Reader Julie left this comment on the Facebook page today and it warmed my heart, so I wanted to share:
“I just got an email about a food pantry that needs donations for Thanksgiving. Thanks to couponing I went to my pantry and loaded up a HUGE box for them!!! It feels so good to be able to give back. I used to feel stressed and that I was taking away from my family because I was giving to others. Now, I know that these items will easily be replaced for little or no money, but the reward is so much greater because our family can help another have a great Thanksgiving meal!!! Happy Giving All!!!!!”
I am a firm believer that couponers have the knowledge and resources to help those who in need. We have learned how to stretch each dollar to the point that it can feed not only our own families, but others as well.
I encourage you to take Julie’s challenge to heart and begin thinking of ways that you can use your couponing skills to bless others, particularly during this holiday season. I currently have a box in my garage that is getting filled with food for our local food bank. (Now I just need to remember to take it there!)
How about you? How do you bless others with your great deals?
I like to give to our local food pantry also. I live in a rural area and our local food bank is run by the Counsel of Churches. They run low alot. But my favorite thing that couponing has allowed me to do lately is that I had accumulated some toys and games from coupons and store deals that I was going to give to Toys for Tots, but I was able to give some of them to a local family that had an unexpected serious illness and was not even scraping by for necessities. The mother was so thankful because no matter what happened between now and then, she knew she had some gifts for her children. That made me so happy and as far as I’m concerned we both recieved a gift that day!
Oh, that is one of my favorite things about Couponing. I have something every week to share. It is fun to find new places to donate to, also. And when a need comes up I was not prepared for my personal stockpile can be raided.
I do much the same as Renee, above. Because I’m currently a student (and on a pretty tight budget), I set my buying limit at 50 cents. But – anything I can get for that or less (especially free items) goes in a bag in my closet, and once a month that bag goes to the church food pantry. It’s not much, but I do usually manage to fill the bag by the end of the month, which makes me pretty happy about my shopping skills – it feels like winning at a game!
I also use my couponing for good! I donate not only food, but toletries as well. I like to set limits of $.50 and below on food and $1 and below on toletries and see how much I can get! I also sign up for free samples knowing that if my family can’t use them they will get donated to someone who can! I wish more people would do this. Hopefully it will become contagious. 🙂