I hope everyone had a great Easter Sunday. I apologize for not posting much lately. My girls' double birthday party and Easter cook out kept me busy these past 2 weeks. Plus, I haven't really been using much coupons lately. Mostly only using them for household and some H&B products. Since
changing the way we eat last year, I haven't really been utilizing many
of the coupons that pop up on the main IP coupon sites. The
last time I purchased newspaper inserts was in December of last year
and to be honest, my OOP grocery expenses have remained about the same.
We began eating healthier when I got the "diagnoses of doom" as I call it, in January 2012.
I
have a strong family history of diabetes on my dad's side of the family
and knew it was just a matter of time for me since I had many of the
contributing factors -- overweight, family history, unhealthy eating habits and sedentary lifestyle. That day was a wake up call for me to begin eating and living healthier not just for myself but for my family as well. I had been couponing for about 2 years by then and had been purchasing (or picking up free) all the processed foods, beverages and sweets that we tend to get coupons for every single week. It was easy to get sucked up into the freebie frenzy--- I mean it's FREE! Who passes up free right??
Well, now that I look back at all those "FREE" and cheap items I picked up, I realize they weren't really FREE or cheap. Take into consideration health care costs to manage my diagnoses of doom, insert costs, costs of ink, gas expenses plus the amount of time spent away from my kiddos to put together a couponing trip or trips...YIKES!
It'll be 15 months next week since I began my lifestyle change and have since lost 77 lb by changing what I eat. I don't really exercise, except that I now walk my daughter to school every morning and that's 2 miles round trip. For me, the decision to stop going after every freebie or cheap food deal that came up was very easy to make since my health is now on the line. I also don't want my kiddos to go down the same path and since genetics plays a role in getting this disease, I want to teach them healthy eating habits and to make healthier food choices. By no means, am I trying to discourage anyone from couponing. Couponing is great and still plays a role in helping me save money on our groceries, household and clothing expenses. It's just not as big a role as it once was. I still print some of the IP coupons online and utilize some of the blogs to pick up inexpensive clothes and gifts for birthdays and upcoming holidays. We recently picked up Free Udi's gluten free products, inexpensive EB Farms organic veggies, free Zevia soda and super inexpensive meats from F & E. There are some IP and insert coupons for organic, gluten free or natural foods. They're just not as readily available as the coupons for processed foods are. Below are a few IP coupon sites that you may find helpful if you're trying to coupon for organic, natural, dairy free or gluten free foods:
- commonkindness.com
- recyclebank (gift card offers, store coupons & online coupon codes as well)
- mambo sprouts
- facebook.com (companies usually offer coupons on their FB page)
- Sprouts store coupons
- Whole Foods store coupons
- Fresh & Easy Friends Rewards (receive weekly emailed store coupons as well)
I will continue to post on my blog but mostly for online deals, company giveaways/freebie offers, household and H & B deals/coupons, store/retail coupons and coupons for healthier foods and essentials. For me, I find that it's more enjoyable posting deals for items my family and I use than posting something I wouldn't personally purchase or use. Hopefully this doesn't discourage anyone from continuing to read my blog but if it does, I wish you nothing but the best in your couponing endeavors :)
Thanks for reading my blog and as always, HAPPY SHOPPING!
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