Taking a break

I read about couponers taking breaks from couponing...and I thought...maybe someday. That day is today. I have gone to MANY stores in the last little while and some of them are a breeze. Coupons work fine, cashiers are nice...it all works out. Others of them, couponing is a HUGE hassle. Most of the time I am doing nothing wrong by using my coupons, but something goes wrong anyway. Last week at Walgreens a cashier (who is kind of annoying) called the shift manager to ring up my order when he saw me THINK about getting in the checkout line. (I guess they must know I use a lot of coupons by now)

I really don't like being a pain in the butt. My DH won't go shopping with me anymore because he hates to make waves. I would consider myself an empowered consumer...but after many times holding up the checkout line because things don't go smoothly, or a RR doesn't print... I kind of want to fly under the radar and be normal again. (By the way, I have let people go in front of me in the Target line EVERY time I go there and use coupons, because I know it will take a while).

Yesterday I planned out my King Soopers trip VERY WELL (like it took 3 hours of planning and coupon matching at home) and today LOTS of things went wrong. First of all I was informed that they have a 3-of-the-same-coupon limit per transaction. I read a LOT of blogs about couponing and have NEVER heard that at King Soopers or anywhere. I had just done my Kellogg's "buy 10 items, get 10.00 rebate" transaction and it took essentially begging a manager to let me use 4-of-the-same-coupons in one transaction, just this time. I guess I got 10 pkgs of Keebler, 8 bottles of Life water, and 2 other things for 9.97 (and I will get 10.00 back after mail in rebate), but I feel horrible and grumpy. NOT because they took the coupons, but because I never knew about the rule. (I am a very rules oriented person). I wrote about most of the other things that went wrong in my transactions at that store...but just deleted them because you would probably read it as "blaah,blaah, blaah" GRRR.

I think rather than going cold turkey on my coupon hobby, I will cut back on the intense deals so I have less stress and feel less crabby.

On a more positive note, there are so many good things that come out of my "deals". I plan to do a series of posts on what I do with all the stuff I don't use, and I think people will enjoy it.

Just to prove that it is worth it... Here are my Rite aid rebate deals for this month: There are TWO promotions going where if you buy $50 of certain products, you will receive a $25 gift card. The money spent is before coupons, so I calculated how much the price was, and how much I paid:)
REBATE #160
Tylenol 8 hr. 24 ct =2.99
Tylenol 8 hr 50 ct=3.99
Stayfree =3.99
2 Listerine whitening =5.98
Neutrogena mascara=8.49
Bandaids =4.99
ept =13.99
Benadryl=3.99
Sudafed=4.99
=54.40
What I actually paid:
2-Tylenol $3.98, 2-Listerine $1.98, Stayfree free, Mascara $5.49, bandaids .74, ept 9.99, Sudafed 4.99, Benadryl 3.99 = 31.16 (minus 2 $5/25 coupons)
So I spent=$21.16 and get a $25 gift card

Rebate #61
2 Kleenex=2.49
2 Scott Paper towels = 14.98
Scott TP = 7.49
2 Schick disposable Razors Men's =11.68
2 Schick disposable Razors Women's =12.73
Bayer Aspirin =4.99
=54.38
What I actually paid:
Razors (first set) 2.89, Razors (second set) 4.24, 2 pks-Paper towels- 10.98, Bayer 2.99, TP 6.49, Kleenexes 2.49
Pd: 30.08 (minus 2 $5/25 coupons)
=pd $20.08 and get a $25 gift card

Ahh. Now I am happier again:)