Why you shouldn't shop. That's right. I said it.

An interesting thing to note about my fellow frugal bloggers and me: we don't shop that often.  I go to the store maybe twice every three weeks.  That might strike you as oddly ironic, considering how much time I spend talking about deals, freebies and coupons.  The key to my blogging and wanting to share information about frugal living is that I want people to know that the opportunity to save is there.  But it's not always necessary to take advantage of it. More often than not, I let deals go by.

As a matter of fact, it's pretty safe to say that if you do grab every deal and use every coupon, you surely are  (here comes the "w" word...) wasting money and personal resources.  How do I figure?

1. Wasting gas:  you shouldn't be shopping for non-perishables every week; it's extremely inefficient, especially with energy prices going sky high these past few weeks.  
2. Wasting time:  ask yourself, is it worth it for me to be away from my job, my family, my leisure activities to snag this deal?
3. Wasting resources:  are you driving yourself insane and running yourself ragged to save a few bucks?  Do you find shopping exhausting?
4. Wasting money:  EVERY time you buy something, with or without a coupon, ask yourself, do we need this?  Will we use this? Don't purchase something because it is a great buy!  The only exception to this is if something is free, because you can always give it away.

One of my favorite cliched expressions is do the math!  And the math here doesn't only involve the actual money you're saving by pursuing deals; it's also about efficiency, about time, about your personal resources, and about need.  All these are factors in the equation.  Frugal shopping can save you a small fortune, but only if it's done with thought and purpose.

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