Which is Better?

Conservation or Preparation?

That's the question that plagues me this morning. With all the printable coupons I have acquired lately, my husband has commented on the abundance of ink being used by our printer. He has requested that I not print out a coupon until I am SURE I plan to use it. This creates a bit of a problem because, as you know, often the site with the link can go away or the offer will expire even before the coupon itself does. So what to do? I have been making note of the coupons I might want to use at some point and saving the ones that are in PDF form until I am going to print and use them that day. Seems like a good plan, right? Well it was until I found myself right near the Macy's I was planning to visit later in the week for the FREE Jocky's I found on Be Thrifty Like Us. Of course, since I hadn't planned to be there this morning, I hadn't printed out the coupon yet, and now I have to decide if it's worth the cost in gas to go back for the $9.50 free panty. Honestly, it probably is, since the mall is just a short way off of my normal route and I would definitely save more than I will spend in gas. That won't always be the case though, and going back to my organization emphasis from yesterday's post, apparently I need to make sure I have any random coupons (ones in places I don't normally go) all printed out and in my car just in case I find myself in that area before I have planned.

As I mentioned in my previous post (linked above), you should NEVER go someplace just for the FREE item, but after searching the Macy's website for something else I might need that was fairly cheap, I came to the realization that the extra cost just to prove to myself that the trip was a productive one, wasn't actually helping my cause and now tat I think about it, I'm sure that's part of the plan behind giving an item completely 100% free (though to be fair, as I haven't picked up the item yet, I may end up paying tax, only time will tell). Turns out as is the case with almost everything these days, there is no rule that fits all the time in every occasion. Perhaps my recommendation should be modified to say "Only go someplace just for the FREE item when the benefit of the item is worth the cost in time and gas and if you can confirm the item is there ahead of time." In the meantime, I'm going to print out the Macy's coupon and see if there is any other Specialty coupons I should have ready and waiting. As for the normal grocery printables, I am going to try to check over the notes I make while reading my blogs and decide which coupons I am actually going to use, not just which ones would be nice to have, that way I can use only the ink and paper that's necessary.

Lesson learned.