Friday, March 12, 2010

Cutting Coupons: You're Not Too Busy, Part 2


I mentioned last week how I hear all the time from people who are just "too busy" to clip coupons. I'm not buying it. I've committed to giving you all FORTY ideas of times when you could get those coupons clipped without having to set aside a huge chunk of time to do so. Last Friday, I shared ten opportunities to tackle this chore in the car. This week, I'd like to offer up ten suggestions for coupon clipping opportunities:

While You Do Your Job

(For the stay-at-home mom -- this does NOT include ways to do this task WITH your children... that'll be coming.)

  1. Clip while you cook- There are lots of pockets of time when we bake and cook. You can't necessarily leave the kitchen and embark on a big project, but you can certainly cut out some coupons in between tasks.
  2. Clip while they eat- Am I the only one who finishes my meal way before the kids? It's necessity, really, that causes us moms to learn to eat fast. When I'm not swamped in dishes or other chores, I can get some coupons clipped while they finish up.
  3. Clip with your morning tea/coffee- I do this once a week. I'm the first one up, so I pour my coffee, print what coupons I'll be needing, and sit down to cut them... all before the rest of my household rises.
  4. Clip outside- There is no rule that says you need to clip indoors. Cut out some coupons while your children run around! You can easily clip AND supervise.
  5. Clip while you delegate- This looks like this: (while sitting on sofa with scissors and inserts in hand) "A- how about matching those socks together for Mommy from the laundry basket? C- can you dance for G? See how that makes her smile? You guys are such great helpers!"
(For the work-outside-the-home mom)

  1. Clip in your car- Whether you're stuck in traffic, at a super-long red light, or just a few minutes early to work, you can get some cutting done from the driver's seat! (It goes without saying that you need to be STOPPED to be cutting coupons... no distracted driving, people!)
  2. Clip on your lunch break- You all have lots of reasons to envy stay-at-home moms. This is the biggest reason we envy you (well, that, or the fact that you can go to the bathroom by yourself ;)). Your life is busy, busy, busy, but this is a time when you could get some clipping done while waiting for lunch to heat up or chatting with a friend.
  3. Clip on a coffee break- You may only have five minutes or so, but a lot can be accomplished in that time! And, as you can see above, I think coffee and coupons go together splendidly!
  4. Clip while you wait on copies, the printer, the fax- This is kind of like clipping while you cook- pockets of time that aren't good for much, but you can breeze through a few sheets of coupons, for sure!
  5. Clip as part of cleaning your desk at the end of the day- I'm not suggesting that you should get paid for this time, but if you're salaried, you can always finish any random clipping as part of clearing out the paperwork before you go home. It will only take a few minutes and there is the added incentive of getting out the door!
Happy clipping to you! Cutting coupons can certainly be worked into your daily job. And, consider this... the money you save by clipping some coupons (if they are for things you use anyway) is the same as money earned. Cha-ching.

This post is linked to Frugal Friday at Life As MOM.

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