I've Lost That Frugal Feeling...

Cue Usher, because I'm about to make a confession. About a month ago, I was at a baby shower for a friend of mine & the subject of my blog came up. I was asked "How do you find the time to clip the coupons, organize them, find the deals, blog about them, & still have a life?" The answer is simple: I don't.

Don't get me wrong; I love a good deal as much as all of you. And while I used to have my coupon binder organized, it isn't now. Here is my big, scary, shocking secret: Since the start of June I have clipped a grand total of 5 coupons (which I used all in one deal at Rite Aid). With my daughter home from school & the fact that she had some health issues over the summer, I didn't have time to clip coupons. I have a stack of newspapers so big, I'm confident that if I laid them end to end they would stretch halfway to Texas.

At first I felt guilty about it. But I came to the realization that as with all things in life, there is a season. And my season for clipping coupons was obviously not during the summer. So I let the guilt go. The world would still spin if I didn't cut coupons out of the Sunday paper. My family would still eat, we'd have shampoo & toothpaste (thanks to my stockpile!), we would still have clean clothes, & our lives would go on.

The reason I am sharing this with you is to let you know that I'm not perfect. None of us are. We're real people, living real lives, & sometimes life gets in the way. So don't feel bad if you miss a deal, your coupon stash isn't organized, or you haven't clipped coupons in months. It happens.

Having said that, I'm ready to get back to couponing. I would like my grocery & drug store budgets to be less & I know that coupons are the way to reduce them. I'm hoping some of you will be on board, too. I'll be posting more grocery & drug store deals, so get ready for it. If you're relatively new to couponing, this will be the perfect time to jump in. I'm going to discuss coupon organization, coupon lingo, the drug store game, etc.

So there you have it. I lost my frugal feeling for a while & my budget showed it. But baby, I'm back: coupons, scissors, paper cuts & all! I hope you guys stick around for the ride.