When I first started out on my couponing journey several years ago, I was a fanatic like I am sure many of you are or were when you started. I did not want to miss a single deal. It didn’t matter how much money we had left in our budget, I was not going to miss a deal because after all, if I could buy it now for a few pennies, I don’t have to buy it later at full price when I really need it.
That feeling eventually went away. I decided at some point along the way that I had 20 deodorants for my husband and son, so I could let the next deodorant deal, and possibly the next few deodorant deals go by the wayside. I still have to stop and analyze if we really need the product or am I getting it just because I can get it super cheap. 
The budget makes that determination for me often. Currently, we are saving to pay off our two vehicles, and to pay for a couple of trips we have coming up. Our son is graduating from USMC boot camp in a couple of months and we are taking a few days off to go enjoy ourselves during that time with him. I have to always keep in the forefront of my mind my priorities because even $10 on grabbing some items in a fantastic sale when I don’t NEED to have those is $10 that could be going towards something else.
An example of this was last week when I got my Harris Teeter e-vic newsletter on Friday announcing the great deals for Saturday (or the rest of the sale week) ONLY. The word ONLY used to be what got me. It is ONLY going to be on sale this weekend so I need to get it, but is it? Is it really ONLY going to be on sale that particular weekend or will another sale come along? Another sale usually always comes along so then I have to weigh if this is a product that I really need right now or in the near future or is it something that can wait. In the HT e-vic newsletter, the Starbucks coffee was a good price. With the coupon, I could grab two bags for my best friend’s coffee basket that I do for her each year for Christmas all for under $10 and it is her favorite coffee. There was also Hidden Valley Ranch dip packets on sale and I had a coupon to get free sour cream when that purchase. But did I really NEED to have either of those products? Not this particular weekend I didn’t need it. The starbucks will be on sale again and the hidden valley dip I can probably find at another store for near that price any other day of the week.
My husband accuses me of over-analyzing things quite often, and I do. But with couponing, budgeting, and handling the family finances, I MUST over-analyze! You have to learn to know your products; what goes on sale often and what rarely goes on sale, what coupons come around monthly, and what coupons rarely come around, and what stores are the cheapest place to buy the product- sale or no sale.
Once you start getting the hang of that, then you can start letting sales go by and letting go of the feeling of HAVING to grab it NOW while the sale is going on. That comes with time and patience with the journey of couponing.
By the way, my husband told me this morning he was out of deodorant. I sent him to the closet to get some and there were none. I let one too many sales slip on by! Out of sight, out of mind! I just assumed there were plenty in there for him, but that is another article for another day….
Thanks for the article, I was just like you did not want the sale to slip buy, I was also afraid it would be a great price later on but I got a better deal. Coupons are very addictive(spelled wrong) long Monday. Thanks for the tips will start couponing again in the summer to rebuild my stockpile again.