Do You Have a Coupon For That?

I talked my boyfriend into letting me buy his groceries one day. He gave me the money, and I returned with several bags totaling around $70. I had saved $30 with coupons and sales, and we had more to eat than just a box of cereal and some junk food.

"Why is it when I shop I come home with $200 worth of stuff and it only lasts 2 days?" he asked as he helped haul in the bags.

"You don't know how to shop," I told him. It's true. He doesn't have the time, inclination, or know-how to peruse sale ads, cut coupons, and troll the internet looking for deals. Case in point--earlier this week his fridge was practically empty. He went to the store without a list, and pretty much just went up and down every aisle and grabbed a little bit of everything. I met him at his house, and thought I was going to pop an artery.

Yes, he had lots of groceries...he should have. The grand total?? $350.00!!! I nearly had a stroke. My grocery bill for the month of February was $111.00. Yes, it's just me, but still, he only buys for himself and his son and I on weekends. He works out of state all week and I'm like how on God's green earth can you spend so much on groceries when you're never home???

Even worse, when I helped put things away, I could count up at least $50 I could have saved just with coupons, not even worrying about sales, or using Target coupons (I love Publix for that), or any of my iPhone apps that have coupons and other savings programs.

Now my running joke is to tell him I had a coupon for something after he buys it. He said for me not to say that after the fact, when I wasn't in the store with him. I tell him if I'd known he was going to the store, I could have hooked him up. It must have worked....for the last couple of weeks every time he mentions going to the store he says, "Oh, do you have a coupon for that?"

Just goes to show, ya gotta train them right, and make smart shopping a habit. I'm attempting to introduce his teenage son to the joy of coupons, so we'll see if it takes hold. 

Got to go check for the last day of the week's sales I don't want to miss tomorrow at CVS and Walgreen. I love their rewards programs, and I have $10 in CVS bucks burning a hole in my coupon holder:)

Until next time, happy saving! And watch those spring allergies. They are starting up around here. 

Happy New Year of Saving!!!

Welcome to 2013! Here's hoping everyone has a happy and prosperous year. My grandmother always said, "A penny saved is a penny earned." Well, her pennies went much further back then than my dollars do today, so I'm going to share some money-saving tips with you. There are many ways to save money--on groceries, entertainment, clothing, and just about everything you buy!

Think how hard you work to make enough to pay for the 200 channels of cable you don't watch, or buying another pair of black boots to go with the other six pairs in the closet. Makes you think, huh? As a nurse, I find it handy to ask," How many butts will I have my hand up in to earn enough to buy XX with?" Do you really want to throw out a full workday of 8+ hours on that purchase?

The best way to start is to know where those dollars are going. I'm "auditioning" several apps on my iPhone for tracking my spending. So far, the winner appears to be Pocket Expense Personal Finance Account Tracker by Blue Tags. It meets my most important criteria--easy to use and FREE!!! If you need more than just the basics, you may have to pay a few dollars for apps that do it all. Remember, in most cases you can upgrade later if you need to.

Got to go work on my coupon organizer. If you want to start the new year learning how to save big on groceries, there are dozens of web sites to get you started. One of the best I recommend (and she has a very good book to accompany the site is The Krazy Coupon Lady. You can follow her on Twitter at @KrazyCouponLady.

Till next time, happy saving!

Roma

There's more in managing than making

This little pearl of wisdom is from Nannie, my grandmother. You know, the best way to learn about how to make your bucks go further is to talk to someone who lived through the Depression (btw, we're in one now in case you haven't noticed. It's simple....I look at my checkbook and I get depressed). She could squeeze a penny till Lincoln cried. She and Pop, my grandfather, never owed a penny of debt to anyone. They had a simple philosophy-if you can't pay cash for it, you can't afford it.

Now people seem to love living beyond their means, although the new economy has put a bit of a bite in that. Wonder why there are so many foreclosed homes in nice neighborhoods? Half-built neighborhoods where the builder went belly-up, leaving behind a skeleton of half-built homes? People upside-down with their mortgages, one paycheck away from the poor house? It's the same principle of why some of these millionaire athletes can't live on $10 million a year. I'm sorry, if you can't manage your money any better than that, and you go bankrupt when you're making those kind of bucks, I don't feel sorry for you. You got what ya deserved for being such a dumb ass. Here's a hint....just because you have $10 million, you don't go out and spend $11 million on a house, car, and airplane and then whine when the repo man comes and takes it all back.

Since I work hard for my money, I'd rather manage it better than have to go work even more. So I'm going to go cut out a few coupons and make a grocery list. Just remember, before you splurge on those hot new shoes that are going to kill your feet and give you bunions, just how hard did you have to work at a job you may not exactly love to pay for them?? Are they worth the workplace politics, office drama, and Atilla the Hun boss you deal with to earn the bucks to buy them?