wow, I'm grateful this old thread was resurrected to help others and I have to say I've evolved a lot from when I first started this thread!

I find I could easily let couponing and shopping consume me and admittedly it did at first. I was missing out on important time with my family. I had to learn to balance both. I believe I'm serving my family and being a good stewart of our money in doing the couponing and stockpiling. Especially recently when I just haven't been getting enough hours at work I don't have to freak out because we have money saved and plenty of food to live off of and can skip the grocery budget for a while save perishables like milk, etc. It feels good, it really does.

abmitch, I just don't think there's any cookie-cutter way to couponing, stockpiling or taking advantage of sales, even when it's for things you don't need. You just have to do what feels right to you and what's good for your family. If it mades you feel bad or guilty just don't do it. It's an individual decision as to what's worth it, how much time you invest.