Well I know this can be an interesting subject though I get hit with it a lot. Why do I coupon? Why do I even bother? Why do I do what I do? I can say....I do it to save money, I do it because I want to though there is a deeper level that I have discovered in the last 4 yrs. I do it for the Freedom that I discovered along the way. Now I know some of you are probably scratching your head and going alright time to find something else. I do pray you will hear me out and I will explain what I mean.
For the last several weeks I have been questioning things and try to rediscover Why I am doing what I am doing and as you and I know the blog probably not up to the standards that it should be. I am working on that, any hoo.
A few weeks ago I was reading in a devotional and this pray hit me for over a month it has replayed for me. Father, thank You for loving me. Please help me walk in obedience to Your commands and live my life in a way that pleases You. I really do want to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ. Right now, I surrender all that I am to You and ask for Your blessings in my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen. The verse that I just keep going over is from Proverbs 21:2 A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart. Whoa I tell you I really had to stop and think and thinking I have been doing the last few weeks.
Let me address this question Why do I coupon?
I do say that big part is to save money though again if we dig deeper I am blessed to have freedom....
Since the car accident I have had to discover different passions and different ways to create what I love to give my daughter a memory. With couponing it is has given us the Freedom of not worrying and enjoying what time we have together. When we started we were living paycheck to paycheck and many times very short and had to rob peter to pay paul. To a degree we still do though we are working on it. Life is not predictable and you can get hit with some doozeys. Though if we look back on our life...5yrs ago we were in bankruptcy, fighting to keep our home, trying to establish a family, etc. fast forward to today we are taking vacations, working on or about $20,000 remodel in our 5yr plan (we are now in 4th year) and last of all paying off the loans we have. The bonus though we are able to share our new found freedom.
Freedom does come with a price though it always does just like couponing. My thinking here is if you give yourself the excuse I don't have time...alright. My question is are you really prioritizing your time. Here is what I am thinking if I am sitting watching TV for 2hrs then I should have time to spend 2hrs organizing, reading, etc for couponing. Another way to look at this is 2hrs of TV going to really benefit me or my family. WHOA, I am sure you are thinking back off here...you don't know what your are saying and maybe I don't though this is what I learned. Those 2hrs that I sat with my family instead of the TV....we had quality time together, we talked and planned, my dd learned how to use big kid scissors, she learned value of a $, etc....getting what you want does come with a price, though I do think the biggest thing over all is the end result is better then you expect.
Couponing is a lifestyle change, I believe and it isn't for those who is in it just for the instant gratification. Most of the time You won't see big changes in the beginning though you will down the road. Here is an example from our life.
For 3yrs we only had 4 pieces of furniture...Story time
We only been here in CO for 7yrs and 6yrs ago our dinning room table broke, we did have a patio table with chairs...so You guessed it we have been using that for the past several years and then was given a table which I could of taken an ax to, silly thing I couldn't even get it sold in a yard sale. I did replace some of the chairs though the biggest replacement was I found the table that I wanted an antique oak table. The greatest thing and revelation was knowing I didn't have to settle for something that I didn't want. I tell you I was excited and boy did I just want to scream out Thank you GOD for this blessing. My husband was so thrilled to see me excited that we both went down to get that table and the best part was we Paid CASH all $200 and with the knowing fact that we didn't have to pay on a credit card or sacrifice a bill to cover it that in itself was the best Reward and all the tears and choices did pay off. We even stopped and bought dinner to eat. Honestly any one who looked at us probably thought we totally lost it. Though knowing us and what we went through this was a big celebration and thanks to God for giving us this blessing and lifestyle of couponing.
I have been doing this for a little over 4yrs and just last year we started to see the rewards of hard work paying off. For us this is a family matter, everyone is involved if one doesn't participate we all suffer. I know this isn't easy and sometimes we may start off doing this alone, but I do believe that if you do press on then those who question will come aboard. It all boils down to a choice though whatever it is the benefit of it would be worth it.
Like I said before this works for us....What we have seen in couponing for us can be a shocker to others. Let me quench a thought here it won't work for us, yes it will though you need to make that choice.
We chose this life with couponing and the benefits out weighs a lot of things.I thank God every day for this gift of couponing it truly is a gift and a lifestyle change.
We have the freedom to pay in cash-car repairs, bills, vacations, shopping, renovations, etc.
We have the freedom to buy what we want or enjoy.
We have the freedom to give merchandise over $100 for free to people.
We have the freedom to eat out in style.
We have the freedom to travel where every we want.
We have the freedom to enjoy luxury items like big screen TV's, boats, etc.
We have the freedom to enjoy Life.
We have the freedom to know that we will be debt free and a mortgage will be paid off before our daughter is in college.
We have the freedom to know that our dd will have college money.
We have the freedom to shop when we want (explanation I don't need to shop every month or every week)
If you truly want to change your lifestyle this is it.
You will cry.Now it is up to you to decided if this really the life style you want. In Proverbs 20:15 it says There is gold and an abundance of rubies, but the lips of the knowledge are a precious jewel. Just like couponing you need the knowledge in order to succeed.
You will be frustrated.
You will jump for joy.
You will have your light bulb moment.
You will have an adrenaline rush.
You will have a panic attack.
You will be wondering if you need to be put in a looney farm.
You will be criticized.