I get it honest, I guess....

Today I was reminded about where I get this love for coupons. I went up to the farm to meet my mom and spend the day with her. We had decided to visit one of the local gambling boats that she frequents. She has a 3 star card which gets her free rooms from time to time AND they send her coupons for free gambling money. Do you see the irony in that? The FREE stuff has hooked her. In her rush to get out the door and meet me, she up and left the $10 coupon that was good only for today at home. That about killed her. It was $10. Not $100. Just $10. But the thought of not having it just about sent her into a frenzie.

When I was younger, my sister ran a newspaper route. On Sunday's all she had to do to get her money back from the newspaper was remove and return the front page. The rest was theirs to dispose of. Well, they would dispose of them straight to my mother's living room floor. Mom would get around 30-50 papers each Sunday. She would remove the coupon circulars and pile the coupons up all around the living room. I would often times help her clip and sort her piles of "money." I know, I know!! For those of you how are as frugal as me, I can see the drool coming off your lips!

She had a show box (which soon became two shoeboxes) that she would keep in her trunk. She was always armed and ready to respond to any deal anywhere! Sometimes she would literaly clear the shelf at the store and have to ask the stock boy to go find more. I remember going with her because her shopping trips often took 2 grocery carts. She would fill the car with food and groceries and her bill would always be less than $20.00! Sometimes it would come to a $0 balance. We had a formal dining room adjacent to our eat-in kitchen. It was always stocked with all kinds of crackers, cookies, soup cans, snacks, cake mixes, cleaning products or whatever she could find for free or cheap.

So, as my mom lamented on the way to the boat, I just smiled. My mother's love for the boat is a running joke in our family. We tease her and tell her, "Mom, you spent all those years clipping coupons and getting free groceries and now you're spending it at the boat. I guess it's a good thing you did that so now you have your gambling money to blow every now and then."

Well momma, thanks for instilling in me a love for getting something for nothing, an appreciation for the value of a hard-earned dollar, and the ability to know how to work the system! I truly do get it honest, I guess.