coupon bandit

It always seems that it is during the change of seasons {from summer to autumn and from winter to spring} that my family is most in need of new clothing. Pants are too short, tee shirts are too worn and boots and sandals need to be purchased. So amidst the bbq's, get togethers with friends and yard work that made up this weekend, I began my quest to fill these clothing needs.

While the mail man's wife {that would be me} may rarely have a book of stamps, at times I do find myself in the possession of certain department store coupons that may have been misaddressed and would otherwise be headed for the trash. I must admitt, although this seems completely absurd to me now, at another time in my life {pre kiddos} I derived great pleasure from carrying a designer bag, or rocking a $100 pair of jeans. Today, with a family of five, there is nothing that makes me happier that getting a great deal; leaving a store with a huge bag while having spent very little money.

One coupon per customer, per purchase. Blah, blah...

In some ways I may appear quite the rebel, but having gone to Catholic schools all of my life, I think my internal moral barometer has been permanently tweeked. I felt kind of ridiculous dragging my husband and then the next day my mother to TWO of this certain store where I was planning to use my coupons. Even worse was my pathetic attempt to be all stealth in handing off the coupon cards, so that it wouldn't seem like we were breaking the rules in any way. God, this is an embarrassing post!

But in the end, I did exactly what I set out to do and have made a signifcant dent in my clothing purchases {and isn't that an adorable dress the Fif is wearing?}. And while guilt is another trait that seems to rub off on us Catholic school survivors, I am pleased to say that I feel none {...or very little, anyway}, since I didn't actually break the rules. I did only use one coupon on each purchase, after all...

Please tell me I'm not the only one who has ever done this!

~a.