The cashier at Kroger who told me to my face that my couponing was 'a waste of time'

I was standing in line at the Kroger on Elm Street last Tuesday with $87 worth of groceries, and I had clipped coupons and stacked store deals to get it down to $52. The cashier, an older woman named Carol with gray hair and reading glasses, rings everything up and then looks at my total and says, "You know you're just buying stuff you don't need to save a few bucks, right?" She said it loud enough that the guy behind me chuckled. I just stood there feeling like a fool for a second, but then I thought about how my credit card debt is down to $3,200 from $14,600 in 18 months partly because of this habit. My husband says I should just explain my method to people when they judge, but I usually freeze up. Has anyone else had a stranger or even a friend call out your debt payoff strategy and make you second guess yourself? What did you say back?

2 comments

2 Comments

blair_lewis854d agoMost Upvoted

a waste of time"? seriously? that cashier needs to mind her own business, congrats on killing that debt

the_seth4d ago

Hot take but she might have a point lol. Slaving away at side gigs while you could be networking or learning a new skill to increase your income is a tradeoff. Some people burn out doing DoorDash for $15 an hour instead of tackling the real issue which is low earning potential. Not saying debt payoff is bad but there is a difference between being frugal and being broke with no plan.