Do you ever get tired of couponing? I mean, I love, love, love getting
a great deal, but I get tired of comparing sale ads, rounding up
coupons, and going to the stores. I'm probably trying to do too much
at once. Just wondering if you ever take a break except for when you
had the baby. -Lorie
Yes! I've found there's usually at least a few times per year where I just don't have time or desire to mess with using coupons. Here are a few ideas which work for me to help prevent or reduce "coupon-shopping burn-out":
1) Share the load. If possible, don't do all the work
yourself. If you have children, let them help you clip and file
coupons. Older children can even learn to scour the ad for deals and
match up the coupons with the deals. I know many moms who pay their
children a small percentage of the savings their family reaps from their help or they
pay their young children a small amount for the number of coupons they
clip and file.
My mom had me do much of the menu planning, coupon clipping, and grocery shopping
for our family of nine when I was in my teens. Not only did I greatly
enjoy the experience and learn so much from it, it also allowed my mom
to have a break from having to try and do it all herself.
If you don't have children or teens who can help, consider finding
some friends who love coupon-shopping and get together with them on
occasion to clip and file coupons and share deals. Just having other
people to share it with is a huge inspiration. Plus, I've found that by
sharing deals with one another, everyone discovers a lot more bargains than they would on their own and it's a lot more fun, too!
2) Simplify your system. If you're trying to go to five stores three times a week, you're going to burn out in nothing flat. I recommend keeping it simple. I stick with going to one to two stores once a week. On occasion, when I have time and energy (and maybe a babysitter!), I'll do more than that, but that would be the exception rather than the norm.
Consider what your schedule is like and what you can reasonably commit to when it comes to couponing and then plan accordingly. If you only have two hours per week to devote to coupon-clipping and grocery shopping, then you're probably not going to be able to regularly shop at four stores or keep up with clipping and filing 10 newspaper inserts every week. (you could consider the no-clip method but I personally have tried it and found it to be a disaster for me. Read more why here. I know plenty of others whom it works beautifully for, though, so it might just be me!)
Remember that you don't have to hit every good deal. In fact, you don't even have to hit 50% of the good deals and you can still save a lot of money and keep your grocery budget low.
It's easy for me to read other blogs and see these great shopping trips other bloggers are pulling off and to feel like I'm not spending enough time coupon-shopping. But then I remember that I'm at a season of my life (homeschooling and having three little ones) where it's just not feasible for me to be spending hours a week planning shopping trips or going to multiple stores. I need to be home teaching and meeting the needs of my young children. They are only little once. The good deals will always be there.
Find what works best for your family and situation right now and stick with that. So long as you are eating well and staying within a grocery budget that works for your family, don't worry about potentially good deals you might be missing. Just be thankful for bargains you're able to find with the time and energy you have at your disposal.
3) Set your coupons aside for a season. Sometimes, simplifying your system isn't enough. Perhaps you're just completely burned out on coupon-shopping altogether. Or perhaps you're going through a difficult or stressful time in your life. Or maybe your life is just crazily busy at the moment and you don't have time to mess with coupons but you feel guilty if you don't use them.
Whatever the case, I'm here to tell you that it really and truly is okay to take a break. In fact, sometimes I think it's a good thing to take a few weeks off from coupon-shopping–especially if you've been at it for six months or more. Not only will it allow you to come back to it refreshed and excited about bargain-shopping again, but it will also give you a chance to creatively use up some of your extra food in your freezer, refrigerator, and pantry.
Even if you set your coupons aside for a few weeks, you can still save a bundle just by planning your grocery list based upon the store sales and what you already have on hand. Or, if you have an Aldi nearby, you could buy most of your groceries there.
For more ideas on how to save on your grocery bill without clipping coupons, see this article.
What do you do when you get tired of couponing and bargain shopping? I'd love to hear your ideas and input.