Deodorant

Well, folks, I'm not sure what to say. We currently have enough deodorant to last both my husband and me through the end of 2011 (well, me anyway--not sure about that husband of mine), and yet, tomorrow I'm planning on bringing some more home. It's not that we're particularly stinky people...although my feet have been known to be somewhat funky from time to time (I blame it on the fuzzy pink slippers)...it's just that it's hard to resist, if they're going to pay me to take the stuff home from the store. Just today, a store paid me $1.51 to bring home a deodorant and a body mist. Tomorrow, they'll pay me $0.51 to bring home some more. I guess they really, really want me to have it. Maybe I do stink, and I just have never realized it.


I've become more serious about couponing in recent months. Well, actually, what I should say is I've become addicted to couponing in recent months...or, I suppose, even more accurately, I've become addicted to couponing blogs in recent months. A couple of years ago, I learned something that changed the way I shop, forever. I learned... Are you ready for this? ...that you can use a store coupon AND a manufacturer's coupon on the same item. So if you have $1 off store coupon and a $1 off manufacturer's coupon for the same item, you can use them together get $2 off that item. This discovery completely revolutionized the way I shopped. I got some deeply discounted things, some free things, and even was paid to take a few things home, but it was all based on items I would normally buy and had coupons for.


But now, thanks to websites like PocketYourDollars and Hip2Save, I'm learning about deals I never would have thought of. I mean, in real life I would never buy a Scrubbing Bubbles Extend-a-Clean Power Sprayer (really! The thing has batteries! How hard is it to spray an aerosol, that they had to add a power-assist?), but if someone is going to pay me $3 to take it off their hands, sure, I'll take it (and I'm sure my husband will enjoy cleaning the bathtubs with it). These bloggers make a living by telling people like me which coupons, including printable internet coupons, to match with which sales to get the most for our money (man, I wonder how I can get a gig like that).

It's been interesting, to say the least. I now find myself pondering questions, like, "do I need this? Do I even want it?" and, "how much is enough?" and, "if it's free, but I won't use it, should I get it anyway? How about if I'm making money on the deal?" There is something so satisfying about getting something for nothing, that it's tempting to accept somethings with no value, just because they're free. Should I send for that free sample of barbeque sauce, even though we don't use BBQ sauce? It's so thrilling to get a good price that it's easy to get carried away, and spend more than you intended in the name of saving money. Goldfish for 99 cents? Let's buy 10!

The other question I find myself asking these days, and the one that I find most worrisome, is "what deal am I missing?" There is always this nagging feeling that I'm going to miss out on a great deal. And now it's even harder for me to pay full price for anything, because I know, sooner or later, it'll be on sale...with a coupon...and a rebate...

Ah, but for now, I'm enjoying my obsession, and my 12, no, make that 13, deodorants, and my 4 body washes, and my 5 shampoos. We'll use them...eventually...