Coupons – Never Leave Home Without Them (Part 1)

Straying a little off topic, I wanted to share a cute little story about my grandparents and a 35 cent coupon.

I recall several years ago, sometime in the early 90’s, sitting in my grandmother’s kitchen listening to her and my grandfather quarreling over a coupon. It all started because my grandfather bought mayonnaise without using his coupon. He thought he accidentally left the coupon at home, only to later discover that the coupon had been in his shirt pocket the whole time.

“Darn it!” shouted my grandfather. “Here’s my darn my coupon! It was right here in my pocket. I thought I left the darn thing at home. ” he exclaimed.  “Can you believe that, Blanche? The darn coupon for the mayonnaise was right here in my pocket.”

“In your pocket?” she questioned while dividing her attention between listening to him, watching the evening news, and preparing dinner at the same time.  All of a sudden, it hit her! Standing there looking stunned as if a terrible crime had just been committed; she turned to my grandfather and asked “So, you mean to tell me you bought the mayonnaise without using the coupon?”  Regretfully, my grandfather admitted “Yes”.  He had indeed purchased the mayonnaise without using the coupon.

Baffled, she asked him with disbelief, “Why on earth would you buy the mayonnaise if you didn’t have the coupon?” “But, I did have the coupon.” he declared.  Perplexed, Grandma said, “But, you just said you didn’t have the coupon.”  “Well”, still trying to explain the situation, Grandpoppy said, “I had the coupon, Blanche. I thought I left it at home. I didn’t know it was in my pocket. If I knew it was in my pocket, I would have used it.“  

Judging from the look on my grandmother’s face, I thought to myself the “coupon police” would certainly be knocking on the door at any minute to take my grandfather away. Grandma then proceeds to say, “Well, if you didn’t have the coupon, you should have put the mayonnaise back.”  “But, Blanche, I thought you needed the mayonnaise.”  said Grandpoppy. Hands on her hips…“ We didn’t need it that bad, Archie. You should have just put it back?” Grandma exclaimed. “Well, I was already in line. I didn’t realize I didn’t have the coupon until I got ready to pay for the darn thing.” he said.

Mind you, this went on and on and on for several minutes. My grandfather couldn’t believe the coupon was right there in his pocket; my grandmother couldn’t believe he bought the mayonnaise without the coupon; and I couldn’t believe I was actually sitting there listening to them bicker over a 35 cents coupon. Finally, I stood up and shouted the infamous words of Rodney King “CAN WE ALL JUST GET ALONG?” Needless to say, we all fell out laughing. Till this day, my grandparents and I still get a kick out of that story. I only wish there were cellphones with video cameras back then.

Like my grandparents, when it comes to using coupons, it’s a requirement, not an option. In my next post, I’m going to share my latest grocery shopping experience on how I saved over $150 during my last grocery trip. In the meantime, here's a picture of me and my grandparents at their 60th wedding anniversary celebration.