Maybe I'll hit gold someday

A couple years ago, I finally broke down and registered a Starbucks gift card I had purchased. Since I was averaging three Starbucks purchases a year, usually when I was with my scrapbook friends, I had no reason to buy a gift card and leave my money languishing on it. I finally bought a gift card because I liked the design on it (I guess that means their marketing magic worked).

Over the years, I slowly added a few dollars to it, usually when there was some sort of deal from Living Social or Groupon. I figured I would never reach the coveted Gold status, which required 30 stars in one year. Usually, it is one star per purchase so at three purchases a year, I wasn't making Starbucks rich. I guess Starbucks finally figured out that I don't make too many purchases (I don't even get my birthday freebie some years) and sent me an incentive: reload my card with $25 and get a $10 bonus. Now that I could get on board with.

Then this weekend, I hit the star jackpot. Mr. Fix-it and I went out for coffee before running errands and we had the barista ring up each of our purchases separately (yes, we're troublemakers that way, but there was only one person in line behind us and three cashiers). So for three items, I got three stars. But there was a bonus star for every purchase through March 5 (I don't know if it applies to everyone or only to those who received the email) so I received three more stars for six total. But wait, there's more! There was also a three star bonus for purchasing a flat white, which we both had, so six more stars. Woo hoo, 12 stars! Then I got an email asking me to rate that location, which garnered me another star. So, 13 stars, almost halfway to Gold, and the visit was practically free if you count my previous $10 bonus.

The lessson is, sign up for the email alerts and pay attention to the bonuses. I think I'm starting to figure out the system, lol.

My 100 things challenge

You may have heard of the 100 thing challenge, but if you haven't, here's a great recap by Conscious Frugal. I would never be able to reduce my belongings to 100 items. I have waaay more 100 clothing items (thank goodness I don't have 100 pairs of shoes), more than 100 pieces of plastic ware (Tupperware, Gladware, Ziplock, Rubbermaid, and more), more than 100 sheets/pillowcases/towels/blankets (I think; I'm too scared to count). I probably have 100 utensils and dishes. Oh wait, I'm sure I do since I've got 16 place settings of fancy china and flatware, plus serving pieces. What was I thinking? In my defense, that's what people registered for when I got married oh so long ago. As for scrapbooking, I'm sure I have at least 100 sheets of cardstock in every color of the rainbow, plus black, white, tan, 100 kinds of ribbons, flowers, fibers...I better stop there.

So in my quest to simplify my life, I've issued myself a challenge: Get rid of 100 things in 100 days. Starting tomorrow, August 13th, ending November 20. That's one thing a day. Whaddya think? Can I do it??? Think we can do it? Note that Mr. Fix-it doesn't know about this challenge (yet), but I'm sure he'll do what he can to help. I hope I don't start out strong and then fizzle out. The reality is, I will most likely be getting rid of stuff on the weekends and not during the week, so I need to get rid of 5-10 things every weekend.

There's only one rule. To count, it has to out of the house. It can't be in the donate box, it can't be in the Craig's List/ebay box. It has to be gone! Wish this packrat luck!

Toss it!

I look forward to clothes wearing out. I know that sounds strange, but since I'm loathe to get rid of anything usable, I usually wear my clothes till they wear out. Actually, I'm quite disappointed in the quality of this shirt. I haven't worn it that often and it is only five or so years old. It is kind of embarrassing how long I keep my clothes. You can't estimate how old a photo is by what I'm wearing because I might have owned that clothing for 10 or more years.

On the plus side, I've got some new rags. With my new frugality mentality (make that new extra frugal mentality since I've always been frugal), I'm turning all my worn out clothes into rags. Hey, maybe this means I'll clean more...ha!

Frugal tip: banana treat

A quick tip if you have some overripe bananas and don't feel like baking banana bread: frozen banana slices. They make a yummy snack and don't have that overripe "bite" or mushiness. Of course, you can't let them sit around, otherwise they do get mushy. If you make smoothies, you could probably add them to the blender, like frozen berries. Sometimes, I have a few slices after dinner instead of ice cream.
Simply slice the bananas and place them in a single layer on a pie tin, baking sheet, or other freezer safe flat surface. Place in the freezer for a hour or more. Store in an airtight container in the freezer.

Saving on groceries: coupons

Coupons? Who wants to spend time clipping out little rectangles and organizing them? I don't "want" to, but they are an easy way to save quite a bit on your grocery or HBA (Health/Beauty Aids) bill.

If you're looking for coupon match ups and deals, check out Money Saving Mom, Coupon Pro, or the forums at Hot Coupon World. You may also find some local bloggers/websites who do match ups in your area. Those sites are good because they often list the store locations with the best deals or clearance markdowns.

Target and some grocery stores "stack" coupons. That means you can use one store coupon and one manufacturer coupon on the the same item. Be careful when printing/clipping "store" coupons. Sometimes they are really manufacturer coupons, even though they are in the store ad or printed from the store website. If you do this, be prepared with the store policy. I've had checkers refuse to take multiple coupons or allow me to stack coupons.

I almost always shop with coupons. I usually buy the Sunday paper on Saturday so I can get a sneak peek at the coupons. I got into this habit because one local store used to put 3-day specials in the Sunday paper. They stopped that a few years ago, but I never got out of the habit. I recently got a Groupon deal for a competing newspaper and it was worth it just to get the better coupons. (disclosure: if you sign up for Groupon via the link, I may get a referral bonus)

If you don't want to subscribe to the newspaper (or if coupons aren't available in your Sunday paper), you can buy coupons on ebay, from a coupon clipping service, or see if a friend will pass them on to you. If I'm out for Sunday brunch or passing by an outdoor cafe, I'm not above picking up abandoned coupon flyers or asking people for their coupons. I'm more prone to do this if I know there are awesome coupons that week. You can check out preview sites or forums at hotcouponworld.com. You can also print coupons at coupons.com, redplum, and smart source. (You'll need to download an app to print the coupons; I've never been able to get the smart source printer to work.) You can also load coupons on your cell phone, but since my cell phone is just a phone, I haven't done that.

Sometimes, you get coupons at the register (called Catalinas, after the company that markets them). They are usually for a product you just bought or may be for a competing product. If the Catalina is especially good, I've been know to put my groceries in the car and then turn around and buy that one item on the Catalina. (Catalinas count as manufacturer's coupons.)

I'm not a rabid couponer and (usually) won't drive out of my way for deals. I also don't shop at CVS or Walgreens because I don't want to figure out their coupon deals on top of the shopping I already do. Call me lazy (or practical since I know my limits). You'll need to figure out what works for you. Do you want to clip coupons only for brands you're familiar with (say, Kraft salad dressing)? Or do you want to clip coupons for everything in a category (all salad dressings).

Clipping coupons takes more time than I'd like so I usually try to multitask and clip the coupons when I'm a passenger in the car or while watching TV. Same with the sorting.

I keep my coupons in this box (I purchased it years ago; yes, those are rust stains). If you only clip a few coupons, a recycled envelope works. Or you could buy a coupon organizer (most are too small for me). Some avid couponers organize their coupons in binders, using baseball card holders to store the coupons. I thought about it, but decided it was too much work. You could also keep the flyers intact and just cut out coupons as you need them.

Some things I never buy without coupons (and usually combined with a sale):
cereal
crackers
canned foods
yogurt (except for Greek yogurt)
feminine products
toilet paper
shampoo
toothpaste/toothbrushes

Keep your coupons near your keys or shopping bags or in your car so that you don't forget to take them to the store. Good luck with your savings!

Saving at the grocery store series (topics subject to change):
My grocery budget
Coupons (this post)
Making a list (coming soon)
Checking it twice (coming soon)
Other ways to save (coming soon)

Saving on groceries: my budget

My friend Kristin asked for some grocery shopping tips and I thought, "What? I'm no expert!". But we do live frugally so if I can help anyone by writing down what we do, then I'm happy to do it. I hope to make this an ongoing topic on my blog since it fits in with my desire to save more money this year. I started an outline, broke down the topics into more details, and wrote and wrote and wrote. After I got to eight paragraphs, I knew I had to publish this information in separate posts so neither of us was overwhelmed.

Let's start with some background. I'm not a frugality or financial expert, but we do manage to live okay on what we have. Nor am I an extreme couponer, but I am an extreme saver (more than 30% of my paycheck goes into retirement/savings plans) and I couldn't do that if I didn't save in other places, like groceries. I'm not giving the 30% number to brag, but hopefully to inspire you. A few years ago, my friend (who was making about the same as me) told me she was paying double her mortgage to pay it off faster. Again, this wasn't bragging, but merely a factual statement that she was hoping to pay off her house sooner than 30 years and how she was going about it. I knew we wouldn't be able to do make double mortgage payments, but I was inspired to save more because of what she said.

According to the USDA, the average cost of food for Nov. 2010 for my family/age group was $347.80 to $690.20, depending on if you're thrifty or liberal with your grocery shopping. I'm not sure how the cost of living in different cities comes into play; frankly, I didn't read all 80 pages of the dry report.

We spend around $380/month on "food"; that amount includes vitamins, paper goods, shampoo, soap, and other consumables, which the USDA doesn't include. I group these items together because sometimes I buy paper goods/soap/etc. at the grocery store and sometimes I buy food at Target. It just makes my bookkeeping easier. If you add in our dining out budget, we're still below the USDA average cost for a liberal monthly cost of food. I think we're doing quite well, especially since we live in a high cost of living area. According to the news gas averages $3.35/gallon here. Ouch!

If you're looking at cutting your grocery budget, looking at the USDA average can give you an idea if you're on the right track. Of course, if you live in an expensive area, entertain a lot, buy all organic, or have food allergies or other dietary needs (sorry, chocolate is not a dietary need), your costs will most likely be higher. You can easily track your spending for a few weeks (or even better, a few months) on a spreadsheet. I don't have a specific amount I spend per week, but since I know what our average grocery/consumable costs are, I just keep that in mind while shopping. It doesn't bother me to spend $70 one week if there are great sales because I know I'll spend less the next week. For example, yesterday, I bought vitamins and probiotics at the natural food store, which added another $40+ to the total. That's enough to last us two months and I'll keep my eye out for the next sale so I don't overspend.

Saving at the grocery store series (topics subject to change):
My grocery budget (this post)
Coupons (coming soon)
Making a list (coming soon)
Checking it twice (coming soon)
Other ways to save (coming soon)

Frugality gone too far

The other day, I was in the produce section pricing cherry tomatoes. I like the little ones that you can just pop in your mouth as a snack, so cute! so yummy! I know that tomatoes aren't in season, but still, I was in the mood for tomatoes. I wanted some for my salad. I wanted some to snack on. I wanted something bright and cheery and fresh for my dinner. But they were $3.99. For a few ounces. I don't pay that much for a steak; how could I pay that much for tomatoes? In a few months, hopefully, I'll have more tomatoes than I know what to do with. $3.99? Outrageous! So I passed on the tomatoes and I wish I didn't. Really, I can afford $3.99 right? So why couldn't I spend the money? Because they weren't on sale? Because I didn't have a coupon? Because I know I'll be getting them for "free" in a couple months? If I can't buy food that I want, when I want, that I can afford, maybe I have a problem. At least that's what Mr. Fix-it thinks.

Christmas presents

This is how a certain family member wraps Christmas. Mom (she didn't wrap these, she's much neater than this) has saved every ribbon, every piece of tissue paper, and every bit of wrapping paper that has ever come into the house. So every year, this person uses Mom's stash and "wraps" our presents. And after we've unwrapped our gifts, all the wrappings go back into the stash for future use. I'm not sure what else to say about this, other than my family is weird (and frugal!), but we all get a kick out it.