Experiments in Homemaking - "Couponing"

So, whenever I travel someplace new, I always tell myself the first time is just to figure out what you want to do the next time you go. I find it helps me relax and enjoy the trip instead of frantically trying to "see it all" in case I never get back to a location.

Recently, I've used a similar philosophy in some "homemaking experiments" I'm doing. I've told myself, its okay if I don't do it forever, but that I need to do it long enough to understand the pros/cons and to figure out what I need to know for the next time I try something. So, it is with glee and a tinge of regret that I'm closing the current chapter of my "Couponing" experiment.

For the past six months, I have subscribed to the paper (if I were a diligent blogger, I would have updated you on that story too, because it was interesting ... Sorry), reserving the coupons to later be clipped, filed, sorted, and used. By the end, I definitely had a system of sorts worked out, but since, I'm obviously not the first person to use coupons and I'm certainly not the best I'll save you the how-tos and skip right to the pros/cons... as I see them:

Pros:

• I really did save money. My last trip to the grocery store rang up at $90 before coupons and came in at $62 after. My receipt said I actually had $120 worth of groceries, but that is with the club card and I would have used that anyway. $28/week is not chump change for us and it even makes up for the $12/month newspaper subscription that I only ordered after feeling guilty about the lecture I gave the annoying kid at the door because as an aspiring attorney he didn't ever bother to read the paper himself. (there is that post in one sentence)
• I purchased lots of food that was outside my normal repertoire
• Grocery shopping was very deliberate, I had a list and it was fairly easy to stick to the list

Cons:

• It took way too long to prep the list. I used pinchingyourpennies.com to get the compilation of available coupons and sales. I downloaded everything into excel, sorted and prioritized and then had to hunt for the coupons needed to get the sales. The prep took so long that I started to hate grocery shopping.
• Meal planning was more difficult. By only buying the "really good sales" my grocery cart was a bigger mish mash of items. I would come home with my lute and still not know exactly what to make for dinner. Frozen peas and granola bars, anyone?
• The great sale food was not necessarily the food that was the best for me. Lots of snacker-type food. Which is okay in that I have a husband who needs to consume lots of calories, but not great in the fact that I have no will power at home and I'm the one here with the junk food all day. (Still, I'll probably miss the snackers :)

What I'll keep doing:

• Stashing coupons for things I buy. Cereal and Classico pasta sauce are used in our house. Stacking a coupon with a sale really cuts down on the price. We'll keep hording these coupons.
• Reviewing the circulars, this information is great for selecting what store I'll patronize that week...(yes, I can be pretty annoying while in the store :) and price matching.

What I'll ditch:

• Clipping and sorting all coupons. No more sifting through stacks of coupons eliminating the expired ones. No more separating them as things I probably won't buy, might buy, or likely buy... now I'm only keeping the things I will buy.
• I'm probably saying goodbye to Pinchingyourpennies.com too. Most of the stores they list aren't within a 20 mile radius of me, so I don't go to them or get their circulars. It may just be information overkill.

If I ever do decide to try "couponing" again:
Ah, here is the part, where I figure out what I missed that I would like to see the next time I go someplace... Now that I know about how much I can save on my own, the next time I might splurge for the couponsense.com membership. That $15/month membership wasn't justifyable to me this time... afterall, I try and keep my weekly grocery bill under $60, so $15 is 20% of my weekly bill. Now I have to wonder, if it could cut my store prep time down significantly then the $3.75/week may be the difference between a couponing experiment and a couponing lifestyle.
The answer to that question will have to wait. I've cancelled the newspaper subscription and I'm putting couponing on the shelf... at least for now. Up next in my experiments... homemade laundry detergent and dishwashing detergent. Wow, I'm feeling so domestic. I wonder how long it will take this one to expire?