Thursday, April 28, 2011

Etiquette and Protocol

As the child of a Type-A woman whose DiSC profile would show conscientiousness off the chart, I seem to have received via osmosis through her umbilical cord an urge to show cultural respect and, in short, be polite and tactful with the people I meet.  I almost, almost said something to a lady at Walmart the other day.  Now I'm not sure if I regret holding my tongue or not.

I had done everything I could think of to be courteous.  It was my coupon spending day, so my husband and I spent almost 2 hours shopping, comparing price tags, evaluating deals and bargains, and selecting about $150 worth of groceries and merchandise.  This is a lot for us, budget-wise and as neither of us really like to shop, and we'd already made multiple stops that day to run other errands.  As we shopped, I passed two other ladies with coupon folders just like mine, all checking out bargains.  I waved and smiled.  It was almost like an unspoken community.  I was riding on cloud nine, spending time with my husband, getting things we'd use and enjoy later, and saving tons of money in the process.

As we shopped, I had already separated out the coupons we were going to use, so I didn't spend 10 minutes leafing through things, and had everything ready to make the purchase as quickly as possible.  Even still, we had a couple dozen coupons in a stack, as well as a few Buy x, Get y free coupons.  Those had to be separated out, and I warned the cashier about them ahead of time, so she'd be able to record how much free stuff was given on the coupon itself, per store policy.

The lady behind us didn't see any of this.  In fact, she didn't even come up behind us until we had our stuff on the conveyor belt, or else we would have let her go through first.  I've been behind people who had price checks and 3 different purchases in one buggy before, I know the drill.  If the stuff is on the conveyor belt, you go ahead.  If it's not, let the person behind you go first.  That way, any people behind that are warned that your purchase will take a while, and they can choose a different register.  Win/Win/Win.  Also, though I did not do this, please warn the person behind you that you are using coupons and it may take a minute, so if they're in a rush, they can go to a different register.  At least they'll know.

So, about halfway through the stack, she starts whispering loudly to her husband/man.  "What's taking so long?"  He replies, "What, you've never seen people use coupons before?  You can save quite a bit of money..."  "Oh, well, they've just got to get their 30 cents off, don't they?  Well I just don't have time to sit all day and cut coupons and..."

This went on for a minute or two, while the cashier faithfully read and scanned coupons.  All the while I was getting redder and redder, and wishing it would all just end, that I could fast forward the process so this lady could go through the line.  Finally, as I signed for the purchase and was about to leave, she announced, "I'm not waiting any longer.  I'll just buy this someplace else.  Waste of my time..."  and left.  All her items, on the conveyor belt, not even ten seconds longer and she would have gotten service.  The poor cashier had to pull all her items off the line, and the cashier next to us looked back aghast, muttering "how rude."

I apologized profusely to the cashier.  She had done her job so well, perfectly.  Then we left, still blushing from the incident.  When I read how much I'd saved (nearly $30, a huge sum on our budget) instead of feeling triumph, I felt a little sick.  Should I have spent less time thinking about saving money and more about being kind to those around me?  Was I as selfish as she seemed to think?  Did I get tunnel vision around material things and forget those around me, or did she?  I wanted to rewind the moment and explain to her that our transaction would take a little while, but that it was worth it to us to save the money.  Heck, with the money I saved, I probably could have bought her entire transaction.

But thinking back on the incident, I'm reminded of a verse I learned as a child about serenity: "as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."  Were her actions embarrassing to me as a Southerner, as an American, and as a member of a very entitled, very wealthy culture?  Oh yes.  But did I do everything I could to live at peace with her and with the cashier, and with those I met?  Maybe, and maybe I could have done more.  I do know next time I go coupon-shopping, I will warn the people behind me about the transaction length.  And perhaps I will also remember to spend less time thinking about myself and more about showing grace no matter the situation. 

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Couponing 101

My sister-in-law is amazing.  Not only is she an excellent cook, fashion expert, student, mother of two, and pastor's wife, she also is the sole being responsible for introducing me to couponing.  Now, I'd seen coupons before, I knew what they were, and I had even used one or two to save money on some groceries before.  And then there was Katina, in her shining glory, coupon notebook in hand, with stackable deals and email lists and ebates and swagbucks and it was like some other universe opened up before me.  So, for those curious, I will detail some of the simple things about couponing, with a promise to feature more on some of these things later. 

1. Open an email address just for coupon stuff.  This will keep you from getting 300 emails about deals in your regular email account. 

2. Get a notebook, preferably a 3-ring binder with a gazillion pouches.  You can stuff un-clipped coupons, expired coupons, scissors, restaurant deals, rewards cards, and used chewing gum in the gazillion pouches.  For the 3-ring binder bit, get a bunch of trading card holders and a set of dividers with labels. 

3. Make your labels and organize in a way that's best for how you shop.  You can make store coupon labels (rite aid, kmart, cvs, walgreens, target, family dollar) for stores that offer coupons only good at their store.  You can make sectional labels (baking, beauty, beverages, breads/chips, canned goods, cleaning/laundry, condiments, crackers/cookies, Dairy, Frozen, Health, Meat, office, paper/storage, pasta/rice.)  You can even make a restaurant tab if you eat out and get coupons for restaurants.  Organize them either in a way that reflects how you shop (in my store, we go through non-perishables first, then perishables, then freezer) or is alphabetical for you Type-A people. 

4. Sign up for those emails! 
A. Printable coupons:
www.coupons.com
www.smartsource.com
www.redplum.com
www.allyou.com
www.target.com
      (individual retailers who email coupons)
A.C.Moore
CVS
Dollar General
Kirkland's
Kmart- have rewards program w/Sears
JC Penny- have rewards program
Lifeway- get $5 off of $25 just for signing up
Michael's
Old Navy
Rite Aid
Toys R Us- have rewards program


B. Restaurant deals:  Some restaurants give you free stuff for signing up for their emails!  SWEET!!!!  Basically, if you eat somewhere, look them up.  I love getting free pastries and beverages from Panera Bread because I signed up for their rewards card. 
Applebee’s- Free dessert
Burger King- Kids club free meal to members
Chili’s- Free chips and queso
Cold Stone- Free Ice cream
Firehouse Subs – Free med sub
Golden Corral- Free meal
IHop- Free meal
Moe’s- Free stuff throughout the year
Outback- Free dessert
Starbucks- register a gift card get free drink
Sonic- Free stuff throughout the year
Zaxby’s- Free stuff throughout the year

C. But really, truly, my favorite website of them all is time2saveworkshops.com, because they send matchups and links to coupons and freebies to my email, as well as post them on Facebook (just "like" them).  I have gotten some cool deals because of those ladies, and I love their emphasis on giving and being courteous with your shopping.  Other cool websites include:  
www.swagbucks.com  (use their search bar, get points toward freebies.  450 swag bucks = $5 gift card to Amazon.com.  That's really one of the best deals, though there are tons of prizes)
www.ebates.com  (shop through them, get cash back, great for online Christmas/Birthday shoppers)
www.resturant.com  (Spend $2, get $25 gift certificate to select restaurants.) 

 D. Rewards programs (like aforementioned Panera Bread)
CVS- scan and get coupons when you walk in
Rite Aid
Walgreens
Food Lion
Bi-Lo
Ingles
Harris Teeter-can download coupons to card  (I'm not sure about this place, I think it's regional to NC)
Kroger--can download coupons to card (though it doesn't always work)


I'm sure this is enough to keep you all busy for a very long time, but later I'll post some more stuff, like how to get the most out of your coupons and some tips on how to keep from getting carried away and spending more than you save.  Anybody got some funny or awesome couponing stories? 

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Using those Assets, or Lack Thereof

The pumpkins, squashes, and watermelons labeled here are drawn according to their space now, not what they will take up once fully grown.  That diagram would look like Maleficent's thorn forest, complete with fire-breathing dragon. 


In the vein of necessity being the mother of invention (or laziness, according to my father), I am a firm believer that limited resources is the mother of creativity.  The diagram above is an example of this, in more than one way.  First, and most obviously, we do not have a whole lot of tenable garden space, as is evidenced here.  most of this area is overrun with weed-infested grass.  So, I reclaimed what I could and put pots on my porch to offer a little more gardening space.  The other reason is that I would prefer to have taken a photograph and labeled that, instead of spending an hour drawing squares and circles, but as it is still nearly 3 weeks until my birthday, I have no camera. 

This principle, I have discovered, also applies in other areas of life.  When my husband and I were dating, we set up very clear boundaries to help us keep our commitment to each other (and to God) to stay pure and not have sex before we got married.  This restriction, instead of squashing our desire and affection for each other, only seemed to magnify it, and we got VERY creative in discovering ways to communicate, relate, demonstrate affection, and get to know each other.  I daresay, besides establishing a history of trust between us, it also deepened our relationship faster than if we had chosen the other way, because we were forced to make the more lasting emotional, spiritual, and relational connections with each other long before we made physical and sexual ones. 

In fact, boundaries and being creative with resources seem to go well together in a lot of things.  For example, our finances.  Having a limited travel budget has not only helped us get out of debt much faster, but also has forced us to spend time planning outings and events in such a way as to save money while making the event fun for all involved.  And then I found out that research has indicated that people who plan their outings ahead usually wind up more satisfied with them than people who don't.  Apparently, the happy feelings from outings and trips start in the imagination, when you start planning. We've made some incredible memories staying with friends (rather than spending extra on hotel rooms) and having strange impromptu picnics in parking lots (rather than spending extra for theme park food).

So, what are some limitations that have forced you to get creative in your life?  What was the result?

Thursday, April 21, 2011

What Living Within Your Means Means

I happen to live in a nation where living within your means is optional.  It's a pretty good option, and I highly recommend it, but we have fancy devices like credit cards and loans and mortgages, the combination of which allows an alarming portion of the population to use resources in advance to receiving them.  This can either be a blessing (when used and budgeted appropriately) or a curse (when abused or when used and you realize you have to pay back the money for that $40,000 education that didn't get you a paying job).

Since I fall into both those categories; having school loans that require repayment and having a rudimentary understanding of mathematics that allows me to calculate, to my dismay, just how much of my money goes toward student loan interest, I've been learning over the past year or so how to utilize what resources I have to enjoy life to the fullest while staying safely within budget.  As a result, we have nearly put to rest all my husband's student loans and have been faithfully plugging away at mine, while being able to afford some things we find important: eating naturally, travel to visit friends, and giving to those in need. 

The first key, I've discovered, is managing your resources.  This does not count credit cards and loans: those are money drains, not resources.  My husband has a job that pays $400-450/week (depending on hours).  I have lots of time on my hands, as he drives the only car between us to work.  We have our unique skills and fast learning ability.  We have math (as much as I despise the thing) and internet access.  We have furnishings and the available space of a 2-bedroom apartment in a semi-rural quadruplex.  For others, the resources might look very different, but you must assess and look at your resources in such a way as to make them work for you.

The next key is your money drains, things that cost you.  There are the obvious monthly bills like phone, internet, rent, water, trash pickup (depending on where you live), insurance (auto, health, etc.), loans or mortgages, magazine or gaming subscriptions, food, household purchases, entertainment purchases, and any other things you spend money on.

This is where it gets creative.  I coupon (more on that later), cook, sew (custom and sell online) and make handmade gifts to help reduce the out-flowing of cash and increase the influx of cash to cover other bills.  We also reduce our spending by deciding NOT to purchase certain items, or to limit how much of those items we purchase.  For instance, neither my husband nor I find it necessary to watch a lot of TV, so we forgo cable/dish and instead invest the money in Xbox Live, which allows him to play games and keep up with friends at the same time.  We also limit how often we go out, whether that's to eat or to see a movie or shop or what have you, because even if we have a "free" date night out, the gas money to go anywhere costs us around $10.  The idea is to decrease the spending and increase the income.  This also applies to spending, like prioritizing paying off money-draining loans so you don't have to spend more in interest over the long-term, and choosing to keep up the car so you don't have to pay for towing when something finally gives.  Investing in things that are more long-term focused is a way better idea than prioritizing by urgency.

Up next: Using Those Assets (what I got and what I don't got)

Just a Day in the Life

There is so much to do, so much to post.  I've noticed a lot of cool ideas and recipes running across my other blog, so I thought I'd give them a venue of expression, and this is it!  I don't have access to a camera just yet, but hopefully, with my birthday coming up soon, my husband will get the hints I've dropped not-so-subtly, and there will be pictures to accompany ideas.  So, for starters, what does everyone want to see? 

Recipes
DIY (don't go buy it, make it/do it yourself!)
Bloopers (what NOT to do)
Sewing/crafting projects
Not-so-extreme couponing/money-saving ideas
(insert your own favorite idea here)