Coupons...

A friend was over for a visit yesterday and we started talking about using coupons. She sees absolutely no point in using coupons and prefers to just buy everything she needs at a dollar store. I have no problem with that but was trying to explain to her that with a little effort she could be getting stuff for free. I explained to her that shopping the way I do is actually the same as getting paid. For example, yesterday I went to CVS and purchased about $65 worth of stuff. After my coupons and rewards I paid $17 for the items but I also received $24 in Extra Care Bucks which are the same as cash. This mean I got the items essentially for free and paid paid $7 on top of that. I then take those Extra Care Bucks roll them into another deal and get more stuff for free. That particular purchase had a higher out of pocket expense than normal. I usually spend less than $5 for $70 in items. She thinks it is too much work and yet complains about how tight their budget is.