Should I ever write a book.....

...it will be entitled There is a Special Place in Hell reserved for Wells Fargo.

My dislike for this megabank is well known. The latest episode involves their new fees. I knew they were coming, but expected some sort of warning. Wrong.

This month they began charging us an overdraw fee of $7. Not because we overdrew on the account, but on the offchance we did in the future. I noticed it because I checked my statement. That's the reason for this post. Make sure you always check your statements.

I have asked my husband to go online and download our bank statements going back five years this weekend. Come Monday I plan on closing the account. We use USAA as our primary bank and have been thrilled ever since we made the switch, so dumping WF (or actually Wachovia is the brand name of our bank, but as they never forget to tell you -- they are a Wells Fargo Company) is not a big loss.

Bottom line: CHECK YOUR STATEMENTS! No one should be paying fees in this day and age. If your bank does, find one that doesn't. There are lots out there, start saving!

Its Free Cone Day at Ben & Jerrys!

This deal runs through 8 pm tonight, check out all the info here.

Be creative with cooking...sometimes it works

And last night was one of those nights. Turns out my addiction to Food Network paid off. The best part, I didn't spend a dime on anything different, just used what I had.

Rosemary Wine Pork Chops.

Three boneless pork chops, purchased in bulk from Wegman's a few weeks back.
Splash of White Wine
Bigger splash of olive oil
Sprinkle healthy amount of rosemary (probably two tablespoons)
Less Garlic Powder
Pinch of salt

Place all ingredients in a plastic bag. Marinate on counter to room temperature for about 30 minutes. Grill on oven top griller for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through.
Enjoy!

I served with instant brown rice that I added some frozen veggies to. It was a pretty yummy meal if I do say so myself, and since no left overs, hubby clearly agreed!

National Parks are free next week!

Just in time for spring break, and don't we all need a break right about now!!!!

Take your kids, your SO or your friends...or even go it alone. Our parks are gorgeous and what better way to see them when they are FREE! All the information is here.

Sugar content!

I bought a bottle of Sprite today. I don't do this often, but couldn't see a bottled water and was thirsty. I was stunned when I saw the sugar content -- 64 g!!! Lesson learned, no more real soda for me, pregnant or not! I am adding this here because this should serve as a money saver to all...check the sugar contents of your sodas, if they are too high, don't buy!

Women's golf deal -- 50% off

This deal is especially for Marie!

Thanks to Penny Pinchin' Mom for the h/t!

There are a slew of deal websites out there such as Groupon, Living Social, etc. This comes from Eversave. Buy a $25 "deal" and get $50 worth of credit from JGolfandSport.com This deal runs through Tuesday at 8 pm EST. Click here for the details.

Sporting News Magazine -- $4/year subscription

From one of my favorite sites, BradsDeals. More info here

A note about Groupon

This came up in an email conversation with a friend this weekend. Groupon is one of many websites that offers a slew of deals for the savvy consumer. Many (falsely) believe these deals are only good for 24 hours.

THIS IS NOT TRUE!

Many Groupon deals are good for 48-72 hours. Make sure to read the fine print. If the deal sounds good, but you want to find out more (such as if this is good in your area, if your spouse would enjoy, if you really need more furniture, etc.) wait and digest the deal. Giving yourself the extra time that Groupon allows will likely save you money and allow you to choose wisely.

Coffee tip

This is one I have mentioned before, but have started using again in full force, especially since my taste for coffee has (finally!) returned :) It's worth a repeat mention here.

We buy a big container at Wegman's, I think its about 35-40 oz or so. It's generic regular coffee and on its own, its not bad at all! But we received as a gift a pound of French Vanilla from Dunkin Donuts (the best coffee on the planet!). Each morning I add one scoop of the DD to the 2 or 3 scoops of Wegmans. The taste is incredible and just what we need to get the day going.

The container I buy from Wegman's costs around $7. I have seen a similar container at Costco for around $9. Target sells their big one for around $6. I haven't bought coffee by the pound in a bag for years. You get so much more for your money this way, then buying the bag. And it also saves you return trips to the store since the bags are gone in less than a week.

Friday's deals

Woohoo! Two days in a row :)

Going through my inbox these are the deals I found so far....enjoy!

Groupon (DC area):$100 sunglasses for $49! I am a big fan of Groupon for deals that are of value for you. Sometimes they have deals that are tempting, but you don't really need. For me, this one "sounds" good, but since I make losing sunglasses an Olympic sport, I will pass. If you haven't signed up for Groupon in your area though, do. Its free and as long as you have self-control, it can't hurt.

CVS: They have a few photo deals. The one in my inbox says 9 cents/each for 4x6 prints, with a minimu of 50 pix. Promo code 9CENTPRINTS

RESTAURANT.COM: I love this site! My inlaws came last night and at the last minute we went to dinner. I got a $25 gift card for $3!!!! If you want to same deal, use code PLATE between now and Sunday. Yummy!

Yes...we are still here!

But the original Blue Patched Couch is long gone!

That's one of the many many changes we have encountered since I last wrote. I am sad that its been nearly four months! Where does the time go? Oh I know, life gets in the way and before you know it seasons change, babies grow and life evolves.

These observations aside, I do hope that I can get back in the swing of writing and saving, both of which have taken a big hit of late (more on that below). The updates:

1. The original BPC was laid to rest in late November, 2010. It was a wonderful couch and served a fantastic purpose. We will always be grateful to our friends A&E for giving us a perfectly good and extremely comfortable couch! However, after seven years and a very active toddler, it was time to move on. Specifics aside, I think all parents know what I am talking about, some stains and smells just can't be removed and I simply didn't have the energy to keep patching.

Our new couch is a blue sofa-bed. I will admit its not as comfortable to sit on as the old one, but the sofabed makes a world of difference! It has been affectionately dubbed "Auntie Kerry and Auntie Cory's" bed by The Monkey because they were the first to stay here. And this winter we have needed it!

2. The Monkey will be a big brother come fall! How we are going to manage 4 people in our 800 sf escapes me, but somehow we will. I had dreams of moving to a larger place and renting our condo out, and I still have these dreams, but right now its not in the cards. These last few months I have been so sick and tired. And The Monkey as well as my husband have also had their own sicknesses, that this place has been nuts. On top of that I am going back to school to get my teacher certification, so my free time has been negligable. Literally.

3. Our savings have taken a hit. We still have money for an emergency, but if you remember last summer we had to have emergency bathroom work done that was big money. Well we put that on credit because I didn't want to deplete our savings to pay for and we still have this (plus a little more) debt. We are making progress though and I think we should be well on way by the end of the year. I am being honest about this because while we are no longer debt free there are some expenses you just can't not pay, and this was one of them. We could have paid it off in full but we have a zero % credit card and we weren't comfortable not having anything cash-wise in the bank. I hate carrying the balance, but my sanity is better off because we did it this way.

I have been doing some freelance work to help make ends meet and we are managing to save a decent amount of this money, right now its about 20 percent after childcare is paid for, so thats good.

I sincerely hope I can back in the swing of finding deals, sending them along and letting you know how we are making ends meet. I have missed this.

Happy Savings!