Confession: I Threw Out My Coupons

When you have a baby or two and you have one income, it's almost always essential to learn how to save money on diapers.  Not to mention, you're spending so much money on headbands for your tiny princess, that you need to save money on pretty much everything else to make up the difference. 

Back to the point.  When I found out I was pregnant with Lincoln, I knew that I wanted to be a stay at home mom.  I started reading books and blogs about saving money.  I clipped every coupon I could find.  I got a newspaper subscription.  I actually even wrote a coupon blog for over a year.  And while I did save a lot of money, I spent an extremely ridiculous amount of time trying to figure out how to get all of the freebies, samples, and deals that I could. 

When I knew that Adelaide was on the way, one of the first things to go was blogging about coupons.  I loved deal blogging, but it requires being online almost constantly to watch for new deals that may be gone within minutes.  I have a huge respect for the awesome coupon bloggers who have been sharing deals for years on end.  That job is hard. 

I still tried to keep up with my coupons, though.  I read the deal blogs.  I liked every page on Facebook that might share a freebie at random times.  I kept my newspaper subscription.  But as I dealt with morning sickness and a very busy toddler, my coupons started to expire.  I realized that I was not getting to the drugstores more often than once every couple of months (in the deal world - you almost have to visit weekly to keep up with the drugstore game).  I desperately tried, but finally, this week - I GAVE UP.

I threw my coupons away.  Almost all of them.

I simply don't have the time or energy right now to worry about keeping up with all of the deals - just to maybe save $2 on a pack of diapers once a month.  And that's only if I happen to make it to the store.  Please don't judge me for not sending my coupons to a military group or a coupon swap.  This week, I really really just needed to be DONE with them and this was the best solution. 99% of them were way expired, anyway.

I kept a few restaurant coupons (most of which I can't use anyway since I am currently eating dairy-free, but maybe my hubby can use them), some Bed, Bath & Beyond coupons, and a few other retail coupons.  My enormous coupon binder seems manageable right now.  I am absolutely positive that one day in the future, I will again be a couponing queen.  But right now, it's simply not feasible for me to keep up.  My tiny kids are more important.

The only thing that I found upsetting?  This:

Who lets a coupon for a free box of diapers EXPIRE?!  Seriously.  Fail.