Warring Genes

When I was growing up, my Mum never took me shopping, because she hated to shop. I won't go into any long involved explanations as to why this was true, except to hint that this might be due to the fact that my dear dad once spent four hours in the Wal-mart shoe department by himself trying on shoes . . . (a not uncommon occurrence).

So anyway, something that I have discovered is that children of shoppers love to shop, while children of non-shoppers (such as myself) look with disbelief at certain friends who go to the mall for "fun".

However, having psychoanalyzed myself as being an avid non-shopper (which I will henceforth abbreviate as N.S.), I have also come to the realization that my Dutch ancestry of frugality (*cough cough* stinginess) is warring with my N.S. nature due to one particular website:

~ Hip2Save.blogspot.com

This website has single handily transformed me into a coupon-clipping, deal-shopping fanatic with an accordion file the size of a large French poodle. By following the yellow brick road of this blog's sage advice, I have scored a tidy amount of wonderful goodies. When I get my groceries, it's not uncommon for me to save $18 off my regular grocery bill of things like milk, eggs, and other necessary staples.

My favorite part about doing this, though, is the FREEBIES!!!!!!

(I never pay more than $1.25 for any cereal)

(5 boxes = FREE)

(2 packages = FREE)

(2 boxes = $1 each)

(FREE)

(FREE)

(4 packages = FREE)

(5 packages = yes, you guessed it, free; mmmmm these were yummy!)

And this is only what I've remembered to take pictures of!

Today I hit Walgreens (I didn't have time to include CVS in my bargain hunting excursion) and I got (drum roll please . . . .)
Grand Total = $3 for ALL this.

Let's review, shall we? (Rubbing hands together greedily as only a Dutchwoman can.)

Left side of pile:
Middle of the pile of loot:
Far right pile of loot:
At this moment I have at least 11 boxes of free toothpaste (five of which are that expensive Rembrandt brand), 8 bottles of hand lotion that I got for free, lots of sample size stuff that I got for free, several bottles of body wash (also free or only $1 for each), as well as a lot of other stuff that I know I have but can't find due to the fact that they're buried underneath the 11 boxes of toothpaste.

If the economy ever completely shuts down, at least I will know that my family will smell clean for at 6 months.

(And we will have enough dark chocolate to last us for a year. I am prepared.)