When we first married, a big money-saving technique was getting S & H Green Stamps or True Value Stamps (which were yellow) when we bought groceries or gas. We had little books, free at any store, into which we wet and pasted the stamps. Each company had a stamp catalog and stamp catalog stores where we could redeem full books for special gifts and prizes.
The second year we were married, I got my best item from several books of yellow stamps—a “cut glass” punch bowl with 12 cups to match. I still have it and was determined to find a condo with enough storage for that big box (and the additional cups I had added to my stash.) Got it!
The allure of the stamps finally passed and then coupons became the big thing. We get coupons today, but it’s nothing like it was in the 1980s and 1990s. Mainly I cut them from magazines and newspapers and would sometimes exchange them with friends, especially a fellow teacher, Sue Painter. She was QUEEN of the couponers, to the point that Steve would tease her that the grocery store would probably end up paying her money!
We organized the coupons and carefully watched store ads to best maximize our savings. For example, if I had a $1 coupon for a box (before plastic jugs) of Cheer, I’d wait till it was on sale and the store was offering TRIPLE coupon savings. Eureka! Almost free, at the time.
The other big adventure was mailing in labels for a refund check or an item. For a time, I even subscribed to a newsletter that gave the best refund offers for labels! I received several Campbell Soup Kids dishes and spoons from sending in labels. I saved labels off everything and categorized them. I knew just how many I had and how many I needed of each brand or item, but I saved everything because I would have just died if an offer came out on a brand I’d recently used and I hadn’t kept the label. Sue would keep me up to date on the offers. I can only imagine how we would have shared with the internet available!
But I finally reached a day of reckoning. I had the niggling suspicion that I was becoming obsessed with collecting labels, but I didn’t want to face it. It was such fun! And profitable, too. Surely it wasn’t an addiction.
Steve was preaching in another state—a weekend gospel meeting set up by friends from years before, so we all went. A church family invited us over for dinner, and when I offered to help, the hostess asked me to put the Pillsbury Crescent Rolls on a cookie sheet. As soon as I took them out, she swooped up the packaging and threw it in her trash. I’m sure I looked like a child whose cookie has been stolen and thrown away, but she didn’t notice.
When she took something into the dining room, I dove into her trash and retrieved that precious label! I needed that one more to get a $2 check that was offered. I sneakily grabbed my purse and slipped it inside. No one was the wiser.
But I was.
Just as an alcoholic suddenly sees himself in the gutter and hates himself, I saw that collecting labels had become my idol. I was spending WAY too much time thinking about them and processing them for trivial amounts. Our family was not starving. We weren’t desperate for every little $2 check I could acquire. I was mortified, and I was the only one who knew it. Thank goodness for that!
When we returned home, I went straight to my huge bag of labels, tightly rubber banded by brand. I took it straight to the trash, repenting of my addiction. I sheepishly even threw away the Pillsbury label recently rescued from the trash. Refunding and I had come to a parting of the ways.
After that, the only coupons I keep are those for items we buy all the time anyway. They help a little bit, but I don’t freak out about them. I appreciate Kroger’s targeted coupons on our frequently purchased items. But that’s it.
My addiction to coupons and labels has passed, but my memory of it has not. I squirm with embarrassment when I think of it. I was reminded of it a few days ago and confessed it to Steve. He had no idea, not even remembering the large plastic bags of labels I used to save. So, since confession is good for the soul, I decided I’d confess to you, dear reader.
These days I try to be more introspective before I start putting trivial things before my God, my family, my church. I’m still addicted to salty snacks and ice cream, but I try to keep those addictions under control so I can still get into my clothes. I’m way too practical to have to buy new clothes in a larger size when I already have plenty to wear! I can’t rationalize the need for more potato chips or raspberry chip ice cream as I could the refunds.
Any addictions you’d like to confess? I’m all ears.
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13
Drue Wright
Well, since it’s confession time I’ll take a turn. For years I could not let an orphan rubber band remain. If one was on a counter I brought it home. I had a stash of orphan rubber bands in my special drawer. Then, one day when we were living in Fiji I was walking across a busy downtown street and there was the biggest, baddest rubber band I had ever had the opportunity to rescue. I stopped right there, leaned down and as I was retrieving it tires screeched, horns blew and people looked at me as if I’d lost my mind. That was my turning point. I have rarely given a home to another orphan rubber band!
Lanita Boyd
I love this, Drue! It reminded me of another obsession I had. When I found out that the Taylors and their 12 children collected empty Marlboro cigarette packs for prizes, I picked up every one I saw on the ground, often to the dismay of my family. After they moved to Alabama, I’d save them and give them to Donia to deliver. Finally Pam sent word that they were no longer collecting, so I stopped my grungy obsession. But they really did get some good Christmas presents from the Marlboro catalog!