How to Get a Deal, Dork-Style

I was so excited to post about my wonderful buys this week and last week. I love Albertson's, which is a place I never shopped at five months ago. But thanks to coupons, it's my favorite grocery store - not to mention the gas rewards! Anyway, here's what I got last week:

4 TP, 4 cereal, 4 rice sides, 4 frostings, 4 cream cheese, and 1 Bisquick = $18.46. Not too bad.

And here's what I got this week:7 boxes gallon-sized zipper bags, 5 salad dressings, 3 boxes graham crackers, 3 pkgs chocolate bars, 3 pkgs marshmallows, 2 BBQ seasonings, 2 sour creams, garlic salt, seasoned salt, shave gel, and window cleaner = $12.80. Oh! And I forgot to put the two pkgs of hot dogs out for the photo that I got along with the rest of it! Dang awesome, I'd say.

Now, here's how to get the deal, Tandee-style (aka dork-style). See, the normal couponer would just go to pinchingyourpennies.com to find out what the deals for the week are, find their coupons to match with the great sales going on at Albertson's, use the three "twice the value" doubler coupons found in the Albertson's ad in their Wednesday paper, then go to the grocery store to buy their three items for the double-coupon deal. And they'd go back again and ask the customer service for more doublers if they really wanted to do it again. Every day until the sale was over. But I have a much more effective way to handle such awesome deals.

Just pretend you're as dumb as me, and get it all in only two shopping trips!

Okay, our town's newspaper doesn't carry some of the Sunday coupon inserts, so enough of the ladies in my neighborhood got together to make it worth it for another town's newspaper to be delivered up in our neck of the woods, to one person's house, so we still get all the Sunday coupons. I think there's probably 20 families' newspapers that get dropped off in front of my friend's house. I won't disclose who this is, so that none of you can thwart my plans. Anyway, the deal we have with the newspaper is that we get the regular weekly paper, and then five Sunday papers (to get lots of coupons). Well, lately Albertson's has been sneaking these "doubler" coupons in with the Sunday papers - but only in our town's newspaper. I don't subscribe to our town's paper right now, so I don't get any doublers in my Sunday papers. I hate that. But this week, Albertson's put these coveted "doublers" in the Wednesday paper, right with their Wednesday ad. When I found this out, I was so excited. I woke up at 6:30 Wednesday morning (okay, Rhett woke me up at 6:30, and since I was up), I got all my coupons together for the awesome sale, took along my scissors, and drove down to my friend's house to pick up my doubler coupons! I wasn't going to miss anything! So I grabbed my five papers from the huge stacks outside my friend's house, opened the papers in the Albertson's parking lot, clipped out all 15 doublers, and headed into the store. I found EVERYTHING I was looking for (of course - first morning of the sale - I was one of only probably 3 obsessed and tired-looking shoppers in the store)! I headed to the cash register, rang up my stuff in three separate transactions (that's the max transactions they let you do at a time), got all my hefty bags, kraft dressing, and hot dogs for free, and then went home. I dragged my kids with me back to the store later that morning to use my last two sets of doublers at a different Albertson's in town (heaven forbid I look like one of "those" shoppers. No way could I show my face at the same store within only a few hours!), got everything I wanted AGAIN (sweet!), and came home so happy. I set everything up on the table, and took the cute photo. While I was talking to my friend Sarah about all the good deals I got, and how I got them, I mentioned that I had bought SEVEN hefty bags, and she asked, "How many doublers did you GET??" I answered, "FIFTEEN! (of course!)" And that's when I finally understood. Duh, Tandee. We get five SUNDAY papers. Only one WEEKLY paper! Stupidity and guilt hit me like two mack trucks at the same time. I hung up with Sarah, called my friend with the papers, and explained the whole thing to her, in case anyone else came looking for their Wednesday paper. I was so glad she just laughed with me (or was it AT me?). So, I told her I'd just have to go back to the store four times to ask for the ad at the customer service desk, stick one back into each of the four extra papers I stole, and return them to her house in case anyone came looking for theirs. If you're one of them, I'm SO sorry! Thankfully Albertson's keeps extras for regular, not-so-obsessed shoppers. I don't know if this is so safe for me, all this couponing!

So, that's how you get a good deal, dork-style. Kinda low, I know, but I'm learning. I can see how this can get to be an addiction. An addiction just clouds your mind, and you can't think straight. Obviously my problem. Or could that be lack of sleep?

Anyway, if any of you want any more tips on how to make a deal even sweeter, just let me know. Without realizing it, I might just figure out a way, then realize it, and let you know!