cvs---Telling all your friends...

[mrsfloyd]

My family and friends are pretty much in awe of my couponing - sometimes they'll try out some deal-shopping and love to tell me when they got a good deal. :) They also really love their coupon-freebie-basket that I give out at Christmas. LOL I'm lucky that I have an awesome friend that I actually met b/c we were both just getting started with couponing - I took some coupons to her house for a swap before a triple-coupon event, then we met up at the store during the sale and we've been inseparable ever since. I was even at the birth of both of her children and she's going to be at the birth of my new baby-on-the-way. (Coupons bring people together. LOL)

Maybe you could put out an ISO for a HCW buddy that's in your area so you guys can do some deals together? It is just so much more fun when you have somebody to 'hunt' with and share the excitement.

Also, maybe you can offer to sell some of your extras to your friend who 'doesn't have time' for cheap. You could make a buck and she could save a buck. Win-win situation. LOL

[ladycat00]

I share everyone's pain. My family all think I'm crazy. But of course they don't mind me helping them out when they hit a rough financial spot (and they all have WAY more money than me!!).

[Denisew]

I stopped telling people also. I don't think they believe me. My kids are always asking, was this free? My husband really appreciates it though. He says that is my full time job, couponing (I do have a PT job outside the house). All I need is for him to understand!!!

[BringontheWonder]

I got my MIL interested. She doesn't do deals on the level of most of us HCWers, and she seems a little wigged out by some of my stockpile items, but she gets it. Mostly. I posted a tutorial on our family blog about couponing, but no one seemed to care. It's disappointing to share my excitement over deals and get a negative response, so I've just stopped reaching out. I'm excited to give tons of my freebies as stocking stuffers this year to see how everyone reacts.

[mommykitty]

I tell people they tell me congrats but its not for them. I tried to give my sister 2 coupons for $0.25 off bunny bread and she said nah thats okay. (insert here my slap against my own forehead) She doesn't mind my coupon saving when it benefits her and she gets her dove facial cleanser pads for free twice a year as gifts haha!

[rfspen]

Originally Posted by ladycat00 I share everyone's pain. My family all think I'm crazy. But of course they don't mind me helping them out when they hit a rough financial spot (and they all have WAY more money than me!!).

Isn't that the truth-I save the pennies and they want my dollar

[Laureen13]

I totally understand. My dad was really interested and I tried showing my parents but again "takes too much time..." My mom does not work and no kids at the house. She plays games on the computer all day. I told her when I'm sitting in the evening (I work full time and have 4 kids) with the tv on, I work on my coupons. Oh well.... I will keep my deals and money and spend it on something fun for the family!!

[tbbucs03]

My brother keeps jokingly saying the "cops are going to come and get me" or "the countries in a recession and I am the problem".He sure loves the free stuff I always give him like razors,shave cream,deoderant etc...

My best friend's daughter is struggling with 4 kids and I have tried to show her and she is interested but won't put any effort in it. Before school started this year,I went each week and got school supplies so she wouldn't have to buy a thing.I also was taking bags of groceries over to her to help her out.Tired of hearing her complain and not helping herself out...I finally had to stop.The last straw was when I went over one night and here she is cooking snow crab for the whole family of 6 (like 10lbs) that costs 5.99lb. I just bit my tongue and told her mom my BFF that I was no longer going to waste my time.

Funny story though: Out of milk the other night,sent hubby to CVS,told him buy 2 gallons cause it was on sale, gave him 2 $1.00 q's and $2.00 ECB'S and $1.75 cash.
He looked at me as if I were nuts and said I need more money than this...I said no you don't in fact I should get $.17 in change. He went and got the milk and gave me my change. He says "well you got it down to a science don't you"? LOL

[tawetal1817]

I read somewhere once that if you knew there was a $20 bill hidden in your Sunday paper, how hard would you look for it? This explains couponing to me perfectly.

Couponing is my job. I've had the same experience that everyone else has. It comes with the job.

People make time for what they think is important and this is important to me. Last year, I saved enough couponing to buy a 48" flat screen, buy two laptops (one for DS and another one to print more coupons my dear) with cash and triple our emergency saving fund.

If they ask, I have a three sentence statement and say "if you'd like some help getting started, let me know." They hardly ever do but wouldn't mind a bag of free stuff or two. Of the 15 people I have taught to coupon, three are doing it every now and then. It's just not that important to them.

All of this comes with the job. As DH says, "rub some dirt on it and get back in the game."

PS: To Shannon1189: Don't worry, it's all cumulative. When I first started, I didn't get many deals either but a couple of years down the road, it is a rare week when I don't get a couple of rebate checks in the mail, a few freebies and loads of the big deals. But I had to build up to this level. Keep at it and you will get there too.

[tawetal1817]

Originally Posted by mrsfloyd Maybe you could put out an ISO for a HCW buddy that's in your area so you guys can do some deals together? It is just so much more fun when you have somebody to 'hunt' with and share the excitement.

I'm really glad Mrs. Floyd has had such a positive experience with the coupon buddy. I had a very different experience with the coupon buddy system.

I would go with the woman who taught me the ropes and she said, "Since I taught you how to do this, you should let me have first pick when we go into the stores" and would actually take things out of my buggy to fill out her deals. She also resented the extra time it would take for me to check out as I was a beginner and would stand and complain because she had things to do. This didn't last very long.

Another woman I met through HCW and lives two towns over has turned into my evil nemesis. She spends hours alienating the cashiers with her demands, grabbing all the stock for herself and will demand coupons when I see her out and about to finish off her deals and will get huffy and defensive if I don't surrender my coupons to her "because I have so many extra". She gets upset if I get to the store first and now shows up before the store opens on truck day to be first in line and will wait several hours in the store for the truck to arrive and be unloaded. I swear sometimes it's like she's marking her territory and I almost think she'd pee on the stuff if she could. In her mind, we are in a competition-survival of the fittest. No thanks.

My third coupon buddy was a real coupon buddy. She would drive because she had a station wagon and it would hold more stuff. I would research the deals and provide extra coupons in exchange for gas money. We would divide and conquer and then divvy up the loot before we got to the register. We would carry each other's purchases out to the car. Then when we had all our couponing loot, we would go out to dinner and sit and talk. It was wonderful. She had to quit because her husband had a brain tumor and her son got very ill so I take her couponing stuff instead. I miss my friend.

I know this is kind of long but I hope that you can find a true couponing buddy, not a parasite or a competitor.