Any other day of the year I was happy with hand-me-downs, but the first day of school? Even my underwear was new. I still remember in the tenth grade a friend wore dirty, black hi-top converse on the first day. That, I thought, took guts. It also made me realize that not everybody could afford to have new clothes.

But I digress. The stash that I am currently excited about is not clothes but a huge bag of toiletries. I used my coupons from TheCouponMaster.com at Target!

I redeemed 15 coupons totaling $17.25, bringing my bill to $32.74. (Incidentally, I still had to pay 9.75 percent California sales tax on the full, pre-coupon amount.) I paid $1.79 for the coupons, bringing my savings to $15.46 ($17.25 – $1.79).

Yes, I broke my moratorium. But I decided letting a wallet full of coupons go to waste – the ones I used all expire in July – was very un-Bargain Babe-like. However, as reader Tammy suggested, I am going to hide these items away until August in observance of the moratorium. This is the most sensible solution, I decided.

I would not have gotten this big of a deal without befriending the Target cashier. Most of the coupons say only one can be used per purchase. I was prepared to make separate purchases if need be. Turns out my placement in line set the stage for a score.

The person in front of me was a Target employee buying clothing with her employee discount. She started talking to the cashier about a local celebrity that had walked into the store wearing a *very* short skirt and a *very* low-cut top revealing her fake “pillow bags.” Naturally, I joined in the conversation. As soon as the celebrity left, everyone surrounded the cashier, who had rung her up, to gossip.

The cashier swiped the employee’s purchases and asked for her employee number.

“How big is the employee discount?” I asked. “Should I get a second job?”

“It’s not too bad,” the employee said.

“But they are getting more strict,” the cashier chimed in. “Now you have to show your ID card, not just the number.”

“Oh yeah?”

“My son tried to use my number – he is my designated shopper – but he didn’t have his ID card on him. I asked him how much it was. Just $30. I told him I would give him the $3.”

So the Target employee discount is 10 percent, I thought.

“Every little bit counts,” I said.

The cashier, who has a second job, agreed. She works 7 days a week but has Friday evening off, she told me.

Then she started to ring me up.

“Speaking of every little bit counts,” I said, “I have some coupons I’d like to use.”

I had set out my 15 coupons with my odd collection of deodorant, shampoo and facial cleanser.

She looked at the coupons, then she looked at me. I smiled.

“I guess I’m in one of those moods,” she said, scanning all the coupons. “But you know you’re only supposed to use one coupon per purchase (per item).”

“Thank you,” I said, swiping my credit card. “Enjoy your day off.”

To prepare myself I am:

• buying toiletries like deodorant (I ran out and used an extra of Hubby’s. It’s no fun smelling like a man.)
• filling up my tank (getting through the month on one tank in LA will be a stretch)
• treating myself to a salon treatment with the extra cash I have this month

For those of you who think my spending moratorium is hurting the economy (there were 6 of you at last count), I encourage you to spend more in July to make up for my cutbacks. And please, let me know what you buy! I’ll include it in my regular updates about the moratorium.

If you are joining me on the moratorium, please email me!

Ground rules for my spending moratorium:

Allowed purchases include rent, one tank of gas, groceries, utilities, my Internet and cell phone bill. My automatic monthly savings withdrawal remains unchanged.

Business expenses, such as flyers or postage, are allowed.

During the moratorium I’m allowed to use any gift cards I have currently have in my possession (either previously purchased or received as gifts).

I’m allowed to receive gifts as long as they are a true gift and not a way around the moratorium. In other words, I’m not going to ask my friends to pay for me during the moratorium in exchange for paying them back come August.