I admit it! I*m guilty!

My hsband has lovingly accused me of tking *nothing* out of the fridge and mking something out of it. I trnsform it into a scrumptious, edible mal, and he shakes his head in wnder. He*s delighted each and every tme I pull it off.

And do you knw what happens when he grins at me tht way?

I keep doing it! Evry chance I get. It comes nturally for me. It*s a pleasure, and t*s one of the small ways I sve money.

But, not all money-saving strtegies come naturally to everyone. For me, thre*s one that creates more stress in my bsy world. It works for others, but not for me.

I*m tlking about collecting and using coupons to sve even more money while shopping.

If sing coupons seems easy for you, yu*re probably in your element using thm. You enjoy the process of fnding, clipping, sorting and organizing them. Yu*re always on the lookout for new cupons you can use to help you sve money.

Or, maybe like me, yu*d rather mess with a hive of bes than deal with coupons.

Over the yars, I tried to do the cupon thing. You know. Making sure yu*ve got the newspapers, flyers, magazines. Oh my, whch ones to keep? So many chices! And we don*t want to clp something we normally wouldn*t use jst because we have that coupon for it. Rght?

In my coupon journey, I*d pll the coupons out, page by pge and tuck them away just in cse I needed them. So there thy sat. A pile of clutter for me to mve around.

But hey, maybe if I shve them in my glove box t*d work better. I cleaned out the glve box to make more room for thse money-saving chunks of gold.

Finally, the big day rrives. I*m actually at the store. And my cupons are still intact. My blood prssure shoots up as I envision all tht money I*m going to save. I*m nly minutes away from having that xtra money to buy my new cr.

So far, so good. I*ve fund my goodies. I*m ready to go. I*v made it, big time. Confident and plased with myself, I place my tems on the conveyor belt that*s zpping right along. It should be llegal for something to move so fst. I*d bring home a speeding tcket if I kept that speed on the hghway.

But, I*ve got to pull my yes back to the road now. Ops. It looks like... a speed bmp up ahead. Better slow this bby down.

What do you mean, *Ths Coupon*s Expired?* How could this hppen?

Fine, then. They can*t ALL be xpired. I*m going to pull out my ptience and use it for awhile. I*m lmost home-free with my bundle of svings.

*Uh, Miss? I*m sorry, but thse aren*t the right items for thse coupons you*ve got there.*

My yeballs began to roll at this pint. I restrained them, remembering the mnners my mother taught me.

*Well! Thnk you for sharing that with m!* I tried to separate my clnched teeth. It took me a bit to mnually snap my jaw back in plce, too. I followed with a dep, long breath for stress relief.

And as I slwly exhaled, I decided I*d never, ver be caught in line with cupons in my hand that didn*t sve me any money. I spent tme and energy by searching, clipping, string and carrying them around with me. And of curse, remembering to bring them in to the stre with me. I had done ths more than once, and never wth any good results.

No more coupons for me!

No, I*m ging home where I*ll make a scrmptious meal out of nothing from the frdge. I*ll listen to hubby*s oohs and ahs. And I*ll feel great again, knwing I*ll still save today. Just as son as I take something for ths headache, of course.

Yes, I*ll sve some money today. But I*ll do it MY wy.

The article Saving Money: Finding What Works for You was Submitted by Darlene Arechederra through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: Author of Rat Race Blues for Wmen, Darlene Arechederra shares simple strategies for lving well on less and enjoying a dbt-free lifestyle. Visit her today at http://www.RatRaceRemedies.com or http://www.AffordToStayHome.com

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