Cash Management: Saving Money Without Sacrifice

May 30, 2011

Over the years, I have unknowingly wasted thousands of dollars at the grocery store and the pharmacy. If I knew then what I know now, I could have saved AT LEAST $1200 per year by using coupons. If you add that up over 25 years that I’ve been a financial planner, it makes me cringe. Those lost dollars will never come back; they are lost forever but I am just glad that I know now and certainly don’ t want anyone else making the same mistake. As a financial planner, I’ve always paid attention to the big things in my financial life—my training gave me a keen focus on making sure I had low fees and low interest rates on loans such as my mortgage and auto, managing my 401k for the optimal risk/return ratio, and to make sure my family was protected should something happen to me. I felt like carrying around a 50 cent coupon for a laundry detergent was a waste of time.

Turns out it isn’t. Little things mean a lot. Paying attention to the big things is important, of course, but paying attention to the little things brings with it a big payoff —much bigger than I ever realized. Over the past four and a half years, working as a financial educator with Financial Finesse, I’ve facilitated hundreds of personal financial basics workshops where we really dug deep into a budget (of a willing volunteer or a sample person) trying to find money to fund their financial goals such as building an emergency fund, paying off credit cards, buying a house or taking a vacation. The participants came up with all sorts of ideas on how to cut expenses: getting a roommate, bringing their lunch to work, going out less, etc. Most of these involved cutting back on something which is not always a bad thing.

But since I have discovered “couponing,” I realize that people can just simply buy what they normally buy at half the price to save. There is no cutting back–it is an investment of time and it can even be fun. How nice is that? Saving without sacrifice sounds like a beautiful thing, doesn’t it?

I know this works because I am doing it and if I, a reformed coupon hater, can do it then anyone can. Here is an example of what can be done:

Here is how I was able to purchase $84.00 worth of household items for $11.

Here is what I bought for $11:

  • Pampers Diapers
  • Bounty Paper Towels
  • Two Nine Roll Pack of Charmin
  • Contact Lens Solution
  • Toothbrush
  • Two Cans of Corn
  • Three Cans of Pringles (gotta love it)
  • Gold Bond Body Wash
  • Olay Body Wash

RETAIL PRICE: $84

Minus STORE SALE: -$19

Minus MANUFACTURERS COUPONS: -$11

Minus STORE COUPONS/EXTRA BUCKS -$13

Minus (THE KICKER) REWARDS EXTRA BUCKS: – $30

Total After Stacking Coupons and Extra Rewards: $11

This way of buying resembles our grandmother’s way which involved stocking up on items you use all the time and using manufacturer’s coupons. When you add in the modern version with additional coupons the store provides along with “extra bucks” and rewards, the savings are amazing. In the upcoming weeks, I’ll be sharing a tip at a time on how to do this and lower our grocery bill as well as go over some “rookie” mistakes I have made so you can avoid them such as: organize your coupons so you aren’t “that girl or guy” at the checkout who takes forever and gets the evil stink eye from everyone else who is waiting in line behind you.

We’d love to hear them or if you have questions, make a comment to the blog or on Facebook and we’ll answer it. Also remember that I am a rookie myself, so if you are a super shopper and would like to share your tips, we’d love to hear them.

Don’t forget to have fun out there. My husband loves it when I come home will all the bags of goodies for the household especially when the back of the car is full and so is the bank account because I only spent $11.