My last solo shopping trip - Stocking up, extreme couponing and braving the snowy roads.

January 25:
As predicted the snow was coming down at a record pace and not letting up. With less than a week left before surgery, I was hoping to attend a few more yoga classes. However upon waking I  logged into Facebook to see that all classes had been cancelled for the day!  The snow was not going to be an ally today.

David braved the nasty road conditions to go coach his basketball team. In the meantime, we watched the snow continue to fall at an amazing pace and I decided to bake. I have always enjoyed baking. This will be the last weekend that I will be able to bake for a while. Orange Pound Cake sounds good for a day like today!  After my two helpers cracked the eggs and mixed the batter, we watched a movie and occasionally I was given an update of how many minutes was left on the oven timer.

"Twenty-seven Minutes!"-Running back into the living room and getting ready to watch a Snoopy Movie

We spent the day doing our coupon cutting and organizing. Even though it was snowing a lot today and it was in the forecast to snow again tomorrow. I was determined to go out.  I have been using coupons for several years. However lately, I have been using them A LOT more often and taking cues from the "extreme couponing shows. I have even begun a small stockpile of my own. It is all items that we use, we need, and items that are non perishable. It isn't out of control, nor is it a hoard . The bulk of the purchasing has been focused on HBA items (Health Beauty Aids) and personal items. 

I have managed to use my coupons to have a cache of personal care products large enough that we will not need to buy the following products for at least 6 months:

Toothpaste

Feminine Hygiene Products (various types)

Deoderant (men/woman)

Shampoo/conditioner

Bodywash

Cold/flu remedies

Body lotion

Soup

Pasta/Pasta Sauces

Frozen Veggies

Frozen Pizzas

Frozen Meals(Organic)

Dry Soup Mix

Coffee/K-Cups

Lightbulbs

Laundry Detergent

**Couponing Tip #1: Whenever possible, the key they to getting the most out of your coupon is to get the smallest size allowable with the coupon. 

**Couponing Tip #2: Use Your Weekly Circulars to make the most out of your coupons to get the specials and any available coupon doubling opportunities. Places like WalMart DO NOT DOUBLE. 

**Couponing Tip #3: If you have a coupon that requires a purchase of multiple items, save it to use with a sale in an advertised sale at a local grocery store or Sunday Circular. 

**Couponing Tip #4: Coupons Often have varying expiration dates and require constant organization and monitoring. It is imperative to go through your coupons weekly, as you are putting new ones into your binder, pull out expired ones and those which will be expiring soon. 

I enjoy the "thrill" of saving money and seeing the final tally of how much I have saved. But, my main motivation for doing the purchasing in such volume was to help alleviate the burden on David. He will taking only a few days off of work. In the mean time he will still be working, coaching and coming home to take care of me. After my hospital stay, my mother will be staying with us. So this will also help her. I have a friend, Dawnelle, who just had a PAO surgery and she has confirmed that the first few weeks post-surgery are quite intense and being left alone isn't really recommended. 

It is going to be hard not to have control and to be dependent on others to help me for almost every aspect of my care. So by doing this, by providing a pantry of items and supplies it is helping me to feel better about becoming the receiver of my much needed help. 

~DRIVE SLOW~

DAYS UNTIL SURGERY: 5