On Sunday, we went to Walmart and bought a pile of stuff and paid about $21 (we checked out separately due to Walmart’s policy to require a manager to approve transactions with $50+ in coupons–easier to avoid that situation than to deal with it.) On the way home, we were pretty self-congratulatory, listing everything that we had bought and what a deal it had been. We bought five plastic storage tubs (without coupons) for $4.50 each–those alone should have been $22.50! That’s not counting the twelve packages of razors, ten paper plates, six first-aid kits, six dog collars, two deodorants, thirteen ice cream novelties, milk, ham and three pounds of cheese. That is the sort of shopping that my husband can really get excited about–getting REAL stuff for almost no money. I mean, it’s cool when I bring home all these random items but it’s even better when we save so much money on the things we need. We paid $20.87 for what should have cost $118.87.. about 82%.

After we got home, I scanned M’s receipt and realized that they didn’t scan $5 worth of coupons.

Now I am terribly distraught because we OVERPAID BY SO MUCH. That’s almost five percent! Do you know what I can buy for five dollars?!

It’s amazing how fast my perspective changed with a little bit more knowledge, isn’t it? I was happy when I thought I’d paid “only” $21, but now I am sad because I paid $21.

In conclusion: enjoying couponing is one thing. Letting yourself go nuts over five dollars you didn’t even know you should have is probably getting a little carried away. :)