Is It Really Worth It?

There are time that people ask me "Is it really worth it?"  Is it worth it to clip the coupons, enter the contest, wait for the facebook freebie.....and I guess I'd have to say that "it depends."  It depends on whether it's a product you'd buy anyway (or want to try).  Do you have the time?  Do you enjoy it?
I am NOT someone who goes after every single deal.  I don't clip every coupon (just the ones I want).  I don't buy 50 of something just because they're cheap or free.  But I DO certainly enjoy FREE stuff.  And I am on the computer a lot, so I am able to take advantage of almost all the facebook deals.  To me, yep - definitely worth it (note my coupons for FREE Langers juice, free Coffee-Mate creamer, free Nature Made vitamins, Free eyeglasses, Free Prevacid.  These are just the ones I happen to have on-hand.  I have a steady stream of coupons for free products...so yes, those are worth it).  I also take advantage of all the various birthday offers out there.  So my family gets free tickets to Frisco RoughRiders games, free food, and other goodies.  Definitely worth it.  I belong to quite a few companies like Smiley360, House Party, Kraft First Taste.  Those affiliations have garnered me lots and lots of full-size products for free.  Note the latest Smiley360 coupon or a Free Sleep Number CoolFit Foam Contour Pillow.  Worth it!  Do I get tired of clipping coupons?  FOR SURE.  Do I sometimes fall off the coupon wagon?  Yep - in fact, I have a HUGE stack of coupons waiting for me to clip out RIGHT NOW.  I've been lazy (OK, preoccupied doing other things!) and haven't organized them in about 2 weeks.  OK, maybe 3.  That's OK.  The world didn't stop spinning because I didn't get all the great deals out there.  I WILL get back on the wagon.  I will organize my coupons and get rid of all the expired ones, and add all the new ones.  I WILL do that this week.  Why?  Because I've had one too many shopping trips lately where I got to checkout (which was really convenient and fast WITHOUT coupons) and the total was about $150.  That same trip probably could have cost AT LEAST $50 maybe as much as $75-80 less if I had just shopped smarter and used my available coupons.  Lesson learned.  
The bottom line is DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU.  There most definitely needs to be a balance between the work involved, and the amount of money you are actually saving. I'm a big believer in that.  Don't go for every single deal out there - just do what works for your family.  You will very quickly burn out if you are trying to grab every great deal.  If you miss one, I can assure you that there will be another one right around the corner.  Getting sick of it?  TAKE A BREAK.  You'll be back.  I'm confident.  And I will be right here, waiting for you.  Encouraging you and ready to show you where all the great stuff is!  :D