Last weekend, I took my family to “Steak & Shake” Restaurant.   We had a coupon from one of those ever popular entertainment books.  I was proud of myself for remembering to use it, at least until I noticed the “Mercedes Driving Coupon Clipper“!  Over the past few years, we decided to keep our entertainment books in the car, that way if we forget to take the coupon out of the book, or forget about the coupon entirely, it’s just a matter of having someone run to the car to bring the book in.

Back to my story…  So we finished our meals and I went up to pay bill with a $2 dollars off a second meal when 1 meal of $5.00 or greater was purchased.  Since there was four of us, the coupon was nice but not earth shattering as my bill still came to over 21 dollars.  Of course I used my trusty Citi Diamond Preferred rewards card as usual, so the amount off the bill was a little more than the $2 but again nothing to write home about.

However, I was patting myself on the back with my coupon ninja skills, when I noticed that the family in front of me was taking a really long time!

Mercedes Driving Coupon Clipper

As I stood there in line, I noticed that the mom, dad and teenage son were an very handsome family.  I supposed that the son played sports since he was a few inches taller than I was.  The mom was attractive in a classy kind of way with cloths that looked expensive, but one never knows these days…

But the dad (the one paying the bill) caught my attention the most.  While he wasn’t dress poorly, he wasn’t dressed as nicely as the mom and son.   He was soft spoken and patiently waited for the cashier to get her manager because of the complex grouping of coupons that he had.  Once the manager came over, the man proceeded to explain how the coupons worked and the discounts that each entitles.  I was impressed that he know with such exact detail what each coupon was worth and the expiration date on each.

While I don’t remember the exact amount that he paid, I do remember it was close to but less than 10 dollars (9 something), and that I was impressed.  As the family left, I was subconsciously confused, but I didn’t know exactly why.

The Parking Lot

It didn’t hit me until I got to the parking lot, at that point I realize that the family were probably very well off!  Of course it helped that as we got to our car, I noticed that man and his family driving off in a high end Mercedes Benz!

My wife asked my what I was chuckling about as I got in the car.  That’s when I told her that this was the first time that I’ve even seen a Mercedes Driving Coupon Clipper!

Later after getting home and letting what I saw spin passively in my head somewhere deep in my subconscious, my thought came to my active thoughts!  The man was both rich and frugal because it was a game for him!

I should have noticed that he was enjoying the game that he was playing as he explained each coupon to the manager as if he were trading a valuable baseball card with another collector!

After a seemingly long 5 minute transaction with the manager, how the entire family seemed happy as they left the restaurant instead of being flustered as the typical customer (including myself) would have been!

I don’t know if I would have figured it out had I not seen the Mercedes that they drove off in.

Perhaps this is a more common occurrence than I realized.  It would also explain why Warren Buffett isn’t to proud to use coupons.  Even though it’s obvious that he doesn’t need to…

Readers have you ever seen or heard of a story like I experienced?  This should make us all realize that money is money, and if we can get something for less we shouldn’t be shy about saving a buck to two extra off of a purchase!  After all, if the very wealthy are looking for good deals, why should we do the same?

Needless to say, I was very impressed with the Mercedes driving coupon clipper…

-MR

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