irony of my frugalness

I just had to share this story from LAST Thursday with you. I've been meaning to type it up, and am finally getting around to it!

Most of us are on a budget, right?

I know I can't just freely spend my money without thinking about it. Let's face it, the economy is NOT what it once was. Groceries are continuing to rise, and gas is without a doubt, ridiculous. I remember as a kid it being less than $1 a gallon. Oh what I wouldn't give to fill my car up again when it was $2.

Anyways, that being said, I try to save where ever I can. I watch for sales, use coupons, all of that good stuff. Well, if you are a crafter, you KNOW Michaels & Joann's (not sure about Hobby Lobby, ours hasn't opened yet, but I can only hope) have some pretty awesome coupons every week. HELLO 40% off! I will never understand how people can NOT want to use a 40% off coupon. I've been behind people checking out and when asked if they'd like to receive coupons say NO. My thinking is if I am buying a $40 item, 40% off of that is $16. So I'd pay $24 instead of $40! WOW. I'd much rather use that $16 on a lunch date with my husband, or extra gas money, ya know?

But anyways, back to the story. So, Thursday, after my appointment at the DMV to get my name changed to my married (YAY!) name on my license, I ended up at the dollar store, Michaels, and Target. Now, I did not PLAN to stop by those places, so I did not have my Michaels coupons with me :(. I ended up finding some stencils I needed as I frequently make car wash signs, etc for charity events. I figured the stencils would come in handy since I wouldn't have to continually by adhesive letters that are good for one use. Well, the stencils were $9.99 for 4" stencils. Not bad by any means, BUT all I kept thinking was "this would be $6 if I just had my coupon!". SO, I asked the cashier if they'd accept my coupon from the email on my Blackberry. She said YES! Excited. WELL, BB decided it wanted to run slow as molasses  while I'm waiting, so I gave up. My Mommy always said "Patience is not a virtue you were blessed with Heather Lynn". I was debating if I just wanted to come back the next day, coupon in hand. Of course, mentally I was also debating if it was worth wasting the gas. Then I remembered my wonderful friend Gina had given me a Michael's gift card two weeks ago. She said she just didn't go in there enough to use it and she didn't know how much was left on the card, under $10, but I could have it. SCORE!

So, in the end, my purchase was $9.99, however it rang up $8.99 (no complaints there) and my friends gift card was $5. SO, I ended up paying $4.62. I did BETTER than if I'd had my coupon. I left the store a very satisfied girl. :)