Power Shopping

On rare occasions, I can be persuaded to rise early–as in, dark and early–in order to shop. I’ve done that once on the Friday after Thanksgiving. I had specific items in mind at one specific store. And though the line at 5:30 am was appalling, I found my deals and was home by 7:30.

Today was another such occasion. Kroger, in Texas and Louisiana, offered coupon doubling up to $1 today only. So it you’re reading today, you may still have time! Not realizing what time the store opened, I drove into the parking lot at 5:55 am and stared at the small crowd gathered at the doors. Great. But by the time I’d parked, the doors were opening. Perfect timing :).

It wasn’t crowded; just a few bargain hunters–many with coffee in hand–willing to rise early and find some deals. I had my list and my coupons. To the toiletries aisle first, since we are out of toothpaste. The best deals were probably there. Cereal wasn’t bad either. Forget the batteries.

“Hi, Brenna!” “Hi, Susan!” Yes, I saw friends there who, like me, sported faces au naturelle. We exchanged tips on where certain items were and what kind of deals we’d found thus far. And then, the checkout line.

Oh, it was a line. But there were no checkers. The self-checkout line helper was inundated with coupon issues. Finally, two brave souls ran to their posts and yelled, “I can help you on #__.” We swarmed. We waited.

We waited.

And we waited.

A half-hour later, I peeled out of the parking lot, trying to get home in time for my hubby to leave for his 8 am meeting on time. Thankfully, he’s a laid-back kind of guy whose first words were, “So what did you find?” (not, “what took you so long?!”). He was probably secretly wishing he could have shopped instead, bargain king that he is.

My grand total, including the Kroger plus card savings, was 55% savings. I know some did better, but I found most of what I needed at much-better-than-usual prices. That equals success for me.

3 cups of coffee later, I might stay awake through the morning.