Don't pay sticker price

All weekend long there have been radio ads hyping this article. It will be next week before I can actually read the whole thing, but I wanted to post anyway. My gut tells me there are some useful tips here.

Sorry I have been so MIA lately. I am slammed. I hope this insanity ends soon. I miss my updates.

Hope you enjoyed the snow, if you got it.

Health Insurance

This blog began as tips on how we survived. Here is a tip I wish we had known, it would have saved us DEARLY.

I complain to husband regularly that his company's health insurance is the worst. The Worst. He swears its not that bad, its just that my previous employer, whose insurance we were under from the first day eligible until my husband's new job plan came through, was THAT good. I learn everyday how good my old employer's insurance was. I wish I had realized it at the time.

This is my tip. Should you find yourself in a situation where you are on COBRA and your spouse gets new insurance, do not automatically jump ship. Obviously COBRA will run out and the new employer has a limited window of when you can join. But, if you determine that you can join during the open enrollment period later, and continue on COBRA, check out the numbers.

We are now paying out of pocket nearly twice as much as we were on my COBRA. That would not be bad if the service was the same, but its not. Had I to do this again, I would have stayed on COBRA (which we were allowed to do), and waited until the open-enrollment period with my husband's plan, we would have saved hundreds of dollars and had better care.

Lesson learned (not that I hope to ever be in that boat again!)

No Special Diaper can required

Here is a tip, since I just "did" this.

If you are a mom, or new mom, or soon to be mom, you do NOT need a fancy diaper trash can. I regular trash can with a top will do.

We received a Diaper Champ for my son's shower. We used it for awhile but from day one it was a joke. When my husband got his new job last fall the FIRST thing I went out and bought was a new trashcan. We put the dirty diapers in here, first wrapped in the plastic bags we have bursting from the seems we get from CVS, the grocery store and the like. We also use the bags from bread, buns and anything else we receive to put the dirty diapers in before putting in the trash. Between this and a stick up, his room smells better (read: not at all) than it ever did with the Diaper Champ.

January cannot end soon enough!

The highlight of this month came on Tuesday when my nephew was born! I have *six* nieces who I love dearly, but now my son will have a playmate close in age and he can have a partner in crime to commiserate with since I suspect my niece (his mom, so yes, he is a great nephew...but my hair ain't purple, I don't smell, and my pantyhose don't fall down, thus I am not a "great" aunt!) and I have similar mothering tactics so both boys will be scarred for life...ha!

Aside from this, in January we carried a balance on our credit card, were charged overdraft fees at the bank, got the annoying WRONG letter from our mortgage company, had a small fire which resulted in the loss of our dryer for at least three weeks, and barely saw one another since I was doing my freelance work at night. I don't think February will be much better, but I can hope.

We carried the credit care balance for the first time in I don't know how long because I wanted piece of mind. We could have paid this off, easy. But our savings took such a hit in 2009 I was just not comfortable having "that little" in the bank in case something happened. It will be paid off by March, unless we win the lotto, and our savings will remain in tact. I don't like this, I dread opening the Discover bill, but I don't want the other shoe to fall and us be up a creek. Gotta love the holidays!

The overdraft notice from Wachovia was a real shock! I monitor online daily. Unfortunately a check took longer to clear than expected so that when we used our debit for three purchases (all under $10) we were charged $22 EACH TIME in overdraft fees. A fourth charge was because of a refund, go figure. I immediately went to the Wachovia branch nearest us and asked the manager to review our credit and to take pity on us. She did, sort of. Since it wasn't a bank error, she only refunded half, or $44. I can live with this. I immediately put the $44 in savings, so we are still feeling the pinch of the fine, but at least we are getting some benefit from it.

The good people at Sears finally came the other day. I waited 8.5 hours. They are coming back on Feb. 9 to fix. I am not happy with them or the situation. That's about all I can say.

One of my biggest beefs with January though has been my utter lack of time. No time to post here. No time to scour for deals. I still owe thank you cards for Christmas presents and have a thank you gift that has been sitting on our kitchen table waiting to be mailed since the middle of December. I keep telling myself that tomorrow I will make it to the post office. I hope that's the case, but realistically this thing won't go out until next week, sigh.

I hope February is better. I hope by then we have found new homeowners and car insurance. I also think we need to get some affairs in order, we have a toddler and still don't have a will. I know, I know. We need to get our wishes down on paper. I also want to be able to write here more, not just my musings of recent days/weeks, but also the deals. Several Blue Patchers have emailed me deals and ideas and I haven't had a chance to follow up and that makes me sad.

Next month, next month! As I said, January can't end soon enough.

My Shinola List

I say Shinola because this is a family friendly blog...but you get my drift.

First up, it is 3:54 pm. I should be on my way to visit two of my girlfriends back home in Baltimore. This was a new years resolution, see more of each other -- such as once a month -- sans kids, than we did in 2009. Instead I am waiting on my couch for the Sears guy to come and tell me what is wrong with my flaming dryer and when they will REPLACE it. Forgive me if I have no desire to have a fire-laden dryer repaired. He was due here between 8-12. I have called several times, been hung up on and told they have no idea. This last operator apologized, called the repairman unprofessional and said I was "next." We'll see. I am fuming though, this day has been utterly wasted.

Next, the good people at Wells Fargo. They have our mortgage. We have never missed a payment. NEVER. We pay more (not much, I admit, but still more) than the monthly minimum. So imagine my horror and dismay when we received a letter from them yesterday saying they would begin foreclosure proceedings against us if we didn't give them more informaton about our finances! HELLO? I called and was told, even before I asked anything that our records and bills were current. She wanted to know what she could help me with. I calmly told her I didn't understand why I got this letter, and in no uncertain terms let her know I was less than pleased having received such letter. She apologized and said it was a form letter.

We have been trying to refinance our mortgage or modify it under the Obama plan from last winter. So far we have been turned down. Ok, fine. Turn us down, but that doesn't mean we are now defaulting! One day we will refinance, and as God as my witness we will never have a mortgage with Wells Fargo again. Ever.

Finally, Travelers Insurance. I have been with them since I was a renter in DC. I was always proud of them and the work they did. I felt my monthly premiums were ok because they offered piece of mind. Wrong. Despite being told by two people at Travelers that our balcony assessment would be paid for its not. So here is several more thousand dollars we don't have to pay for something I thought was covered.

Today my husband sent me the names of insurance companies as I had asked him to, and I am going to begin finding us new coverage. Whats the point of insurance if its not going to have your back when you are specifically told "take out policy x, it will cover that" and then it doesn't.

I send you this rant today for your own money saving reference. First, make sure to read the fine print. I don't even want to think about what Wells Fargo would have done had I just ignored that letter. Second, when dealing with insurance, either homeowners, car or property, make sure to have an ample supply of patience. If I had actually taken off of work today to be home, I would be even more irrate than I am now.

Ugh...ok, 4:05 and they are still not here.

Money magazine and credit cards

Last month when I was scouring amazon and other sites looking for good deals, I took advanatage of one for myself -- $5/year for Money Magazine. I was afraid it might be too money-wonkish for me, but so far the first issue has mostly been managable.

They mentioned this site, lowcards.com, as a good place to start looking for credit cards with good APRs. I know this time of year everyone has new years resolutions to lower credit card debt and the like, so wanted to pass along. I checked out today briefly and it appears to have some good information.

Hope that helps.

Coupon codes, deals and more

This has been a nutty week. I haven’t had the chance to post as much as I would like. Now, its 10:30 on Saturday, my Providence College Friars just chocked against the University of South Florida and my husband is playing Wii.

Time to get crackin’ on posting as many deals as I can. First up, the deals that came to my inbox:

1. Macy’s $6 bra sale, click here
2. Gap printable coupons, pick your savings, click here
3. 100 FREE 4x6 pictures from Snapfish, just for buying one thing (and that could include another pix!). Just enter code PRINTSNEW at checkout. Click here for website
4. Michael’s 25% off shopping purchase Sunday (today by the time I post this), click here

And here are some of the deals I found on other blogs this week. Here goes, first up these are courtesy of For the Momma’s
1. Coupons for Kraft products, click here
2. Listerine Coupons, click here
3. 20% off of shopping at Big Lots, click here
4. Rite-Aid Deals, click here
5. Free 8 x 10 picture from Picture People, click here
6. The Limited: $15 off $15 purchase, click here
7. Free Baby Einstein Music Download, click here

Next Up, these are thanks to Kansas City Penny Pinchin’ Mama
1. Printable coupons for Quiznos Subs, click here
2. Disney Store Outlet, save 25% through January 25! Click here
3. Gluten Free Coupons, samples and more, click here
4. Yankee Candle, $10 off $25 purchase, click here
5. Shutterfly, 3 photo cards shipped for $1.01, click here
6. Bathroom items printable coupons, click here
7. Kohl’s 15% off shopping pass (expires Sunday, Jan 24, sorry for short notice), click here

This is thanks to Thrifty & Chic Mom
1. $1 off Laura’s Lean Beef, click here

BeCentsAble is responsible for these two, so thanks!

1. Walgreen’s Deals of the Week, click here
2. Veggie Tales DVD for $2.99 shipped,click here

As always, if you have a problem with a link let me know…its been a long week and I am new at this “link” thing.

Have a great rest of weekend! Happy savings….and Go Jets, destroy the Colts!

Saving for college

One of the keys to our savings last year was "never seeing the money." Meaning, we wrote out a budget with what we had, and ANYTHING that was left over from that was immediately transfered online to savings. Yes, there were some months where my calculations were a little closer than I would have liked, but we would not have had the money otherwise to help us when we really needed it.

We are trying get our son in daycare for a final 3rd day a week. My contract work has picked up and this past week I had several near-all nighters to get the work done on time. Instead of just absorbing the money that we would spend on his daycare, I have decided that we are going to begin adding to his wooefully underfunded college savings account each time he doesn't go to daycare. So yesterday this is exactly what I did. The beauty of online banking, assuming you keep religious track of it, is that its painless and easy and you never miss the funds.

While I know the money we put in this week won't even buy a single textbook (assuming they still have them when he goes to college), its better to have that growing for him now, since it would have been spent on him anyway had daycare been an option, than using it for books, magazines or a fancy dinner we don't need.

Public Safety Announcement

Hi faithful Blue Couchers,

Sorry this week has been a blur. I don't remember being this busy since college. I just keep my eye on the ball though: more work for me = more money in the bank = bigger home for the Monkey by years end. I admit this could be a pipe dream, but I can still dream, right?

I will have more posts this weekend, but wanted to get this out there. Please make sure you have a working smoke detector AND fire extinguisher. Our dryer caught on fire Thursday night. We are fine, no real damage (except to dryer).

But this expereience taught me that we have some powerful folks upstairs working on our behalf (how many times have I left the house with dryer running? gone to sleep with dryer running? what if I had been home alone with our son and this happened?). We have a working fire detector, which is how we were first alerted (the noise was god-awful), and we used our fire extinguisher for the first time EVER. Our home was smelly, our son seemed annoyed at the whole thing, but other than that, nothing serious. We are VERY LUCKY!

So PLEASE check your batteries and make sure you have a fire extinguisher. Friends have also put in plugs for CO detectors, and I ordered one immediately that night from amazon, will have installed as soon as it arrives.

Good days and bad days

I know I have written about these before. But tonight was a bad night. Not really bad, but bad in the sense I paid all our bills and realized just how "poowr" we are. I hate it. We had a pre-heart to heart where we agreed we just aren't going to be spending anymore money. The problem is, and this is incredibly frustrating...my husband makes at least 10% more than I did when I was the only paycheck, BUT his health insurance is the worst! And as a result, no joke, his take home is less than what mine was!

This is incredibily frustrating and when I do our monthly bills I just get angry and depressed. I will get over this, but I wanted to write just so you know its not always peaches and cream. I try to stay optimistic and happy but some days, well it just.....

Hope you have a good week.

Safeway

Coupons in the actual ads of grocery store circulars are becoming one of my favorites, especially Safeway.

This week their circular had coupons that allowed me to pay $1.49/lb (not a typo!) for boneless/skinless chix breasts and $.99 for a box of Chewy Granola Bars, my favorite is the S'mores. Combine this with the savings I was able to get with my Secret Savers report (miss it, I can still email it to you, just let me know) and I am feeling pretty good about our food shopping.

Safeway was also good about accepting my return. Last week they had a 10 lb bag of potatoes on sale for $1.99. Potatoes are supposed to last awhile, at least two weeks. But when I opened the bag on Thursday night, it was filled with "eyes." To say I was annoyed would be an understatement. I had to then go spend $2.99 for premade Harris Teeter mashed potatoes for the Shepards Pie I had already committed to making by thawing ground beef.

While getting the great deals on chicken and granola bars (I had a third coupon but for the life of me can't remember what it was for), I also returned the potatoes. I think the GM thought I was a bit nuts, but who cares! So I now have a new 10 lb bag of potatoes and lets just say we will be having lots of mashed potatoes this week, and I may even have to look for other recipes to use the potatoes in.

You can't be embarrassed and you can never be "too rich" to make sure you get the most for your money...and if you buy something that is no good...return it! I didn't have the receipt, but he knew they had been on sale just that last week, and all I wanted was an exchange. Its only $1.99, but I would rather have that for a coffee down the road, than not :)

Happy Saturday....GO RAVENS!!!! (And in case I am offending readers in the Indy area...I am from Baltimore, so no matter who the Irsays, er Colts, were playing today, I would be for the OTHER team. The fact they are playing the Ravens makes this game all the more crucial!)

Monster coupon code list and other deals...

Happy Friday...here goes, just in time for weekend shopping! (If any of these links don't work right, please let me know. I have never posted so many before, so am hoping nothing got lost in the mix!

First up, my own finds..wide range:

Old Navy, Save anywhere from 15% to 25% off online with code SAVE123. Click here for more info.

Kohl’s, 20% off, enter code Extra20 click here

Yankee Candle $10 off $35 purchase. Printable coupon, click here

Restaurant.com, get 80% off use code INDULGE click here

Free Aveda Sample Pack click here

Dennys 20% off printable coupon click here

PepBoys 10% off service printable coupon click here

Firestone Oil Change for $21.99 printable coupon click here

Bed Bath & Beyond $10 off $40 purchase printable coupon click here

Kodak, 20% off photocards order of more than $15. Use code LOVECARD click here

Babies R Us and Toys R Us: Lots of deals! Slew of printable coupons here And both stores have sales going on too! Click here for BRU circular You will need to change location though since I plugged in my own zipcode. Also covering my bases, for Toys R Us flier, click here

Gap 20% off printable coupon, click here

Now, some of my favorite blogs' finds!

These three come thanks to For the Mommas!
For the Mommas">Walmart Deals
Safeway Deals My own note though, she doesn't mention what I think is the best deal of all...$1.88/lb boneless chicken breasts! Time to stock up!
Publix Deals

Another favorite is Nicole's Nickels, thanks for these!
Winn-Dixie Deals
She also has some tips on Coupons in upcoming magazines, click here

KC Penny Pinchin Mama brings you this deal from Borders Books, click here.

Finally, Moneywise Mom brings you these tips on making Starbucks at home cheaply! Click here.

Free Taco at Taco Bell

Good today, Friday, only. Printable coupon, click here.

Old Navy printable coupon

This one expires today, but just in case you wanted to run to the store on your lunch break or tonight. Click here

Free Drink at Barnes & Noble

Coupon expires Friday (Sorry I just found) Click here

Lost the battle but *WILL* win the war

Two years ago we were warned that an assessment was coming down the pike of our homeowners association. I immediately bought insurance called "loss-assessment." I explained to the seller the details and the myriad of reasons this could happen and what we were expecting. She assured me that if we were assessed we would be covered.

Sure enough we were assessed. The saving grace is that the assessment which was originally rumored to be anywhere from $10k-$20k will "only" be about $2,500.

I called the insurance company on Saturday and explained the situation. I was again assured that my plan did indeed cover the assessment. I needed to talk to a claims representative, but in the words of the woman I spoke with on Saturday, "they'll handle it." The 'they' being the insurance company.

Today we got word that, no in fact, they are not covering it!

I spoke to the claims rep AND his boss. They now claim that I was sold a bill of goods and encouraged me to call back the policy line and see if I could get my money back for that part of the policy for the last few years. Gee, thanks guys.

I told them, and I was dead serious that if they did not cover at least a portion of this we were walking. Period. This is the 2nd major expense we have had as homeowners in the last four months that they have not covered. They have excuses, but my real problem is WHY WAS I TOLD TWICE IT WOULD BE COVERED?!?!?!!?!

All they said was sorry.

My husband now has a new job, because I D.O.N.E dealing with them and the insurance industry as a whole. I am going to give him a list of the things I want in coverage. He has until the end of the month to find us new cheaper coverage.

Doesn't matter we (and before me, when I was swingin' single gal renting in the big city) have been with this company for nearly 10 years. They don't care and now not only do I not care about them, I refuse to pay them. And since I know in my core we can get insurance for less, this is the last straw. I had been staying with them (both home and car) because of this pending assessment. Now, there is no point.

Will keep you posted.

Dannon yogurt for 20 cents!

And Rice-A-Roni for 33 cents a box!

Find out how in the first installment of secret savers. Its a special bit of news that only goes to those who sign up by sending me email at mary(dot)bluepatches(At)gmail(dot)com I wont sell your name or harass you, just don't want to publicize too much :)

My financial diary

I belong to a pregnancy board online where a bunch of wonderful friends from all across the country, of all ages and races, creeds, socio-economic levels, business levels, you name it...belong. I love these ladies. One of them coined our Internet board as a virtual diary, where we confess everything, no judgments.

Well, this is my financial diary. I am lucky to be working again, but as I mentioned earlier, right now I am slammed. So tonight on the last night of the Harris Teeter big sale, I had to decide between getting to bed at a relatively decent hour (my aim is 3 am) and not save a boatload, or save a boatload and be exhausted and risk not finishing my work by tomorrow's deadline.

I reluctantly chose to stay home and work. I kills me how much money I am not saving, although I am also not spending it either, by not making the sale. But I went with keeping my contract which will pay us decent money, that in the long term was the better deal. But, dear diary, I am still very sad.

Am getting back to work now. Please don't forget to email me if you want to be included in my super-secret money saver email list.

When it rains it pours

I have luckily been able to get some freelance/contract work, but of course it all comes at once and right now I am slammed. My deadline is tomorrow at noon, and it will be nothing short of a miracle if I make it. I will, rest assured, but it will be miraculous :)

BUT...I had a great money saving experience last night. For a host of reasons I don't want to publicize on the blog, so have decided I will begin sending out "secret" tips. If you want to receive these secret tips (and I will explain why I don't want to broadcast to the masses, but it should be obvious when you see it) please send me an email at mary(dot)bluepatches(at)gmail(dot)com I will establish a list-serv and when I send these tips you will be in the know.

Rest assured, I am not selling your email, or doing anything else with it, I promise. Just trying to get the word out, without telling too many people. This list-serv WILL ONLY be for the secret deals I want to share, which considering this is the first one in the five months (!!!) I have been blogging, means it won't happen often, so don't worry you won't get spammed.

More tomorrow (assuming I haven't crashed on my bed in a deep sleep!)

Techincal issues...

I started a post on Saturday but just finished now. You can find here, for whatever reason Blogger pasted it when I started and not in chronological order.

The wisdom of friends...

Good morning! I hope you all had a great weekend...we did. My husband was in Texas for his best friends wedding and our son and I stayed here in Northern Virginia and tried to stay warm. Great playdates with Jack, Owen and Jonah made the weekend a blast.

Substitutions: In case you have wondered as I have, can you substitute olive oil for veggie oil when baking? The answer from my friend Connie is NO! She made triple chunk chocolate brownies this weekend, a great treat in this cold weather. In her words, it was "a disaster."

On thing I did learn this weekend about substitutions though, how to make Buttermilk when you don't have it, and don't want to spend $$ for it when you only need a little bit. Here's how -- put EITHER a tablespoon of white vinegar OR lemon juice in a measuring cup. Fill the rest of the cup up to the 1 CUP line with milk. Let it sit for about 5 mins, stir and VOILA! Use immediately. I made this recipe (minus the pesto),added a few spices for taste and it was great! Enjoy.

New blog to follow: I will add this to my blog roll, but this shout out goes to my Emerald friend who like me is trying to save as much as possible. She is a real thrifty momma like me, and I know she will have good deals...especially for those of you in New England.

From my inbox to yours...

When I started this blog I also began signing up for every other like-blog as well changed all my online orders to this address so I would get as many "secret" deals as possible.

This will now be a weekly feature on Saturday, and any other days where good deals come along via my feeds. (Editor's note: I started this on Saturday, but am just finishing now. Will still try to make a regular Saturday/as warranted feature)

Happy savings!

Babies R Us: Free shipping on all items when you spend more than $100. Click here.

Aveda: Free Styling Trio-Trial Size AND Free shipping on orders more than $30. Enter code STYLE210.

Restaurant.com: 50% off their already ridiculously low prices AND an extra $10 gift certificate with every order. Enter code CHOW at checkout.

Lands End: Free shipping on orders more than $50, plus winter sale of up to 50% off PLUS an additional 10% off all sale items. At checkout make sure to enter Promotion Code JAN11 and the PIN 00001984 in the space provided.

Rite-Aid: Thanks "Cents"able Momma for this list!

Two of my favorite bloggers are Nicole's Nickels and KC Penny Pinchin' Mama. Both have great deals posted today. First, Nicole's Nickels has a big list of coupons.com available for print and use. Second, KCPPM lets us know Amazon is selling The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl for more than half-off ($11.50).

Target deals: BeCentsAble has a list (as well as some good pointers) for saving at one of America's favorite stores.

Two quick thoughts...

First, a good thing about this cold weather without the benefit of snow: You can leave food in your car for a few hours (or even overnight, although not recommended) and it won't go bad. We got home from a playdate last at 8:30 pmafter I had gone shopping beforehand around 5. By the time I got my son to bed, ate, caught up with my Mom on the phone and a few other things, it was after 11. I wasn't worried though. The frozen turkey and a few other items were all still plenty chilled.

Second, I subscribe to my own blog too. And lately I have noticed typos. I hate this. The editor in me really hates this. I will try to better. I know you are thinking 'no biggie.' But to me it is! I know the difference between too & to, there & their and a bunch of others...and can't stand when I leave out letters because I am typing fast. So I am sorry, you deserve better and I certainly know better.

Cutting the cord...

We pay about $85/month for our cable AND Internet. I threatened to leave Comcast last year and raised holy hell. They bribed me with lots of free stuff, such as a DVR, so it wasn't worth us to leave. Besides, we need the Internet, and I refuse REFUSE to go back to Verizon Internet ever again.

But...if you are thinking of going cable-free, which will certainly help you save some money, here is an interesting article. Full disclosure it features a Blue Patch reader and a former colleague of mine too boot.

Enjoy!

Numerous photo deals

I have decided I am never "just ordering" photos again. It seems all the various sites have tons of deals. Here goes the latest round up, just as we all finally begin to download our pix from the holidays.

Snapfish, 50 prints-50 cents. Extended through Jan. 11. Enter code NEWYEAR50 Ignore the fact the website says it expired yesterday. The email they sent me this morning says otherwise :) They also have 40% select gifts, click here.

Kodak is offering extra pages on its photobooks for free, until Jan. 21. Enter code EXTRAPAGES. They are also offering 35% off calenders until Jan 14, enter code CALENDER35.

Winkflash is offering 50 free prints if you are not a member, plus a .99 cent delivery charge. But it gets better. If you are already a member, and presumably if you are not, although you might need to sign up, they are also running a promotion for 5 cent 4x6 pix AND 10 cent 5x7 pix! Enter code SALE510, expires Jan 11.

VistaPrint, which ironically I have liked for years and just found out THIS WEEK that one of my friends works for (hi Jon!), has a deals on keychains (starting at $2.49), mugs (starting at $7.49) and mousepads for less than $4! The site also offers a bunch of FREE items, aimed at helping businesses grow.

Shutterfly is offering what appears to be a nearly system-wide 50% off sale, and free shipping on orders greater than $40.

And if you made it this far, I have to thank you! This is the 200th post for The Couch, and its because of readers like you...hope you have a great weekend and stay warm! Hubby is in Texas for a wedding and the high was supposed to be 35!! That's right, the HIGH in Austin Texas is going be 35..best wishes to Mike & Ella, btw..love you guys!

Northern Va consignment sale --THIS WEEKEND

Super-sized Northern Virginia consignment sale begins Saturday!

From the latest weather forecast, and this week’s temperatures alone, it’s clear winter isn’t going away anytime soon. Don’t miss this opportunity to stock up on bargains that will keep your children (newborns to college-aged) warm all season long and even has offerings for mommas-to-be!

Small Change, the family-owned and operated consignment store in the Lake Anne Village Center, is having its annual ½ off winter clothing sale, beginning Saturday! Winter coats retailing for $80 can be snatched up for as little as $20! And unlike many retailers, the shop has a large supply of winter boots, snow pants and other winter accessories – just in time for the next snow storm.

Owner Susann Gerstein, who opened the shop in 1981, said she only accepts clothing that is in “wonderful condition.” Some families are in their second and even third generation of consigning with her. Items likely to go fast include Abercrombie jeans (sized toddler to teen) and Hanna Anderson pajamas.

The Washington Post featured Small Change last year and the store just celebrated its 28th year in its original Reston-area location. Small Change will be open 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Saturday; normal business hours are 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday – Saturday. Gerstein recommends getting a babysitter, if possible, since the store is usually packed with bargain hunters who pile the clothes on as fast as they can!

For more information visit the website here; for directions to the store see below.


Directions from 495
Take the Dulles Toll Road west to Wiehle Ave. Exit.
Turn right on Wiehle Ave.
Go approximately 1.5 miles then turn left on Baron Cameron Ave.
The next traffic light is Village Road.
Village Road is a short street (½-block long). At the stop sign, look left and you'll see a sign for the Lake Anne Village Center. When you enter the parking lot it will seem wrong because you'll be facing the back of brick buildings.
Park and walk into the Plaza.
The shops wrap around the Lake.

Victoria Secret Sale

The website says free shipping after $75, enter code SHIP75. But WalletPop, an online money saving site, says its free (no minimum but only certain items qualify) with code FREESHIP.

They are having a bunch of good sales right now, from bras to panties, and other accessories. Click here for more details. Good luck.

Red Envelope 50% off sale

As part of their winter clearance they have lots of sales going on. This genealogy tree is half off, and a bunch of other items are comparably discounted.

The couch never advocates spending unnecessarily or just because, but if you have some shopping to do for birthdays, anniversaries or whatever, now is as good a time as any.

Questions for the couch

LE writes and wants to know more about freecycling. What will they take? How hard is it? Will they take magazines?

Yes, they will take magazines, and just about anything else! I have unloaded my Washingtonians lately, as well as some Time and some Cooking Lights. Since we just don't have the space, and I can't stomach pitching, I post here. My husband is amazed people will treak to get the magazines, or whatever else, but they do. And I have too. Got a "new to us" holiday door mat and am still considering the armoire I mentioned yesterday.

As for ease, its SO EASY! I often times just leave whatever it is someone is picking up in a bag on my door. I never see them. I have also picked up items, such as the black out curtain for my son's room, this way as well. No hassle, and unlike craigslist, no coordinating pick up time for payment.

Hope that helps...keep us posted on how it goes.

A new place to find coupons...

...at least a new place for me! (and perhaps you too).

If I have time to go through the circulars for grocery stores, I do. But I will be honest and admit this rarely happens. I got lucky yesterday though, and as such I may decide to spend more time doing this.

Safeway had coupons for $1.47 for a gallon of milk as well as another coupon for $.99 18-count eggs. You had to spend $20 in the store to be eligible, but considering we were low on just about everything that was not hard. I don't recall noticing store coupons in ads before. This is not the super saver prices or the specials of the week. This is a coupon that you have to physically present and is not advertised in the store, other than in this circular.

I'll try to scan these more often, and keep you posted. And if you still have your fliers from the weekend, check out and clip for yourself. I believe they are good through next week.

Harris Teeter coupons mega-doubler

From now (Wed) through next Tuesday (1/11/10) Harris Teeter will double coupons valued at $1.98 or less. So that coupon for $1.50 off, is now $3 off, etc. I can't decide if I like this deal or the triple coupons up to $.99 better...bottom line, this is a great week to shop! They also have some good deals on b/s chix, Special K, Thomas English Muffins, blueberries and Nature's Own bread.

Happy Shopping!

Freecycling

Today I unloaded a stainless steel bowl that we never use, magazines and sippy cups. I may have acquired the new armoire we need, have to go check it out tonight in person. Will keep you posted. I like that I am staying on track...even if it is only day 5, of my nothing comes in unless other stuff has gone out first rule.

The other major money saving idea that came to me, was more of an observation.

Not sure why I get the Pottery Barn catalogs, other than to torture myself. I mean I love the designs they have for adults and kids rooms, but seriously? We are never a) going to have a big enough place to accomodate their rooms or b) have enough money to spend on the designs...but what really struck me was how IMPRACTICAL some of the designs in the catalog were, like having stuffed animals on the changing table or blocks and a windowsill behind the changing table? Sorry for my rant, but when I noticed this, I couldn't help but think of how many people spend money on PB things and then get angry when their rooms don't look like the catalog?

One final thought, unrelated. I get a ton of emails from a slew of mommy-type bloggers with their deals. I only post the ones I have time to post, without sitting here all day at my computer and thus enlarging my J.Lo-like rear.

Free Cosmo magazine subscription

Click here. They go fast!

Thanks For the Mommas!

CVS photo deal and more.

Sign up and order your pictures through CVS and you get 50 for free. And if you ship them to your local CVS the entire order is FREE!

Also, if you get your prescription medication from CVS their website allows you to download a form you can use when doing taxes that will give you all the info you need when it comes to deductions.

Click here for more info on both deals.

Twitter

Not sure what possessed me to do this, since I barely understand how it works, but oh well. The Blue Patched Couch now also has a Twitter page. You can follow me at www.twitter.com/bluepatchcouch I will likely use this to update on sales I spot in stores or random thoughts (I guess thats why they call it tweets) from time to time. But if it becomes useful, might increase frequency. I sincerely have no idea what I will be doing on this, since I really just don't get it.

Here goes nothing.....

Ziploc bags

I think I may have written about this last year when I first started out, but I have been reusing my ziploc bags a lot lately, so it bears repeating.

A great way to save money is wash out and air dry your freezer bags. Also, save the bags your grocery gives you deli meat in, and reuse. These bags are EXPENSIVE. And as long as you didn't have a poisonous substance in them, you can wash out, air dry and reuse.

You can also simply reuse the same bag for frozen chicken or ground beef, instead of getting a new one out each time. Either leave the old ones in the freezer when they are empty (as a reminder) or take them out when they are low, and just fill up with the new meat. Either way, you can easily get three or four uses out of them, instead of one.

penny pictures

Between now and Jan. 7, Snapfish is running a promotion, 50 pictures for 50 cents. All you need to do is enter the code NEWYEAR50 at checkout. Click here for more info.

This is a great deal, and it ensures you get those holiday/snowstorm pix developed asap, instead of hogging up space on the computer or in the film drive.

A money diet

As you know by now I am a fan of Michelle Singeltary from the Washington Post. This excerpt from her new book was in The Post yesterday. Its a good read and I plan to implement some of it later this month. Will keep you posted on those results, but wanted to share for your saving benefit/planning as well.

Welcome 2010

Happy 2010! I am not sure I have ever felt so passionately about the expression, Happy NEW Year! This year has to be better than last year, it has to be.

I follow a fair amount of blogs that offer money saving deals, as well as a bunch of moms like me just trying to save a few bucks. For the new year many have listed their resolutions, and others have a slew of deals on everything from soup to nuts. As I said last week, I am going to make a real effort to ensure I write something original daily, as well as include money saving deals that come my way. If there is something special you are looking for, let me know...otherwise I will just post what I think is interesting, hehe!

My 2010 resolutions:

1) Make a monthly budget. Believe it or not we have never done this. I just figured out how much was coming in and shoved things into that amount like you shove a small-sized shoe on your foot, and hoped for the best. We have been lucky. Not going to rely on luck anymore. Since this next paycheck my husband receives will be he first one we can really budget off of, the time has come.

2) Renegotiate our car insurance and cell-phone. I expect savings from this, substantial savings.

3) Space equalizer. Nothing other than food comes into this house unless it is replacing something that has already bee shipped out. We simply are running out of room. I have been using freecycle a lot this week, plan to keep that up.

4) Refinance our mortgage. We bought in Nov 2005, the "height" of the housing bubble. We will be lucky if the value has returned by 2015. We can't stay here forever, so we need a set mortgage and then look to renting for however long we can.

So there you have it, my resolutions. I'll keep you posted. Happy New Year!!!