pride in perseverance as I do, and that’s a great trait to take with you in the coupon world to ensure SUCCESS!
I think this speaks on so many levels to so many people Catherine, and many thanks to you for sharing your personal experience with us! Your positive attitude and drive to succeed are truly something to be admired!
HAPPY SAVING:)
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