In the spirit of the season, I've been in the mood to shop lately, but with the economy - I've been reluctant to spend any actual money. So, to that end, I went to Target last night - having heard about a deal where you buy 5 packages of Keebler cookies or crackers and get a $5 gift card. To sweeten the deal, there are $1 any one of cookies (9.z oz. or larger) and $1 off Sandies (any) that you can print off twice per computer. The cookies were on sale for between $1.99-$2.54 a pkg. All I could hear was.....FREE cookies after gift card, and cool stocking stuffers to boot. Pardon the pun, but a good deal nonetheless. I also had the printed out $2 off any Archer Farms Ham from meat dept. Q's with me too so I grabbed 4 neatly packaged ham steaks - for around $.20 each. Since, you can never have too much ham, I'll be printing out some more of those coupons and be ready to stock up on those. The sizes aren't that generous - maybe one meal, two meals at the most per package, but I'll use them when I forget to make something to take for my lunch at work. I don't typically go out to lunch - it's a once a month treat.
I still have a pile of Wild Harvest Q's to use at Jewel - the deals are said to run through January 11th, so that'll be some great fill-in shopping - when I truly feel the need to shop and can't bring myself to spend much. I've been collecting donations for the food bank doing this - I've got my 3rd round of donations ready to drop off. It feels great to be able to give this season....when it's needed more than ever.
Nothing surprises me more than people that refuse to coupon. Especially people that aren't financially stable - what is this stigma that's attached to couponing? When I'm out hounding, the furthest thing from my mind is what someone else thinks of my shopping habits. It's not a popularity contest, it's my money and I'm determined to save as much as humanly possible. I get so excited to see what I can get on the cheap or for free, ever shopping trip is like a treasure hunt, except if I'm really good - the treasure I get to keep is the one I started out with, my own money. I really shouldn't complain too much about non-couponers because without them, the stores wouldn't be able to afford my shopping!