Deal Finding Folies - Getting Over Register Nerves

I am brand new at this. I've been couponing and deal finding for about a month and often make mistakes. I have gotten better as the weeks go on, but the biggest challenge to me is not actually finding the deals but executing them at the register of the store.

At first, and still a little now, I got SO nervous at the registers. I tend to be...not so much shy as just I don't like to draw tons of unneccesary attention to myself. Well, guys and girls, when you walk up to a register with a cart full of items and 20+ coupons in your hand, prepare for attention. I can often feel people boaring holes into the back of my head with their looks of disgust at having to wait on the cashier to ring my dozens of coupons. And then there are the times that the coupons don't ring up correctly, a manager has to be called, I got the wrong size product for the coupon...There have been several times that I can feel my face getting red as I fight a feeling of embarrassment.

So, I have come up with a few small tricks to make that difficult part of the process a little more breezy:

• First, I try to stay VERY organized. I use an Excel spreadsheet to keep up with my items and what my total SHOULD be to make sure that everything is rung up correctly. I use that spreadsheet to remember what the prices should be as I watch the monitor to make sure they coincide.
• I also make sure to always have a copy of the store ad with me with the pages dogeared and the items circled that I am purchasing. That way I can quickly and easily reference it if there is a disagreement on price.
• I try to find the register not with the shortest line but with the youngest cashier. The older the cashier, the more they seem to some reason care that you are getting such substantial discounts. The teenage/early college students don't really pay much attention let alone care. I've never gotten much flack from teenagers whereas there are times that the older cashiers seem personally offended for some ridiculous reason.

The first few times that I did this, I got so flustered at the register and ended up spending way more than intended. So, calm down, breath deep, and if you are like me, try to remember "why does it matter what they think."