Coupon burnout is very real. When you first get into couponing, you are very excited. You plan frequent trips to the store and are ready to try out new deal scenarios each week. The thrill of getting your grocery and home goods items cheap is enough to keep you motivated. At some point, it becomes tiresome. The hours of clipping coupons, the mile-long list and different stores, and limited-time all lead to this feeling. It’s one I have come to know as I have gotten busier in my life. If you feel the same, here are some ways you can avoid coupon burnout.
Frequency of Shopping Trips
At the begging of your coupon journey, you may find yourself walking into stores every single day at all times of the day. I would wake up as early as 5 am some days to get into Walgreens and shop before work. That’s ok at first, but it’s not sustainable. You should only head to the store at most once per week. Tailor your list to accommodate all the things you need at that time. I go to the store less frequently, so twice a month works for me.
Stay on Budget
When your couponing, you will always look to find the best deal. That’s great, but sometimes as couponers, we overdo it. I have walked in plenty of stores intending to spend $50 but end up with $100 worth of stuff in my cart. I’m here to tell you that going over your limits can kill your budget. It can make a fun hobby turn into an overindulgence that could lead to financial trouble if you are not careful.
Only Buy What You Need
Please only get what you need when you go shopping. I have to tell myself this all the time. When I first started couponing, I would get so much stuff. I would try out new foods and products, but some stuff would just go to waste. It was fun at the time, but now I’m finding stuff around my house that I’m never going to use. I have to throw things out constantly or give them away when I can because I’ve amassed so much junk. Looking at the accumulation of stuff contributes to my burnout because it means finding more places to store things and selling overflow items, both things I’m not interested in doing.
Get some rest
Don’t let couponing keep you up all night or have you up at the crack of dawn. It’s ok to rest and set an appropriate time of the day to shop. You may find that others have gone shopping before you, but there will still be plenty of deals for you to shop.
If you use the tips I have provided, you just may avoid coupon burnout. Want more great coupon articles, sign-up for our newsletter and check out the read more section.
