After hearing more about last night’s show on TLC (which I didn't even watch!), I remembered this post that I shared back in December after the first episode of Extreme Couponing aired. I found it interesting as I re-read it this morning that I’ve done a nutty thing or two myself for a deal; however I will say that several years of couponing has tamed my deal-crazed-self quite a bit! I have had a wee bit of frustration over watching the show because I feel like TLC hasn't shared the true heart of giving that so many couponers share, and I do question if any regular person could walk into the store and do what those shown on TLC were able to do. (On the episodes I've seen it looks like quite a few grocery store rules were bent for the show!) Either way, it is interesting what we'll do for a deal, and I've done quite a few ridiculous things myself!
I have done some crazy things to snag a deal these last few years. Just a few weeks ago, I went to Walgreens only to buy 12 Snickers Nutcrackers and 6 Scotch brand mailers. (Who goes anywhere in the cold with a three year old only to buy Snickers Nutcrackers???) After we survived the checkout lane, I realized I was missing those mailer coupons. Did I simply pay the $2? Of course not! I shoved the cart as close to my car as possible (safely but without unbuckling little Miss Reagan) and listened to her scream “Momma, Momma, MAAAAMMMMMAAA-AAAAAAAAAAAAAA” in the parking lot while I rummaged through my car to hunt down those coupons!
But that’s only a tiny smidgen of the ridiculous things I’ve done for a deal. I’ve purchased twelve packages of Preparation H Wipes because the overage on the wipes would pay for diapers. I’ve sweetly asked helpless Publix stock boys where the Phazyme is because Ineeded it (for a deal of course . . . Phazyme happens to be an anti-gas medication. . . I truly had no idea when I asked those poor kids.) I’ve purchased at least four Bayer Contour Diabetes Monitors although no one in our family is diabetic, simply to earn a few more Register Rewards (but I was able to donate diapers with the overage, as well as those Contour Meters!) I’ve found myself in the bottom of a newspaper bin late on a Sunday night trying to grab that one coupon stuck tightly in between the bottom rungs of the rack (only to find the coupons expired two years before I got there.) The CVS managers who work in a western Kentucky CVS on Thanksgiving know me by name because I’ve spent one too many Thanksgiving mornings hanging out with them instead of in the kitchen cooking turkey with my mother-in-law. And I’ve even found myself stalking the poor Frito-Lay, Coca-Cola, and Coors Beer distributors in hopes of winning a blessed tearpad. (Those of you who know me know that I’ve never had a beer in my entire life, which makes it that much more pitiful!!!)
Some days it goes even further than that. I have stopped naive, innocent shoppers to let them know they shouldn’t buy any of the Nestle Toll House Cookie Dough in their buggy because they’ll be BOGO starting in the next ad. I’ve gone up to brand new couponers and asked them where their Kotex coupons are (because of course I knew those Kotex coupons could score them a deal!) And the poor customer service desk at Publix cringes when I walk through the door (well, maybe not, but some days I wonder!!!)
So, there you have it . . . the truth!!! Please let me know I’m not alone in this! What’s the silliest thing you’ve ever done to grab a deal? I know some of you out there have a story to tell, because surely you wouldn’t be here if you weren’t passionate about a little penny pichin’ too! So go ahead, ‘fess up, it’ll be fun and make me feel so much better!!!