I mentioned a few posts ago that Carl and I are embarking on "Extreme Budget 2013" in an effort to both save more money and eliminate student loans. As January draws to an end and the reality of long-term frugal living sets in, I'm finding that my initial enthusiasm for the budget is turning into a feeling of dread and premature defeat. We don't make nearly enough to be extravagant with our spending in the first place, but we certainly enjoyed our fair share of eating out, barhopping, and personal indulgences on the old budget. Now we can eat out approximately 1 time per month... at Moe's.
I'm a list-making enthusiast so I've been enjoying planning out all of our at-home meals and groceries. I thought I'd give couponing a try- you know, if Honey Boo Boo's mom can do it I totally can too, right? You always hear about those people who leave the grocery store checkout with the store owing them a refund for the three cartfuls of groceries they plan on putting in their basement stockpile for the impending apocalypse, and I thought if I could get in on a little bit of that action I could save us a lot of money. I signed up for all of the appropriate coupon websites and started going through this week's featured coups when I came to a sad realization: I don't buy anything that the coupons are for! It's all uber-processed food, or weird frozen stuff, or health and beauty products that I don't use (everyone knows that I rarely shower). What about a coupon for bananas or lettuce? Where's all the healthy stuff? No wonder Honey Boo Boo's mom is the person she is today; she's forced to buy crappy processed food with her coupons. So frustrating!
Has anyone else had any luck with this kind of thing? Part of me feels like I gave up too soon, but the other part is somewhat relieved that I don't have to put the effort into keeping up with the coupons. It seems like an awful lot of hard work, as does money-saving in general. I'm determined to stay determined, though, and hopefully have some budget friendly tips to share with you all along the way.
I would agree with the couponing realization; everything is SO processed that they can afford to give you coupons for it. Have you thought about joining a Co-Op? Also, sometimes I go to a farmer's market here on the weekends, but for the most part, grocery shopping ends up being cheaper. You should also try FOOD living social deals:) That way you can eat on on a budget with a coupon. It's a win win. I would try Groupon too, tons of food deals. There's also an app called Scout Mob (not sure if its in SC yet) but it'll give you FREE coupons for meals!
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