The Coupon "Rush"…
As I walk up to the register, my hands start to tremble and my heart starts to beat. My eyes are moving around quickly… I am trying to catch at least a glimpse of each cashier. The cashiers that look the most promising get yet another glance from me. Oh who should I choose… decisions, decisions. As I walk closer to the cash registers, my breathing picks up speed and the sweating starts to ensue. Yes, I am getting near the point of what I like to call “Coupon Chaos”.
I choose the cashier, the hardest decision of all, a guy in his early 20s who looks as though he just came from the beach. He smiles and I begin to nervously chat… I am not sure what exactly I’m saying, but things are definitely coming out of my mouth. With each item I put on the belt, my talking (if that’s what you want to call it) picks up pace. Soon enough, I have to completely stop as I’m running out of breath! Oh, I am so close to the finish line.
The “surfer dude” (the young cashier who appears to have come from the beach) lets me know my total… my very high total I might add! As my hand shakes, I smile nervously and pull out my coupons. The mountain of coupons I’m pulling out don’t all make it on the counter, so I bend down to pick up the ones that have taken the plunge to the ground. As I bend over, I am so thankful that I chose to wear a long shirt as I am wearing low-rise jeans and well, bending over and low-rise jeans don’t really go together. 😉
As I hand him the coupons, one by one, yes, I am that anal… I notice the person behind me. A lady in her mid 30s with a in-a-hurry look on her face. She glances at my large pile of coupons and has a very confused look on her face. As the coupons keep getting scanned, I can feel the tension build up behind me. Finally, I hear her high heels tapping the ground with force… she wants me to know that I have inconvenienced her day in a big way. I ignore her knowing that I’m almost there… I am at the home stretch.
As the “surfer dude” scans my last coupon, I let out a large exhale. Phew… I feel like I’ve just run a marathon! The ‘Surfer dude” states, “Wow! You saved $91.50 and your grand total is just $2.39.” I smile slowly trying to contain my excitement and pull out my money. I am able to give him the exact change. He hands me the receipt as my smile grows. I stand there with pride as I look up and down that magnificently long piece of paper. Life is good!
As I leave the store, I know beyond any reasonable doubt that every part of getting to the moment of victory is so worth it in the end. And now I can head home with my head held high and brag to anyone who will listen.
I loved this! Thanks for posting. I thought I was the only one who got so nervous and I always felt silly feeling that way. Good to know the pros feel that way too. I’ll think of you next time I use my coupons.
Sometimes I’ll even look back at what that the impatient lady has loaded up on the belt and hand her a coupon! Save her a few cents after my long check-out and show her saving money feels good!
So funny, the first time I did it (use a pile of coupons) i called my hubby from the parking lot and my exact words were….. “what a rush”. 🙂 I could have told him in person 2 minutes later when I arrived home but I couldn’t contain the excitement. He still laughs about that call.
Unfortunately my Rite Aid has approximately 3 employees other than the manager and they are all dour and generally cold. Not unpleasant, rude, unhelpful or anything. Just not interested and mildly irritated to be anywhere.
My CVS is awesome (across the street from Rite Aid).
Unfortunately my VGs (A Spartan stocked, slightly higher end type of store) doesn’t have self scans where I live so I always have to pick. It’s hard because they are always busy between 7am and 9pm.
Kroger has self scan (wooot!) and it is easier to just do that myself, even with a large order. I was a cashier forever and I always get a bit of a hassle in the staffed lanes. The SCO lane has someone in attendance to trouble shoot and do coupons.
lol this is soooo me!!!!!!!!!!!
Yes, where did you shop and did your coupons double? I can get from 50% to sometimes 3/4 off but that was tremendous. Did you include meat and fresh produce? Please tell..
Haha! Love it. So perfectly described. The feeling that you want to tell anyone and everyone around you, like how come the person behind me in line isn’t as awed about my savings too?! I always go for the “younger” guys too as they seem to not have a care about anything.
Edit – and yes, you want to show and tell EVERYONE about it. I had a receipt from Target that showed my total as $0.08 (down from $30!) that I actually posted on my Facebook page from my phone as I was leaving the parking lot the other day 🙂
I post my great shopping trips on my FB as well. My friends and family laugh. But it’s exciting to share. I actually ran into a couple guys from work at the grocery store last week and they looked at me like I was crazy when they saw my binder. Now they call me “coupon girl” everytime they see me. I say, “Laugh all you want. I’m saving money.”
Thanks Collin. I love your site!
Oh my Collin you are so funny…. but you describe me as well. My husband laughs at me because I am check out cashier picky as well. If i find a cashier I like I will wait twice as long in their line just to avoid the hassle……And you just taught the young women behind you a new virtue…. LOL
BRAG ON you deserve it. I would have turned to the lady gave her a big smile and said $2.39 instead of $91.50 woohoo as I did a little waved of the receipt not being rude just being proud.
Oh yes I can relate to all you have said… My fiance had a couple tee-shirts made for me that say on the back ” Warning, slow lane! I have coupons!! I really hate it when someone gets behind me and then gets to huffing and puffing and sometimes they even curse!..But then I love it when the cashier says, ” Thank you, you total is $7 and you saved $70.. or whatever the amount may be.
cute idea!
How would you find a place to make customized shirts like that? Might be a stupid question but I would love to make a shirt similar to that. Thank you.
I think he just bought a tee-shirt at Walmart and then some of those iron on letters that he put on the back.. I love them and wear them all the time
It always makes me laugh inside when you have someone behind you that thinks you are couponing because you do not have money. Umm, you do relaize that you are paying with a credit card and I am paying with cash because I save my money using coupons 🙂
I once ran into this older lady who flat out told me that she hates coupons and people that use them because she has to pay more money for her purchase because the store marks up prices because of coupons! Umm, I though to myself, lady you have it all figured out, I will just keep my mouth shut and let you live in “your world”. The cashier just looked at me and smiled and very loudly said “you save $50.35 today, great job”
If anyone has a amazon coupon that they’re not using let me know. I could use some cheap diapers strap82@yahoo.com
You should list your tx and coupons used… unreal. I wish I can do that. I save lots at rite aid but I can’t seem to save lots of money at the grocery store. Please do divulge.
LOVE IT! That’s how I feel each time, & I’ve been couponing for almost two years now….does it ever go away?
I didn’t know what to call it…but now I know – Coupon Chaos! I love it! I too get the same feeling! It’s great, specially when you get the receipt and have saved so much!
Oh my goodness…..this is exactly what happens to me!!! Too funny! I’m excited to get that feeling tonight when I do my Super Target shop!!! 😉
And you can bet your bottom dollar that heel-tapping woman is now no longer ‘inconvenienced’, instead, she’s in awe and wondering how the heck you did that!
That same exact thing happens to me!!!
This made my day!!! Loved it.
I try to think of myself as a very open and non-judgmental person. However over the last year of hard core couponing I’ve come to find what “kind” of cashier is best. So far my favorites are young men. One I think they just don’t care and scan/push through all coupons. My second favorite is middle aged/somewhat young females who look like they might have kids and understand at least a little.
I was hoping you were going to say that the lady behind you was so impressed and that you got to share your site w/her! She could have def. benefitted from h2s!!
I’m usually sweating at the register too, but it’s because I have my 3 little ones with me!! LOL
omg i feel ya, i usually have to take my 2 year old toddler and its hard keeping an eye on the screen to make sure u get all your coupons and then my toddler to make sure hes not pressing buttons on the next register lol
That is awesome!
<3
I WISH I HAVE HERE A SURFER DUDE I ALWAYS DEAL WITH THE REALLY OLD LADY THAT READS EVERY COUPON TWICE
BUT ITS ALL WORTH IT!!
I don’t think I could of said it any better. lol Loved it!!! I have a few fav cashiers @ my local Meijers, Cvs & Wags & when they aren’t there I have a backup person that I’ve gotten to kno. I also have gotten 2 be friends with the one cashier @ Meijers & she actually txt me when she works & what hrs. lol I always say it pays 2 be VERY nice 2 your cashiers.
I totally understand this post! I escpecially freak out at walmart…I’m just waiting for my coupons to beep on their stupid registers! I get least nervous at Harris Teeter and Food Lion, their staff is very coupon-friendly 🙂
LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT!!!! I actually had a man behind me getting very frustrated and when my total was less than five dollars when it was originally over a hundred he told me how amazing I was and that I was his Yoda!! HAHA!!!
LOL I feel this way everytime! Now I hold my coupons out so that anyone getting in line behind me can see that I have a STACK so in my opinion that is forewarning to them!
hahaha…this is exactly how I feel! Sometimes I feel so nervous, I almost feel like I’m doing something illegal!! Not that I know what that feels like…still….it’s nervewracking, but FUN!
I can relate to this, cashier profiling is a must. I did it yesterday. Picked a new girl, gave her a lesson on how to enter prices for q’s. Sometimes i amaze myself at my qualifications for their job and other times i amaze myself at my ability to get the store to hand me $$ instead of me paying them. That was a first for me at Kmart, yes KMART. The ones worst than Walmart, but the cashier actually handed me $.18 cents for 8 bags of Renzuit Crystals and 3 Dove Body washes last week. Plus still received a $10 coupon. I was shocked when the manager said send it through and they paid me $.18 cents to take it from the store. This is why those coupon rushes are as great as an orgasm, you can get them anytime when shopping!!!! Provided you know what you are doing!
I love this post. I think any couponer knows that picking a cashier is the biggest part of a sucessful trip! I have similac checks that don’t expire until May if anyone wants to trade for $10 off amazon baby store codes. Email me if you are interested marissa_rostad@hotmail(dot)com
lol great post, i used to work at the target around my house and when i go there to do my coupon shopping i always use the lanes of people i know because i worked with them SO MUCH EASIER! and when i go to the commisary i usually go on a tuesday since ours in 29 palms is closed on monday, YES ITS BUSY ON TUESDAY but its so incredibly busy that the cashiers just dont ever give a hassel about the coupons since theirs a huge line going around half the store NO JOKE. so they just scan all the coupons and ok the ones that beep
Wow…..I can totally relate to what you wrote……superb post 🙂
Hey all,
I just wanted to let you know that I wrote this little story in hopes of getting the message across that it’s OK and completely normal to get nervous and sweaty during the checkout process! 😉 This story is actually fictitious, but hopefully very relate-able.I have definitely been there, although the final total, cashier and person behind me may be a bit different.
Sounds like me when I go to cash out. No one in line but me, then after cashier starts to ring items the line seems to grow and grow. I just turn around and say this may take a while you might want to go to another line. Then after all items rang up the and coupons scanned the one person who decided to stay in the line is amazed by how much I have just saved. Another successful trip to the store!!!
LOL…if you bent over in those low-rise jeans, the surfer just may have had to check you out too! LOL…I know what you are talking about! Why did we follow the trend for low-rise jeans and then have to buy shirts will low waist to go below the jeans! TREND-SETTERS are to blame for this! LOL…
It’s funny because it’s so true! This weekend while I was at Target, I picked out my cashier, unloaded my cart as the lady in front of my was paying, and sure enough an older woman comes over to relieve my cashier! Nooooooooooo! This was not happening to me! So, the total comes up to around $138 and I pull out the coupons, let the lady getting in line behind me know that I have coupons and THEN my cashier begins to read the coupons. Yes, she was actually reading them word for word. I wanted to die. She was not going to force anything through. I had to explain to her that I did have the items and I was not in violation of the coupon policy and so she called over the manager. The manager said I was mistaken but she would put that one through this time and then my cashier continued to read all of my coupons… it ended up being 4 that they would not accept, even though I had scored the same deals just a week before with a different cashier. I still saved $30, BUT I was planning on saving more. This was my first bad experience since couponing (3 or 4 months) but I just remembered that I’ve been saving on average $40 a week and had to let it go.
If they tell me that my coupon is not going to work for a certain item then I have them void the item. walkaway power as Dave Ramsey would say!
I’ve often thought I should wear a shirt that reads: Caution: I have coupons and I’m not afraid to use them! And print that on the back so people will know immediately and not stand behind me in line LOL! I think it’s funny that someone will spend 1-2 hours in a grocery store but get huffy puffy when they have to spend more than 10 minutes checking out of the store. If they were in such a “hurry” they would be standing in front of me, not behind me.
The thought of checking out with my coupons has even caused me to break out into a sweat and get a panic attack when I get to the check out. One thing I’ve learned is NEVER go to the store in a hurry….I’ve often decided not to “fight” for my coupons if I’m in a hurry and then I’ve lost out on savings and the time it took to make sure that I use the coupons. I always use them exactly and within the expiration date but they still like to hassle you. I believe that sometimes the cashiers feel as though my savings will come from their paycheck! Thanks for posting it is a bit of a relief to know you go through the same thought process and hopefully It can be soothing to think about the next time I’m getting ready to check out.
So Collin, wheres an after photo of the goody stash? I want to see what $2.00 buys 🙂
Collin,
I am so thrilled for you. I had a similar at Tom Thumb yesterday. It’s SO exciting to feel like you’re really saving money and making coupons and discounts work. It’s a little nerve racking when someone impatient is in the same line with you as you break out the coupon binder. 🙂 Yesterday, I had an occasional coupon beep using coupons and thought the gentleman behind would burst if the cashier didn’t finish with my coupons. Thankfully, everything worked.( The Clorox bleach was on sale and I had two .25 cent coupons that tripled, too) Thank you for writing about this. Sometimes I think I’m the “only one”.
I had to read this to my husband! Too funny and so close to my own experiences! Love it!
Can so relate to that. But all worth it in the end. Thank you for sharing.
Lol. I LOVE this story! That’s exactly how I feel. The other day I even had a man that was complaining VERY loudly about the fact that there was only “ONE cashier! Can’t you get someone else up here” ….yikes! I usually let people go ahead of me, but then a 3-4 person line started forming and I just didn’t want to wait that long. Sooooo as another cashier finally comes up to another register I step up with my 2 different transactions. I did one, and then put the rest up on the counter, and the man behind me says “UGH! I guess I REALLY chose the wrong line!”….I just turned around, gave him my biggest smile, and said “yep!, sorry”. UGH! I was soo frustrated……
It’s reassuring knowing that I’m not the only one that gets nervous using my huge stack of coupons at the checkout. But the rush that follows is truly worth it. I love looking at my receipt and seeing how much I saved. My fiance is amazed at this couponing world he has now entered. I was hesitant for him to go to the store yesterday while I was at work. But with a detailed list in hand and coupons to boot, he had a very successful trip. He was so excited to show me all his great deals when I got home from work. Very cute!
I love it!!!! I thought that I might be the only one who gets that nervous and starts to shake too. I am always wondering also. But I do love those young guys at the register!! They are so much easier than the women. I hope that woman in line learned a lesson or two. I had a older woman cashier haggle me one time when I had a bunch of coupons to use, a long line behind me, because I had to cut one coupon out. No to mention that I had my 18 month and 7 year old who ready to be done. I think that we got into an argument but she didn’t say much after my total…. I loved this! Thanks!
I laughed so hard – I always scope out the checkers too. I like getting the “surfer dude”, he’s not too serious about his job or getting it just right – I usually try to avoid a grown up or “responsible looking” person. And yes, I get nervous and sweaty and my heart beats ever so fast…………………… Great story…
I am listening… Teach me Oh Obi wan… Your talents amaze and astound me~
this is just GREAT! I know that feeling of breathlessness!! I get so nervous wondering if my coupons will beep, but usually by the time they’ve scanned all my items my nervousness is going away. Something about that “finding the right cashier” that is SOO exhausting 😀 hahaha!!
Collin:
I LOVE to save money. I am great at CVS, Walgreens and Riteaid. However when it comes to grocery shopping I’m not so great. I end up saving some money but nothing like that. How do you do that….I usually only have 5 coupons for my whole trip to the grocery store. Any advise?
I know the feeling! My heart starts raising and my palms get sweaty. Not necessarily b/c I am excited to see my savings (okay, maybe a little 😉 but becuase I am hoping that all my coupons scan properly, cashier doesn’t have to call a mgr. over, and MOSTLY that noone in a hurry gets behind me!
What a relief to see I’m not the only one that feels this way!!! My hubby come shopping with me for the first time this weekend and couldn’t believe that my hands were shaking. lol I have been couponing since the second week in February and I am still so nervous. I have had 4 “bad” trips and many more goods ones, but the difficult ones start the extreme nervousness all over again. I think in addition to teaching couponing classes there should be classes to teach the checkers that coupons are okay and they are NOT being ripped off. Where I live the self-checkout still has to have a store employee come do the coupons so I haven’t tried it. Thanks for this post!
I love it! I have been couponing for 8 weeks now!!!! We now have a stash pile of cleaning supplies, chicken, laundry softener (unless I can get the soap for free, I make my own), shampoo/conditioner, deoderant, and facial cleaning supplies! My goal is to pay no more than 10 – 15% for my items. However, since our Meijer up here will NOT double and nobody else does, that’s a little tricky. But, I do save twice as much as I spend and that makes me happy. As a former math teacher who quit to stay home with my kids 9 years ago, this is super fun for me. I truly understand the coupon chaos! I must say I lose sleep, not over my confidence of saving money, but my concern that my stores will be out of stock of the items I am looking for. Thank for your site!!!