Is it just me or do any of you deal with this same issue…? When you checkout with a ton of groceries and your cashier saves your coupons to ring up until last.. and all you see is the total amount of money you owe growing and growing… and, while you know that your coupons will bring that number down drastically, do you get nervous? Despite being an addicted couponer for over 9 months now, I still start to get worried that for some reason I am going to have to pay that high dollar value!! This happens EVERY TIME!! And, then every time I feel great relief when I see my coupons being swiped.. Just curious if I’m the only one. Feedback would be greatly appreciated 🙂
Is it just me…
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Thanks for coming to Addicted to Saving! Here’s a little bit about me so you can know who’s behind all these posts!
My name is Liza and I began my money-saving journey in the Spring of 2009 as a way to stretch a limited household income. I had lost my job and my hubby was self-employed. I launched Addicted to Saving in November of 2009 and it has grown by leaps and bounds. Since then, my hubby and I have struggled with the ups and downs of two failed adoptions and are now LOVING being parents to our little man Asher who we brought home from Ethiopia in August of 2013. I feel incredibly blessed to be able to help you save money. My goal is that you will have FUN and become empowered to save more and more money each week..
I definitely get nervous! I get even more nervous about them rejecting certain coupons. I went to the Cross Creek Publix and the cashier told me that he couldn’t take b1g1 free coupons, coupons for free items, and that I had too many coupons and he handed them back to me and said that he would need manager approval and he wasn’t available. It was pretty awful, especially because they are supposed to override when you have more coupons than items and I didn’t know how to fight it.
But anyways haha about getting nervous at the total, just think of how exciting it is to watch it go down more and more and look at how much you saved. That’s an awesome feeling!
Most definitely!! Especially when you carefully calculated your total and only brought so much cash (not wanting to use that debit card)!! But it is such a feeling of relief and accomplishment when you leave with a buggy full and only pay out a fraction of the cost!! It is all so worth it!
Yes, I definitely suffer from coupon anxiety…several forms of it. Not being able to find the coupon for the great deal, the store not accepting the coupon, rushing to get the items, the store selling out of the item, the total at checkout and on and on. I told my BFF today that I was going to have to go on medication. :)I am a new couponer and was really hoping this would get better but now I see that it will be a long illness. But the high you get when you score those deals is definitely worth it.
I have been couponing for about 3 months now and have previously been paying full price for everything. So, I kind of expect to see a big number! But now, I get super excited when I see that number go down!!
Jenni- what ended up happening at Cross Creek Publix? I’m very close to that one.
Liza- when will you have another workshop around New Tampa?
i feel the same way!! it feels SO SO great to see all that money comes right off again though!
OMG!! I almost had a heart attack the other day when I saw my total hitting over $120 ( the pic I sent U)…But @ the end I paid $20 (including Tax)…I do get a bit nervous and the anxiety kills me @ times but I do know my rights and I do fight for them. I can say that I am lucky that I have gotten to know the managers @ my Publix and they are VERY nice. The cashiers are not all nice but I try to avoid those and when they give me a problem I ask for the manager by their name! I tell them that coupons are like paying in cash money.
@ Jenni never leave a store without talking to a manger and getting an explanation that satisfies you and makes sense.
When they dont take or want to take a coupon I put the product back! There is no reason why a store would not take a coupon, this is my opinion and how I do it here in Miami.
i get really freaked out when i know i only have a small amount of cash on me. i know what the end total should be and have to cross every finger and toe that my calculations were right. other than those occasions, i L-O-V-E watching the price go down, down, down..you know you did good when the cashier at the grocery store looks like a deer in the headlights after ringing in all of your coupon savings and says wow! lol
Hahaha! The same thing happens to me! I’ve only been couponing for about 2 months now, but it’s taken over my life!! I won’t buy anything now (except meat and produce) without a coupon! But I LOVE the money I save!
I don’t like it when they save for the end for another reason: I like to see the item ring up and then the coupon take the price down right there so I know each and every coupon is getting accounted for 🙂
Sooo glad it’s not just me!!
I’m a stay-at-home/homeschooling mother of three daughters who are almost always with me when I shop – their new job is to keep an eye out for blinkies/tear pads/peelies (and they each grab two!ha!ha!). The girls can’t wait to stand at ‘the total screen’ to watch the numbers go down!! They are usually quite loud, too, when they say things like, “Mommy! We saved more than we spent!” or “Can I call Daddy and tell him how much we saved?” …I’m sure our family is repeatedly ‘The Story of The Day’ in the Publix breakroom!! ha!ha!
It’s a great life-lesson, Liza, that YOU have helped teach our daughters!! Thanks so much for all you do!!
I got this new cashier tonight…..It was her first night too. I walk up with two carts filled to the hilt. The Manager at Publix has gotten to know me and my couponing. I unload the carts, lay a $100.00 bill down and say that is all I have. The cashier has a look like I have 3 heads. I then hand her my stack of coupons and then she gets that deer in the head lights look. The manager is rolling… She rings up all the stuff and it is right at $325.00. She looks at me and my $100.00 bill and she starts the coupons. End total is $73.65. She looked more relieved than I did. She didnt need any over rides and they all went through. Before I left, I had 6 people standing around watching and everyone of them ask how I did that… So I give them this and a few other web sites. I would like to know, how many people get P.Oed at all the money they USED to spend at the store before using coupons?
I have only been doing this for a few weeks now, and I LOVE it! although, I guess since I am new, I find myself apologizing to the people behind me for having so many coupons! and today I had my husband check out and I left him there and went and picked up the kids. 🙂 but I will tell you this, my 3 1/2 year old knows the word “free” (he can’t read yet) because he helps me clip coupons (well, I let him cut up paper) but he grabs stuff off the printer for me and he goes “mommy, this says FREE!” and then he gets all excited and says “we’re saving money!!” I LOVE it! Thanks for all that you do Liza! I really appreciate it.
Carmen, I am soooo the same way. It’s been about a month for me and every time I have a stack of coupons, I apologize to the people behind me! At first my husband was a little embarrassed by it all but now he’s good. He likes to see my “couponing in action” or how much we actually saved and what we used to spend. I get so nervous at check out every time! I only bring so much cash with me and I know the coupons will drastically lower the total but I’m always afraid that it won’t. Plus, I am still learning how these coupons work (1 store + 1 manufacturer for each item but no 2 manufacturers for one item or will this store take this or no) that I’m afraid I did something wrong so there’s always that fear. But once they all go through and I see that low total, it’s a complete high!!!! I love to hear the people behind me go “How much did she save with all that?” It’s amazing!
I too have “panic attack” everytime I check out. My 17 year old daughter goes with me to shop and she puts everything in the calculator to see how close our total is to the cashier. We know ahead of time what we have in Q’s and what our total should be. She has already learned the fine art of coupning and I am so proud of her. She gets nervous that they won’t take a coupon or that we messed up somehow so she won’t stand there during checkout. My store manager welcomes couponers and has even apologized for the rude behavoir of some fellow shoppers that complain about waiting in line behind those with large stacks of couons. That happened to me the other day. Anyway, it is worth it. I display my receipts on the fridge with the rest of the “art work”. I makes me feel like I am doing something wonderful for my family and my kids are proud of me for making things better them. This site is my favorite.
Wow, it was so great to read that post. I thought I was the only one who got nervous when the cashier is scanning all the items. Most times I pretty much know just about how much the total cost is going to be after coupons and only take x amount of money with me to get the items that are on sale and I have coupons for so it is scary and I get very nervous when I see a total of say $55.00 and I think to myself that that amount will never be $3.00 at the end like I planned. But then after the coupons start coming off, it’s such a relief when the cashier says, “That’ll be $2.96.” Or something of that nature. I take that sigh of relief and gladly hand over the $5.00 bill I brought with me. 🙂 So glad to know I’m not the only one that goes through that roller coaster of feeling nervous and then feeling relief. I’ve only been couponing (in earnest) for about 2 months now, but I’ll never go back to seeing that $55.00 and actually paying it or just getting $1 or $2 off that total. It’s an obsession to me now and every shopping experience is a challenge to see how much I could save. Thanks for listening.
My face gets so red after a good run. My husband will say why is it so red. I know I am not doing anything illegal. But it is a rush..
Oh yes, I used to get so nervous too…now I count up how much money i have in coupons- so when i see the total- it doesnt make me nervous anymore b/c i will know exactly how much taht bill will be going down by. for example this week i went to walmart – i knew before going in there that i had 33.00 in coupons….so when my bill came to 49.00- i didnt freak..