So what if I am Cheap...by Mary Hazlett

Today I went to Winco. I love Winco for its amazing produce, variety of bulk food items, great prices, pizza dough, and pizza sauce.  Today though I found grocery shopping to be perplexing.  Why is it that the dairy section is ALWAYS at the back of the store because by the time I reach the back to get my 3 gallons of milk the rest of my cart is already filled with squishable things like bread, tomatoes, and bananas.  Also, why is it that I always get the cart with the squeaky, non working wheel?  And WHY do I get behind the one person that is a super couponer?  Funny how I can get a little aggravated at the grocery store because I don't have room for my 3 gallons of prepared, pasteurized, and packaged milk.  Not like I had to go milk the cow for the 3 gallons and do all the prep work myself.  



It almost never fails though...one those things happen every time I go grocery shopping.  I admit...I used to coupon...a lot!  I hated and loved doing it all at the same time.  I would nearly have an anxiety attack with each coupon trip, because for those of you who don't know, you must get things just right. I would have a hot flash and be sweating profusely by the end of checking out. However, for me, no trip was perfect!  I inevitably would miss something about the sale with the coupons and I would end up spending more than I budgeted for.  Not to mention, I had way to much pride to tell the cashier that I didn't want an item if I got the SECRET COMBINATION wrong.  


I thought that I could get rich off of saving money and stocking up on everything that I needed.  I even had a binder with the baseball card keeper protectors with my coupons organized by type: hygiene, dairy, meat, breakfast, bread...etc.  I found that I was completely addicted to sales...okay, I still am, just a little less crazy about them now...I was going to grocery stores almost daily and making my child suffer the consequences (and I would end up buying him something too).  So, needless to say, I quit super couponing.

I do still clip coupons here and there for the things I need to save a little money so I can buy myself some extra perfume.  But I look back at my days of couponing and I am grateful for the things I was taught.  Here are the great things that I did discover through couponing...make a dinner schedule for the week and shop just one day for those food items, buy a few extra apples for snacks, always buy icecream, and don't go grocery shopping on Saturdays or with your children!  Not to mention that after Mother's day, Fred Meyer's celebrates Founder's Day and has got great deals on flowers and household items (that would be this week) and Albertson's always has a huge sale on chicken the week of the 4th of July. 

So off to Fred Meyer's I go to buy my flowers and save a few bucks...so what if I am cheap!  I get an extra perfume bottle almost every month!  Have a wonderful Tuesday!!

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