Extreme Couponing

By Genaire Walker

Extreme Couponing anyone?  I recently became a fan of Extreme Couponing, the new show broadcast on TLC.   Though I watched my first episode quite by accident, something interested me about people who dedicated  considerable time honing a skill that allowed them leave a grocery store with $1,100 dollars of groceries for a mere $52 bucks. 

Intrigued, I began to research and implement couponing in my own home (albeit with a less “Extreme” and more pragmatic approach).  One would think after years writing ads, I of all people, should be immune to “buy it now” web blinkies and 60 second shameless plugs for products and paychecks.

My first month of couponing revealed otherwise.  Not only was I faced with a sobering reality check of my stewardship habits, it forced me to take a hard look at the small fox that has found its way into too many of our homes – the need for instant gratification.

Even I was not immune to a culture where instant gratification is the norm.   Today, everything from our account balances to our oatmeal must be available in only a moment.  Lightening fast Wi-Fi connections allow us to get email, locate friends, share pictures and tweet -- instantly.  It seems everything that surrounds us screams:  SEE IT NOW! HAVE IT NOW! DO IT NOW! 

Much like other areas in my daily walk; couponing requires a serious mental shift, and a lot of change.  Retraining has been challenging to say the least. Here are a few of the things I have learned so far:

·         Couponing requires patience. Instant gratification must be eliminated for success. Extreme couponers only buy when it is the most profitable.  This means getting control of self.

·         The successful couponer has lost a sense of entitlement. They live on what is available and what is on sale, instead of insisting on favorite products, brands or timing. 

·         Couponers think exponentially, plan carefully and act confidently.  (Imagine if more people exhibited faith in this way!)

·         The best coupon clippers realize blessings can be multiplied.  If one is a good deal, why not multiply it and have an abundance share?

One of the best tips I saw on couponing came from www.grocerycouponguide.com.  An article suggests taking $20.00  and practice using coupons to donate as much as possible to a local food pantry.  Not only does this practice bless others, but it retrains the mind to let go of brand loyalty and bad spending habits.   Realizing that the author was able to donate thousands of dollars worth of food for only a few hundred got me excited to try and bless others on my meager budget!

As with any reality TV show, some of the people on Extreme Couponing have gone way overboard; complete with family drama; OCD arrangements of coupons and stockpiles that border on hoarding.  But applied in moderation, there are some valuable concepts to be learned.

 I won’t even pretend that I am going to live for months on $1 per day; dumpster dive for newspapers, or fill my home to the roof with toilet paper and ketchup.   I will, however, allow God to make me more thoughtful, hopeful, grateful and giving --- and save a few bucks in the process.  Now that’s a sweet deal!

“Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.”

-          2 Cor 9:10 - NIV

Introducing Genaire Walker

Learning to Surf

I have always loved the water. Ironically, I also have deathly fear of drowning.... which is why I am learning to surf.

 Though I learned to swim at a local YMCA as a child, it wasn’t until our annual vacations to the coast of South Carolina I came to love the water. I quickly learned the difference between pool and open water swimming. The pool was a very safe environment. Entries were clear, boundaries defined, depths measured, and help was close. Ocean swimming was quite another matter. I found the ocean to be dynamic, exciting and unpredictable. It did not take long for me to go from a child frolicking along the shoreline at low tide to a fearless teen attacking 9 foot waves and riding them in to shore. I relish those memories of lazy 12 hr days at the beach and my fearless “jump in” attitude.

But as young adulthood faded to middle age I forgot my love of the sea. Instead of splashing in gorgeous waters, I found myself swimming in debt, drowning in problems, and sinking in despair. These new waters seemed murky, ominous.

Before long, this once confident swimmer was struggling . . . flailing . . . fighting hard just trying to survive each day. When I had exhausted myself from kicking hard (and going nowhere), God gently reminded me of the things I learned many years ago:

• FLOAT. To float is an act of acceptance. The moment I can no longer stand on my own, I release my being to the control of something bigger. Floating is the choice to surrender, practice stillness, rest and trust in God.  

• SWIM. To swim is the art of navigating myself in situations I can’t control. Active faith is very much the same. It is the exercise of my faith which keeps me disciplined, centered and pointed in the right direction. To choose not to swim is to risk being set adrift . . . or worse yet, to drown.

• SURF. To surf is spiritual mastery. To surf is finding ecstasy in an uncertain journey. More powerful than swimming, with surfing comes the realization I can travel much farther (and faster) by yielding the movement of God, than any distance I can go on my own. It is communion, sensitivity and response to the ebb and flow of God’s will.

This shift has made a huge difference. That is, I now flow with life instead of struggling against it. I am being taught God’s timing. I am learning to ride life’s storms with finesse and confidence, knowing that HE is holding me up. It is also humbling -- I still wipe out from time to time, but at least now I am enjoying the ride.

  I am learning to surf. Come on in . . . The water’s fine.

Genaire Walker

Genaire Walker is newcomer to the blogosphere from Davenport, Iowa.

She is not new,however,to the craft of writing, however. A twelve-year veteran of the television and radio fields, she has produced countless advertising campaigns under her previously owned business and former pen name, WalkerCreative. Her shift from advertising to inspirational writing reflects her deeply rooted desire to spread knowledge rather than negative messages to her community.

Her poetic accomplishments include the House of Rah ‘Sun-Ra Blazing Track Award’ for her produced collaboration of “It Don’t Belong to You” with poet Disillusioned.
Another recent poem of hers, “Love Letter to the Black Man” was awarded Image of the Day in on WrittenImages.com, and her Audio “Got Your Numba” produced by Rahkyt (pronounced Rocket) was awarded January’s Honored Audio in Written Images Live. The same piece received the Soultry Echoes “Soultry Spotlight” Award at www. soultry.org. Her heartbreaking poem “Mal Practice” was recently awarded ‘Poem of the the Week’ on HipHopPoetry.com
She is thankful for the encouragement of her husband, children and church friends. She humbly asks for prayer as she explores new avenues in her writing career.