The other day I noticed a woman ahead of me handing the clerk at the checkout counter at Publix a whole bunch of coupons and I thought just perhaps I ought to overcome my aversion and see if I could save on food money by clipping coupons. So this Sunday morning, I gathered up all the ads from the newspaper and went through them. There must have been at least 400 coupons there and I looked at every one. I clipped four. The next time I buy these items I will save maybe $2.

There was a Walgreen’s coupon for orange juice and if I wanted to resist buying my OJ at Publix, I could then jump in the car and drive 10 miles to the Walgreen’s for this item. There is an unfinished Walgreen’s at the Publix mall and I like to go there for some items and can’t wait till it opens. But if I have no other business at Walgreen’s on a particular day, I am still not going to move my car to the other end of the lot to get orange juice or any other single item just because they have a special deal.

As for this industrious woman, I am wondering what she bought. It must have been things like Rice-A-Roni, or frozen dinners (always disappointing). If I have found a brand I like, I usually stay with it. No coupons for that? Sorry. My time is worth more than $2 an hour and I am not even counting having to organize, sort, and remember to take them to the store and after I get there, remember that I have them. They didn’t even have coupons for my cats’ brand of cat food. Really. (disgust emoticon needed here).

I buy discounted groceries at BJ’s and on some items, we save a lot. Sirloin steak is $4.99 a pound at BJ’s ($8 at Publix, ditto for tilapia fillets). The quality is excellent. We like roast lamb and can get a decent sized boneless leg for $15 (as opposed to $30 elsewhere). Their deli chicken is special and tastes as good on the third day as it does on day one. It is $4.99 for one decent size chicken. And, of course, we will never run out of toilet paper because I buy 36 rolls at a time. It helps to have a garage. Buying in bulk wouldn’t have worked in NYC.

But I still shop at Publix for some items I shouldn't buy too many of and BJ's doesn't have everything. Also, their fruit is disappointing. They are fine for onions and potatoes (we use a lot) and tomatoes, but grapes, apples, oranges, are a crap shoot. I have stopped buying those at BJ's.

If, somehow, I am not doing this right, someone please fill me in.

xx, Teal