Day 10: Making KCL a Way of Life
Repeat after me: Buy before you need while it’s CHEAP or FREE, and avoid having to buy at FULL PRICE when you absolutely need it!
At the grocery store this line of thinking has become second nature. We’re all on our way to creating a stockpile that will support our families (and friends, neighborhoods, and towns, if necessary!) If you have been doing this for very long, you are spending LESS at the grocery store and accumulating MORE! It’s a wonderful thing.
So, if you are a KCL at the grocery store, it’s time to start thinking about taking this a step further and Making KCL a Way of Life.
Stockpile Kids’ Clothes
Shop end-of-season clearance racks and buy a size or two up. Shop Secondhand stores and Garage Sales for gently used, name-brand clothing. My new favorite way to accumulate kids’ clothes is to stack an Old Navy Sale or Clearance item with an Old Navy Weekly coupon.
Check Out Books and Movies from the Library
This is a great way to find movies and books for FREE. (Plus, I am always motivated to get the books read since they have a due date!) Free Redbox codes are also a great way to get the most current movies. Since Redbox started doing this, I have cancelled our Netflix subscription!
Buy Birthday Toys on Clearance
Every year after Christmas, Target clearances most of their toy section. Take this opportunity to stock up on birthday presents for your kids, their friends, their cousins, etc.
Stock Up on Office and School Supplies
After school starts, Target clearances their student supplies. It’s a great time to stock up on a year’s worth of things you’ll need for your home office, crafts, and classroom supplies.
Pay It Forward
Even though my garage is fully stockpiled with all that my family needs, I haven’t backed down on my couponing. The newspapers keep coming, my binder is still full, and my eyes are forever on the lookout for those irresistible deals. When I see free toothpaste and deodorant, or $0.50 cereal, I never pass them up. I purchase them with another plan in mind. They won’t end up on the shelves in my garage but in the hands of someone in need. Local food banks, women and children’s shelters, and nursing homes are just a few of the places I visit. Recently I was able to donate over 300 pounds of food to my local food bank. What an amazing opportunity! Couponing has given me the gift of giving. I’ve been blessed to be able to share the love, help people survive, and lighten others’ loads.
As amazing as it is to give, one of my favorite ways to pay it forward comes from the Chinese proverb: “Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” I like to say, “Give a woman a basket of food, and feed her for a day. Give a woman a lesson on couponing, and feed her family for a lifetime!” It has been incredible to watch people transform their own lives by implementing the simple principles of couponing. Story after story flood my email—positive change and life-altering hope brought into lives just because of coupons. What a gift it is to be able to teach others how to save money, how to feed their families on pennies, and how to take control in their lives. Change is powerful, and it’s happening all over the nation because of coupons!
In a very real way, couponing has the power to transform your life too. I save $10,000 a year on groceries all because I know how to use my coupons! Yes, it takes a little work, a bit of extra time, and some planned effort, but the results are amazing. Eliminate your debt, build a financial reserve and a stockpile loaded with all your needs, and gain the opportunity to pay it forward. What more could you want?
