When I was a young married gal, I used coupons and went to the double coupon day at Safeway. I found out however that I really was not saving anything because Safeway charged twice as much as other grocery stores. When Buy-4-Less came in I started clipping again. I used to set Jacob and Anna down with a pair of scissors and the Sunday coupons and told them to only clip the things they were familiar with. What ever we were able to save at the store they got to keep. That was their allowance. That worked well for three reasons. Them clipping them kept me from being tempted to buy things that I didn't really use. It also helped them understand money better. They added, subtracted and compared all the time to make sure they were getting the best deal. Reason three, I was going to give them an allowance anyway so why not make them work for it? Where I made my mistake? I didn't follow through and do it for very long. I got lazy and started letting it slide. When Jacob got older, I would have him add the grocery bill up in his head as we shopped. If he got it right he got a reward. That also helped me tremendously because I can;t add in my head to save my life. He is to this day the best "head counter" I know besides his Dad.
Today, I started using coupons again. I saved over 50 dollars! Elizabeth is my youngest and she did the clipping. She helped me compare and organize all the stuff. I am going to split our savings with her. Twenty five for her and twenty five for me. Times have changed and she is a teenager. She needs more money than the little kids did. The benefits are the same. She helps me control my urge to buy things I don't need, she is counting and comparing, and I am going to have to give her money anyway. Why not use her help?
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