11/4/2009 I Gotta Be NUTS!

Bob started his day working on his electrical project and soon after left for town for yet another trip to Home Depot.

Its another hot day here, still in the 90’s. I thought I’d get some ironing out of the way before it got too hot but I couldn’t finish and had to stop halfway through, it was just too warm. We aren’t running the AC because Bob is in and out all day long and by early evening it cools down enough that we just don’t need it.

When Bob returned, he cleaned the truck out because its food shopping day for me. While in town I got a much needed and much overdue haircut. I’m happy with the cut so I found a stylist for this year.

I picked up a few things at Walmart and then headed to Fry’s. Fry’s was a ZOO! It was Senior Discount Day which gives everyone 55 and over 10% off the final bill. Can you say CROWDED? I grabbed a cart, one of the few available and started in to face the masses. I could hardly move. It probably wouldn’t have been so bad if some of the shoppers weren’t using the aisles to catch up with summer adventures of other shoppers they were seeing for the first time this season. Oh I heard it all! I heard all about Henry’s cataract surgery, Jane’s knee replacement and the new carpeting in Jim and Ann’s motorhome….it’s tan, but not too light so it shouldn’t show dirt. Oh please people, move it, I just want to get some of the Campbell’s soup on sale before the shelf is bare!

Since I was there late in the day (4:30ish) the meat counter was empty. Well, empty of anything I would eat. I could have filled my cart with liver (yuck) or better yet, tripe! I did get an eleven pound turkey for less than five dollars with my discount. (47 cents a lb). After a second sweep through the meat department a little while later I was able to score some chicken, pork chops and a few steaks after the butcher had a chance to replenish the shelves. Trust me, they were empty again in a blink of the eye and I had to get rain checks on some things I wanted.

An hour and half later I made my way to the checkout line. There was one man in front of me who had a full cart but he was already loading the conveyor belt so I thought it would move quickly. Wrong! The man had coupons for EVERYTHING! Now, I’m a great believer in coupons and I use them every chance I get, uh, well, except for today because I left them in the glove box of the truck. The problem was he had a lot of them that were good only if you bought THIS product and THAT product together and the cashier had to go through the already packed bags to make sure he got everything in the right size or whatever requirement the coupon called for. I have to give the man credit though, with all his coupons, store card and the discount he took $138.64 off his final bill. I didn’t do nearly as well as him with my lone coupon, which I found on a shelf that evidently someone had no use for. However, using my store card and taking advantage of the 10 for $10 sales and other in-store promotions plus my discount I managed to take $76.38 off my final bill. Was it worth the hassle? Was it worth the time? If you have to ask those questions then you don’t know me! I saved $76.38, darn right it was worth it and I’ll be there next month on Senior Discount Day again.

This evening brought the end of the World Series and I’m sad that our Phillies weren’t the champions again this year. There’s always next year! At least our Eagles are doing well so far.