I’m coming up for air after six years of drowning in dog rescue. Rescue Burnout is a well-known malady amongst those who suffer from it. Coming out on the other end of it requires replacing the time spent doing rescue work with something else.
A friend of mine also recently came up for air, and she took up couponing as a way to spend her time and ease out of the rescue grind. “Really?” I thought, “You can spend your time getting free stuff instead of cleaning pee out of your carpet? Interesting…”
After she told me about it, I came to the conclusion that this is something I ought to be doing. I started getting the Sunday paper, printing online coupons, going to endless websites to find the best deals, and going to the grocery store and drugstores multiple times a week. This was about two months ago. I’m already tired of it.
I’m lazy, I hate running errands and am terrible at math. I like things to be easy. I also don’t want or need 50 packets of taco seasoning (nothing against those who do, of course). I’m also trying to eat healthier, which, if you’ve seen the show Extreme Couponing (and the size of many of the people on the show), it becomes quite obvious that the food you get EXTREME!!! discounts on are made by elves or endorsed by tigers or talking toucans. In other words, by things who are not only not nutritionists, but not human.
Many of the coupons also require liking on Facebook and signing up for more online newsletters than I have the patience for. I have a very low tolerance for inconvenience and I value my time like a dog values a marrow bone (old analogies die hard). The amount of work involved in matching up coupons with sales, comparing prices, etc., and the wasted paper and time spent clipping coupons, has finally flipped my “screw this” switch.
Life is about making choices, and time vs. money is one of the biggest. Why I thought that this specific type of time and effort was totally up my alley is a mystery to me. I hate grocery shopping. Spending multiple hours a day thinking about and planning for it couldn’t be further from how I want to spend my time. I suppose the answer is that I needed to replace the thing I felt guilty about cutting back on (dog rescue) with something I wouldn’t feel as guilty about quitting (couponing). Like some sort of reverse gateway drug.
So, couponing will become a much more casual endeavor. But, ultimately, as an obsessive, I do need something to do. What’s great is that the true love of my life obsessions – movies and TV – now get more of my time (and yes, I’m happy about that, outdoorsy types).
And, I found another thing: blogging and reading blogs. That aren’t about dogs. Awesome.
About the Writer
Carrie Williford is a writer/online fundraiser-social media thing, lives in Atlanta but still feels like she lives in North Carolina, and is usually covered in dog hair. She named her blog Cannibalistic Nerd because she likes how it sounds rhythmically even though she can barely spell it and it’s confusing. She watches too much TV, wishes popcorn had protein in it, and was an average student.
About Guest Writer
I love that show. Extreme Couponing. It’s like watching a giant train wreck. One filled with BBQ sauce and sports drinks.
I have no patience for things like that though.
Twitter Name: Issascrazyworld
Yeah, and there’s no other show on TV where a register beep is the cliffhanger to a commercial break.
Twitter Name: cannibal_nerd
Extreme Couponers scare me. Its as if they know something I don’t. Like the world is going to run out of toothpaste next month, so they have good reason to buy ALL of it now. For free.
The last episode had a lady with hundreds and hundreds of paper towel rolls, and there was a 16 year old boy with tons of feminine products. The end is definitely near.
Twitter Name: cannibal_nerd
When the apocalypse comes, he’s going to have a thousand women at his basement door trying to get his tampons. It’s all part of his master plan.
Twitter Name: Izzymom
That’s pretty brilliant. I’ve ended up with too much floss – I don’t think that will be nearly as useful.
Twitter Name: cannibal_nerd
I can’t do the extreme coupon thing either. I already regard grocery shopping as a punitive task. Dragging it out and across multiple stores? PURE TORTURE.
Twitter Name: Izzymom
Exactly! Between commuting and my time, surely the cost must even out, somehow. That’s what I’m telling myself, anyway.
Twitter Name: cannibal_nerd
This was so funny.
I must click to your personal blog..I find I can’t help myself.
Twitter Name: gdrpempress
Thank you!
Twitter Name: cannibal_nerd
What about the hoarding? Because apparently it’s about buying a bunch of crap all at once so that nobody else can buy any of the crap. Never once have I seen these people buy anything that I would pay for. OK, maybe mustard, but one bottle will last me for a year.
I do use coupons and generally save about $20 bucks a trip, but I’ll never get $1,000 worth of baby aspirin and cough syrup for a quarter. And I’m OK with that.
Twitter Name: msmegan
But how are you going to start your meth lab?
The hoarding is insane. There’s no way they or even all of their families use all that crap. And they may donate it, but as someone who works for a nonprofit – I can tell you we’d rather have $10 than 50 bags of Kibbles n Bits that expire in a month.
Twitter Name: cannibal_nerd
I’m so glad you brought the reality of extreme couponing to light. I do not like to shop. Yet I was envious about people who were featured in my local newspaper because they saved three million dollars last year by buying eight hundred sticks of deodorant. After looking into extreme couponing a little bit (like, five minutes online) I realized that I am not a hoarder and don’t want a pharmacy or mini-mart in my home from which I could “shop” at between EXTREME! shopping trips. I also hate it when I go to the store for a can of Pringles and all I can find are the fat-free versions and other nonsense that the extreme couponers have left for regular shoppers like me. The whole business wears me out.
Twitter Name: about100percent
Yep, somewhere there is someone with a garage full of your Pringles.
Twitter Name: cannibal_nerd