Couponing Update

Is it really worth it??

Today I realized a few bad things about this "couponing" thing...

1.  On Wednesdays, if I want to do Rainbow's double coupon deal (only Wed and Sat, but we are gone almost every weekend), I pretty much have to get up at 6 to get there soon after it opens.  Why?  All of the hot items are usually picked over, if not completely gone, by 10am.  I could wait a little later and take Avery, but lately she's been doing this sleep-all-morning-stay-up-all-afternoon thing.  More on that later.

2.  This morning in the shower I used my NEW FREE Pert's Plus (yeah, remember the slimy green 2-in-one stuff from the 90's?) shampoo (or shall I say shampoo-plus-conditioner).  Come to realize, the stuff smells t-e-r-r-i-b-l-e.  And I mean, I've really come to treasure my 5 minutes of tranquility in the shower.  I actually look forward to the days I shave because it will be 7 minutes of heaven.  But this morning as I was trying to breathe through my mouth at the nastiness of this stuff, I also remembered the FREE Arm-and-Hammer toothpaste I got a couple of weeks ago, and I really wondered if this free stuff is worth it.  Talk about disgusting!!!  Matt pretty much refuses to use it, but every morning (and most nights...) I grit my teeth as I brush with the stuff as I think about how much money I am saving us.  :)

3.  It's only been a month or two, and I already can't stand the sight of cereal.  Let's just say my linen closet is bursting at the seams with Special K Vanilla Almond and Kashi Triple Berry Crisp.

On the other hand....

4.  It is fun to go run errands with Avery.  She likes looking at all of the lights and cool things in the store, and it gives me somewhere to go almost every day, if I want.

5.  It still feels like a game to me.  Now, I feel like if I ever again pay for a bottle of BBQ sauce, I'm letting the guys at Bull's Eye WIN. 

6.  I'm pretty much guaranteed to be up around 6 or 6:30 for a early morning nursing session, so why not get up and do something worthwhile? Plus, after I got home today from Rainbow, I cleaned out and organized the fridge and freezer - something I've been wanting to do for weeks.

7.  I got some GREAT deals today at Rainbow.  Even if it was at 6:15 in the morning.  And even if I have to use Pert's Plus for the next fifteen years of my life (I got 3 bottles - and thank goodness they are the 25% more free bottles).  And even if I got some things that will sit in my fridge forever until I give it away (Paul Newman's Pink Lemonade anyone??)  It's still hard to pass up a good deal.