Budget Slashing Myth

I was standing in line at the grocery store last night, patiently waiting for the cashier to finish ringing out the couple in front of me.  They looked like an average couple, probably late 20s.  They appeared to be a lower middle class  couple (though I know looks can be deceiving).  While skimming through the latest magazines, I could not help but overhear their conversation with the cashier:

When the cashier asked if they had any coupons, the woman wistfully said they did not, though she wished she would start clipping them.  The cashier then went on to tell them about a customer she recently had whose order totaled $59.00 and, after coupons, she only paid $0.33.  The couple was amazed and at that moment publicly committed themselves to becoming coupon-clippers.  The husband told his wife the newspaper comes in the morning and she could start clipping away.

I was dumbfounded.  I wondered if they would manage to clip enough to even begin to pay for a newspaper subscription.  There are incredible people out there who can do incredible things with coupons.  I respect anyone who can consistently purchase over $50.00 worth of groceries with their loose change.  Who wouldn't?  But I think there is an important concept missing here.  Whether you clip coupons or cut costs by shopping for cheaper brands, you have to recognize you are not going to suddenly have a major budget-altering experience by snipping apart your morning paper or by switching to store-brand prepared foods.  You have to commit to a complete lifestyle change.

This particular grocery store couple filled the belt with name brand sodas, cookies, and prepared foods.  Clearly, clipping a handful of coupons was not going to make much of a dent in their food budget.  I wanted to take them through the store again, showing them the store brands, the flour, and the great deal on ground chuck.  I wanted to give them lists upon lists of websites where they could find free coupons and tell them to cancel that newspaper subscription right away.  I wanted to educate them as much as I could while standing in a grocery store line about the simple steps they could take to slash their budget in half and change their entire grocery perspective.

Of course, I did not harass these poor people who were making common, light-hearted small talk with the cashier.  I personally would not take financial advice from an eaves-dropping raving lunatic spewing ingredients and websites at me.  But it did make me wonder how many people there may be who are uneducated in their shopping habits.  People who genuinely want to cut costs but do not know where to begin.

It reminded me why I began this blog in the first place.  I hope to continue to help anyone I can learn many different ways to slash their budgets.  Perhaps, it's time I took a coupon challenge of my own to educate myself in an area in which I have always failed.  Any advice from my readers would be wonderful.  I will certainly keep you up-to-date on my new learning venture and let you know any nice tips I pick up!