Extreme Couponing: Not with My Purse

Not visible: the mail, camera & Tic Tacs

As has been clearly established, I am a bit odd. Part of what makes me odd are the things that bring me great joy. Crazy joy. Mad joy even. Bargain shopping tops that list. The thrill of the hunt and finding that one killer deal.  It's all just so very exhilarating.

The recent success of TLC's show Extreme Couponing has provided me a sense of  camaraderie, proving that I am not the only person whose heart pounds out of her chest when there is a 75% off sale.  On a normal day, I am able to simultaneously drive a car, dish out baby wipes for sticky hands, talk on the phone, drink coffee, and spell words for the kids without missing a beat.

Yet when I'm shopping, I can barely process the spoken word. When friends call me on my cell, I have to fess up that I'm at a store and otherwise incapacitated.

I marvel at the women on Extreme Couponing.  They plan and plot their way to thousands of dollars worth of savings each week. I'll be honest. My own skill level cannot compare to these far superior shoppers. I recognize fully that there is one obvious impediment to reaching that pinacle of success: my purse. I try to put coupons in there, but my purse eats them. I can never find or remember coupons during checkout. Somewhere between Jack's soccer team assignment and my first aid kit lies a black hole that has a taste for coupons.

Despite my purse, I still capitalize on exceptional deals fairly regularly. So in the spirit of sharing, here is a brief offering of things you may be able to get on sale this weekend:

NyQuil Cough:  (Regular Price: $7 CVS' Clearance Price: $1.74)  I picked up these bottles at CVS on Thursday. I have a bronchial cough that lingers for half the year. This stuff is great and paying $1.74 a bottle made me so happy that I didn't even care when I picked up the kids at piano and Miss Laura said I wasn't working them hard enough.  G position was proving exceptionally tricky for Dan and Jack.  I giggled every time Miss Laura said "G position." I can be so immature sometimes.

Harry Potter DVD's:  (Regular Price $5 Five Below's Sale Price: $2.99).  Daniel has been really into the Harry Potter stuff lately and these movies will buy me some peace next week. I can pop them in after a long day of Chess Camp and Park District Camp, and it's like not even having a kid.  Don't get me wrong, I love the boy. Yet over-tired and over-camped Daniel has been no picnic.

Gatorade.  (Regular Price: ? Jewel's Sale Price ?)  I have no idea how much Joe actually spent on the mountains of Gatorade he hauled into the house yesterday.  But I do know we're fully stocked for the Apocalypse.  He was pretty animated (for Joe anyway) and told me he didn't even buy the things on his list because he wanted to have enough room in the car for all his Gatorade. I had to go out a half hour later to buy the milk I originally sent him out to grab.

Of course there was one purchase I made this weekend that was not a bargain. I paid full price. Without guilt or apology. Because every mom needs a little something just for her when the kids are upstairs watching Harry Potter:

For the record, the little umbrellas I got to serve up my Hurricanes were only $1 at Five Below. Cheers!