Couponing 101 with a Steroidal Twist Part Two
Unlock Daily Savings with the Help of One Key
Anything done to excess is an addiction!
It has been said that if you fail to understand the purpose of something you are destined to abuse or misuse it. Such can be the case with saving money. While I couldn’t have planned it better, a comment made on part one of this article gave me the introduction to this one. Shonda’s comment dovetails quite nicely into Couponing 101 with a Steroidal Twist Part Two.
As Shonda’s comment implies, there is a lot that goes into the making of a shopaholic, and I believe can lead to some of the hoarding problems that have come to light in recent years.
Yes, there is a HIGH, when you feel that you have “DONE GOOD” at something. It is actually a chemical surge that is activated in the brain, which causes the “HIGH” feeling.
- I maintain one position; anything done to excess is an addiction!
And extreme shopping and savings can become an addiction, if one is not aware of what is happening. The brain gets used to the chemical surge and becomes more and more addicted to the surge. This type of chemical dependence is one that most never recognize as a dependency issue, but it is!
The problem is that most people fail to understand the purpose of saving and finding those Good Deals. And when you don’t know the purpose for something, it will either become abused or neglected.
However, through this article on Couponing 101 part two, I hope to show you a healthier way to find and gather the saving that you would like to have. I hope to demonstrate to you the specific purpose for your savings and money making ideas and passions.
Your pennies will grow your nest eggs as seedlings starting in a Garden!
Never Despise Small Beginnings you never know where they might lead!
When teaching couponing to beginners, I always start with this story to illustrate how small beginnings can lead to bigger opportunities.
There once was a business owner who was looking for faithful and loyal employees. The first day of interviews began with only 3 people showing up. All three candidates were more than able to do the work however; the business owner only had 2 positions available. So he had to come up with a fair way to determine the best possible employees for the jobs.
- To one candidate, the business owner gave $100.00
- To another candidate, the business owner gave $200.00
- To the final candidate, the owner gave $500.00
As the owner gave each their allotted portion, he gave these instructions:
I will call each of you in a few days to find out what you have done with the money that I have given you. The two of you that have the most left from what I have given you at the time that I call, will be my new employees.
12 days later, the business owner calls the candidates into the office. He approaches the first candidate to whom he gave $500.00 dollars and asked. “So what did you do with the money that I gave you, and how much do you have left?”
Candidate #1 replied: “Sir, you gave me $500.00 and I was able to turn that $500.00 into $1,000.00. So I guess you could say I have $1,000 left from the money that you gave me.”
The owner replied: “Sweet! You have proven yourself to be a faithful and loyal candidate for our position of Chief Financial Officer. Welcome into our family, and enjoy ALL the benefits that we have to offer.”
Candidate #2 replied: “Sir, you gave me $200.00 and I was able to turn that into $400.00. So I guess you could say I have $400.00 left from the money that you gave me.”
The owner replied: “Outstanding! You have proven yourself to be a faithful and loyal candidate for our position of Chief Operations Officer. Welcome into our family, and enjoy ALL the benefits that we have to offer.”
Finally, it was time for the third candidate to disclose what they had left from the money that the owner had given them. As the owner approached, the candidate began explaining that since he was given the least amount of the three, he would naturally have less than the other two.
The owner tiring of listening to the candidate babbling excuses, and asked; “so what do you have left of the money that I gave you?”
Candidate #3 replied: “Sir, since I was given so little, I decided that it would be better to hid that money away, so when you called I would at least have what you gave me.”
The owner responded: “You Idiot! Yes I told you that I only had two positions currently available, however, had you showed your faithfulness over that little amount, I would have created a special position just for you.
However, since you only have the original amount, and didn’t bother to try to increase it, give what you have to Candidate #1, and now get out of here. Weep and gnash your teeth over what you have lost, as you suffer through the rest of your life remembering the opportunity you hid and lost.
- Couponing Moral to the Story: Every dollar has a purpose, and can lead to bigger opportunities.
- Not using your Talent can keep you out of Heaven!
Cutting your Priorities into chucks like I have done with this Boston Fern from my local garden center applies to Life, Savings, and Making Money.
Determining your Purpose for Life, Saving or Making Money
We have heard it said that a penny saved is a penny earned, while it is true, it is also true to that without knowing the purpose of that penny you’re destined to abuse or neglect it.
Understanding the penny may seem impossible although it isn’t as impossible as it may sound.
Once you understand the purpose of a penny, you will discover that it is applicable many aspects of life. Understanding the Purposes of the Penny you earned through saving, will better equipped to fulfil your own personal life’s purpose.
It requires One hundred pennies to make One Dollar in the United States. With (1) dollar representing the WHOLE, now see that your (1) penny is only a piece of the whole.
- Before you begin saving your pennies through Couponing on Steroids, you must determine the purpose of the WHOLE dollar first.
Divide your savings Mentally into four different Priorities from your list
Instructions: Move through each of the Five Steps in learning how to coupon on steroids very slowly and methodically to avoid getting discourage
- Step One: Begin by making a list of all the items that you and your family use every day, week, or month based on your current shopping habits. Once you have your list then proceed on to Step Two...remember the tortoise and hare...Don't skip the step once you begin to work them.
- Step Two: As the picture of the shopping bags depicts, create a mental image of your saving being categorized as to your priorities that you will list in this step. 1. Start with the Top 3 different things that you would spend your money on if you had any extra to spend. 2. WRITE THEM DOWN in order of their importance 3. Don't be practical, be yourself. List what three things that you want for yourself or your family?
- Step Three: Proceed to your New Favorite Virtual Mall, and click through to your favorite store for the items you made on your shopping list in Step One. 1. You New Virtual Mall has now become those pennies from heaven that you have always heard about. Like manna was for the Israelites, so too are these pennies. They aren't going to fall on your head, you have to go out and pick them puppies up. 2. The are just waiting for you to gather them for the purpose YOU intend for them. 3. Become aware of the cashback that is offered though each retail store you click through to. 4. Also, be sure to check to see if there are any other additional coupon codes that you can "Stack" on top of your percentage cashback purchase. This increases your savings with every stack you can make.
- Step Four: Write down under each category you listed in Step Two, and divide them into 4 different accounts...I realize that you were only to chose 3 items in Step two, however I want you to create a fourth one and we will name it later in these instructions. 1. 50% of your savings applies to your Highest Priority Item that you listed. 2. 30% of your savings is to be reallocated into your Next Highest Priority want for your family. 3. 10% of your savings destiny applies to your last item on your list that you created. 4. 10% - - Your Reward for a Job well done with each of your shopping click through savings. Applying this step to step four of your New Lifestyle process will help to keep you from suffering the sense of lack that some couponers and dieters know all to well when changing your habits. (For the more practically minded individuals; you could put this percentage amount into a college or retirement fund at your local bank or insurance company.)
- Step Five: Repeat Steps 3 through 5 for all your shopping clicks! As your Top three Priority categories are achieved, repeat Step two through Five and continue with your New Shopping, Savings, and Life habit of understanding the Power of the Penny!
Four Things that will happen first as you begin Couponing on Steroids process
As human beings, we all have a reward or pleasure center in our brains. The more often we feel rewarded for doing something good, the more likely we are to repeat the activity. That GOOD or high feeling can cause the brain to become addicted to the surge of chemicals that your brain produces when experiencing pleasure. This is exactly what Shonda was describing in her comment to part one of these articles, when she announced herself as a shopaholic.
If you will follow the steps that I outlined above through the process that I have lined out Four things will happen.
- As you work the process, it will become second nature. It is a proven fact that it takes 25 days to break a habit and approximately 60 days to establish a New Habit or Lifestyle change.
- You will refer back to the article several times if you don’t print or write the Five Steps to Couponing on Steroids listed out above. Usually you have to read or hear something new a minimum of THREE TIMES before you can begin to implement a change.
- You are no longer a slave to your household budget, and have become a Master over your Money.
- You have learned how to allocate your savings and determining your financial priorities as well as been given the KEY to unlocking your riches and wealth that you deserve.
Now with learning how to use different couponing techniques, to develop your own Couponing on Steroids with a purpose for every penny that you save and earn.
You are now becoming In Control of your Money and your allocation of it, instead of the other way around.
Favorite Virtual Malls that Provide My Steroidal Twist to Couponing 101:
Each of us has only 168 hours in each week. It is how you choose to use those hours that will provide the maximum benefit to you and your couponing activities.
As I shared with you in Part one of this article, that I use to spend 27+ hours each week clipping coupons, planning, and shopping. That gets really hard for those of you have to work a full-time job and trying to save money. However, with My Steroidal Twist that I discovered, I spend less time, and save a lot more money!
You may be asking how much time I save. Allow me to walk you through how we shop and then I will answer that question at the end of the article.
Favorite Virtual Mall that provides The Top Cashback from over 3,500 retailers online and off:
I begin at my favorite Virtual Mall, because it has the highest cashback payout. They have relationships with over 3,500 major retailers, many of whom allow them to offer Exclusive discounts, cashback and allow you double and triple stack coupons that you may have. Two examples of how we use our Favorite Virtual Mall.
- Once we enter our Virtual Mall, we click on the Walmart Cashback of 5% button and begin our shopping. Don is in the pantry and I am at my computer. (I don’t care that much for my tablet, or I would wander through the pantry with it.)However, we really like shopping together, so it makes it fun to do it together through this process. This takes about 10-15 minutes, and I am ready to check out online and set up to pick up our items the next morning.
We have Walmart pull everything that we would normally purchase through the middle aisles of the store. (Hint: This is where you will over spend the most anyway, and is a good way to save lots of money on unnecessary purchases.) This allows us to only have to shop the perimeter of the store for the fresh food, cold and frozen foods, milk and dairy. We pick up our online order from customer service (We tell the cashier and she gets them to bring it to the register.)This has cut our actually shopping time down inside the store to about 30 minutes.
- Total Shopping Time online and off: 45 minutes!
- Total Amount Saved: 5% on top of whatever coupons that I had for my items I purchased.
- TOTAL TIME SAVED: ABOUT AN HOUR! Or about 8 hours clipping coupons and shopping without the steroidal twist.
2. We save 5% across the board at Home Depot through our Favorite Virtual Mall. They also allow us to shop online and either has our order delivered or we can pick it up in the store usually the same day.
Money saving Poll
When was the last time you saved money from a Home Improvement Store?
The Lesson that we DRILLED into Our children, bit us when learning to Saving with a Senior Discount
Our final two Favorite Virtual Malls that save us exponentially are:
- AARP where we save 50% with their restaurant certificates that NEVER expire, as well as other monthly benefits. For the cost of $16.00 per year, it allows us a monthly savings of over $300.00 per month.
We had to learn this one the hard way. AARP allows you to become a member at the age of 50, however, to get most of your savings EVERYDAY at your local retailers and restaurants YOU HAVE TO OPEN YOUR MOUTH. What do I mean by that? Don and I discovered that we can save at most Fast Food places that if we ASK if they offer an AARP discount, it is an automatic savings of 10% off our breakfast, lunch or dinner. Here again, when we have coupons that Senior Discount is on top of the coupons that allowed us to save 10-20%.
- That equals a savings of about 30% off most our meals out.
- We also save EXPONENTIALLY every month on our cell phone bill…we use to pay over $160.00 each month for 2 IPhone with data and text. NOW WE ONLY PAY $35.00 PER MONTH FOR BOTH IPHONES DATA AND TEXT. We are saving $125.00 each month just on our cellphones through consumer cellular service. (If you contact me privately with your email address, I can give you a personal email referral which will save you $10.00 on your first month’s service through Consumer Cellular as well.)
- AAA While it cost a bit more $52.00 per year, however through my Favorite Virtual Mall that I first told you about, we saved $10.00 on our first year. This site offers the same Restaurant Saving Certificates that AARP offer, as well as a lot of other benefits that more than cover the cost of your membership each month. We recommend this site for anyone who is under the age of 50.
Another benefit of AARP or AAA is that they both offer savings on the purchase of our new truck…to the tune of over $3,500 and NO Hassle at the dealership.
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© 2015 Cammy Walters
