Watching Film

As a high school teacher, I know a lot of coaches. During the late summer and throughout the fall, football coaches take what they do on the field on Friday nights very seriously. Because of that, they plan all week for a 3 hour block of time on one day—game day.

The interesting thing is (at least to me) when the game is over on Friday night, regardless of how late, they’re back up and at it on Saturday morning, preparing for the next week’s battle. As a rule, sometime over the weekend, the coaches usually gather to watch game film from the team they are about to play to be better prepared. If I told you today you were going to play or coach a game on Friday, would you want to watch the opposing team’s game film? Sure, because it gives you a leg up on the competition. How does this relate to saving money at the store? You have to watch film!

STEP 3:

GAME FILM

Walking into a store blindly with no list, menu, or coupons is (in my book), the equivalent of going into a ballgame with no plan and without having watched any film. It’s easy to get overwhelmed and make impulse purchases that don’t fall in-line with your budget. Before I got serious about couponing and paying attention to my dollars and cents, I used to leave the store shaking my head muttering, “How in the world did I spend this much and only have a few bags to show for it?”  

Here are a few simple ways to prepare:

1. Look at the sale ads. Most stores put items on sale about every 2-3 months. Because of that, it’s easy to stock up, when you find something at a good price. Pay attention to prices and know if it’s actually a good deal, or not.

2. Check the stores’ websites. Sometimes they have eCoupons, printable coupons, “member” deals, or deals that aren’t advertised in the weekly circular.

3. Subscribe to emails that send you the links to online printable coupons or deals that will allow you to stock up on groceries, gifts, etc.

Before someone suggests that I think this process should take hours of time, I don't. I understand the thought of "time is money", but if you're saving money, then you can enjoy the time later, spending it on something else. :)  If you've ever been a boy/girl scout, "watching film" falls in line with the mantra, “be prepared.” If I told you on Sunday, to prepare for a game on Friday, unless you wanted to completely embarrass yourself or your team on the field, there’s no way you would let them go out without watching game film. Don’t do it at the grocery either! When you see how little you could have paid with some planning, you might truly just be embarrassed. J