Economic Stimulus

Ever since I discovered coupons, I do way more shopping than I used to. I "buy" (without paying much, if any) products I used to think were too expensive. I buy things to give away to friends and food pantries. I buy junk food to cater to Nathan, and organic food for myself - things I used to think I couldn't afford.

Last week I bought 20 cans of organic crushed and diced tomatoes and 10 bags of organic frozen vegetables - all for under $20. By shelf prices that would have cost me around $70! Now we are really stocked up on canned tomatoes, which is great since I use them for spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, and lots of soup bases. I also got four containers of hummus - two of which are organic - for under $2; usually it would have been $14.

This afternoon I picked up some granola bars (for me), fruit snacks (for my young violin students to practice making 'tables' with their bow hands), cold cereal (for the food pantry), and canned soup (for the food pantry). I spent $25.50 and got $27 back in coupons for my next grocery shopping trip. Not bad!

All this shopping is encouraging the exchange of goods and cashflow from manufacturers to stores. Meanwhile, minimal cash leaves MY pockets and bank account, meaning Nathan and I can save for stuff like living The American Dream.

I'm starting to think that I AM THE ECONOMIC STIMULUS PACKAGE.