The 10 Levels of Becoming a Karate Coupon Master

After the Kung Fu Panda post yesterday how could I resist Karate Coupon Master?!

Ok, so this article was not written by me but by a friend (well were friends on facebook) Hillary Dunham who runs a blog The Other Mama (hysterical love it) and she also runs Mint Julep Monograms (the name says it all)!  Hillary came to a coupon class I taught last year and I was so flattered when she wrote  a 2 part blog on coupons!  Today I will post the first segment then tomorrow I will post the second.

10 Levels of Becoming a Karate Coupon Master by Hillary Dunham

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Much like the Art of Karate {please tell me you can hear Ross from Friends saying this with the accent on the end}, there are many levels to the art of couponing.

After I took a class recently, you let me know that you’d be interested in hearing about it, so I’m here to serve! The biggest thing I can emphasize to you is that you can do as much or as little as you’d like to do. Not everyone will have the time, energy or gusto {oh how I love “gusto”} to be a master coupon user. Anything will help, but the overall knowledge of what options are out there will hopefully inspire and encourage you to move on to the next level.

You cannot start out as Mr. Miyagi. You have to do a lot of waxing and painting first. So let’s start with the basics, Daniel-son.

1. White Belt- You realize that there are coupons available and you use a $2 coupon on a razor. This makes you immensely happy and you buy yourself some other treat to make up for the $2 you saved.

2. Gold Belt- You decide to use more than one coupon and you are super proud of yourself. You even deny yourself the Snickers bar {that you totally deserve} at the check out counter.

3. Orange Belt- You start to realize that you can use coupons on items that are ON SALE and then you do a dance in the aisle.

4. Blue Belt- You really start to care about things you never thought about before: food planning, freezer and pantry space, sale items and coupons that go with them.

5. Green Belt – You read the newspaper or websites to find out what is on sale for the week ahead and plan your shopping and family meals accordingly.

6. Purple Belt- You print and use online coupons. You abandon all pride and talk to your local grocery store manager about their coupon policies. {“Is it possible that I could use competitor coupons, a doubled manufacturer coupon and a store coupon on one item? Puh-leeease?”}

7. Brown Belt- You buy more than one newspaper and subscribe to store publications or magazines that you know have good coupons in them.

8. Black Belt – You stock up on sale items and only buy what is on sale AND what has a coupon.

9. Grand Champion- You navigate 2-3 stores with ease and only shop their sale items with coupons availble.

10. Mr. Miyagi- You have reached a level of zen that allows you to have a couponing “system”, a binder or storage box for your coupons and the people at the grocery store hate to see you coming. You have achieved a level on “one-ness” with your couponing and you have a certain level of satisfaction that only few have managed to attain. You spend less per week on your groceries than you would on a haircut.

In part 2 of this post {planned for Thursday}, I’ll let you know where I am on the chart and some tips that have helped me that you can use!

So, where are you on the Belt Chart of Couponing?

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That’s the end of Hillary’s CUTE article! I am back now click here and go visit her on-line store Mint Julep Monograms!  Seriously its the cutest stuff ever and you can afford it you save so much money couponing and all…. plus its all super reasonably priced!