Welcome to my very first post in my couponing 101 series! I’m so excited to begin this series and I hope that it will be helpful to anyone out there who is reading my blog and either has some clarifying questions or is learning how to do this for the first time. If you have specific questions as we go along, please don’t hesitate to ask them in the comment section!
In this post I would like to answer the question, WHY? Why did I begin on this journey into the crazy land of couponing. There are a few reasons. The first reason is that Josh asked me to. And I said no. Because I’m a really good wife. I don’t have time. I don’t have motivation. It’s not worth my time to save $10 at the end of my grocery transactions. It’s not stuff I buy. I don’t want to hold up the people in line behind me at the register and make the checkers angry for making them work harder. These were my thoughts.
Enter Proverbs 31. Ahh…the woman that we all want to be and will never live up to! I was studying this passage some months ago and was reading some commentaries on it as well. Let’s just take a look at this, shall we? This is NKJV.
Proverbs 31:10-31
Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life. She seeks wool and flax, and willingly works with her hands. She is like the merchant ships, she brings food from afar. She also rises while it is yet night, and provides food for her household, and a portion for her maidservants. She considers a field and buys it; from her profits she plants a vineyard. She girds herself with strength, and strengthens her arms. She perceives that her merchandise is good, and her lamp does not go out by night. She stretches out her hands to the distaff, and her hand holds the spindle. She extends her hand to the poor, yes she reaches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of snow for her household, for her household is clothed with scarlet. She makes a tapestry for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies sashes for the merchants. Strength and honor are her clothing; she shall rejoice in time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and on her tongue is the law of kindness. She watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also and he praises her: “many daughters have done well, but you excel them all.” Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates.
This passage is just chock full of verses about being frugal, being wise with money, and making wise decisions. In particular, the verses I highlighted were the ones that stuck out to me in regards to couponing:
The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life. I was convicted in reading this that in the area of money, my husband could not safely trust me. I did not budget. I overspent all the time. I did not make good decisions. And that was NOT doing him “good”.
She is like the merchant ships, she brings food from afar. In one of the commentaries I read, it highlighted this verse with the meaning that she went far away from her home in order to get food at a bargain. Was I doing this? Was this how I was spending my time?
She is not afraid of snow for her household, for her household is clothed with scarlet. Do you get this? What it means is that she, nor anyone in her house needs to fear that they will be unprepared if snow comes [or the power goes out, or we have a terrorist attack, or a natural disaster or the loss of a job] She is prepared for whatever life throws at them.
After reading this passage and realizing what it meant, and what I WASN’T doing, I made the decision to begin the process of learning to use coupons. Yes, doing coupons takes a lot of time. But I get to stay at home with my 5 kids and raise them. My husband makes sure of that. I don’t bring in any income to our household. Other than our house payment, our grocery budget is the largest portion of our monthly expenses. And since I don’t contribute any money to our budget, it is my job to do the best I can with the money we have….saving money is as good as earning it. And the time I spend? Well, most of it is done at home. With my kids. Clipping, looking online for deals and grocery store scenarios takes a lot of time. As well as going to the store a few times a week. But you know what? A part time job would take up a lot of time as well. And I’d be out of the house for the entire time. And I wouldn’t be making nearly as much money per hour as I am saving when I buy and stockpile things for 75% or more off of retail. It is worth my time.
So that is why I do it. Why do you do it? Why are you interested in it? Could couponing help you in your responsibilities as a wife/mother to be responsible with your money? Does your husband feel safe with you in this area? Are you doing him good and not evil when it comes to your budget? Hard questions, aren’t they? But ask them. I did. And it’s changed my life.
I just have to brag about this… My stockpile boasts 27 bottles and/or boxes of laundry soap that I either got for FREE or under $1.00…I do so much laundry that this makes me smile.
