Couponing was Born

One of my favorite thing to do is shopping for our home without breaking our bank. A few years ago we seen TLC airing a show called, "Extreme Couponing" and we were amazed how people were walking out with wagons full of groceries worth hundreds of dollars; Yet, they paid pennies on the dollar. Some didn't even pay anything at all because there were overages from using their coupons which covered the expenses of the other items on their list. I remember thinking I wish I could do that because the women made it look so damn easy. Of course it looked easy for them. They had a system that worked. In fact, many even claimed it was like a job because of the hours they dedicated into getting the coupons, looking for the sales, and strategically planning their next haul.

After watching a few more episodes, I believed I was ready. Yeah right! Anyways, to make a long story short, I tried it. My items rang up at around $80 before coupon. Yes! You read that right. Before coupon. Apparently, genius me forgot all my coupons at home. When I searched my bag looking for them, I managed to find one that was a $1 off an item. I looked at my husband with the biggest smile and told him, "Watch this!" The cashier scanned it and my bill was now (you guessed it) $79. My husband looked at me trying not to embarrass me in front of the cashier and said, "You didn't even cover the tax!" As you can imagine...it was a big fail. I could hear Donald Trump saying, "You're Fired!" Honestly, I felt defeated but never retreated. In fact, I went home and literally went online to see what I needed to do in order to save money like the women on television.

A Craft Find

I don't think of myself as thrifty nor a cheapskate; however, I love a great deal in finding unique items and calling them my, "Treasure Find." Today was one of those days where I actually had some time to spare while I waited for my hubby to finish work, (which isn't far from where I planned go). You see, I have a son and a daughter who works at our local thrift shop so I decided to check it out as they were gonna get off soon. I did my normal routine as I walked in and started browsing the aisles hoping to find something worth more than what it's being sold for. In doing this normal routine of mine it can be a bit time consuming because I tend to do a Process of Elimination Inspection when I find something of interest. First, I need to find an item, Second, I need to lift and check to see if there's any special markings such as initials, name of a company or the year it was made, And finally, I need to determine if it's worth putting it in my cart or back on the shelf. Sometimes (and I mean that literally), I may find myself talking to an item during the inspection process 'cause I can't believe why the clerks priced something much lesser than what I thought should have been more. On this particular day, I did find a few things that weren't quite interesting yet found itself in my wagon so, I started putting those things back.

Meanwhile, my son and daughter finished work so I asked them to stand in line with my items while I returned the other stuff 'cause I changed my mind 'cause it's part of my normal routine. Anyways, as I was returning an item to the shelf and feeling defeated 'cause nothing was a great deal to me. I swear I heard someone calling my name. I looked left and right and for the life of me I couldn't see who it was. My son then walks towards me to remind me that the cashier has rung us up and waiting for me. He's telling me this 'cause I'm the one who's paying the bill. I told him I swear someone called my name in this aisle. He thought it was him. What? Oh well, as we were exiting the aisle, lo and behold! I saw colors aligned in a plastic case. I was immediately drawn to it and found myself in a mini trance. In fact, it was similar to the way Dracula would just stare at the woman (I don't know her name; nor do I care) but you know the story. It was hypnotic. I did my inspection and leaped for joy. Well...if you do crafts, you'll know what I mean. Look!