Couponing For A Cause

As most of you know, I am no where near being an extrovert. As much as I wish I were at times, for some reason God has created me as a pretty quiet, reserved, individual. Sometimes in a moment of weakness, I wonder why God hasn't created me differently. Surely he knows that if I were a more socialable person I would use that to serve Him and minister to others in more ways than I feel comfortable with now. Since I'm in my twenties, maybe the Lord will slowly transform me in the future into someone that is a bit more outgoing, but for now, one of the best ways that I have found that I can minister to others is through couponing. Yes, you read that right, through couponing.

Ever since I was in college I have used coupons on some level, but until the past couple of years it was only to shave a few dollars here and there off of the weekly grocery bill. Now, I know that there are online forums, such as A Full Cup, and coupon clipping services, such as The Coupon Clippers and Cents Off that allow you to order coupons for pennies apiece. With these services and a little elbow grease, it is not difficult for me to save 25% or more off of the weekly grocery trip. I know I've mentioned couponing to others (who shall remain nameless) and their reply was, "But there aren't many coupons for things that I typically buy." This may be true. Maybe you like to eat as natural of a diet as possible--you avoid products with high fructose corn syrup, prefer organics and shutter at the sight of meats cured with nitrates--or maybe you prefer to use toiletries that are free of parabens, pthalates and other kinds of toxic yuckies. I'm in the same boat you are. However, my favorite way to coupon is to get items for free that I might not otherwise use (toiletries, medications, non-perishable foods,etc.) and donate them to one of the local foodbanks. Sure it costs me a few dollars for the coupons I order and it takes me a little bit of time to match up deals at my favorite stores, but knowing that I can donate several hundreds of dollars worth of products every few months to people who really need them completely outweighs any hassle that couponing might bring. I absolutely love being able to tell Bruce that I have a load (as in a trunk FULL) of items that needs to be taken to the food bank ,and I know he comes home after delivering them with a deep feeling of satisfaction and contentment.

For example, this past weekend, I was able to purchase all of the items shown in this picture for absolutely nothing... zero...nada...zilch!



Includes 3 toothbrushes, 2 small boxes of toothpaste, 2 cans of shaving gel, 2 bottles of contact solution, 9 various-sized packages of pads/liners, 10 small first aid kits, 7 bottles of aspirin, 6 bars of soap, 2 bottles of lotion, 5 packages of antiacids, 6 boxes of cotton swabs 10 packages of bandages AND one stick of deodorant. Whew!

By watching the weekly ad at my local Rite-Aid Pharmacy and keeping track of a few prices at my local target, I can use coupons to buy merchandise that otherwise wouldn't be in our budget to donate to others who truly need them. Without coupons and the like, I estimate that what I bought this weekend would have a retail value of $125. I don't know about you, but these days my family might have a hard time finding $125--aside from our tithing to the church--in our weekly budget to donate to a local shelter, foodbank or other charitable organization every month, much less every week. Granted, this isn't something that I do every weekend. Some weekends we have family come to visit us, we may have yardwork to do or I simply may not feel like couponing (gasp!). My point of this post is that almost everybody, no matter if your household income is $50,000 or $150,000, can easily donate to others who are in need without breaking the bank and that even if you are the most painfully shy person in the world you can still minister to others.