Should I be ashamed?

Despite the current economy and the increase of coupon usage, there are many people who look down upon those that try to save money by using coupons. There are people who may possibly huff and puff behind you in the checkout lane because they have to wait for you to scan your coupons before you can pay. What do I think of this unreasonable phenomenon?

Deal with it, buddy!

I did some shopping at Meijer last night. I got some superb deals! Some of them:

• Kellogg's brand cereal (different flavors) for $1 each, with coupons.
• Dawn dish liquid and Cascade dishwasher gel for $1.40 each, with coupons.
• Minute Maid Fruit Punch and Cherry Lime-aid, half gallon cartons for 47cents each, on clearance.

My total out of pocket expense was $48.03. I had a total of 22 coupons. 4 of them were doubled to $1.00. My total coupon savings was $22.50. My total non-coupon savings was $39.24.

My total savings on the shopping trip was $61.74. I saved over 50% of my grocery bill. I was so happy! I did a little dance before leaving the store, and yes, people did stare at me. But it was worth it! Also, the Catalina (the little machine that prints out coupons for you as your receipt prints out) printed out 3 VERY nice coupons that I will surely use.

So should I be ashamed that I walked out of the store thrilled and giddy and pretty verbal about my joy? Should I be ashamed that I search for my deals and prepare with lists and comparisons before I hit the stores? Should I be ashamed that I sit and clip coupons? Should I be ashamed that I carry a bulky file organizer with me EVERY TIME I go ANYWHERE, just in case I run into a good deal and I have a coupon to make it even better? Should I be ashamed that I am prepared to shop around and not make the first purchase I see? Should I be ashamed that I share my coupons with others that might benefit from them? Should I be ashamed that I stop people in the store because I notice they had something in their cart that I have a coupon for that I'm not going to use? "Hey, excuse me, but I noticed you were purchasing X product. I have a great coupon here for that same product if you would like to use it." Only once has someone declined-and only because they already had the same coupon in their possession! :-)

I saw a lady at the store last night with an awesome coupon binder! It was an actual binder, with 3 rings and it had card protector sheets (you know, like for baseball cards) and she had coupons inserted in each of the pockets. I complemented her on such an awesome binder and showed her my file folder. She said that her husband gave her a hard time before leaving home, saying "you go alone, its embarrassing to be shopping with so many coupons." She proceeded to tell me that she thinks its funny that he says junk like that but when she gets home "he doesn't complain when he sees the receipt!" He knows that she saves them tons of money, but he's just too proud to admit that it takes work.

I love couponing. I love what I do for my family's budget. I would hope that people would be happy that I can come home saving over 50% of my bill, because of what I do. I will stand tall and show my receipts off to the world! I will not be ashamed that we can have extra money because of my snips and clips and deal huntings! :-D