Flexing the Muscle of Your Coupon Savings

Chances are, many of you are saving a lot of money using the tips I share on the Confessions of a Coupon Queen Facebook page.  I have been couponing for 3 years now and I have saved over $15,000 in that time.  Wow!  That’s a lot of money!  The first few months of my couponing I didn’t really have a plan for the money I saved.  In fact, I blew most of it, which is what usually happens when you don’t have a plan.

            You can use your coupon savings to drastically improve your family’s finances, if you have a good plan for that money.  There are several good things to do that found money.  First, you should have an emergency savings fund for your household of at least $1,000.  Why?  This is your safety net that catches you when life happens (which it always does) – the car battery dies, the furnace goes out, you need to take your child to the emergency room for a skate boarding accident and have a $150 co-pay.  Having that $1,000 emergency fund will give you peace of mind that you don’t have to charge your emergency to a credit card.  You should have a goal of three to six months of living expenses in your savings.  In this economy where layoffs are a real possibility, that’s a smart thing to do.

             Do you know that you can make 18% on your money?  How?  By NOT paying 18% to the credit card companies!  Once you have your emergency fund in place, it’s time to attack your credit card debt with your coupon savings.  Many credit cards are charging exorbitant interest rates, which eat away at your income every month. So start with your smallest balance card and “attack” the little one first.  This will give you a quick success and keep your momentum going.  

            Does this mean that you can’t have any fun with your coupon savings?  Of course not!  Allocate 10 – 20% of your coupon savings for something fun for yourself.  This will be your reward for coupon clipping and bargain hunting!  If you are already out of debt and have an emergency fund, save the other 80 -90% for a bigger splurge! Maybe you are going to save for a new designer purse (on sale of course!), a special piece of jewelry, or a family vacation to Disney World.