I'm absolutely about to explode with all the things I'm excited about at the moment. Truly, if you told me when I was eighteen that my life would be reduced to being giddy over CVS Extra Bucks or Friday nights at home in front of the television I would have thrown myself headlong off the nearest bridge.

Thankfully, that girl grew up a little and is now learning to direct her energies toward something more constructive than teasing her spiral perm to new heights and making sure her Chevrolet Beretta is spotless for cruising Brainerd Road.

Man, I loved that car. But that's a story for another day.

So I've been on a coupon kick. As I look at that sentence I realize it's really an understatement. I've become obsessed with getting one over on The Man. In this case, The Man could be defined as the retail establishment which grossly overcharges on family necessities such as Diet Coke and toilet paper. My friend Michaelle has been teaching me the beauty of combing coupons with sale items and DUDE - I got some deals this week:

At CVS I bought $20 of Duracell batteries and got $15 Extra Bucks back. That's like getting 32 batteries for $5! The other things I bought with my Bucks were free and also had Bucks with them so basically I'm rolling in free stuff from CVS right now. Oh I just love working the system. Michaelle, you've created a monster.

I also went to Walmart where they have Land o Lakes REAL butter 2/$4. I had 55 cent off coupons so I got my butter for 1.45! All the Chex cereals have been on sale for $1.68. I had coupons for $1.00 off of two boxes so I got my Chex Mix for $1.18. But that isn't even the best thing. I had a $1.00 coupon for Kellogg cereal. Rice Krispies that I needed for a recipe were on sale for $2.36. The cereal box had a peely coupon for a dollar off any marshmallows. Marshmallows were on sale for a dollar. Sooo...I got my cereal for 1.36 and a free bag of marshmallows. You know what's crazy? NO ONE IN MY FAMILY EVEN LIKES MARSHMALLOWS. But they were FREE so who cares??

Bwahahahahahahaaa...

So tell me, am I the only newbie coupon freak out here? Do you pros know of any great deals/tricks you want to share with the rest of us? Lay it on us. We can handle the truth. By the way, my friend Deb turned me on to a great little blog that gives all kinds of money saving tips. What's cool is that this girl lives in my dad's town. Go check out The Centsible Sawyer. Your wallet will thank you.

The Man will not.


Happy, happy Monday!



p.s. My yard sale went great even though it was devastatingly cold. Thanks for your well wishes and offers of hot chocolate and coffee. The warmth of your thoughts got me through the day.

Okay, not really. I was still cold but I do sincerely appreciate your cheering me on.