Coupons. The Real Issue.

One of my most vivid and negative memories from student teaching was a fight over coupons. Over lunch the teachers would get together and talk about students and life and sometimes how hard it was to pay for things. One librarian had to find new childcare after her brother in law was reported to child services for letting her kids play in a leaf filled gutter. With some people this evolved into complaining. I was warned that as soon as I had children my husband would no longer do anything nice for me. There is always a deadline associated with husbands failing- birth, second child, married a year… every person with their free advice wants you to understand that they are helping you out before the inevitable strikes. And so I was introduced to coupons. One teacher had an elaborate coupon system that her group of friends maintained. She expressed shock that I didn’t like to use coupons and outrage that I shopped at an expensive place like Albertsons. She told me that Wall Mart was the only place to shop and when I was teaching I wouldn’t be able to afford such an expensive grocery store. Shocked, I never contributed my less than stellar review of what I know as the evil empire. I was branded as the fancy student who ‘gasp’ shopped at Albertsons. Not that I don’t love a sale. I feel almost commanded to buy things on sale, including the 5 for a dollar cards from Hallmark I bought yesterday. They weren’t all birthday cards and they promised but my grandmother is probably grateful for the happy birthday great grandson cards I gave her and I got at least 4 cards I could use (out of 15- 2 of them are a stretch but I think my dad has an odd sense of humor). I also now maintain a coupon book thanks to my friend Judi who does a better job maintaining one. I love finding great deals and I like to look online for coupons. I print them out and store them in case I need them and my pretty pink coupon binder lives in the car. Another acquaintance asked how I could afford to shop at a store with coupons- they are only on ‘gasp’ name brand items. Once again, I was doing the wrong thing. This week our Albertsons is having a sale- if you buy five boxes of Post Cereal you can get them for 1.19 a box. I have a coupon. I also have all the cereal for the rest of the time I am in Washington, and I am showing real restraint- I will not buy it even though at 60 cents I box I feel almost commanded. Wouldn’t you want to bring it home with you? I have decided I cannot win the coupon war, even if I have signed up for Bed Bath and Beyond coupons for everyone in our household including our dog. Sometimes when I am walking down the aisles in the grocery store with my list of what is on sale that week I feel as though I have abandoned my values. I am not really one of the true coupon zealots and I still hate Wall Mart. No one told me that this was going to happen on the summer after my 27^th birthday. Why wasn’t I warned? They were probably holding out on me. I guess that’s what you get when you shop at Albertsons- with coupons. Maybe I will just start getting my food delivered- I wonder how that works with coupons.