What do you think when you hear the word coupon? I think of a piece of paper cut out from the newspaper coupon section, giving it to the cashier when you shop, and have your subtotal price go down. Coupons are still around, clipping, organizing, sorting by expiration date or category. Have you ever saw the show Extreme Couponing? I admit…I watched my share of episodes and I actually tried  couponing. I subscribed to the Sunday paper; didn’t even read the paper and just pulled the coupon book out. I even got my own pouch for my coupons.

What did I learn about paper couponing? Did I save money? Did this help with my early retirement portfolio? Here are my pros and cons with my experience.

Pros:
– I got satisfaction when my subtotal would go down at the register. It made me feel I’m saving money

Cons:
– It consumed a lot of my time
– It made me buy things I really didn’t need
– I didn’t even read the actual Sunday paper
– There were times I didn’t see any coupons worth clipping but I felt pressured I had to. Otherwise, I just wasted an entire Sunday paper
– I felt pressured I had to buy products in the coupon booklet because I didn’t see any of the brands I normally wouldn’t buy
– I don’t know if my coupon savings zeroed out my Sunday paper subscription
– Many of the food items weren’t all that healthy so I was buying unhealthy foods and forcing myself and my family to eat them

I think that couponing is very interesting. I was intrigued about it. I won’t be couponing like I used to. Don’t get me wrong, I like coupons and I like saving money. Now I am more strategic and more aware of what I need to buy versus having a coupon drive my buying habits. I do, time to time, see a coupon and end up buying the product. But I go through a thought process whether the purchase was justified and it just so happens there’s a coupon.

In present time, coupons are not just for clipping. You can find plenty of coupons and coupon codes on the internet. There are sites that find and post coupon codes. Stores will have coupon codes for additional percentage or dollar amount discounts and possibly free shipping. Some stores have coupons built into their app.

In conclusion, I love when I save money when I use coupons or coupon codes. Every cent counts and every discount helps. If you are interested in following my journey, email subscribe to get alerts of latest posts or follow me on Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.

To see all my previous articles, go to my Archive page.