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A Slow Cooker Thanksgiving
9 months ago
Sunday, March 14, 2010
20% off Disney Outlet ends today
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Anniversaries
This weekend marked two important anniversaries for us.
First, on Friday my husband and I celebrated our five-year anniversary! It was also the six-year anniversary of him getting down on one knee on The National Mall. We have grown a lot, changed a lot, and become a much closer family in these five years. I have no idea what the next five years holds, but am excited for the journey and glad we are partners together. At the end of the day, the only thing I really need is him and our son.
Second, on a less happier note, Saturday marked the one-year anniversary of my attempted layoff. This was the day out of nowhere it seemed to me that my bosses decided the economy had hit its worst and several people had to go. Including me. I said no. I literally begged for my job, because with an infant son and an unemployed husband I had no choice and nothing to lose. I took a 33 percent paycut and managed to get a stay of execution of almost exactly two months.
While I had always been a saver, this event put my savings into high gear and really helped us lay the foundation for when the ax finally did fall. During this past year, we have had periods of no credit card debt, eaten homemade EVERYTHING and didn't go out AT ALL. We now have minimal credit card debt that could easily be paid off tomorrow, but because our savings took such a hit during the layoffs, I want to build up the next egg a big. The $20/month we pay to carry the charge is well worth the piece of mind.
Our saving goal now is to get out of here. Get out of this condo. As I have said before I love our 800 sf of love, but for three people - notably a growing, climbing little monkey -- it is simply too small. I pray that happens this year.
Now that my major project is over though, my main goal is to get back to writing here as I did before. I will begin posting more often the hot deals I find and the little nuggets I use to keep our balance sheet in the black. I appreciate my loyal readers more than you know, because in many ways you keep me on my toes.
Happy Spring! Lets hope that 2010 blooms a little bigger, brighter and happier for all.
First, on Friday my husband and I celebrated our five-year anniversary! It was also the six-year anniversary of him getting down on one knee on The National Mall. We have grown a lot, changed a lot, and become a much closer family in these five years. I have no idea what the next five years holds, but am excited for the journey and glad we are partners together. At the end of the day, the only thing I really need is him and our son.
Second, on a less happier note, Saturday marked the one-year anniversary of my attempted layoff. This was the day out of nowhere it seemed to me that my bosses decided the economy had hit its worst and several people had to go. Including me. I said no. I literally begged for my job, because with an infant son and an unemployed husband I had no choice and nothing to lose. I took a 33 percent paycut and managed to get a stay of execution of almost exactly two months.
While I had always been a saver, this event put my savings into high gear and really helped us lay the foundation for when the ax finally did fall. During this past year, we have had periods of no credit card debt, eaten homemade EVERYTHING and didn't go out AT ALL. We now have minimal credit card debt that could easily be paid off tomorrow, but because our savings took such a hit during the layoffs, I want to build up the next egg a big. The $20/month we pay to carry the charge is well worth the piece of mind.
Our saving goal now is to get out of here. Get out of this condo. As I have said before I love our 800 sf of love, but for three people - notably a growing, climbing little monkey -- it is simply too small. I pray that happens this year.
Now that my major project is over though, my main goal is to get back to writing here as I did before. I will begin posting more often the hot deals I find and the little nuggets I use to keep our balance sheet in the black. I appreciate my loyal readers more than you know, because in many ways you keep me on my toes.
Happy Spring! Lets hope that 2010 blooms a little bigger, brighter and happier for all.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Stories about couponing and lots of useful websites
This story comes courtesy of Blue Patcher Erin in Connecticut. I am cutting and pasting since not sure the link will work. The women profiled mention lots of good places to find coupons. Not sure I would hoard that much toilet paper or powdered juice drinks, but to each their own.
Happy reading!
Hard Times Turn Coupon Clipping Into the Newest Extreme Sport
Penny Pinchers Deal for Discounts;
By TIMOTHY W. MARTIN
Wall Street Journal
March 8, 2010
Erin Libranda Coupon clipper Erin Libranda of Katy, Texas, after she saved more than $1,000 on a midnight shopping trip to two supermarkets.
.
Under a futon in her Charleston, S.C., apartment, Stacy Smith has stashed boxes of soy bars, bags of potato chips, bottles of vitamin water, canned vegetables, soup, barbecue sauce and antibacterial wipes. Her bedroom closet is jammed with soda and shampoo, her bookcase with garlic salt and meat marinades.
News Hub: Consumers Crazy for Coupons3:54The redemption of coupons spiked 27% from 2008 to 2009. WSJ's Timothy Martin has more insight on the craze, which appears to be about more than just saving money.
.
No, Ms. Smith isn't stocking up for a hurricane. The 39-year-old's apartment is stuffed with groceries because she's one of a growing flock of "extreme couponers."
These discount devotees have formed vast online communities that collectively unearth and swap digital, mobile-phone and paper coupons. The cleverest shoppers combine dozens of coupons and go from store to store buying items in quantity, getting stuff free of charge.
"If you can get 100 packs of toilet paper for free, you're going to," says Erin Libranda, 38. When the resident of Katy, Texas, has amassed enough coupons to buy many months' supply of eggs, she puts tiny cracks in them, adds lemon juice and freezes them.
Jill Lansky, 34, of Kalamazoo, Mich., likes to amuse friends by opening a cupboard to reveal 150 bottles of Powerade she bought for 25 cents each, thanks to coupons she collected on CouponForum.com.
.Jody Wilson, 33, got turned onto the couponing Web site AFullCup.com last March. Since then, she's posted nearly 9,500 messages to the site's forum. "I became extremely addicted," says the credit analyst from Battle Creek, Mich. "There's deal after deal after deal."
Couponers trade deal information and coupons themselves through cellphones, Twitter, Facebook, and message boards on Web sites like Slickdeals.net and TheKrazyCouponLady.com, motivated as much by competitiveness as by frugality.
Some sites, which tend to make their money from online ads, organize contests to see which member can spend the least cash in a month on essentials. Some couponers brag online about stockpiling free groceries, then selling them at yard sales.
Coupon Fraud GrowsRead more about how the use of counterfeit coupons for groceries and other items has risen as budget-conscious consumers increasingly get their coupons from online sources.
.
Proud shoppers post photos of themselves posing with their latest hauls. Nathan Engels of Villa Hills, Ky., can't resist loading up on free products. Mr. Engels recently erected a 6-foot-tall tower featuring the 1,142 packages of Jell-O he had got for nothing. He brags about his jam-packed freezer holding 30 pounds of meat, 50 pounds of cheese and 200 bags of vegetables.
"I'm going to buy as much as I can—I don't care if it's a year's or two-year's supply," says Mr. Engels, 28, who is married and has a young daughter.
For decades, shoppers clipped coupons from newspaper circulars, magazines and coupon booklets. Redemptions peaked in the early 1990s, and couponing gradually declined as grocers launched loyalty-card programs that rewarded repeat shoppers with discounts.
But amid the recession last year, the number of coupons redeemed rose 27%, to 3.3 billion from 2.6 billion in 2008, says Inmar Inc., a coupon-processing agent. The year-over-year percentage increase was the largest since Inmar started tracking the statistic more than 20 years ago.
Fueling the increase isn't the general populace but heavy coupon users, people who redeem 104 or more coupons over six months, according to an August report by The Nielsen Co. These users tend to be females under the age of 54 with college degrees and household incomes above $70,000, Nielsen says.
The upsurge mirrors the growth of Web sites dedicated to couponing. CouponMom.com, which appeals to a broad range of savers, has 2.2 million members, up from one million last January, says site founder Stephanie Nelson, author of the book, "The Coupon Mom's Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half."
View Full Image
Nathan Engels Nathan Engels built a 6-foot tower out of Jell-O boxes he got free.
.
Hotcouponworld.com, which has seen its membership grow to 200,000 from 80,000 in the past year, targets couponers who think "there's an economic value in buying all your peanut butter for the year in one week in September," says site founder Julie Parrish, 35, of West Linn, Ore. Two years ago, she bought 50 18-ounce jars of Skippy creamy peanut butter for 17 cents each; last September, she paid 35 cents each. At retail, they cost around $3.59.
Ms. Smith, the Charleston woman whose closet doubles as a pantry, says she disliked grocery shopping until she got laid off last year from her clerical job and, to economize, turned to couponing Web sites. On two recent trips to her local supermarket, she says she paid $5 for $78 worth of items, and $2 for $40 worth of goods.
When Ms. Libranda, the Texas shopper, needed 500 coupons for flavored water last summer, she posted a request at Hotcouponworld.com. Within days, she had exchanged postage stamps and cereal box tops with half a dozen other members. "We had free water for a long time," Ms. Libranda says.
All the deal making isn't great for grocers, some of which have seen their profits squeezed by discounting. Craig Herkert, chief executive of Supervalu Inc., operator of Jewel, Albertson's and other supermarkets, recently told analysts that shoppers with an eye for discounts were "executing with surgical precision."
Carrie Petersen of Columbia, Md., says she tries not to abuse discounts. Recently, Ms. Petersen, 38, took 50-cent coupons for meat seasonings to a number of supermarkets that were doubling the coupons' value. Because the seasonings were already on sale for $1 each, Ms. Petersen got them for nothing.
Instead of scooping piles of packets into her shopping cart, she bought just five at a time at each of the stores she visited. "I never clear the shelf: I don't think that's right," Ms. Peterson says. "I probably only got 30."
Bringing home huge piles of stuff doesn't always work out. Julie Felton, a 39-year-old respiratory therapist from San Marcos, Texas, says she was ecstatic when she combined 20 coupons from a retailer and a manufacturer to get $5 bags of dog food for nothing—a six-month supply.
Ms. Felton's dog didn't like the food. Neither did her cat, nor the deer that wander into her yard.
She wound up donating it to a local animal shelter.
Write to Timothy W. Martin at timothy.martin@wsj.com
Happy reading!
Hard Times Turn Coupon Clipping Into the Newest Extreme Sport
Penny Pinchers Deal for Discounts;
By TIMOTHY W. MARTIN
Wall Street Journal
March 8, 2010
Erin Libranda Coupon clipper Erin Libranda of Katy, Texas, after she saved more than $1,000 on a midnight shopping trip to two supermarkets.
.
Under a futon in her Charleston, S.C., apartment, Stacy Smith has stashed boxes of soy bars, bags of potato chips, bottles of vitamin water, canned vegetables, soup, barbecue sauce and antibacterial wipes. Her bedroom closet is jammed with soda and shampoo, her bookcase with garlic salt and meat marinades.
News Hub: Consumers Crazy for Coupons3:54The redemption of coupons spiked 27% from 2008 to 2009. WSJ's Timothy Martin has more insight on the craze, which appears to be about more than just saving money.
.
No, Ms. Smith isn't stocking up for a hurricane. The 39-year-old's apartment is stuffed with groceries because she's one of a growing flock of "extreme couponers."
These discount devotees have formed vast online communities that collectively unearth and swap digital, mobile-phone and paper coupons. The cleverest shoppers combine dozens of coupons and go from store to store buying items in quantity, getting stuff free of charge.
"If you can get 100 packs of toilet paper for free, you're going to," says Erin Libranda, 38. When the resident of Katy, Texas, has amassed enough coupons to buy many months' supply of eggs, she puts tiny cracks in them, adds lemon juice and freezes them.
Jill Lansky, 34, of Kalamazoo, Mich., likes to amuse friends by opening a cupboard to reveal 150 bottles of Powerade she bought for 25 cents each, thanks to coupons she collected on CouponForum.com.
.Jody Wilson, 33, got turned onto the couponing Web site AFullCup.com last March. Since then, she's posted nearly 9,500 messages to the site's forum. "I became extremely addicted," says the credit analyst from Battle Creek, Mich. "There's deal after deal after deal."
Couponers trade deal information and coupons themselves through cellphones, Twitter, Facebook, and message boards on Web sites like Slickdeals.net and TheKrazyCouponLady.com, motivated as much by competitiveness as by frugality.
Some sites, which tend to make their money from online ads, organize contests to see which member can spend the least cash in a month on essentials. Some couponers brag online about stockpiling free groceries, then selling them at yard sales.
Coupon Fraud GrowsRead more about how the use of counterfeit coupons for groceries and other items has risen as budget-conscious consumers increasingly get their coupons from online sources.
.
Proud shoppers post photos of themselves posing with their latest hauls. Nathan Engels of Villa Hills, Ky., can't resist loading up on free products. Mr. Engels recently erected a 6-foot-tall tower featuring the 1,142 packages of Jell-O he had got for nothing. He brags about his jam-packed freezer holding 30 pounds of meat, 50 pounds of cheese and 200 bags of vegetables.
"I'm going to buy as much as I can—I don't care if it's a year's or two-year's supply," says Mr. Engels, 28, who is married and has a young daughter.
For decades, shoppers clipped coupons from newspaper circulars, magazines and coupon booklets. Redemptions peaked in the early 1990s, and couponing gradually declined as grocers launched loyalty-card programs that rewarded repeat shoppers with discounts.
But amid the recession last year, the number of coupons redeemed rose 27%, to 3.3 billion from 2.6 billion in 2008, says Inmar Inc., a coupon-processing agent. The year-over-year percentage increase was the largest since Inmar started tracking the statistic more than 20 years ago.
Fueling the increase isn't the general populace but heavy coupon users, people who redeem 104 or more coupons over six months, according to an August report by The Nielsen Co. These users tend to be females under the age of 54 with college degrees and household incomes above $70,000, Nielsen says.
The upsurge mirrors the growth of Web sites dedicated to couponing. CouponMom.com, which appeals to a broad range of savers, has 2.2 million members, up from one million last January, says site founder Stephanie Nelson, author of the book, "The Coupon Mom's Guide to Cutting Your Grocery Bills in Half."
View Full Image
Nathan Engels Nathan Engels built a 6-foot tower out of Jell-O boxes he got free.
.
Hotcouponworld.com, which has seen its membership grow to 200,000 from 80,000 in the past year, targets couponers who think "there's an economic value in buying all your peanut butter for the year in one week in September," says site founder Julie Parrish, 35, of West Linn, Ore. Two years ago, she bought 50 18-ounce jars of Skippy creamy peanut butter for 17 cents each; last September, she paid 35 cents each. At retail, they cost around $3.59.
Ms. Smith, the Charleston woman whose closet doubles as a pantry, says she disliked grocery shopping until she got laid off last year from her clerical job and, to economize, turned to couponing Web sites. On two recent trips to her local supermarket, she says she paid $5 for $78 worth of items, and $2 for $40 worth of goods.
When Ms. Libranda, the Texas shopper, needed 500 coupons for flavored water last summer, she posted a request at Hotcouponworld.com. Within days, she had exchanged postage stamps and cereal box tops with half a dozen other members. "We had free water for a long time," Ms. Libranda says.
All the deal making isn't great for grocers, some of which have seen their profits squeezed by discounting. Craig Herkert, chief executive of Supervalu Inc., operator of Jewel, Albertson's and other supermarkets, recently told analysts that shoppers with an eye for discounts were "executing with surgical precision."
Carrie Petersen of Columbia, Md., says she tries not to abuse discounts. Recently, Ms. Petersen, 38, took 50-cent coupons for meat seasonings to a number of supermarkets that were doubling the coupons' value. Because the seasonings were already on sale for $1 each, Ms. Petersen got them for nothing.
Instead of scooping piles of packets into her shopping cart, she bought just five at a time at each of the stores she visited. "I never clear the shelf: I don't think that's right," Ms. Peterson says. "I probably only got 30."
Bringing home huge piles of stuff doesn't always work out. Julie Felton, a 39-year-old respiratory therapist from San Marcos, Texas, says she was ecstatic when she combined 20 coupons from a retailer and a manufacturer to get $5 bags of dog food for nothing—a six-month supply.
Ms. Felton's dog didn't like the food. Neither did her cat, nor the deer that wander into her yard.
She wound up donating it to a local animal shelter.
Write to Timothy W. Martin at timothy.martin@wsj.com
Expensive coffee...cheapo price
This post brings me back to the original roots of this blog. When I was home in Baltimore this past weekend my sister-in-law Teresa had some of THE BEST coffee I have had in someone's home.
Teresa's plan is super easy. Here's the deal. Take your favorite regular coffee (non flavored) and sprinkle some ground cinnemon on top, not a lot mind you, just enough to lightly cover the top grounds.
It works like a charm, and will taste like you bought it fresh from Gloria Jeans (or whatever your favorite gucci coffee shop is!)
Enjoy!
Teresa's plan is super easy. Here's the deal. Take your favorite regular coffee (non flavored) and sprinkle some ground cinnemon on top, not a lot mind you, just enough to lightly cover the top grounds.
It works like a charm, and will taste like you bought it fresh from Gloria Jeans (or whatever your favorite gucci coffee shop is!)
Enjoy!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Upcoming consignment sales in NoVa
God willing, after tomorrow, my life will be my own again. This major project I have been working on will be complete and I can get back to posting here more often. It kills me everytime I see bargains I want to pass along and just don't have the time.
Wanted to make sure you saw these though since several readers have asked about them.
First, this weekend, March 13, the Mother's of Multiples in Loudoun and Fairfax Counties are having a sale. Here is the info:
KIDS AND BABY CONSIGNMENT SALE
SPRING & SUMMER INFANTS' AND CHILDRENS' CLOTHING, TOYS, AND EQUIPMENT
SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 2010; 9:00AM TO 12:00AM
Countryside Elementary School
20624 Countryside Blvd., Sterling, VA 20165
Sponsored by the Loudoun Fairfax Mothers of Multiples Club
WWW. LFMOMC.NET
Early Shopper Passes available to get in to the sale at 8:30 (1/2 hour before everyone else).
Contact ways_means@lfmomc.com for details.
Directions: 7 West, to RIGHT on Countryside Blvd., ½ mile on right.
*****PARK IN SCHOOL LOT*****
Bring a large shopping bag with you!
Bake Sale
PLEASE strollers will not be permitted inside the sale area.
Second, next weekend, March 20, the Northern Virginia Parents of Multiples is having its consignment sale. Here is their info:
NVPOM Semi-Annual Kid's Clothing, Toys and Equipment Consignment Sale
Saturday, March 20
9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
(half price sale starts at 12 noon)
Wakefield High School
4901 South Chesterfield Road
Arlington, VA 22204
Credits Cards Are Accepted
Children clothing, cribs, strollers, books, games, videos, toys, and much more are all on display at this huge sale. There is no need to feel lost at this sale--everything will be either marked and categorized by gender and/or size. There is no admission charge and is open to the public. The sale will be held at Wakefield High School, 4901 South Chesterfield Road, Arlington, VA 22204 and is open to the public at 9:00 A.M.
Wanted to make sure you saw these though since several readers have asked about them.
First, this weekend, March 13, the Mother's of Multiples in Loudoun and Fairfax Counties are having a sale. Here is the info:
KIDS AND BABY CONSIGNMENT SALE
SPRING & SUMMER INFANTS' AND CHILDRENS' CLOTHING, TOYS, AND EQUIPMENT
SATURDAY, MARCH 13, 2010; 9:00AM TO 12:00AM
Countryside Elementary School
20624 Countryside Blvd., Sterling, VA 20165
Sponsored by the Loudoun Fairfax Mothers of Multiples Club
WWW. LFMOMC.NET
Early Shopper Passes available to get in to the sale at 8:30 (1/2 hour before everyone else).
Contact ways_means@lfmomc.com for details.
Directions: 7 West, to RIGHT on Countryside Blvd., ½ mile on right.
*****PARK IN SCHOOL LOT*****
Bring a large shopping bag with you!
Bake Sale
PLEASE strollers will not be permitted inside the sale area.
Second, next weekend, March 20, the Northern Virginia Parents of Multiples is having its consignment sale. Here is their info:
NVPOM Semi-Annual Kid's Clothing, Toys and Equipment Consignment Sale
Saturday, March 20
9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
(half price sale starts at 12 noon)
Wakefield High School
4901 South Chesterfield Road
Arlington, VA 22204
Credits Cards Are Accepted
Children clothing, cribs, strollers, books, games, videos, toys, and much more are all on display at this huge sale. There is no need to feel lost at this sale--everything will be either marked and categorized by gender and/or size. There is no admission charge and is open to the public. The sale will be held at Wakefield High School, 4901 South Chesterfield Road, Arlington, VA 22204 and is open to the public at 9:00 A.M.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Freecreditreport.com is a SHAM!
My husband was right. I hate admitting that, but he was right this time and everyone needs to know!
I signed up for "free"creditreport.com on Feb. 4, 2010. The fine print says I have 9days to cancel. I view my reports for free, since thats what the ads say they offer, and I cancel on Feb. 9, 2010. The confirmation email I receive from them says this cancelation will be in effect Feb. 13, 2010. Thats nine days exactly, I am in the clear.
WRONG!
Imagine my surprise when I open my credit card statement today and see a $24.95 charge from them on, wait for it....FEB 4, 2010!
I immediately call. I am on hold for 10 minutes before I woman overseas answers my call, reads from a script, and determines that I should have read the super duper fine print that says if I view my three reports, and not the one they are pushing, I will be charged!
I am irrate. I am sitting here at the kitchen table stewing. This flies in the face of their advertising and I told this woman I was going to tell everyone I knew NOT to ever get this product.
On the day I signed up, my husband was furious. He said we didn't need it, we just bought a car and a computer so we had to have good credit. He was right. My scores (which was all I asked for) were above 750 on all three. So while I am glad I got confirmation of my excellent credit, I am furious at the way they operate!
Seriously, their elevator-type music they have while you are on hold signs the praises of knowing your credit scores and protecting against identity theft. But they will think nothing of swindling you out of every dime in the process.
So, there you go. If you want to get a credit check, try anywhere, and I mean ANYWHERE besides them!
I signed up for "free"creditreport.com on Feb. 4, 2010. The fine print says I have 9days to cancel. I view my reports for free, since thats what the ads say they offer, and I cancel on Feb. 9, 2010. The confirmation email I receive from them says this cancelation will be in effect Feb. 13, 2010. Thats nine days exactly, I am in the clear.
WRONG!
Imagine my surprise when I open my credit card statement today and see a $24.95 charge from them on, wait for it....FEB 4, 2010!
I immediately call. I am on hold for 10 minutes before I woman overseas answers my call, reads from a script, and determines that I should have read the super duper fine print that says if I view my three reports, and not the one they are pushing, I will be charged!
I am irrate. I am sitting here at the kitchen table stewing. This flies in the face of their advertising and I told this woman I was going to tell everyone I knew NOT to ever get this product.
On the day I signed up, my husband was furious. He said we didn't need it, we just bought a car and a computer so we had to have good credit. He was right. My scores (which was all I asked for) were above 750 on all three. So while I am glad I got confirmation of my excellent credit, I am furious at the way they operate!
Seriously, their elevator-type music they have while you are on hold signs the praises of knowing your credit scores and protecting against identity theft. But they will think nothing of swindling you out of every dime in the process.
So, there you go. If you want to get a credit check, try anywhere, and I mean ANYWHERE besides them!
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