Coupons. We’re trying to cut back on our grocery bill (because sometimes it gets out of hand) and so we started getting the Sunday paper so that we could clip them. My biggest annoyance with them is that they often require you to buy much more of something than you really need. My personal favorite? Cereal coupons. Perhaps we don’t have the space to store 3-5 boxes of cereal just to save $1. [/sarcasm] If I wanted to buy bulk, I’d have a Sam’s Club membership (which BTW, you should definitely pay attention–it’s not always cheaper to buy their huge quantities over a normal sized purchase at the local grocery stores, in fact, we noticed that there weren’t many things that were cheaper at our “local” Sam’s vs. our variant of Kroger store, thus the reason we didn’t ultimately buy a membership).
I also hate how sometimes you go to buy something and the coupon is only worth about 20¢, which still doesn’t make it less expensive than the generic, but you took the time to cut the darn thing out. And why do I have to sign up with my email address for every single brand that I buy in order to get coupons from them? Why can’t they just put them in the paper? Maybe I don’t want more email in my inbox, maybe I just want it to be in the paper to be cut out and used without the hassle that I sometimes get with the printed coupons (our local Target refuses to accept printed coupons). I even signed up for CellFire, only to discover that it only works at one or two stores (from the same chain as my local store) in the big city that I don’t live close enough to to shop at?
Anyway, I don’t know how people really save money with coupons, perhaps they live closer to the store than I do (30 minutes one way) and have more time to shop there every day waiting for the specials. I think right now we’re merely breaking even on the cost of the newspaper subscription for the things that we buy regularly. I guess, perhaps we should file it under “entertainment” and start making a more concerted effort to read the whole thing.
Splinters & Stitches 
I don’t “get” coupons. They obviously don’t suit my nature. But paying that much attention, to save a little bit here and there, doesn’t strike me as a good ROI. I think going to a store that always has lower prices, eating according to the season, avoiding the boxed foods (which seem to be the $$$est), and maybe buying less – but using it all – is a better way to go. Of course, I have food “issues”. I spend so much money on food it’s obscene. I tell myself it’s ok cuz I don’t have a car.
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Coupons aren’t really in my nature either, but I know that some people seem to have really good luck with them. Apparently, I’m not one of those people. We’re weaning ourselves off of the boxed foods, I’m tired of eating stuff that I can’t pronounce! Plus, we’ve gotten off of them enough to notice that when we eat those kinds of foods it makes us feel icky.
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