Coupon Queen~

It would be fair to say that in life thus far I have not been smart with money. I have never starved or slept without a roof (involuntarily) or gone without any real needs. But sometimes....every once in a while...I have been unable to buy a cute new handbag. Tragic.

Anyway, back when I was young and dumb I thought I was better than coupons. I would look at all the people in the grocery store and think arrogantly of how sad it was that they were chained to that little pile of paper in their hands - while I was free to buy anything in the store regardless of coupon or price....I was ruler of the grocery store. Want it, buy it, self-satisfied smirk out the door. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Even after I grew up (a little) and began to be (somewhat) responsible with my money, I still thought coupons were more hassle than they were worth - for some reason my brain refused to convert coupons to money in my head while rationalizing it through. However, one of my book club members seduced me with stories of free razors and lots of savings and just like that....hooked.

Did you know that a dollar coupon means I get to keep a whole dollar in my purse AND STILL get what I want?? Except at Kroger, it means I get to keep TWO whole dollars! (God loves us, so he gave us double coupons.) And if I collect ten of those coupons I can keep ten, or maybe even twenty, dollars in my purse....to later go spend on something more fun than groceries, like summer handbags or cheesy bread or more organizational tools than any one woman needs.

So now I have a coupon binder, which is the most perfect combination of my new coupon craziness and my old organizational issues. It is like my own little neurotic heaven. And I can't explain the satisfaction I found on my first foray into the grocery stores on a Super Saturday. Three hours, sixty dollars in savings, and a free tube of toothpaste later....I was a tired, but satisfied shopper. I told everyone I knew about my super buys, including under a dollar shampoo and conditioner and rug cleaner. And I immediately began plotting my next attack on the grocery stores. Now it is like a game to see if I can beat my best deal.

The only down side I can see to this is that I am starting to collect things. I used to laugh at my ex-mother-in-law because she literally had a pantry in the basement and anytime she was out of something there was usually one down there. And now it is happening to me. I probably have sixty pounds of dog food, three bags of cat food (my pets are never going to go hungry), and I recently grabbed up four bottles of dish soap at seventy nine cents each. And that isn't even going into my own cupboards yet. I need to be on guard or soon I will end up with random things because they were such a good deal. In the middle of a coupon haze I will be overcome with giddiness that I can save five bucks on a carton of corndogs. When that day comes (and it will) ....I promise to take pictures.