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.
This makes me laugh because I try and find the “same” cashier when I have that big stack of coupons!
Great story :-). No doubt about it, there is a little anxiety when I get ready to check out with my coupons sometimes-lol!
Okay I totally get this feeling too… but I have a question kinda related, for you Collin mainly or anyone else who can answer it.
How do you actually get THAT much stuff for that little? I’ve got the binder, I’m clipping everything and getting great deals but never like THAT!
I chat with the checkers that I see frequently. I often remind them they are my favorite checkers, tell them how friendly they are and how I think they deserve a raise. I go with my sister to Kroger late at night when only the U-Scan is open and hardly anyone else is in the store. We go to seperate scanners and the games begin! We high five and review our receipts to see who had the best score! The cashiers will laugh at us while we do a victory dance. We are their entertainment!!!
LOL. This is great! I love that everyone becomes a cashier “profiler”
You paid less than $3 for almost $100 worth of stuff!??! Good job!!!!
I was super excited because I spent $2.89 and saved $41. I thought that was pretty spectacular! I made a few braggy phone calls after I left that store!!
Cute! But even through all my couponing and sales, I still usually only end up with 50% savings at my grocery store (not including Walgreens and CVS). So how is it that you can get such a haul for that amount? Details girl!
I think you and I were separated at birth!
Thanks, Collin. This post made me laugh out load. I love the photo of you with your game face on. I feel the same way. Although, i wish i could save that much. We just don’t have the opportunity to at our grocery store. I get some awesome deals at the drug stores though. I just wish it were food items lol. I get the looks from other customers and often the rite aid cashiers too.
Oh Collin I just laughed soooo hard… This sounds like my shopping trip to Publix last night. I had a huge stack of coupons, my grocery list and my less than happy husband. We got up to the cashiers and when I passed the first open line he kind of looked at me with a confused look on his face and then rolled his eyes when I said, “I’m not going to the grumpy looking lady when there’s a happy one who’s laughing 2 registers away…” 😉 I was starting to get anxious towards the end of the transaction when even my Sunday paper coupons weren’t scanning, but my happy looking cashier just called over a manager who explained that they had recently updated their registers and were having coupon issues with them. She grabbed a calculator, added up ALL of my coupons (poor thing!) and pushed them through as one big discount. My receipt looks pretty cool! 😀 I ended up leaving with an entire cart of groceries for about $86 and I saved $69! AND that included produce, milk and other things that barely have coupons.
Amy,
I went to Publix’s Sunday and I did not credit for several of my coupons, but I did not realize until I check my receipt in the car. It was less than $5.00, but still $5.00 is $5.00.
So true I feel this way alot, I love this post!
Collin how are you so skinny?
Love the post Colin! That’s exactly how I feel when I’m up at the register during a huge shopping trip. Mostly because I’m not sure if I worked out a deal in my head correctly, ie am I supposed to be paying for these items first to the most ECBs/RR/+up rewards… I always mess it up somehow. But you are a seasoned pro lady! I think I am going to try handing the coupons one by one. Everytime I shop, something happens, either the deal doesn’t go exactly right or it’s the wrong item for a coupon. I think that by scanning the coupons one by one, this will alleviate that head ache. Thanks for your inspiration Colin!
THANK YOU so much for posting this!!! I was just telling my adorable husband how I feel like a criminal every time I check out!! I get so nervous and feel like the cashiers think I am doing something dishonest just by using coupons to get free stuff!! He didn’t get why I felt that way:) SOOOO nice to hear that I am not the only one who gets all nervous when it comes time to check out!!
The *worst* is shopping with formula checks. Formula checks have been around forever; how is it that 95% of cashiers don’t know how to use them? I definitely have to “cashier shop” when I’m buying formula. Usually I try to find a young-ish woman who looks childbearing age. 🙂 I always feel bad that I’m holding up the line, because sometimes it seriously takes a good 5 or 10 min just for the cashier *and* manager to figure out which way is up. Sometimes I am the one to tell them how to do it!
Why don’t they just put barcodes on the formula checks? Had a confused cashier add the formula check on as misc merchandise so I actually got charged for the coupon plus missed the discount to the tune of an $11 error! The poor lady at customer service had fun figuring out how to fix that one for me.
The awesome part of the formula checks are the fact that (atleast at Target) it is “payment” so you can still use a coupon on the item as well…..and its better if you have both manny and Target coupons with a check!!
Sounds just like me!
That’s the part of couponing I don’t like, is the nervousness, and feeling like they think I’m trying to pull one over.
I love it! I actually save 20.42 and only paid 20.41 last week for grocerys. Im soo glad my sister-in-law told me about your site. I am truely blessed to have found such a helpful site. Im trying to save up enough money so I can move down to North Carolina with my boyfriend and the higher these gas prices get the farher away he seems to get. You just have no idea what you have done for me and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for what you do.
Collin – You look good in that shade of blue!
Great story! Totally relate to every part – especially at the end the part about containing your excitement . . . kinda hard to do — my husband says that’s the worse part because I start looking so excited. (Gotta work on that poker face!) Thanks for the fun diversion to the day — especially from all the Collinistas – you guys crack me up!!
I think all of us couponers can relate!! I look for “Jedi” and go through their line, befriend CS girls at Publix, and even bring them coupons, all in the name of please, please don’t give me a hard time!! 🙂
I had 2 carts of groceries a few weeks ago at Publix. Spent $50.35, and SAVED $489!! I was shaking like a leaf and wanted to yell, WOO-HOO, but controlled myself (just barely).
I’ve left CVS before and felt an almost uncontrollable urge to run because I nearly wondered if they were going to stop me before I made it to the van!!
WOW, how can you control yourself when you save almost $500 – I would just scream my lungs out AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Loved this story! I can completely relate!
So true! I am glad that I am not the only nervous one at check outs 🙂
This is great , you inspire me . The luck of the irish was definity with you along with time and effort to go after those sale.
Feel the same way. Thanks for posting. I do have a question however to any of you that do what she metioned by handing coupons over one by one. Ive often wanted to do this because sometimes the coupons are missed or stuck together even though I pile them horizontal an vertical in the pile so they shouldnt get stuck together. What do u say when the cashier suggests just handing them all over for them to scan as oppossed to u handing them one by one?
I also would like to know the answer to this question. Every place that I use coupons demands that they all be handed over at once. I would love to be able to be brave enough to hand them over one by one. I have had so many missed coupons. Then it takes forever to go to customer service wait for them to pull the coupons and have to show them which coupons were mine and what items they were for an that they were indeed in my cart and purchased and the coupon was missed . Anyone else have experience with handing the coupons over one by one?
I Am so glad you posted this!! I am glade i am not the only one who feels this way. Every time I go shopping i get anxious. I don’t know why, But i sometimes feel like I am getting way to good of a deal and I am doing something wrong to get these free items. Or that the casher is going to get a talking to when I am gone for taking ALL my coupons. Or they are going to stop me on my way in the next time to tell me I did something wrong. But I never can wait to get home and tell my husband how much I saved!!!
What an AWESOME story and savings!
Love the post! I’m still not the greatest at cashier profiling!
Your story gave me a laugh and inspired me at the same time! I know that feeling!!! Well, not the part about saving $90! but the rest of it!
Love the story and can I just say….LOVE THE TOP…where did you get it!??! 🙂
This is amazing!! I only saved $7 on my last shopping trip. I clip all I can clip and buy things when they are on sale but I still paid $70. How do you get such a good deal?!
This is amazing!! I only saved $7 on my last shopping trip. I clip all I can clip and buy things when they are on sale but I still paid $70. How do you get such a good deal?!
I can so relate Collin especially with a large pile of coupons! I’m always “scouting” for the best cashier as well to avoid coupon nazis! You would think after doing this for 10 years I would not feel that way lol! My mom feels the same way so I guess it is just comes with the couponing territory! 🙂
Are you in a double coupon state? I never seem to end up with such good deals… Love your hair in the pictue!
Been there I know the feeling. U should have paid in coins and a real big smile the toe tapping might have become foot stomping! LOL!!!!!!!!!!
Collin, U make me smile! Thank you
I to make sure to scan the cashiers. There are a few at my store that I will avoid at all costs because they make the process so much harder than it needs to be. This one lady will look for each coupon as she rings the item so basically she has to dig through my stack of coupons about 40 times which takes 5 times longer than it needs to be. The young people at publix seem to be better than the older ladies. They are not usually as pleasant. I to shared a $10 off coupon with a lady next to me because I saw she had some coupons herself. We actually met up on the way out and she thanked me said that she just started couponing and thanks to me that was the most she had saved so far. I gave her some tips and sites to use and she was very grateful. It’s terrible that we have to be so nervous about people behind us or even having a hassle with the cashiers over coupons. Walmart is the worst and I will avoid at all cost.
I thought I was the only one that felt like this. Thanks for sharing and thanks for a FABULOUS website!
Go on, girl!!! Get your discounts on! *Very* impressive!! That woman behind you can just keep on tapping her foot…you have every right to be there, and it’s so great to hear that you don’t let people like her keep you from getting your well-deserved deals! I”d love a pic of what you got for that low, LOW price!
I feel the same way and luckily our Publix has a self checkout that I can use when only the grumpy or clueless cashiers are on duty hehehe. I did awesome this week with CVS, Walgreens, & Publix. CVS I spent $30 saved $120, Publix spent $45 saved $77, and Walgreens spent $1.62 saved $18.70. This morning at Walgreens I purchased 4 of the Reach toothbrushes, my cost was $3.66, then I did receive the $4 RR. The cashier looked at my receipt and at the RR with a puzzled look on her face. I simply smiled and said isn’t it great!! LOL
Oh my goodness, you were watching me at Publix yesterday!!! LOL!
I love it! I always chat with the all the checkers I can and staff (especially the senior/management staff ) just so they can remember me when I get to the checkout. It really pays off.
I’m starting to feel like I’m not doing this right! I never save very much on grocery items, only things I’ve been able to score even remotely close to that is on air fresheners and house hold misc. I’ve actually be pretty discouraged lately :0(
A reaonable goal for those of us that don’t have a store that doubles coupons nearby is 40%. I buy basically the same things I’ve always bought and save an average of 40% at Target and my grocery store. If you stick to things you basically needed to buy anyway and save anything, that’s money in your pocket, even if it’s just $4 a trip, you can feel proud and go treat yourself to a latte!
LOL!! I could have written that myself! 🙂
Soooo funny!!! Sooo can relate…but I still don’t have the courage to hand the coupons one by one…I did it once and the cashier was so annoyed…
I was reading it and felt like I was the one who wrote it. : ) To help myself somehow with this anxiety I prefer to shop late (never during rush hours). I also try to choose young guys of all cashiers available. For some reason they tend to be nicer, especially when you smile (and I don`t mean flirting here). : )
I love this story Collin!!! I profile the checkers as well!! My best was last week saving 82% on two separate trips to Safeway!! I took home close to $200 worth of free food!!! I generally save 60% on every trip but it is difficult to get higher. Do you have that much success every week?? I also have some very rude Rite Aid workers in my town. They keep asking me if I know that there are websites that teach people how to rip off their store! I remind them that Rite Aid tells us quite a few items that will be free in their ads and they even send me emails telling me good sales coming up so I hold my coupons. I haven’t gotten one of the survey tickets on my receipt yet which is surprising!!! I would like to be able to tell them how our cashiers act. I have to say since I started couponing in November I hit their 10% mark by the end of the year so I spent quite a lot of days shopping there…yet not much money and I have taken home over $1000 worth of products since the 1st of the year and probably paid less than $50 in the store!! It was a great ride with the heart health rewards and both the buy and saves!! I generally pay $1 for each trip getting close to $100 in product and get $10-$20 UP Rewards back. We are stocked up for months to come!!! Thanks for all your wonderful tips and coupon links!!!
I love this post!!
Laughed really hard.
I thought I was the only with high blood pressure as I reached the cashier. Glad to know I am not alone!
YAY COLLIN! That is awesome! Way to go not letting the other lady bother you!
Young male cashiers are the best! They could care less…its the grumpy middle aged women I find I need to steer clear of.
I get this too! Always at walmart. Last time I was there I had a few coupons not go through and the cashier had to call a manager and they wouldn’t out them through. It was for the 1.97 dial with the 2$ coupon that was in the paper. Anyway after I paid for all my stuff, the cashier turned to the guy behind me and said “sorry about that, she always comes I’m here with her stupid coupons and holds everything up” I felt awful and wished I had went and complained.
I’m so glad that you have put into words how I feel each time I have a huge “haul” with coupons and inevitably, you get the impatient person behind you…so many of us can really relate – love the photo too!
You go, girl! Your article made my day!