A good shopping day...

Wow, I am sorry. I started this post Friday night and no idea where the time has gone. I know I have been slammed recently and the next week is not likely to be any better, but hope once this insanity dies down, I can get back to regular posts.

So FRIDAY was a good shopping day. First, I learned that Bed, Bath & Beyond lets you double dip coupons. Meaning, if you have one from them for $5 off and another thats 20% off, as long as you have two items (or more) you can use both coupons. Before when I tried this they always told me either or.

I did some serious (well as much serious as you can with a toddler) shopping at Target. I saved receipt to do some comparison pricing with the other generic brands. I was disappointed though, their cereal bars are about 50 cents more than Trader Joes. Yes, you get two more, but not worth it to me...at least not yet.

I also returned my aluminum foil. For whatever reason they sell 50 sf of foil for the same price as 75 sf. So exchanged my 50 for 75. They were fine about it, since I had receipt. Another example of how it is important to always save receipts.

Costco came in super handy as well. Was able to buy Word 2007 for a project I am beginning in the next few weeks, and it was about $30 less than what I would pay at Staples or Office Depot.

Finally, on Sunday, Nov. 1, I made a resolution. This time next year we will be living someplace else. I am going to scrimp and save as much as I can to make that possible because our 800sf of love is just too small for an active toddler. And its not fair to him.

Hope you all had a nice Halloween.

It was always the little stuff...

The first time I was laid off, it was the parking that galled me. The second time I was laid off it was the fancy dinner only a few weeks earlier.

One of the best lessons I had in my journey toward ultimate penny-pincher, was being laid off. It was very easy for me to think of ways my bosses could have saved money instead of giving me and my colleagues the ax. With this foundation I have looked at every expense we incur in the same vein. The (not-so) recent poll I posted is case and point.

It's my time to "upgrade" my phone. Verizon keeps calling ad nausea um to have me do it automatically and recommit for another two years. Since I have been with Verizon for 10 years -- that fact scares me -- the likelihood of me switching carriers is slim. Still, I don't want another long contract, unless I have to. I considered getting a BlackBerry since Verizon has a super sweet promotion right now, buy one at $49.99 and get the second free. How life would be sweet if I could gchat and update Facebook while at the playground or sitting on couch watching "Yo Gabba Gabba."

But to upgrade my service would cost an extra $30/month on top of the already $70/month we pay for our cell phones. That works out to an extra $360 (plus taxes) a year. I'd rather have that money for a car payment or to go toward my (never ending) student loan.

When I asked in the poll who paid, it was to get a sense of how many people pay for this service themselves. It's one thing if work wants you to be constantly available, but to pay the extra money yourself, why? This is an EASY thing to eliminate if you are looking for ways to cut back.

But Mary, I can't live without email????

Try texting. And guess what, your friends can "email" you there instead. I know with Verizon my number @vtext.com arrives as a text. And this was Twitter before Twitter, since it only allows 160 characters. And when you text, you can always email as well, just manually add the address. Unlimited texting varies by plans, but I know I pay $10/month. Before you go calling me pot, I *could* live without it..believe me, it was definitely on the top of the list had my husband not been hired when he was.

People told me my ideas for cost cutting with my previous employers* would never work, it would save too little. I disagree. Perhaps these tips would not have saved the jobs that were lost in the end, but I think they would have ensured shared sacrifice and an awareness of the gravity of our economic situation. When you are aware of the situation -- really aware -- you work to save.

As you are looking for ways to save, especially since the holidays are approaching and we will all have extra expenses that add up, think about your cell phone. Do you need to email all day? Do you need to have unlimited minutes? Have your family and friends call you at HOME first, and if its not an emergency, just leave a message.

***It needs to be noted that my most recent former employer did a fair share to keep me on. While I was ultimately let go, I do not fault them and hold no bitterness. After all, they hired me 7.5 months pregnant AND gave me maternity leave. The same cannot be said about my initial layoff. Two years later, I still have a draft email to the head of the company in my email. It will never be sent, but I will likely never delete it either. Their absolute lack of appreciation for reality is what has driven their stock prices down 85 percent from the date I was initially hired in 2003 until today. It is a perfect example of why the economy -- both in broad terms and individual finance -- is in the shape it is.

Freecycle.org

Ok, I heard about it for awhile, but never checked out. This past weekend I signed up and wow!

They have everything listed from nearly-new shampoo to clothes to furniture. You can sign up by region so you get a very specific and targeted area of postings. Rules apply, but what a great resource!

I get an email about 2-3 times a day and just scan. I plan to use a lot once I get a handle on all our clutter. I decided after visiting my friend, while our home will never be Martha Stewart clean and stylish, it *must* be organized. I tackled the kitchen (with help from the husband) over the course of a few days...so it can be done.

If you have used freecycle let me know your experiences.

Costco vs...Round 1

In the baby category, at least diapers and wipes (and NOT the aforemnetioned clothes), Costco loses big.

Target sells 704 wipes for about $11. Costco sells 900 wipes for $18.

Costco diapers are under $40, but since they are like Huggies -- so says a very trusted reader -- they won't work for us, because Huggies leaks (I still love their new commercial though with the running Dad) we will stick with Diapers.com.

*** Target adendum

Yesterday I talked about saving my TJs receipt, or I should say not saving it. For the last week or so I have been saving a Target receipt because I *knew* I was overcharged for aluminum foil.

As I was shopping during my trip in peace, I calculated in my head how much everything was going to cost in the end. I read that 50 feet of Target foil was $1.79 (or so). But when I got home, I noticed I had been charged $2.69. Today I went back and checked. Turns out the 75 feet foil is $2.69. I must have the 75 feet option? When I got home I checked. Nope, its 50 feet.

I'll let you know how that return trip goes. And since I ran out of foil tonight, chances are that trip will be sooner rather than later.

Pumpkin Bread

Trader Joe's has the best pumpkin bread! It seems everyone else agrees with me because they have been out of it almost since they got it in early October. I usually buy two or three boxes at once just so we have on hand and the mood strikes me to make it (total price is $2.99 and its super super easy!)

I bought two boxes the second week of October and when I opened the box, it was clear it had already been opened on the inside. Doh! And I hadn't saved receipt. Ugh. So I waited. And waited. And waited some more. Finally last night my husband was going to go shopping in the strip mall with TJs and I asked him to buy me a box. He did.

Today I went back to TJs and returned the box along with the receipt from yesterday. I know not the most honest thing, but $3 is $3 and its not like I could buy TJs Pumpkin Bread at Giant. Turns out though, the guy didn't even look at receipt! Just told me to go switch it out.

It took me less than five minutes.

The moral here is 1) Save Receipts -- I know I need to get better about that, and 2) take the time to return things and not just "waste" them.

Back from Connecticut

Had *the best* time with my old roommates. We all had our children within two months of each other so it's a blast to see the kidlets grow and play!

Sorry to have been away so long, that was not the plan. Here are some observations from the last week.

Costco is cheaper than Babies R Us, and likely other clothing stores as well. EXACT same pajamas with footies (green with monkeys) is $7 at Costco, SALE price at BRU was $10. I was stunned. Will likely buy more clothes from them in the future.

I have turned into my mother :) In this case, that's a good thing! Growing up, we always packed sandwiches for car trips. ALWAYS. And last week I did the same. Packed a lunch for my son and myself. I was not about to spend $15 at some rest area for food that he may not eat, not to mention would not be very nutritious. So instead he got a 1/4 ham (that I just broke apart and fed him, some applesauce and raisins. Total cost, under $4. As for me, I took leftover bagels from a Sunday brunch, got my own turkey deli meat, and had a great sandwich which would have easily cost $8 had I bought at the store...and which never would have been available at the stop on the NJ Turnpike.

Magruder's coupons keep coming! This week I got one for a free Hot Chocolate. There were others too, but since I was offline for a week, the emails added up, so didn't go through as religiously as I would otherwise.

Happy Monday, it's good to be back home.

Frugality, yesterday's news?

Happy Monday! Hope you all had a nice weekend. Here in NoVa we were pretty much drowned rats.

Short post tonight.

First, saw this article today in Washington Post. Ironically I was just talking about this very issue with a girlfriend yesterday. I sincerely hope this is not the case.

On Saturday I had a rare trip to Target where I was not rushing around and did not have my son with me. Unfortunately it was 9:30 at night and not only was I exhausted from a long day of cabin fever inside our 800 sf of love with a sick hubby and a rambunctious monkey, the store was just about to close at 10, so I didn't have that much time. What I noticed though really surprised me.

For example, Yoplait yogurt is regularly .52, this is significantly cheaper than all the grocery stores I have shopped in. Some will have this as a sale price, but not a regular price.

Target brand tomatoes, the ones I would use make pasta, are less than $1!

There were others too, but I can't remember. There were also much more expensive items as well.

Bottom line, I have decided I need to plan a trip to Target sans son and not up against a time clock, so that I can really examine their prices more closely. I might have to make it one of my must stops.

Following up on last week's Magruder post, I did receive my coupon today for $1 gallon of milk. Also in the same post, I talked about reusing my green peppers from a Chinese delivery order for pasta sauce and Shepard's pie. The verdict: can't tell the difference. I washed off all the kung pao sauce and both items turned out great.

Finally, I off tomorrow to visit my old roommates for a few days. They are doing super loud construction here and not only can my son not nap, but I can't think. I will have sporadic Internet access. I am going to try to post while away, but if not, that's the reason.