You Have to Have a Thick Skin to Be Frugal

Let me start this off by saying that a couple of years ago, using a coupon would have mortified me. This isn't because I thought I was above coupons, it's just that I thought saving $ .50 wasn't worth the critical eyes of those in line behind me or behind the cash register. It just wasn't worth it. The thought of using a coupon stressed me out. It seemed pointless. I felt like people behind would be thinking, "I'll give the girl $ .50, if she'll just go!" Maybe I thought people would think that because I felt that way sometimes...waiting behind the couponers.

That all changed a year or so ago when I discovered how much money I could save my family by planning and implementing a coupon system. If I were more organized with saving my receipts, I could tell you exactly how much I've saved since starting this, but I am not and have not been that organized. Just know that I have a saved a lot. My goal in any shopping trip is to save at least as much as I spend. In today's economy, at least for my family, it is super important.

So I take you to last night...my Publix shopping trip. You see, I like to do my grocery shopping primarily at Publix because it's nice, clean, organized, they have a great variety, the workers are helpful (for the most part), and they have great deals. I prefer to shop on Tuesday nights because it's the night before the deals change, and I can often get the items I need and get rainchecks for those things they're out of. It just works for me.

Last night, I made a critical error. I shopped a couple of hours earlier than I normally would shop. I went before 6:00 because Channing needed me back to take care of the boys while he participated in a conference call. Let me tell you, shopping around 6:00 pm is not a good idea because that's when everyone shops. Everybody gets off work and heads to the grocery store...no fun. Not only are the aisles clogged, but you also risk upsetting shoppers in line behind you if you're using coupons. That's what happened to me.

Once I had everything on my list, I searched for a pleasant-looking cashier...one that didn't look like she would want to stab me for using coupons. I found one, but she already had someone in line. The lady beside her, who looked quite ticked off that she had to work at all, had a completely clear aisle. Because I was in a hurry and because I didn't want to tick her off, I went to her line. The lady didn't even acknowledge my existence. She simply started scanning my merchandise. As soon as she was through, I handed her my coupons...with my $5/$30 coupon right on top. First off, I noticed that she didn't scan my $5 off coupon. I didn't say anything, though, because I thought that maybe she was waiting to do that one last.

During this time, a man got in line behind me. I was thinking, "Oh no. He's not going to be happy about her scanning my 50 coupons." He wasn't. He looked right at me and said, "I am terrible at picking lines!" I mean, what do I say to that? I simply said, "I'm sorry." Thing is, the line next to us was almost finished with her customer. He could have gone over there. Did he? No, he stayed in my line so he could insult me further. Next thing he said, which seemed to be a pointed jab, was, "I wish my wife would clip coupons so I could save a few pennies." I italicized "pennies" because he seemed to be insinuating that I was taking up his time to save next to nothing. So I told him, "Well, I've saved $57 already," and the lady was still scanning. He didn't really say too much after that. My cashier, though, seemed to like him better than me and immediately struck up a smiley conversation with him.

Ok, so all this was going on, and she came to the end of my coupons. She then told me my total, and I had to humbly (it was SO hard...I was trying so hard not to be prideful or embarrassed) tell her that I noticed she never scanned my $5 off coupon. I was met with a huge *SIGH*, and she began to search through my coupons to find it. That lasted all of five seconds, and she simply entered in the $5 credit. This was followed by a "There." To add insult to injury, I used a gift card for part of the total. I know the man behind me must have been ready to punch me, the cashier too. It was brutal.

Eventually, I made it out of Publix. I can't say that my dignity was entirely in tact, but I did save my family a lot of money. I think that makes it worth it. I don't know. What I do know is that saving money and living a frugal lifestyle takes time, effort, and a thick skin. Oh, and may I suggest shopping at odd hours? That way, you can get lines to yourself without having to tick off others in line behind you. That's what I prefer, anyway.

Tax Free Holiday

To all you frugal shoppers out there:

Don't forget that this weekend, August 1-3, is Alabama's SALES TAX HOLIDAY! If you have some things you need to get for the kids or if you just want to do some shopping for yourself, get out there this weekend.

To see if your city is participating, click this link.

Some of the things included in the sales tax holiday are as follows:

• Clothing, including footwear (excluding accessories or sports equipment), which do not exceed one-hundred dollars ($100 per item).
• Computers and computer software (not exceeding $750 per item).
• School supplies and instructional materials (not exceeding $50 per item).

For a complete list of covered items, check out the Department of Revenue website.

Happy shopping, ya'll!

FREE DIAPERS!

Yes, folks. That's right. FREE diapers! That's almost like an oxymoron. :) I first read about this on The Centsible Sawyer's blog a couple of weeks ago. I called and left a couple of messages, and on Tuesday, I finally connected with Sheila. I am now signed up to receive a FREE pack of size 4 diapers. All I have to do is have Asher wear the diapers, I fill out a survey, she calls me to get the results, AND then they send me $10 DOLLARS!!! FREE DIAPERS AND $10 DOLLARS! Woo hoo!!!

Sheila (the lady at Arquest, the survey company) said that if I knew of anyone with kids who wear size 4 diapers, to pass on the information. This is the last week for size 4.

For size 4 BOYS, call (888) 342-7372 ext. 634.
For size 4 GIRLS, call (888) 342-7372 ext. 646.

Thanks to The Centsible Sawyer for this great information!!!

The CVS $5.00 Challenge

Alyssa is hosting a $5 CVS challenge each week. Visit her site to check out all the great scenarios people have worked out for $5 or less! It's always cool to see what everyone is getting. I LOVE deals!

Here's what I got on Sunday:I did three transactions. On the first transaction, I got:
Accu-Check Compact Plus Kit Price: $9.99
Used: $9 in ECB, Paid $1.09 Out of Pocket
Earned: $9.99 in ECB!!!
On this transaction, I paid $1.09 out of pocket and saved $75.99!!!

On the second transaction, I got:
1 Clairol Natural Instincts Hair Color, $5.99; I had a coupon for $4 off
1 O.B. tampons$4.49; I had a coupon for $1.50 off
1 Rightguard Professional Strength Deodorant and Antiperspirant $6.99; I had a coupon for $1 off
1 pkg of Gummi Savers $2.19, on sale B1G1 FREE, I had a coupon for B1G1 Free; thus FREE
1 pkg Lifesavers Mints (see above); FREE
I used my $9.99 ECB from the first transaction; paid $1.85 out of pocket, and earned $7.50 in ECB!!!
I spent $1.85 out of pocket and saved $30.17!!!

For my third transaction, I had to go to another store. My CVS was out of what I was looking for...MASCARA!
1 Physicians Formula Mineral Mascara $7.99
I used $7.50 in ECB and paid $.53 out of pocket.
I spent $.53, saved $7.50, and earned $7.99 in ECB

So for this challenge, I spent a total of $3.47 cash and saved $113.66!!!

My next visit to CVS is NOT part of the challenge, but I want to share anyway. I read online that since the Lifesavers packages were on sale B1G1 Free at CVS, and I had coupons for B1G1 free from the newspaper, the packages would be totally free. It seemed a little too good to be true, so I tested it on the challenge. Guess what?! It worked! So I went back on Monday and loaded up on Lifesavers. Check out what I got:

I got:
1 24 pack of CVS waters (reverse osmosis, our favorite) for $2.99
2 Softsoap Shower Gels $4.49 and B1G1 Free; I had 2 $.75 off coupons
6 packs of Lifesavers B1G1 Free, plus 3 coupons for B1G1 free

For this trip, I opted not to use any ECBs because none of these products earned ECBs. So I spent $9.63 out of pocket and saved $18.94!!!

My total actually should have been $2.25 lower because I was charged for one of the packs of Lifesavers. I didn't complain, though, because in a course of two days, I got 8 packs for $2.25. Still great in my book. :)

Publix Shoppers, Have I Got a Tip for You

Since becoming a frugal shopper a few months back, I have learned to love two major stores, CVS and Publix. This came as a huge surprise to me because I assumed that both stores were on the super pricey side to shop. As a matter of fact, when I lived in Atlanta, I LOVED to shop at Publix but didn't go much because of their higher prices. Thanks to all that I've learned about deals, CVS and Publix have become two stores at the top of my list of favorite places to shop. Both have AMAZING deals, and Publix, specifically, has SO many great policies that there is no reason not to shop there. I HEART Publix!!!

Seeing as how much I HEART Publix, you can imagine how thrilled I was to happen upon a super fantastic blog today. The blog is Fiddledeedee, and it is FABULOUS for lots of things, but specifically for Publix deals! Sarah has totally laid out all the deals into three categories:

PUBLIX Shoppers: for this week's deals with PRINTABLE coupons

PUBLIX Shoppers: for this week's deals with NON-printable coupons

PUBLIX Shoppers: For this week's BOGO sales

If you love Publix as much as I do or just want to learn more about this week's deals, stop by Sarah's page. She's a fellow southerner. Gotta love that!