Since it is very easy to get carried away with coupons and rebate apps, thereby spending more money than I would have in the long run by buying a lot of stuff I would not normally have bought, I have been thinking about how to turn them around in my favor. I keep a general list of things we always buy. We would get these items as needed, no matter what. I then take a look at the available coupons and rebates. If I am lucky enough to find any for my general list, then that is a real bargain! But I look further and I pick out a few possibilities of extra things we might like to have or try. Those are the items I budget. Every week we can afford to pick out a few of these coupon or rebate app specials. It gets a little something extra in The House for us to enjoy and I get to enjoy the savings too.
That is a good idea to have a list of the things that you always use. I need to do that but I am not an organized type of person. I try to only buy the things that I really need and use. I will find coupons for that but if I find a good deal, I will buy that especially if I have a coupon and rebates from the apps on my phone.
I know for me I want to start a special budget for deals. Sometimes I will go to the store with a plan to only spend a certain amount of money but then I see a really good clearance on items or a sale that I didn't know about. I would love to have the "extra" money for sale items without overspending.
Ha, I too think it sounds like you're doing a good job of planning to make sure you don't overspend. It reminds me of my neighbor growing up, who was the opposite. She couponed as a fulltime job, more or less, spending almost all day every day clipping savings coupons, carefully filing them in recipe card-keepers, and then going to Sam's Club etc. to spend in bulk. She had a shed and a giant "pantry" to keep all her deals in and would use them slowly over time, like animals storing for winter.
