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As I was cleaning out my purse of expired coupons I realized I was sitll OK.
I tossed 30, 50 and 60% coupons and realized I didn't need to spend every one I got on craft supplies and it would be OK. No lightning bolt hit me. So from now on I am going to really decide if I need to use the coupons I get or do I have enough right now. Bet the answer will be I have enough for now.
How about you. Do you use your coupons because you get them or really need that item?
Marcia
I used to get very excited when I had a 50% off coupon, say from Michaels or Joann's. I would go to the store determined to find something to "spend" my coupon on. In fact, I would say to my husband as I left, "Off to spend my coupon."
I think just time and accumulation of lots of basic supplies have changed my behavior with coupons. I usually save the coupons, have them in my purse "just in case", but don't use them unless there is a specific item I really need/want.
Before, if I couldn't find something special, I would buy something generic like adhesive, so I didn't waste the coupon.
Since I switched to the ATG gun, I buy my tape for it online, and get 12 rolls at a time - so don't need adhesive.
I also stock up on colored cardstock when Michaels has it on sale for $2.00 a pack, so I don't need paper. You get the idea... Like you, I have enough for now.
__________________ Bugga in OK
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." Dalai Lama
As I was cleaning out my purse of expired coupons I realized I was sitll OK.
I tossed 30, 50 and 60% coupons and realized I didn't need to spend every one I got on craft supplies and it would be OK. No lightning bolt hit me. So from now on I am going to really decide if I need to use the coupons I get or do I have enough right now. Bet the answer will be I have enough for now.
How about you. Do you use your coupons because you get them or really need that item?
Marcia
Good questions. I'd like to know where you get these 30, 50 and 60% off coupons. I only see 40% off coupons and I do use them. I almost always have a purpose for them as the closest any hobby/craft/SB store is 2 hours away for me so I only go about once or twice at the most a year. It would certainly be nice to be able to use a 60% off coupon if I could get one to coincide with my trip planning. Though I guess I do get certain items online but only when they are on sale or I do have a 40% off coupon. For most BIG items I wait a few months after a release to read the reviews and see if it's worth it and if I really need it or if I already have something similar.
I know what you mean. A couple of years ago, my printer broke and I didn't replace it. Thought I'd miss it, but the price of ink reinforced my decision along with tons of printed recipes, images, emails, etc. I really needed at the time and then didn't use!
Anyway, when I printed the coupons (40% on things not on sale) I got so frustrated because everything at JoAnn's is on sale, Michael's too. Plus if I was lucky enough to find something not on sale, the price was outrageous even with the % off.
The other day I went shopping with a friend who because she's so sweet, printed me coupons for JoAnn's. I almost bought something just so I could thank her for it, but I held back and still thanked her but didn't use the coupon. Next time I'll tell her to save her ink, I can always pick up a paper ad at the store and tear out the coupon if I really need to use it.
Gads, I sure go on and on. Sorry for all the words, really I hardly talk at home!! LOL! Ask Hubby.
__________________ We can't all be stars but we can all twinkle.
This reminds me of the ads that say 'save even more when you buy_____ No, I save even more when I DON'T buy! But their lingo can suck you in.
I'm not near a big box coupon store either, and I think I've used a coupon twice ever and I needed the product. Usually I am a one company buyer, simplifies things for me and keeps me fairly frugal.
Isn't it amazing how some of the most powerful realizations - stuff that makes us stop and change tracks - come ever so slowly and subtly? All of a sudden, something just clicks and POOF! You're a changed person.
I've had a very similar realization to yours late last year. It was right before I jumped to work on my Christmas cards. As I was making plans on which stamps to buy, I went to check my stash for an older stamp that I couldn't recall whether I had or not. As I was leafing through the stamp pockets, I realized that I've only ever used maybe 10% of those Christmas stamps. And that I never pulled them out during the rest of the year, either.
This led me to look at the rest of my stash with a more critical eye, and decide that I have enough. I've got enough stamps, enough paper, enough media and enough inks. So, I stocked up on some adhesive refills to last me a while, then put myself on a total spending freeze.
And what a good decision that was! Aside from feeling really productive, I've had a chance to actually use everything I own and make it worth the purchase. And I've still seen a lot of positive and kind feedback from other crafters. That was one of my worries before, that not using the latest and the greatest meant my cards will be too boring for others to look at.
Curiously, I've found the opposite happened. People have responded to my cards a lot more and a lot better since then. I don't know whether that's because all that old stuff sticks out among a bunch of cards using that one new stamp or if I've just gotten better at card-making. But I'm definitely feeling more creative by having some limitations and I'm less overwhelmed by choices.
Once I go back to shopping, I won't be shopping sales, either. Sure, I'll have less product for the same money, but I have a feeling that will make me value the product a lot more. If there happens to be a sale when I'm buying, great. If not, I'll just stick to buying mindfully and with a purpose.
Well if anyone is waiting to see the latest and greatest from me, they will be waiting a long time! LOL. I am so slow at this by the time I get around to using something it will be years old...plus I buy old stamps on ebay b/c I like the image!
Ok-it isnt that I never buy a new image but since I always throw them in my wishlist and wait for a sale...(and then a bunch of them get axed b/c I realize I have enough of that or isnt so cute post-impulse buy stage). But it's new to me!
Back to topic...My Michaels never seems to have paper flyers :( So unless I get it online, I dont get it. (which reminds me-I have not been getting emails. hmm) It isnt easy for me to get there and back so I tend to use them on basics like 110 paper. I did try to shop the sales...but I am not a sticker kid, and I have enough rhinestones.
I think it was said already-when I was first starting out and didnt have much-yes I moved on a coupon. Now I have a good size stash..I just dont need stuff.
Edit: I am very likely to move on coupons for the drugstore though. So I guess that makes me an old so and so. lol
I too find myself frustrated with the coupons. I drove out of my way Sunday to use the 60% Joann coupon only to find that the two things I wanted to use the coupon to purchase (a set of sentiment dies or film for DD's new Polaroid camera ) were excluded items. If course I still had some clearance items and chalk paint and envies but all those were excluded as well. So annoying!
I find myself letting them expire because one time I had a coupon and was searching the store for something to get as not to lose out on the coupon. I decided I couldn't find anything or didn't really need anything so I ended up giving it away and made someone very happy now, I figure if I use it, I use it, if I don't, I don't.
I've not only quit "having" to use coupons, I've been known to pay for shipping to get just the one item I want, instead of adding things I don't really need to my cart to qualify for free shipping. That has really ratcheted down my spending because I hate paying for shipping.
__________________ Linda E
Caution: You are entering an artistic zone. This is not clutter - this is creating. These are not pajamas - it's my work uniform.
I find having a cash supply the problem, not having an excess of coupons the problem.
Using a charge card for craft supplies to me is like charging gas or food. It is gone by the time the bill arrives.
Now if I want to buy craft supplies on the internet, I use my debit card. This way it is all paid for.
It is a cash flow problem for me.
__________________ The quickest way for a parent to get a child's attention is to sit down and look comfortable. Practice safe eating always use condiments
I find that I delete the email ads for crafting stores without looking at their sales. Yes, I am still alive and the world didn't come to an end!
A few years ago I lived in a town where JoAnn's, Michaels & HL were all on one street and less than 5 minutes from my house. I got caught in the trap of their coupons and EVERY weekend I would go to each of these stores. I thought I HAD to find something to use that coupon for!
We moved to another state and these stores were at least a hour's drive from my house - I realized I DID NOT NEED ANYTHING!!
So life does go on without having to use the coupons before they expire. I found that I have a better selection in my craft room than some of the stores!
So life does go on without having to use the coupons before they expire. I found that I have a better selection in my craft room than some of the stores!
Me, too. I keep all my supplies in a spare bedroom. When I get ready to make something, I say I'm going to "shop in my store" and head for the room!
__________________ Bugga in OK
"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible." Dalai Lama
High Fives for setting such a good example for the rest of us!!
I'll admit that I print fewer coupons now than in years past. But ... if I don't happen to have a paper one, I will stand aside in an aisle to check for an emailed/cyber coupon for M's or Joann.
the nearest Michaels is 3 1/2 hours away, if we are doing a day trip for shopping (maybe twice a year) I print off the coupons. I have gone in and not bought anything, but I do usually use them. I almost always have what I want in mind and if I can't find it I will usually buy some 110lb cardstock.
I used to feel the need to use all the coupons, too, but that was quite awhile ago. I rarely go to any of the stores that take coupons because they almost never have anything that I want. On the rare occasion that I pop into Hobby Lobby I'll pull up the coupon on my phone, but I have to be going for something very specific to even walk in, truthfully. Now if Unity will just stop putting the things on my wishlist in their sales...
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I have always used Michael's or Hobby Lobby daily 40% off coupon only as needed. I need ATG tape, go to Mikes & use my phone for the coupon.
Probably why is I'm 90% SU so I just go to Mikes for rhinestones, Tombo, pearls, and the once in awile tool like my scoreboard, a punch, or my envelope punch all bought at 40% off.
I guess I use these two stores for basics.
__________________ All I want is the chance to prove money won't make me happy!
I sold all my stuff several years back so I had to build up my stash from nothing. I've come to a point where I don't need more colors of card stock, and I'm set on Neenah white for stamping and coloring with Copics. I also have so many colored inks that I barely use, so won't buy more. The things I do buy now are patterned papers and new stamps, when I LOVE the design and colors. I don't buy paper pads just in case I need to make a card in the future that looks vintage, because I don't do vintage, period. Not my style. I've cut down on buying dies because am considering buying a Silhouette Cameo (new version that comes out this year) to save on word dies and on the matching dies for the stamp sets I have to have.
When I do buy online, I try to look around for coupon codes for free shipping or just a discount, and I buy from the place where the things will come out cheapest, not necessarily my favorite online stores.
We don't have any big box stores where I live, so I do all my shopping online. Our tax is 11.5 (!), so most of the time, even paying shipping, I find what I want online for much, much cheaper.
I often throw out unused coupons, but I use my fair share as well. I live close to both Joanns (about a mile away) and Michaels (a 7 minute walk from my front door- my kids and I timed it once).
I am a Cub Scout den leader, so I am often buying craft stuff for scout activities, so I might just be buying a $1.50 item, but if it's not on sale and I've got a coupon handy or on my phone, I'll happily use it. I don't go out of my way to find thing to buy with them, however.
I am also a teacher, so I really do take full advantage of my teacher discount at Joanns for things already on sale. The 15% off on top of a 30% off sale equals just shy of 40% off total! Kind of makes a coupon less necessary.
I also used to go hunting for something to buy with a coupon. No more.
I agree with so many things. Already mentioned,
1. Michaels hasn't emailed coupons lately, and they put ads in the Sunday paper much less frequently. I have the app, but tend to forget about it.
2. AC Moore emails plenty of coupons, and are in the Sunday paper. I've noticed a lot of 55% off coupons in email good for one day only. If I need something, I wait until I get one of the coupons.
3. Agree with the frustration at Joann's. Seems like every time I go to use a coupon there, they tell me it was on sale. I swear there wasn't a sign, and the sale I get is always less than the coupon.
4. I think the 60% off coupons usually appear around holidays.
5. If I discover I need something, I try not to buy it until I have a good coupon. 40% doesn't do it for me anymore.
On a similar note, I always check the clearance section when I'm at a craft store.
Oddly, they are often less than 50% off. I figure if it was not on clearance, I could get it for less with a coupon, so no thank you.
This is sort of off-topic, but sort of related, so I'm throwing it out there, just 'cause...
I used to get REALLY excited about sales at Joann's for home dec and seasonal stuff, but then they jacked up the regular price so high that the "sale" price is a reasonable everyday price, but certainly no bargain. It made me stop looking, even. I noticed last time I was in Hobby Lobby that they seem to be heading that way, as well...
Brick-and-mortar stores already have an uphill climb competing with online ventures that don't have to pay rent or other overhead, without alienating the customers still willing to give them their business. The whole thing makes me kind of cranky. I need a nap...
Today I realized something
