It’s true. I have, in fact, become one of “those people.” If I get really honest with myself, I probably fit into the category of “those people” for a multitude of reasons these days:
- I can’t get through a conversation without talking about my baby.
- I get really excited about Inside Edition, though I don’t yet refer to it as “the news.”
- I’ve become obsessed with coupons, to the point that I carry around a mini expand file with categorized coupon compartments.
- I can’t get through a conversation without talking about my baby.
- I get really excited about Inside Edition, though I don’t yet refer to it as “the news.”
- I’ve become obsessed with coupons, to the point that I carry around a mini expand file with categorized coupon compartments.
Don’t judge. And if you know me really well, please don’t add to my list … I don’t doubt that it could go on and on. It happens to the best of us, I’m sure.
That said – today, I was not only one of “those people,” but I more specifically became “that person.”
It all started when a friend of mine mentioned the Krazy Coupon Lady in a Facebook message, and then I saw said Krazy Lady on The Early Show the next morning. If you haven’t seen her or her Web site, I suggest checking it out (www.krazycouponlady.com).
Though some of her concepts are a little hardcore for me (I’m not about to buy six Sunday paper subscriptions just to have multiple coupon inserts), others seemed like they might be worth a shot. So, this week, I started to try my hand at combining coupons with sales, doubling up where I was allowed and making the most of what is now a much tighter budget for our one-and-a-half income lifestyle.
I was proud of my wheeling and dealing on Gerber baby food at Meijer. And, I felt super saving savvy when I dropped my 30 percent-off Kohl’s coupon on already deeply discounted items to help save on holiday shopping.
But, my crowning glory came today on my trip to Crafts2000. For my husband’s family Thanksgiving, which is a potluck-style dinner, I was asked to make a variety of chocolate treats – fancied up chocolate covered Oreos, pretzels, cookies and more. In preparation, I had already bought a few things on sale during my normal weekly grocery trip. But after finding a “$1 off the purchase of any items $1 or more” coupon on the Crafts2000 Web site (www.crafts2000online.com – check out the second to last page of the circular), I decided I would get most of the chocolate, molds, super-sized marshmallows and other goodies there.
The kicker – which still makes me giddy, like Christmas came early – is that you could use “one coupon per transaction per day.” Here’s where I became “that person.” Before leaving home, I printed 20 of the $1 off coupons.
After filling my cart with 20 items I needed – only one of which was over $2 – I headed to the open check out lane at the customer service counter, figuring that register worker might resent me least. Thankfully for little Miss. Olivia’s sake, she’s still too young at 6 months old to roll her eyes or be outrageously embarrassed by her mother.
As I piled everything on the counter, I explained my plan, apologized to the woman in line behind me and kept my courage up repeating the Krazy Coupon Lady’s book title over and over again in my head (Pick Another Checkout Lane, Honey).
The cashier rang each item up separately so that I could use a coupon on each – even making some things, dare I say it, FREE!
I left the store at a brisk pace and tried to restrain my urge to skip to my car – after all, I was already “that person” once today.
