Coupon$ense and Cinnamon Toast Crunch

If you haven't heard about CouponSense, you need to. I love it. It is this company that charges a monthly fee to match up all the store ads with current coupons that you accumulate by way of an online database. Michelle and I have been CouponSense customers for about 3 years now. We save a lot of money (usually about 70 to 80% when we are really working it). In fact, I am to the point now that if we actually are not being compensated in some way for going grocery shopping, it just wasn't a good enough trip for me. But it is a lot of work - for both of us. Mostly Michelle, but sometimes me. I hate the fact that there are free deals out there that I might be missing out on. So, grocery shopping has become like work.

Basically, the idea is that when something is on sale at a particular store, you match it up with a coupon and the item becomes very inexpensive. For example, this week, there is a great deal on cereal at Safeway. I don't know all the particulars, however, I do know that Michelle came home with about 60 boxes of cereal and didn't pay more than about $15 TOTAL.

Here is my dilemma: when is enough enough? My boys both love Cinnamon Toast Crunch. They would eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner if we let them. And sometimes we do. Well, I came home from work tonight and went to our pantry (actually it's an entryway closet that doubles as a place to put all of our CouponSense spoils) and it was entirely stocked with Cinnamon Toast Crunch. I saw a few shelves of noodles, some cake mix and fruit snacks (which are free this week as well). But for the most part, it was all Cinnamon Toast Crunch all the time. Of the boxes that I could see, I counted 17 boxes. My guess is there are many more.

Will my children ever be able to finish that many boxes of CTC? And do I want them to? Intuitively, I know the answer to both questions should be a resounding NO! However, my fear is that not only will they finish all 17 or more boxes, but I will be the one behind them as they stuff their faces cheering them on.

Because the truth is I love free stuff. And as long as there is still free Cinnamon Toast Crunch out there, I want it. I need it. I must get it. So, my children will continue to eat Cinnamon Toast Crunch three times a day until there is room again in my pantry - you never know what will be free next week.