Adventures in Couponing!

On a recent grocery shopping trip, my husband and I tried to stick to our list and use coupons whenever possible. (The list was the general, "what do we need/use" list. I haven't quite graduated to full-week menu planning yet.)

This took a bit more planning than usual for our trip. Originally, we were thinking about going grocery shopping on Saturday, since we wouldn't have been to work in the morning. But, he suggested we wait till Sunday, and see what coupons we could use from the paper that day. This meant that we would have to go get a paper on Sunday morning.

So, between laundry, coupon-clipping, and actually enjoying time together, shopping got put off. We are lucky in that we are not about to starve by delaying a shopping trip by a day or two.

We opted to go to the Kroger near us, and set off! Even though we've lived here for close to a year now, between going to different stores and admittedly less than organized shopping trips before, I am still learning the layout of this Kroger, which did lead to some backtracking and scrambling to look for coupons. After doing this a couple of times, I stood off to the side of a main aisle, mouth open and squinting at the directional signs, putting the relevant coupons in order as best I could, saving produce/frozen/dairy for the end. (Yeah, I know this goes against the "shop the perimeter of the store for whole food/cheaper foods" method, but it is what it is).

Having the coupons in this order did make the rest of the trip go more smoothly. A coupon wallet or organizer of some kind would be very helpful in keeping track of the coupons by brand, product type, expiration date, or whatever organizational method you find convenient. I just had an envelope full of the things. I do know that within the last year or so, my mom gave me a coupon wallet, but I can't find it. I blame moving.

We moved through the store slowly, and all told, ended up spending an hour and a half in the store. That doesn't really bother me, but that amount of time in a grocery store is not my husband's idea of time-well-spent. Hopefully, as we get into the swing of this couponing thing (if it should stick), we'll get more efficient, too!

This shopping trip was a fairly routine weekly type of trip, with other things, like soap, medicine and TP, thrown in. In fact, this trip would probably suffice for 1.5-2 weeks, all things considered.

Even if we had a coupon for something, we didn't just blindly grab that item. We still shopped the store. Were we sticklers for that brand? What are the stipulations for that coupon (did we have to buy 2 to get the savings)? Did the coupon make the unit price lower than the store brand or another brand? All of this resulted in more than a few coupons being relegated to my back pocket, possibly to be used at a later date.

In total, we saved about 30% of our total bill (according to the handy little calculations at the bottom of our receipt). It was not all straight coupons. We used our Kroger Plus Card, which yielded by far the bulk of our savings - about three quarters of that 30% was thanks to the store club card. Kroger also doubles manufacturer's coupons, up to $1. So, any coupon that we had an used, that was less than $0.50, got doubled. This is, honestly, something that I forgot to take into consideration as we were shopping.

A few things that were on the list didn't make it into the cart, b/c they were more general, "it'd be nice to have X on hand" and not necessary items.

All in all, I think that it was a successful shopping trip, and a successful foray into the world of couponing. We both have a better idea of what is actually involved, and how we can work to make the coupons work for us.

I see coupons in our future!

Fun with a Slide Show!

Here, we have a slide show that claims to show painless substitution to save you money.

1) Tights - buy non-designer instead of designer tights. Yeah. Seems a bit obvious to me, but then again, not sure I wore a single name-brand piece of apparel when I was growing up. Perhaps this particular tactic is a part of my childhood skill set.

2) Grocery store - buy store brand instead of brand name. Often, yes. For me, this is where couponing, should you do it, coupled with things like grocery store club cards, and comparing price per unit/ounce/sheet comes into play. A coupon does not always make a name brand product cheaper, but conversely, a store brand product isn't always the most frugal option either. Making the switch from name- to store- brand products that you purchase frequently will certainly help to bring down your overall bill. So will smart shopping. I guess my approach isn't so much painless as it is time consuming. :)

3) Movie Rental - opt for Netflix, not the brick and mortar store (if you can still find one). 5 bucks month for two movies (what they suggest) won't satiate the movie viewing appetite at my house. Honestly, we've recently discovered the joys of Redbox. The selection isn't always great, and outdoor locations do make on the spot browsing a bit chilly right now, but at a buck (plus tax) a day, it is far friendly on our wallets. We've also found out that you can search individual machines online and reserve specific movies. It does require a credit or debit card.

4) Coffee - froth the milk for your latte at home. Seems that they are suggesting a pseudo-latte, depending on your definition of latte, by brewing your own coffee, then adding the frothed milk. Substituting at-home coffee for cafe-coffee is always going to be a money saver. If you choose to go the route of buying a frother for the home, just make sure you research the appliances, and buy one that suites your needs, without breaking the bank.

5) Mail - pay bills online (automatically) instead of ponying up for stamps to mail them. Paying bills online is certainly a great way to eliminate paying for stamps and envelopes, and helps to cut the amount of paper you use. Scheduling online payments also helps you control when the money will actually be taken out of your account. All good - my sticking point is a personal one: setting up automatic drafts. A great idea in theory, especially if you are salaried, and always paid on the same day/date. If your pay amount or schedule is subject to change, automatic drafts feel risky to me. It can also be a pain to try to cancel automatic drafts once a service is terminated.

Having worked at a gym that sold auto-draft memberships, I fielded my share of phone calls from ex-members who were still being drafted. Sometimes it was their fault, sometimes ours, sometimes the bank. Also, we currently have our car insurance automatically drafted from an account. When we moved, we sold one car, and took it off our policy. Or so we thought; a random audit by the insurer placed the car back onto our payment plan, and for a few months, we were charged for a car that was 600+ miles away, titled under someone else.

*And*

6) Drinks - drink at home with your friends before going out. Or don't drink? Haha! Alcohol is expensive. Alcohol at a restaurant is mind-boggling. At a time when ordering a soda or iced tea (or sweet tea!) at a restaurant can easily add 2 or 3 dollars to your bill (per person), ordering one alcoholic beverage can be like adding a whole other entree! If drinks and friends are the motivation for going out, starting the outing at someone's house could be a more frugal alternative. Of course, this is provided that you do so responsibly, knowing your limits, and always having a designated driver, or alternate method of getting home. A cab ride is always going to be cheaper than driving drunk.

So, what do you think? Are these suggestions truly a painless way to make a few substitutions and save a bit of money? Are my critiques too heavy handed?

Carpool cool

As a way to procrastinate and learn about frugal blogging, I've been reading other blogs, archives and all. In doing so, I just came across Suddenly Frugal's "Carpooling in the Real World" post (from 2007 - see, archives, I told you!).

One thing she says is that she doesn't think the traditional notion of office workers carpooling really works in today's world, because of satellite offices, varied work schedules, and the variety of after-work commitments that people have. She does talk about carpooling for kids/after-work commitments as being green, frugal, and socially productive, especially for the kids!

Personally, I think that even with satellite offices and non-traditional work hours, carpooling can work, as long as the carpoolers can be flexible. If Person A doesn't need to be at work until after Person B, then Person B is simply dropped off first, and contents themselves to waiting to be picked up. Or Person A arrives early (which could mean starting work early, or taking advantage of the down time to read/eat breakfast/something), and knows that s/he will have some time at the end of the day to wait as well.  This isn't the most time efficient method, but it can still work.

On days when I don't take the bus, or drive myself to work (or before we had two cars), this is similar to what my husband and I do. He'll drop me off, and go on to work. I get to work on time, if not early, and have time to wrap everything up before he gets here. Getting me to work on time forces him to get up and get ready earlier than he would on his own (he is not a morning person - at all!), and he ends up being on time, if not early.

For us, being early is not a bad thing. We'd rather be early than late. Especially to work.

As a bonus, sometimes we have time to have breakfast together, either at home or at a restaurant (sure, not frugal, but it feels special to have breakfast - reminds me when we would do so in TX, before school). When we do have breakfast, sitting together feels is like a reflective respite before we start our days.

What are your feelings on carpooling (when public transport is not a valid option, of course)? Is it an outdated mode of transportation, or the coolest thing since sliced bread?

Recipe Thursday: Vegetable Beef Soup

Sheesh! I need to remember about Recipe Thursday before Thursday is almost over!

A few nights ago, we had soup-from-the-freezer for dinner. (Can't tell you how happy it makes me to be able to pull a fully cooked dinner out of the freezer to thaw the night before.)

I will do my best to recreate the recipe and method-to-my-madness that lead to a yummy soup.

It started with mangled pseudo-pot roast left-overs. I tried to pot roast a cut of meat that shouldn't have been pot-roasted, so it was dry, but perfectly edible. Also browned some ground beef, and sauteed some onions. Added a container of homemade stock (which might actually be broth, I may have my lingo confused) from the freezer (ideally, thawed, but in reality, sometimes I lazily let it finish thawing in the pot), and then water as needed to make sure the meat and onions were sufficiently covered.

Chopped up a few carrots, and added those.

Let it boil for a few minutes, then simmer for about half an hour or so. Really, as long as you keep an eye on the liquid level, you can probably let it simmer for an entire day.

Towards the end, I dumped in roughly a cup each of frozen corn and frozen peas (I love these things!), and let them thaw/cook in the soup.

Salt and pepper to taste. A bay leaf or two would be a nice addition.

The soup was tasty, and I didn't even add Worchestershire sauce to mine! I think I'm getting better at judging water amounts, and how long to boil turkey/chicken carcasses for stock/broth.

Apparently, I like making soup now.

What about you?

Death and Taxes

The only two things for certain in life, right?
I got a new job in 2009. A good job with amazing benefits, making a bit more money. This meant that when the husband and I set out estimating our tax bill, we were convinced we had under-paid throughout the year, and would end up owing money. Enough money that we would started a separate "Tax Bill" savings account right then and there.

Well, since that day, our taxes have actually been done, and we can expect a refund! Sweet! much prefer to get money back, as opposed to owing.

Last year, our taxes were split between Texas (no state income tax, or car-as-property tax) and North Carolina (state income tax, and car-as-property tax). Receiving the car property tax bill in NC at the end of November was a rude surprise, but shows the importance of knowing tax laws where you live/are moving and of having some sort of a cushion or reserve money. Also, last year, our federal refund roughly equaled our state bill. So, we came out even. Not bad. Even is still preferable to owing.

Now, I am quite happy about the prospect of getting a nice little chunk of change back sometime in the next 4 to 8 weeks, but it reminded me of something a professor I once had said. No, not a business or econ professor (two subjects I happily, although stupidly, managed to avoid in college), but a music professor.

Before my gen. ed. music class started one day in April, those of us who were early got to talking about taxes. I don't remember much of the actual conversation, aside from my professor stating that he tried to work it so that his refund was around $100 or less each year. I asked why. His reason was that way he knew he wouldn't owe money, but he would also be able to actually use his money during the year.

In the years since, that is hardly the only place I've heard the argument for arranging to receive a smaller refund. I've heard about, and read articles that call tax refunds "interest free loans for the government." Or this article, which does also address the "refund as savings plan (bad idea)."On the other hand, receiving a sizable refund check allows people to make substantial student loan payments, put money down on a home, start an emergency or retirement fund, or go on vacation.

Really, I am of two minds: 1) I really could use the money I earn as I earn it. Kind of need it, actually. (2) As much as I think I need the money as I earn it, I really, really don't want to owe money come April.

In years past, I was a student, or transitioning to or from being a student, or working different jobs, or moving  with such frequency that it was difficult to plan out what my annual income would be, and therefore what my taxes owed would actually be.

Now, though, with the aforementioned good job, we are more stable, and have the luxury of being able to tell in advanced what paychecks will be, and annual income. As I think about it, my music professor had a good idea: work it out so that you get a small refund, that way, you know you won't owe.

I still have the mammoth compilation CDs from that class, but aside from said CDs, that brief conversation is about all I really remember of the class.

In which camp do you fall: do you want to receive a big refund, or no refund?

Food Waste Reduction Challenge Week 4

Fourth and Final Week.
And I'm late in my tally.

I had forgotten to include a handful of mini-homemade biscuits in my last challenge post, so I should include them  here.

There was some more waste when eating out. I try to order only what I will eat, or take home the leftovers, but it doesn't always work.

That may have actually been it.

We may actually have our food waste under relative control. Not going to throw a party quite yet. Have to see if this is something we can maintain.

Have you been participating in the challenge, officially or unofficially? How has your food waste been this past month? Any plans to continue reducing your food waste?

Where did Monday go? And more on Honey.

Over the weekend, we house-sat for my dad and step mom. A great way to have an inexpensive mini-weekend away. We did spend for gas to and from their house, and ate out a bit more than normal, but, all in all, a lot cheaper than a hotel! Plus, seeing as it was a family home, that we have previously visited, we were comfortable there.

That's really an aside though, and the reason for no Monday post. I was in transit.

Between my recent business trip and this weekend away, I was confronted with the question of how do I transport my attempt at sustainable and earth-friendly personal hygiene.

The honey that I've been using to wash my face comes in a large jar. It is pretty tasty, too. I had two reasons for not just packing up the entire jar. One: it is big. I didn't want to be carrying that all around, and in and out of people's homes and hotels. As it is, at home, I take out of the jar roughly what I need. The jar stays in the kitchen. Two: I figured that my husband would not appreciate being deprived of honey while I was gone.

I was also completely out of commercial face wash, so just taking an old bottle or bar of that was not possible.

Off to the store with a Christmas gift card I went. I bought a squeezable honey-bear of honey, and put it in my toiletry bag, slightly amused.

Using the plastic squeeze bottle of honey was a bit easier for application than what I had been doing at home (spooning out sugared honey into a small bowl, and scoping some up, as needed with my finger). I could just squeeze what I needed onto my finger, instead of guess-timating.

What I noticed, though, is that my skin was happier at home than when traveling. Could be a number of things, like the constant change in temperature, humidity and the general stress of traveling. What I suspect, though, is that it has to do with the fact that the honey at home was sugared, and therefore was exfoliating and cleansing; and the fact that for my business trip, I had left the tea tree oil at home.

So, I've deduced that my skin like regular exfoliation, and regular application of tea tree oil. I don't use the tea tree oil every time I was my face, but have been aiming for at least once a day.

As far as my jojoba and vitamin E moisturizers - the jojoba oil I have is in a small bottle, so that is transportable enough, and I just threw a few vitamin E capsules into a bag (one pre-stuck with a pin) and was on my way.

Recap:
1) Honey is still working out well on my face, and I'm happy with it.
2) Learned that my skin likes regular exfoliation, and tea tree oil as an acne treatment.
3) For all my fretting, traveling with this regime is surprisingly easy (I almost always forget something!). And, if I want to exfoliate on the road, I'm sure that I can always just mix some sugar and honey together in my hand.

Et voila!

How do your toiletries usually travel?