New Cheap Thrills

I mentioned sometime back that a lot of the younger women were (finally) interested in a new fad called "couponing." I also mentioned that I didn't really use coupons much because the strategies I used weren't focused on having to use coupons.

Well, since the 'recession' began, companies have been printing coupons at a lightning tree killing rate. Not only that, online coupons have become available at a larger rate. It may be that this is in response to the fact that so many people are using them now. Only last year, there were coupon inserts about every other Sunday or so in our paper. Now our paper has the amount you can save with them printed on the front and has inserts every week without fail!

So I've actually been playing around with them quite a bit of late. It hasn't changed our budget at all. But it is kind of my new cheap thrill hobby. It is a lot of fun to walk out of a store with a bag full of stuff knowing you only paid change for it.

Recently, I went to Target. I bought a deodorant, an 8 oz. bag of mini-Oreos, a small bag of fruit snacks, and two single serve Easy Macs. My grand total after coupons and tax -- 98 cents. Now tell me that isn't fun. Even the grouchy cashier gave me a surprised "Wow."

What has clearly changed is my stockpile. I always kept at least one or two of some item that we needed on hand. I dearly despise getting ready to take a shower and finding out I have no shampoo. Using shampoo as an example, if there had recently been a sale, I might have 6 in my stockpile instead of one or two. Currently, I have about 20. So I guess the only thing that's changed is that all my extra storage space has gone away. :) However, I can't pass up something that's free.

The chick uses roll-on deodorant and recently she informed me that she had enough to last her until she goes to college. She's 14. All but one of those -- the one she's currently using, I believe, were free or less than free. I pointed that out and she just laughed and said she would have plenty of deodorant. And she knows she may get more as long as I can get it free or for tax.

Another thing that's changed, although it may be more because of the amount of coupons being printed, is that I have tons of the things. My little coupon clutch bulges. I refuse to carry anything larger, not because it would embarrass me to walk about the store with a binder filled with baseball card pages encasing coupons, but because I would be annoyed by the bulk and end up not carrying it in at all. I have considered going back to an index card box but I really like my Dollar General coupon clutch so I'll just deal for now.

One of those hard and fast rules about budgeting is that there aren't any hard and fast rules. You have to be flexible and work with the sales. Right now, my cheap thrills hobby is the "sale." I haven't changed any of my strategies to keep my budget down though.

And it may be when that when the economy goes back to normal, all these extra coupons will go with it. But I'd like to think that everyone who has finally learned to do things practically will keep exercising that knowledge even in the feasting years. Our world tends to move in cycles. You can pretty much count on another famine later.