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Ever feel as though you pick up a coupon and people automatically see you as needing “help”? Ever feel that people are staring down your neck when you are at the register with your handful of coupons? What are the customer’s thinking? What is the cashier thinking?

There is no doubt that a person who uses coupons has a certain “stigma”. People may have many perceptions of you as a coupon user. Such as: “does he/she need money?”, “Are they struggling?”, “Are they poor?”

Some raw and interesting facts: According to the Nielsen Company:

The income of the ”heaviest” coupon user: $70,000
The income of those who do not use coupons: $25,000

I won’t lie. The first time I picked up a coupon I instantly felt as though people were staring. People wondered and I even sometimes hid my coupons so others didn’t know.

For those that are new to couponing—don’t worry, you are not alone. But the good thing is that it gets better! Your fear does go away and things do become easier. Sooner than you know—you will be walking into the store with your coupons in hand (maybe your binder as well?) and when people stop you to ask you what you have—you will be proud to say “my coupons”

This day in age—one should consider couponing as the “trendy” thing. Everyone is suffering from this broken economy. This  economy is all about saving money—not spending it.

Tips to beat the coupon stigma:

:: When you go out with your coupons—prepare yourself. I shop with three kids 90% of the time and I usually set all the coupons out that I plan to use and store them in my wallet and have them ready so when I hit the register—it is quick and painless.

:: Shop at night. The hardest thing for me was to get over the “at the register” feeling. When I was about to check out I would feel like others were staring me down and thinking about WHY and HOW I was using coupons. I admit—I’m a tad self conscious when it comes to others—so I always felt like they were judging me.
So shopping at night makes it easier because there are less people in the store. Less people to stare. Less stressed out it makes you feel.

Regardless, there will always be a stigma behind people who use coupons. We are not poor; we are not living in poverty. We are saving money by beating the grocery stores and drugstores at their own game. YOU as the coupon user should consider yourself a financial wizard. You are spending the time  that is necessary to save money for your family and to provide for them by giving them the things that make them happy. You are being smarter than the average grocery shopper and not paying the prices that you think  you “have” to spend to feed your family.

So next time you head out the grocery store—put your head up high remember all the awesome benefits that you are reaping for your family. When someone complements you on the awesome savings you just scored; make sure to say “Thank You”.

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When I first began Southern Cali Saver I never thought I would be creating a To Do List. I never thought that there were not enough hours in the day to finish everything I wanted to do on this site. I honestly thought there were not enough deals out there to be posting aaallll ddaayy..but there is.

I have a ever growing to do list and it has become imperative that I shrink my list to a minimum. So I will be taking this weekend off to do just that. SCS also needs a little tender loving care and I will be making some great adjustments to the site. Things that I think everyone here will love! Stay tuned!

For all the Mommas out there Please enjoy your Mother’s Day and take a day off from coupons!

Somethings that you should do:

:: Make sure to enter the $50 Target Gift Card giveaways if you have not.

:: Find any hot deals? Ralphs, Albertsons and Rite Aid are busy this week–so make sure to leave comments to keep everyone update on the deals.

:: PS: I will still have Target, CVS and Walgreens deals posted Saturday.

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This is me. Tuesday ads and Coffee I have moved to the living room table because there really is no room anywhere else. It also keeps the kids out of my work. It isn’t the most organized way..but it works for me!

I wouldn’t trade it for anything!

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I’ve mentioned on Facebookthat my little one is obsessed with toothbrushes. I’m not sure why…but I think this proves it.

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I got the FREE Jell-O Temptations coupon in the mail the other day…I decided to have a dip into the Strawberry Cheesecake flavor. Watch out people..it says 150 calories..but they taste too good to be true.

Sad to say…there were only three in the package–and now there are none.

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