To Coupon or Not to Coupon- That is the Question!

A New Year means a new improved stricter budget for the Casebolt Clan.  We have always had a budget, it was a necessity when I either stayed home with the kids or worked part time until the kids were in school and even though we both work full time now, and make decent money the budget has always stuck.  So it is nothing new to us, but we have goals, visions, and dreams of where we want to be in 1 year, 5 years, retirement, where ever.  We want to be debt free (including Mortgages) and have a comfortable savings by the time we decide we are ready to retire.  But we also want the financial freedom to travel abroad, and accomplish another HUGE goal that I will mention when the time is ready.
The question is to coupon or not to coupon. We use coupons whenever we can anyway, but since learning about extreme couponing every time I clip or use coupons, I wonder, I am curious, and when I got laid off last January I was fully prepared to become an expert to save us money.  Extreme couponing is pure genius in my opinion, and I totally see how it benefits many families.  But I also see so many things that catch my curiosity.  First, the amount of time that is required to be successful.  The hours spent clipping the coupons and scouring the ads and coming up with a game plan.  One miscalculation can throw off an entire shopping trip.  The watching of ads doesn’t bother me.  I make a bi-weekly menu and then make a list and then look at the ads to see where I can get items on my list cheaper, and sometimes going to 3 or 4 stores to get these items isn’t unheard of. It all makes sense to me……But the hours spent preparing for it, it’s almost like a full time job.
One of the things I struggle understanding is the stock piles.  Yes this is coming from the person that has plans to plant a garden for a year’s worth of food at a time; in essence I am stock piling food for a year to feed my family. And I buy in bulk whenever possible because it saves on cost…..which yes, is a stockpile. A stock pile makes sense if it is methodically thought out to fit the needs of the family, or if there are plans to donate to a much needed cause.  What I don’t get is stockpiling in large quantities (more than a family will use before the product expires) just because it’s free.  No matter what angle I look at it I seem to struggle with coming to terms with stockpiling with no methodical thought behind it, just to have the product for free.  If the product is never used it is a waste of time and effort and perfectly good product.  Just my thoughts……..
But, what I struggle with most though is how to use coupons and NOT eat processed foods.  Almost all coupons are for some sort of processed food.  I have seen very few coupons on food that is actually good for you, or organic, or gluten free, or even for fresh veggies.  Yes, they are out there, but it is very few and far between.   Processed foods are what we are trying to move our family from.  We will never be 100% away from them, but we would like the bulk of our food to not be processed.  Bottom line, even if it’s still labeled as “healthy for you” the food was still PROCESSED so it can be preserved and most likely contains too much sodium or preservatives. I have not figured out how extreme couponing will work for the goal we are trying to accomplish, when it comes to buying the food we don’t plan on growing.  Growing our own food (having chickens and eggs, etc.) will be TONS cheaper on our budget and healthier for us too.  This past weekend we planned our garden based on the veggies we love.  We spent $40 on seed that is organic and GMO free.  The big thing here…. we bought enough seeds to last us 2-3 years!  What does that mean?  Doing the math on the amount of veggies we eat a year, if all works out as planned we will be saving close to or over $1000.00 a year in the next 3 years!
As far as time factor……both things take time and effort to be successful, whether it’s clipping coupons, and scouring ads, or gardening, freezing and canning the food.   Really I think it’s just a matter of what is right for the family, and the patience level needed to make either thing work.  Someday I might get brave enough to figure out how to stockpile what we don’t grow (i.e., cosmetics, toiletries, etc.) by extreme couponing, but one small step at a time.