Every Saturday, Jose and Cleo went grocery shopping together—a tradition built on love, routine, and Cleo’s towering stack of coupons.
This week, Jose pushed the cart with the enthusiasm of a man heading to jury duty. Cleo, meanwhile, strutted down the aisles with her coupon binder like it was a weapon.
“Jose,” she said, shoving a coupon at him, “this one saves us 50 cents on soup. Grab six cans.”
He grumbled but obeyed. Five aisles later, she stopped. “Wait—this brand is two cents cheaper. Put the soup back.”
Jose’s eye twitched. “Cleo, we’ve been here for an hour, and the only thing in the cart is your purse.”
Finally, at checkout, the cashier rang up the total: $48.72. Cleo beamed and handed
over the coupons… all of which had expired last year.
Jose stared at her. “So… we wasted two hours, bought nothing we actually needed, and saved zero dollars?”
Cleo patted his arm. “No, Jose. We saved our marriage—because this way, you didn’t spend that time in the garage ignoring me.”