you have to save $ to spend $

by Michelle Serra on May 1, 2010

in Advice, Oh Hey, Stories, Things I covet

Today I spent the afternoon shopping the Forum in Norcross with an old friend when we came up Charming Charlie. If you’re looking to buy a girlfriend, mother, lover, whomever a gift, this is the first place I would head. They have everything, jewelry, handbags, cups, clothing, everything and it’s all very affordable. I got the pink clutch in the picture. Love it.

But that’s not the point of this post. The point is this: as I was driving home today I realized that I love spending money. It’s really terrible. I am the queen of retail therapy and few things make me happier than new things.

Being out on my own and living on a major budget for the first time has really curbed my spending habits. Over the past seven months or so since I started working, I’ve done a really good job at limiting my spending and not buying new things. But I do miss the fun of knowing that if I want to splurge and buy something new, I can.

So I’ve been giving it some thought. What can I change about my life to get more of what I want – clothes and accessories? What do I care the least about. Then it hit me. Couponing. My mom used to do it. I have friends who talk about the wonders and savings that you can get from a little research and a printer.

So today begins my couponing journey. I am going to try six sites:

  1. Publix
  2. Coupons.com
  3. CouponMom.com
  4. SmartSource.com
  5. PPGazette
  6. RedPlum

I think that will give me a good basis of comparison. I’ll let you know what happens, the good, the bad and the ugly. Which sites are good, which are terrible, and which coupons I find myself using the most. Let me know if you have any couponing tips! I would appreciate any advice.

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{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

Sarah May 1, 2010 at 7:38 pm

OMG yes!! You will get such a high from it; it becomes a fantastic shopping game for something you already need – food.

Definitely ask me any questions you want. I used to shop at Publix and usually walked out of the store paying around $20 or so for $80+ worth of food, toiletries and medicine. I got all of my coupon match-ups from SouthernSavers.com. Her site can be a bit intimidating at first, but it’s a lot more user-friendly than CouponMom, plus people leave comments about additional sales and match ups they found that aren’t in the circular. It’s a great couponing community.

TC May 2, 2010 at 1:09 pm

Sarah’s right, couponing gets to be kind of a fun game. I’ve gotten out of the habit but I think reading this post has inspired to hop back in. Especially since I didn’t even know until now there were sites that tell you how to match-up the coupons! Thanks yall :)

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