My Buzz
Starts on Sunday afternoon
Just after I buy more papers
I get euphoric at the thought of rolling a few fat catalinas
I've been perfecting my craft
You'd be amazed at what you can learn to do on the internet.
Got my first taste last year
Small at first,
A way to pass the time, maybe make a buck.
I remember my first few deals
Looking nervously over my shoulder the whole time
Then a few more each week, and a few in between
Now I loiter at the local drug stores
More days than not
Jonesing for a fresh score
They know me now
"It's THAT guy."
I could stop if I wanted to.
That's what I always tell myself before the rush wears off.
But why would I?
When I need quantity I order direct
Skip the middleman
It's cheaper that way,
So it adds to the profit.
And why not?
Habit's got to be sustainable.
And after all, I'm frugal.
When my package comes
Heart races
Thick brown envelope
US mail
No return address
I bring it inside to open
What would the neighbors think?
Little hand tremor
Make a thin slice along the very edge
Don't want to damage the goods
Inhale, long and slow
The smell heightening my senses
Pupils dilate as I slide out
My new stash
Of Sunday news coupon inserts.
Cause I'm a junkie, but I'm slick.
I track the deals and the sales
I'm a shopaholic who doesn't spend money.
Exploiting the system for personal gain.
I stack Manufacturers coupons with Store coupons
on top of Sales,
And then get Rebates.
So that sometimes
They pay ME to march their stock out the door.
I shoot up
To the register
With whatever gives the full price back
And then, I hand over a coupon.
So I'm earning more back in credit than I pay out of pocket.
I bring home more crap this way.
17 tubes of toothpaste
A shoebox of deodorant
Number 2 pencils
Bayer aspirin, 5 hour Energy shots
All free, or better.
I live dangerously.
I clip coupons for junk food on an empty stomach.
I'm not afraid to fill the checkout counter with Monistat, personal lubricant and a dozen pink packages of pantiliners
If that's what it takes.
I know I'll profit a buck on every one.
Earn more in five minutes at the register than the cashier makes in an hour.
And walk out with a bag of loot.
I'm flying here.
I can tell you when 50 cents off one is better than a dollar off two.
And vice versa.
Why "Buy one Get one" sales always trump half price.
How the grocery catalina deals (Buy $25 worth, get $10 voucher back)
Have mind-blowing
Exploitable
Loopholes
I roll them,
One into the next
Sale, coupons, voucher, Free.
Or better.
It's a numbers game.
And an opiate.
I once boastd
About bartering at a flea market.
Saving 10% buying the store brand.
Free shipping at Amazon.
I sold myself short.
Try a hundred percent, plus overage.
When was the last time you walked out of a store
With $280 worth of groceries in your cart
And $20 more in store credit vouchers
Than you had in cash when you walked in?
For me?
Last Thursday.
And Wednesday, twice.
$800 of something, for nothin'
And it was legal.
My Buzz
Starts on Sunday afternoon
Cause that's when I buy my papers.