Living life on the edge via extreme couponing.

So I stayed in Saturday night, which in and of itself is pretty lame. But what made it even more uncool was the fact that after my sister and one of our good friends ate our respective weights in brownies and ice cream...WHILE watching a chick flick... in our sweatpants, we then turned on a marathon of TLC programming. (this is an obvious cry for help..we need to get out more) TLC in my opinion stands for Totally Lame Chick shows...that I happen to adore! I could seriously watch TLC all day, every day...I don't know what it is, but I find the programming fascinating. What other channel can you watch a woman addicted to eating toilet paper, then learn about a man who weighs over 600 lbs, THEN be completely and totally entertained by crazy brides for hours on end...all in one day?!! The answer, folks, is nowhere. But I digress.

So we're watching TLC, and we catch the tail end of a show called EXTREME COUPONING. (cue superhero voice announcer accompanied by celebratory trumpeting) Now I am a firm believer in clipping coupons (or coo-puns as we pronounce them in this household), or scouring the local HEB for meal deals, two-for-one promos, and buy 12 get your 13th item free giveaways. And no, it doesn't matter that I never planned to buy nor did I need 26 cans of evaporated milk, I do now..and plus, the 26th one was FREE! As we watched the show though,

I realized I really wasn't taking full advantage of

all that coupons have to offer me. I'm just an "occasional couponer"...an amateur by any standard. The woman that they were featuring subscribes to coupon shipping companies, she scours the internet for daily deals, plans HUGE 9 basket shopping expeditions, and has a stockpile room of items that would last her and her husband over 40 years!! I was in awe, extreme and utter adoration...I wanted to be this lady. Nevermind the fact that she really had no life, spent all her extra time couponing, and seemed...well..kinda off her rocker...she had so much...toilet paper. I was so envious. She turned an over $800 shopping trip into $50 with her coupons! She could leap tall building in a single bound! (no, not really, but given the right set of coupons and deal combinations, she could probably purchase a building for less than $25 AND they'd throw in a snickers to seal the deal)

So. Henceforth, I am a couponer. I bought a Sunday paper today, and clipped diligently. I estimate that if I save $5 from my coupons every week...thats approximately 260 bucks a year.. Two Benjamins and 12 Baberham Lincolns! I could easily buy that Nook I've been lusting after..or a new zoom lens...and that, my friends, is enough to convince me.

Go forth and clip young couponers. If we don't get those free items, who will? You never know when you might need 82 cans of Aquanet, and by God, you don't want to be without them when you do.