Are you Cheap?

[stlcouponwizard]

I guess the proper way to ask that would be “Are you cheaper since you started using coupons?”  I never considered my self to be cheap, that is until I spent the last two weekends at Walgreens. I spent a lot of hours looking to spend the very least that I could on every transaction. Okay that,s not that weird for a couponer I guess because we all know the idea is to keep the OOP down. To do that wee need that cheap filler, $0.25 is great but if we happen to run across a $0.10 pencil we almost break out in song in the middle of the aisle because we saved a couple of cents.  Now if you look at it from the outside of our own little coupon world that,s cheap. I can handle that though, let them all talk as I head to the car with a bag of goodies that I paid less than a dollar for. I mean it is not just any body that can get a couple bags of halls, razors and 2  knee high hose for $0.10 right. Not sure what I will do with 30 knee high hose yet but they saved me a hand full of cents.

   What made me start thinking about this is the other things I have noticed lately.  Like while pulling my keys out of my pocket after exiting a Walgreens a dine dropped out of my pocket and rolled under the car. Well I threw the bag of goodies in the car and got down to the ground and reached under it to get the dime. Before I could get back on my feet I had already had a full set of transactions that would cost less than that dime. I sure was glad I picked up that dime since I could get $20.00 of product for it.  When I finally got into the car and headed out I though to my self “Boy you are cheap!”  But hell it was a dime, what couponer would leave it not me.

  Well on the way to the next Wags I received a call from my better half asking if I was going to come home today and how was it going.  I informed her of my latest transactions including the knee highs I have been getting.  You need to understand that my wife understands coupons and kind of understands me but is completely lost when it comes to coupons and me. Well she in no uncertain terms informed me that we don’t need those damn hose. Quit buying them she said. and I agreed.  Well at the next store I used the Candy as a filler and it ended up costing me $0.08 more. It killed me doing it knowing I could get it a bit cheaper but I did it for her, for one transaction. Next transaction I went back to the knee highs for a filler and felt much better about it.  That’s cheap, to endure the wrath of the boss to save less than I dime I picked up earlier. Maybe someday she will understand my cheap ways and how I think when using coupons…………………….. Okay she will never understand, but she ain’t going to change it.

  Well as the time went on I was feeling pretty good about the day so far, driving from store to store searching my mid for a way to reduce those transactions of $0.02 and $0.08 each,  You guessed it, That’s cheap.  Well at one of my next stops I dropped a penny when getting my keys again.  Well there I stood next to my car with several dollars of product in the bag that I spent $0.10 on and my penny on the ground.  I thought what can I Get for that penny. I glanced at the bag I was carrying, looked at the penny back at the bag and then threw the bag in the car and got on the ground and picked up the penny thinking that this penny was worth a can of soup or a to go can of Pringles or maybe even another knee high.  That’s not only cheap, that’s sick. But I would not have it any other way.

[mushyyy]

Too funny. I went out to three stores today. First a trip to drop my son off at the skate park. If you know me you know I am always drinking something and always thirsty. I get to the first store and am thirsty. I decide to wait to deal with my thirst til I get to the next store. I get there thankful that I will now get a drink. As I am going to cash out I glance at the cooler and see $1.69 for a soda..you have got to be kidding me. I then made a trip to the back of the store to check the coolers maybe 2/$2 something I could handle. After all I have to be saving at least $70 and spending about $5. Nothing to drink for me...cause I refuse to pay this much. I survived somehow threw the third store and made it home. I kept thinking to myself am I really that cheap that I can not buy myself a soda. ???

[stlcouponwizard]

yes you are that cheap Mushyy, we all are. It is what coupons do to us.

[petergabrielfan]

(10-14-2010 02:19 AM)mushyyy Wrote:  Too funny. I went out to three stores today. First a trip to drop my son off at the skate park. If you know me you know I am always drinking something and always thirsty. I get to the first store and am thirsty. I decide to wait to deal with my thirst til I get to the next store. I get there thankful that I will now get a drink. As I am going to cash out I glance at the cooler and see $1.69 for a soda..you have got to be kidding me. I then made a trip to the back of the store to check the coolers maybe 2/$2 something I could handle. After all I have to be saving at least $70 and spending about $5. Nothing to drink for me...cause I refuse to pay this much. I survived somehow threw the third store and made it home. I kept thinking to myself am I really that cheap that I can not buy myself a soda. ???

I thought I was the only one that did this! Before I used coupons, I bought myself a soda or bottled water almost every time I shopped. Once I started couponing, I realized what a huge waste that $1.50+ was every time I was out and I started toting my own drink along with me. I've also given up soda entirely for dental reasons (even the diet is bad for teeth) and that was a nice chunk of change that I stopped spending too.

On the flip side, I know someone who uses his/her debit card for everything. He/she told me in one month he/she and their significant other spend $250-$300 on sodas and snacks at convenience stores. They don't drive a truck or anything...this is all just around town while doing errands, running the kids to and from school, etc. They are probably paying $.99 for a regular size candy bar or $1.69+ for a soda on a daily basis if their convenience stores are anything like the ones here. Oh, and did I mention they never can pay their bills because they're always broke??

[lisaree2]

I wouldn't say cheap, I'd say smart I think wasting money is dumb.

[technix]

Sounds like you need to get one of them little rubber change purse thingies my grandpa had so you stop dropping change. or put your keys in one pocket and change in the other. Other than that everything else seemed spot on normal

Derrick

[Melissa]

Its empowering when know how much of a blessing being "cheap" and shopping smart really can be! Living in abundance and also being able to freely give to others is an amazing gift. Knowing how to get necessities for free and cheap is such a blessing! I am thankful everyday for being "cheap" If you read my first savings trip here, it wasn't always that way.

I can relate with the fillers. I have way to many pencils, halloween cups, tomato sauce, candies and so on...

BUT, my son signed up to bring 30 cups to his school halloween party bc they all have to sign up for 1 event and so on but good thing I have 42 nice plastic cups that will do just fine and they can keep if they like. Gets em off my hands and they were practically free anyway.

Im sure I can find some free candy to make em real fun!

[motherof2]

sorry but i am not that cheap
i would buy the soda for around $1 tho
but not getting down on my hands and knees for a dime - or even a quater
but the knee highs - free or not its not a deal if u cant use them spend the extra bit and get something that u would use - in less of course if the knee highs made u money - then just donate most of the knee highs
i consider myself cheap but its not the depression era
no offense meant

[Melissa]

I pick up pennies

But I didn't use to....when you can get stuff for 5 cents..it means a lot. I wonder if I would pick up money from the ground if I didn't feel I need to

I have to agree about the knee highs. Think about food items, mix it up a little. Unless its a money maker than anything goes

[techlawbird]

Hey supersaversara....

Speaking of using debit card, mine is used for my shopping... and guess what.... I just got 2 - $25.00 gas cards the other day for using it. I could have pick something else but I figured the gas was needed to get me from store to store..... So not only am I saving with my coupons, but now I am getting points from my bank card.