Extreme couponing has swept the nation for a last several years and I wish I could say I passed this crazy trend up. But I haven’t. I have partaken in this phase not only for the money saving aspects but for the adrenaline rush as well. If I had to choose which one caused me to continue it, I would have to say that it was the adrenaline more than anything. Who wouldn’t want to walk into a store with a giant overflowing binder of coupons and come out with a cart load of free shit? There’s just something so gratifying about all of it. I know there is no way I’ll use 500 sticks of deodorant in my lifetime, but it was all FREE! How do I do it you ask? Oh its so simple, here’s an example…The Sunday paper shows up on the doorstep and inside those pages of funky feeling paper and black ink, are these wonderful sheets of glorious heaven called “coupon inserts”. Some look at them as just another object for the recycle bin but I look at them like I’m Frodo and that paper goodness is the ring. If anyone touches my “ring” I will cut them…no really, I will. I will straight up shank them prison style in the shower room. Once the inserts are safely in my possession, I sit down and slice them out of their holdings with my lucky blue handled scissors. Why are they lucky? I don’t have an answer for that, they just are, so don’t question it. Anyway I take the coupons, or “freshly printed money” as I like to refer to them as, and I take inventory of what I have. Then I open up the grocery sale ads for the week. It’s really all about having a good eye, an eye for detail. Let’s say you have a coupon that is offering up $1.00 off a stick of deodorant…good deal right? Well sure it is. A dollar off anything would be a gold mine for the normal shopper, but for a couponer, it’s like having Mother Teresa(god rest her soul) place her rosary in your hand and blessing you personally. But if you surf through a sale ad and find that the same stick of deodorant is on sale for $1.00…well holy hell, that means that said stick is FREE! Think about it, you can spare the general public and those close to you from body odor for free. That right there is just amazeballs right? Now I know there are those who take the coupon game to a whole new level, they make this huge shopping plan and it ends up turning into an all out “Game of Thrones” type deal. I’m not like that. I actually might be considered too nice when it comes to my game plan. I don’t clear the shelves if I find a great deal, I believe in leaving some for others. But I have walked into a store and been disappointed by some jack hole cleaning off the shelves of some item, when I know for a fact they didn’t need 62 boxes of Monistat. I mean really, if they did need the vag cream that bad, then sure go ahead and take it, but they really needed to think about going to the doctor for their issue instead of stockpiling the medicine right? One particular trip that I was so proud of though, was when I scored like 50 bottles of BBQ sauce for free. Imagine the crazy looks when I went to the checkout, had everything rang up and paid nothing for my merchandise. The other customers in line were practically high fiving me. I do share the wealth though. If I’m in a checkout lane and see that the person in front of me has an item that I happen to have a coupon for, I dig the coupon out of my binder and let them have it. It may only save them 50 cents, but that’s better than nothing in my opinion. And when I’ve done this, the people usually look at me with such gratefulness because there aren’t many people left in this world willing to help another. No I’m not a dang coupon saint or anything like that, but if I have something that I really won’t use, why not pass it to someone who will. I’ve scored so many things for my family that have saved us money. Some of these include, soap, hair care products, dish detergent, laundry items, food, snacks…and so many more. I’ve donated items to causes too. I can remember a few years ago when Joplin Missouri was hit by a massive tornado and needed items like cleaning supplies, laundry stuff, and personal care items. I dug through my stockpile and donated to the cause. Those people needed those things more than I did and because I paid either nothing or next to nothing for them, it wasn’t a hardship for me to help out. But we’ve all been behind that person in the checkout lane who pulls out their giant stack of coupons and takes forever with their order. But next time you are, think about the fact that this certain person could be doing it for a reason. Maybe they just want to save money, maybe they don’t have much money and this is their only way to provide for their family, or maybe just maybe, they are doing this because they want to help others in need. Either way, have some patience, it won’t kill you to stand in line a few moments longer…besides, there are always some gossip rags in the checkout lane, pick one up and read about a 6 headed cat while you’re waiting.