Dear Jim,
I'm a mom, and new to your site, but I've long been thinking that my instinct
for planning should ramp up to a new level of preparedness to keep my family
safe. Like
many of your readers I've long felt an increased sense of alarm at the state
of our world on numerous levels.
And, as many of your readers - preparing within the parameters of my normal
household budget along with the current financial challenges makes preparation
challenging! ... in short - I don't have lots of spare cash around to go around
buying pallets of food "just in case"...
I really feel convicted that as a Christian mom who has learned a better way
to shop - it's my duty to educate your readers about rethinking their normal shopping
to a more frugal and economic shopping style that will allow them to create
and build a food stockpile for their possible future needs. If
more people are prepared, then as a community we will be able to hold each
other up.
So - let's talk coupon shopping.
As I said - I'm a mom - a normal mom, married with two kids. But food is expensive
and most people think. I can't go in the store and just buy 40 boxes of pasta
to put on a shelf --that would be crazy. I need to buy my normal groceries!
But I did just that, this week - and for free! Coupon shopping has evolved
into such a crazy science that there are tons of web sites dedicated just to
that.
People generally think it's great if they buy something on sale. Or if they
get an item with a coupon. But what people need to realize is that they need
to buy something on sale with a coupon when it hits the rock-bottom sale price.
If you live in an area where coupons double, you need to use your 75 cent coupon
when an item hits $1.50 so it ends up being free.
I have not spent a cent on toothpaste, shampoo, deodorant or nearly any other "health
and beauty" item in the three years I've been couponing. If the only
thing that enabled me besides the ability to stockpile for myself and donate
to my friends
and
food
pantries abundantly. It enables me to not spend money on
those items, [and hence] to shift it to food spending. The pasta I bought
today for free.: It was on sale for
$1, with a coupon for $1/2 that was part of a special dollar doubling deal
at my local grocery store.
I normally buy 10-15 newspapers and have delis that hold me their unsold papers
and have no qualms about dumpster diving for more.
The end result of this is that I don't spend more than 50 cents on a box
of cereal and get a great portion of my food needs for free. Of course there
is still
produce and meat so it's a work in progress.
I want your readership to realize that with savvy
coupon shopping within their own shopping environment, they can start
to build a stockpile. It's imperative that they do so.
To start couponing, do a Google search on "coupon shopping". Find
out if your local grocery store offers any coupon cards, doubling, or tripling.
Be prepared
to
do some Internet research on the big coupon sites. Invest in at least 10-15
papers if you have a family of four (or find a free source for newspaper coupon
inserts such as a recycling center) Keep at it. Coupon savings sometimes take
four weeks for the coupons you get today to come into play as a maximum
savings
item. This takes time, but saving money and being prepared and taking care
of your
family is the only motivation you should need. Regards, - Ida
JWR Replies: Thanks for those suggestions. I encourage SurvivalBlog readers to bookmark and regularly visit some of the major Internet coupon web sites, such as as and RetailMeNot.com, Mommy Saves Big, and Wow Printable Coupons.
