Happy Friday: Hip2Coupon At All Ages
Sent from reader, Carmen: I am a 13 year old that loves clipping coupons and the excitement of saving at the cash register. Weird for my age, huh? I also love home stuff. (You’ll see why this ties in.) Recently, I went to Kohl’s because they mailed me a $10 Kohls cash and on top of that our store got remodeled so I had another $10 coupon. Those two coupons could be combined so I got 2 collections of picture frames, 2 magnetic picture frames, and a head band for only $1.23! I saved $98.80. This site has taught me to save and earn money with coupons. Thanks Collin!
HAPPY FRIDAY! 😀
Do you have a funny, “Hip”, or unique photo to share?! Email us at happyfriday@hip2save(dot)com. Every Friday, I will post one photo, submitted by you and/or another Hip2Save reader, that gives us a glimpse into your frugal lifestyle or simply makes us smile. If your photo is published on Hip2Save, we’ll email you a $10 Amazon e-card!
** Check out all the previous Happy Friday pictures here.
AWESOME! I’m 15 and thought I was crazy! hahaha (none of my friends do this soooo…)
Same here! I’m glad my boyfriend doesn’t find it embarrassing! He doesn’t like to coupon or save, but he’s the only one (other than my mom!) I can talk to about this stuff!
I’m 17. I started when I was……. 14-ish? When I try to talk deals with people, they get the glazed over look in their eyes 😉 Oh well, more deals for me 😉
hahaha I know what you mean! If I try to explain my deals to my mom or something she just kinda looks at me like “huh???” hahahaha So her job is to just get the coupons and I…well Collin does the rest and I go shopping 🙂 hahaha
It’s good to learn the value of a dollar early on!
That’s an awesome story! Way to go Carmen!
OMG That is awesome!! I wish my DS15 was that coupon savvy!! Great Job!!!
That’s awesome Carmen! I love that you coupon!
I started couponing a little over 2 years ago when I was 23. I wish I had gotten into couponing at an earlier age. Way to go, Carmen! 🙂
Same here! I’m 25 now and even at this age people look at me like im crazy. I have at least one friend thats as passionate as I am, so when everyone else stops listening I turn to her. Having a partner helps the motivation stay high!
Great way to strengthen math skills.
i agree..it has helped alot in school
That’s awesome..I wish my kids would coupon..way to go carmen
Glad to see Im not the only young one here 🙂
That’s great. It’s really nice to hear about younger people who are into saving and getting good deals.
Congrats to her. My hubby gets so mad when my 7 year old thinks he can get everything for free. That is because why hubby is eating bagged lunch and saving for expensive tech toys my boys and I are shopping around town collecting free items and eating great meals at a steal (often for less than his meals.) Some woman is going to love the fact that my son knows the value in couponing.
My daughter loves couponing too. So far she mostly uses them for candy though, lol. Whenever she sees how much I save on groceries, she always says, “Why would anyone pay full price?! That’s just DUMB!”
Very Cool! Way to go Carmen!
What a deal..i thought i was the only teen im 16 andlove to coupon since 2 yrs ago…every sunday i go to cvs and get $100 of products for less than $5…now im teaching my mom and aunt how to coupon :)…my friends always make fun of me cuz they know how much i like to save but when they saw everything i have they were impressed
im 19…do you reallllllyyyy??!?!! thats crazy teach me! haha
Yeahh..you just have to know how to make various transactions and in the order that you will use less OOP…With time im getting better
I think its wonderful that teens are couponing! Put that saved money aside for college, and then when you get there, you will know how to live on a college budget…and you’ll be eating steak with your couponing savings while your college friends live off 19 cent noodles. 🙂 (unless, you teach them of course!) I wish someone had taught me this as a teen!
I totally agree with your comment!! Great idea to put it toward college… My daughter is four and she already asks me if I have a coupon for things when we buy them 😉 It’s so great that you’re starting young, Carmen! 😀
awesome job teens! i love the fact that you are saving money at such a young age 🙂
My daughter just turned 18 and I taught her to coupon so she could buy her cosmetics at a price ‘she’ could afford. 🙂 Now that she is a freshman in university, it’s coming in handy that she knows how save so she isn’t a starving student so to speak.
I hope she let’s us know how she spends the $10 amazon gift card!
You girls aren’t crazy Ashley. . . you are AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!! Way to go, you’re donig better than I am!!!
😀 thanks Anna! I love all the hip2savers on here, they’re kinda like an army of moms! 😉 hahaha It’s cool 🙂
Kudos to y’all younger gals & guys learning couponing & savings skills — awesome job!!!
Fantastic!
That’s fantastic!
I went to Kohl’s a couple weeks ago and got a bra and a pair of jeans. All I paid was 47 cents! Could NOT beat that deal! I used coupons and Kohl’s cash! LOVE that store!
Congratulations on your great deal!!!
i thought i was the only one! ive been following hip2save for about 3 years now, i started couponing at 12!
That is great I wish I had known about coupon shopping when I was your age. My 2 year old when you show him a coupon and say what is this he says money Mommy. 🙂 I am teaching him really early!!!!!
Way to go! I am so happy to see young people saving; I wish I had saved more when I was younger!
Great Job, Carmen! Wow! I am 32 years old and I work really hard and still have trouble saving even half of what you can. I know how much effort it takes to save $90 dollars. You rock!
Way to go, Carmen!
Very inspiring. I also wish i had started clipping coupons much sooner but for now i will begin to teach my 7 year old how to save with coupons.
That’s awesome, Carmen and all you teens. I bet all your friends are envious that you get so much more for your money. Keep up the great work.
This is awesome! Keep up the good work, Carmen!
Wow Carmen! That’s so awesome! I started couponing when I was 14, and now I have my own coupons and deals website! 😀
That is awesome! Good job!
Great job Carmen!! You are an inspiration to us all.
Young or old I think its SO GREAT!!!!!! Way to go!!!!!!!!!!!!! Keep it up!!!!! You ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Way to go!! At this rate you’ll retire as a millionare! First picture frames, next stocks : )
I wish I had started so young! I of course knew what coupons were, but had no idea about matching with sales, getting things free or stacking with store coupons. I thought they were a waste of time and that store brands were still cheaper than names brands with coupons. Boy, was I WRONG! It’s all right though, I know now and I am teaching my daughter (soon to be two daughters, #2 due in Jan.!!) – when I tell my two-year-old we are going to CVS she says, “I go coo-pins with momma!”. Coo-pins = coupons, lol. She’ll learn, I can’t wait until she can clip safely!!!
Im 14 and i started last year and sometimes cashiers give me the strangest looks, lol
hahaha I know! It kinda gets strange fast…. haha
i get those looks too! ive been couponing since i was 12 (im 15 now) and im extremely short and i look like im about 10 years old. so cashiers commonly think i have no idea what im talking about, then i whip out my coupon policy and i think they get a bit intimidated!
Awesome job, Carmen!
I came up with an idea for my own kid if you parents out there need some tips on how to start introducing the world of couponing to your wee ones:
My daughter is 4 and has Down syndrome so I am really trying to get her set up now for when she gets older and is hopefully able to live on her own. So far, whenever we pull up to WAGS, CVS or Walmart, etc. she says, “Shopping with Mama!” Whenever I have a magazine or the paper, she says, “Coupons!” This is just from me telling her over and over again what we are doing.
So tonight, I bought a cheap little grocery cart and pretend food at Ross (great place for toys). Then I set up a grocery store for her at home by making “shelves” out of chairs and lining up all of the products by type so she could peruse. My daughter picked out the items she wanted and put them in her little grocery cart (it turns out she is a shelf clearer, BTW and eggs just get thrown in the cart like they were a ball or something. I may have to show her how to handle real eggs and the basics of coupon etiquette. LOL).
When she was ready to “check out,” I had her take out some old, expired coupons I had from her Dora purse. At the end of her transaction, I told her the balance was $0.00 because she had used her coupons! When Daddy was the cashier though, he told her there was an “issue with the validity of the coupon.” LOL. Bad Daddy! Then we unloaded all of her goods and talked about them once she got to her “house” a few feet away from the “store.” Just some cute little ideas if you want to get your kids preened for the stores. It’s never too young to start! 🙂
All of these comments made by you younger couponers really gives me hope for our future. =) Keep it up!
Aww that is so cute Delaina…I love that idea!
I have to weigh in on this… my daughter is 9 and is completely annoyed with my couponing. I don’t understand why…it’s always been represented as a positive experience. I tell her how much I saved, compare it to things she wants that are fairly expensive, and she still doesn’t care. My kids aren’t spoiled by any means…we live on a tiny income and clip coupons just to put food on the table. They don’t have a ton of toys and most are hand me downs. I try to involve her, but she says it’s boring. I’m at a loss 🙁
I think it just may be too early for her to grasp it quite yet. Where as a teenager will want all kinds of things, including a car I’m sure, and understands a lil more that you have to save money to get what you want. Just give her time 😉
My mom once did this for me as a teen back when I could have cared less about saving money…
She gave me money for WHATEVER I wanted (within reason of course) but told me once it was gone, that was it. No more until next time she could afford it. Well, it wasn’t much, as we were pretty poor (we lived in a MOTOR HOME. Yes, the kind you DRIVE).
Anyways, once I realized that I could only get ONE item with that money when I paid full price OR I could go thrifty and get WAY more for my money, I understood the concept of saving and it became more personalized to me.
Put your kids in charge of an allowance and this way they will be more interested about spending on themselves and managing their own money. They will hunt for the deals if they feel like it is their own funds that is being depleted rather than yours plus they will get to do their own research to save on things that matter to them and be more motivated. Hope this helps!
I totally agree with you and I love the allowance part.
My son is 7 and he really wanted the leapster explorer which by the way is $69.99 and the games are $24.99 plus tax and insurance and all that. I could have gotten it cheaper but I went with Toys R Us because they have coverage on these things.
Well, he saved his money for several months and he kept on asking me if I have seen any coupons for leapster system 🙂 Which I thought was so cute because he always sees me clipping coupons and talking about deals and sales.
And then when our holidays came around, he got a total of $80 in cash from everyone and then he added his previous savings to it and purchased what he really wanted. I did not pitch in other than the $20 that I gave him for the holiday (BTW, we don’t give out toys…just cash..so there is never a wish list…and no expensive toys…and no running back and forth to the stores…MAX is $20). Whatever cash you get, you can go ahead and buy whatever you want.
Some ppl like that idea and some don’t but we absolutely love it and we are also use to it 🙂
My daughter is 5 but she is learning to save her money from her brother because they both know that I won’t buy them anything unless they work for it.
My parents never spoiled me like that and I will never spoil my kids either.
PLUS… My kids don’t get birthday parties. They get $20 in cash for their bdays from us plus more from their grandparents and uncles and aunt. Nothing more than $100. I have seen many times that my kids don’t spend all their money, so it does teach them to save for next time.
Second BEST thing that I started with my kids is that…I ask them to donate some of their saving and bday money…which is like two or three dollars or something..and they happily do that.
I tell my kids how fortunate they are to live here compare to all those POOR kids that are dying because of hunger.
There are many ways to TEACH our kids and I am still learning to do that.
Whatever I am doing with my kids is what I have learned from my parents and they had set rules for all of us. GOD BLESS THEM FOR BEING STRICT WITH ME BECAUSE IT TRULY KEPT ME ON THE RIGHT TRACK 🙂 I didn’t like it back then but now when I think about it, I really FEEL BLESSED 🙂
OMG…I wrote too much…SORRY GUYS….
Let me hit the bed now 😉
On the last note… I did not have a coupon for the systems so we basically paid the full price but the manager told me to bring back my receipts with coupons to get a price adjustment, and I had 30 days to do that.
I took my receipt back when the games went on sale and I was able to get back $13.
Then I waited fot the actual Leapster Explorer System to go on sale because most coupons don’t work on the learning toys..well I waited and I waited and then finally I got an email yesterday for Buy Two Get One Free….and GUESS WHAT, it included the systems.
I took my receipt back to toys r us yesterday and was able to snag the third system of CARS 2 Limited Edition for only $2.10 and that would have cost me $69.99. I don’t need the third system but I will sell it on Ebay. I WAS SUPER EXCITED AND I THINK I STILL AM 🙂
I did all that within the 30 days.
in all honesty when I was 9 I really didn’t care either lol I would definatly give her time, and don’t push it. I’m 15 now and started couponing a couple months ago…maybe like 8 or so…thats more than a couple I guess but you get the point 😉 And I get a pretty good allowance and when I babysit or do odd jobs I would have more to save. BUT up until probably a year ago I was like a crazy shopaholic and I always seemed to be broke and I couldn’t even show you where my money exactly went! I was just going in this store and that one until I was literally out of money. I mean I was bad and I honestly think I had a problem. But anyway I was google searching ways to save money and other stuff along that line and stumbled on hip2save 🙂 And as soon as I got into the swing of things I was hooked! I’m one of those teens who LOVES make-up, and lotion and all the great health and beauty things, like I’m a total girly girl 🙂 And I love trying new brands and different things and thats just what couponing is all about except it’s cheap! and when I finally realized I could get paid to buy make up and get it for pennies on the dollar I get a little sick when I walk into sephorea and see $20 lipstick and $14 eyeliner…ugh just typing it… But the thing is for me, theirs coupons for things I want out their, I bet your daughter would be interested if they had her kind of toy coupons or what ever she’s into (I’m out of the 9 year old loop lol) So I think it will just take some time and she will get into it 🙂 Now if only I could find a way to save on music 😉 ….
Frostwire for music 😉 it’s free!
im 15 also, and i go to my library and check out CDs and then upload them to my itunes library. also if theres music your library doesn’t have try purchasing it from amazon mp3. music is generally 30 cents less per song on there!
I hope my daughters are frugal and coupon when they get to be teenagers! Great deal! BTW I absolutly love those collage frames I wish I had a kohls near by 🙁
A Star Hip2Saver is a recognized member of our Hip2Save community hand selected by our team for demonstrating a long history of engagement with helpful & friendly comments across Hip2Save.com and our social channels. Our Star Hip2Saver badge acts as a verification for readers who know the ins and outs of all Hip2Save sets out to accomplish — assisting our community to live extraordinary lives on ordinary budgets. Readers cannot pay or provide any sort of exchange in order to earn this badge. Rather, they are invited to participate by a member of the Hip2Save team and opt to have the Star Hip2Saver badge added to their profile & comments.
I’m so proud of you, Carmen! You’re learning young that being frugal can be fun, and rewarding. Keep up the great work!
This is AWSOME!! Way to teach em young!
I wish I had couponed at her age. My money would have went much further. When I was her age I’d get about $400 on Christmas, as well as about $100 around my birthday. I never paid attention to what I bought. I blew it on candy and other stupid things. Now that I’m 24 and have been couponing for a few years I look back at those days and think “Wow, I could have bought 20 of those” and so on. My parents fault for raising me as a spoiled little princess that got whatever she wanted! lol
YOU GO CARMEN 🙂 Seriously, you are doing one of the best thing right now. It is and it will TEACH you so much in life. I wish I had that sense of SAVING MONEY when I was 13. It’s so inspiring to see all these young really thinking about saving money.
I have seen so many kids leave their change at the register. I have seen it because I worked as a cashier. My kids know that they need to save 100 pennies to get a dollar out of it. We need to really know the meaning and the value of just ONE PENNY. We work so hard to earn it and we should respect it too rather than throwing it on the floor or telling the cashier….keep the change.
KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK CARMEN. WE ARE PROUD OF YOU.
ugh I know what you mean I knew a girl who actually threw change in the trash! And I was like geez, I bend over and pick up pennies and your throwing quarters and stuff away!?
I’m 18 and have been couponing for 3 months now. I’m really new to this, but am building the stockpile for my family slowly. I have 5 siblings, not including myself, and my parents. Couponing has really saved us so much money on everyday needs and groceries, but I seem to have bad experiences at the the register because cashiers frown upon how young I am and why I’m couponing. I’ve even had people come up to me and comment on how I’m young but already couponing. I’m in college and have a whole family to stockpile for–if anything I actually need to save money rather than spend it on full retail prices. Have any of you young couponers have the same experience that I have, or can relate?
oh yeah, all sorts of strange looks lol I get some that are envious but most just kinda look at me like seriously?? And I do feel wierd (and so does the cashier I bet) when I buy mens stuff, like deoderant and shaving cream and bodywash but it’s for my older brother who’s 19 and just moved out, really doesn’t have a great job and he doesn’t think it’s worth couponing or I think he’s too proud to do it, but the way I see it, is if I can get it for cheap or for free why shouldn’t I get it for him? Ya know? It’s not going to waste, I’m not just buying it because it’s a good deal, I’m getting it because he needs his own little stock pile and I think he finally realizes how much I save him when I “accidently” leave the reciept in the bag 😉 hahaha
oh yeah, I’m 15 btw lol
Good for you! I’m so happy to see young couponers! When I was younger I would spend money so foolishly.. To think a couple hours a week can save you hundreds of dollars!
I love all of the comments from the young couponers out there – it is never too early or too late to start. :0)
Awesome deals, Carmen! I’m really happy to see other young couponers. I’m 23 and have been coupling for two years now.
That’s awesome that you love doing this so young! I’m 23 and wish I had started younger. I consider couponing a hobby now because it saves me so much money and I really enjoy doing it. E.g. Today I spent $8 for over $40 worth of products. Got to love sales and coupons!
That’s awesome!
I’m “starting” my daughter young. She watches me clip coupons and wants to help use them at the store, asking “Coupon mommy? When I start putting things on the belt to check out…she’s TWO! LOL