Clip, Clip, Save, Save

About a week ago, Ben and I watched an episode of Extreme Couponing on TLC.  If you haven't seen it, it is (mostly) women, spending anywhere from 30-60 hours a week clipping coupons, organizing them, planning shopping trips, and then (after hours spent in the grocery store) getting hundreds (or even thousands) of dollars worth of merchandise for a fraction of the cost - sometimes free!  They have HUGE stockpiles in their homes, literally with enough food and toiletries to last years!

At first I was simply amazed.  How was this possible?  How is it that we didn't know such savings existed?  Why have we just been throwing our money away? 

Then I realized, it's because in our house, we don't have 30+ hours per week to dedicate to clipping coupons.  Ben and I both work, and our free time is so rare and precious that we're not willing to sacrifice it, even in the name of savings.  Not to mention, it also requires a level of organization (and patience) that I simply do not possess. 

But, as we have gotten hooked on the show, we have agreed that in the interest of saving money, we'd be foolish not to take advantage of at least some of the coupons that print out at the register during our frequent shopping trips. 

So, this afternoon, we spent about 30 minutes cutting and organizing coupons from the paper and online.  It's a small step, but as a (fairly) newlywed couple wanting to get a new car, buy a house, and start a family, we need to pay closer attention to our budget.

While I don't expect to become the crazy coupon ladies that we see on what is rapidly becoming one of our favorite shows, I'm sure I can learn something from each of them, even if my ultimate goal is only to save some money, rather than build a stockpile that would rival most nuclear fallout shelters!