Coupon-ing fun?

I had the prickly-sweats today.

Not the kind where you have to use the bathroom - NOW! But the kind where, Oh - I hate this. Oh - why am I doing this. Oh.

You see, last week my friend Jenny, a very professional shopper of all great deals, took me to a coupon-ing class.

Oh my.

If only you could have seen the look on my face. It was something like, "really?"

See, coupon shopping seems like an AWFUL lot of work. I mean lots. I already hate to shop. I despise spending money, no matter how much I have. I like to get in - and - out as quick as possible. But: I gave it a try.

The lady had lots of great tips, and made it seem REALLY easy. Easy if you are the most organized person in the world. You have hours to peruse the adds, shop online, read online coupon reviews, and years to spend at the store.

None of which I do.

But alas, I am giving it my best shot. Yes, I broke every single rule she taught us, today. Like, don't shove all your coupons in a envelope. (check! done!) I spent so much time sorting, checking and rechecking that I'm just really not sure it was worth all the effort.

When we left the class I said to Jenny, "I have a college degree. You would think I could wrap my brain around the concept of coupon-ing." It just seems like a lot more work, for name brand things that I don't really need. But people swear if you give it a try for a couple of months you'll see a huge difference.

So, I'm giving it a try. I 'saved' 72 dollars at Albertson's today, spending 89 dollars. See, I'm just not sure it was such a great deal. The prickly sweats came as I parked in the isles thinking, "is this really that good of a deal?" and at the check out stand, "I HATE people that use coupons! They're such a pain in the rear!" That was me today. Oh well. Time will tell and until then, my kids will have the best breakfast cereal and lunch snacks on the block!