Get Your Packages Mailed before Sunday....Rate Increase!

Just a quick reminder that some of the US Postal Rates for package services are going up as of Monday, Jan. 4th.  So if you need to mail a package, get on it and get it mailed Thursday or Saturday morning before the rates rise!

I had forgotten about this latest increase in prices.  I had to mail a rebate this week that required extra postage so I had to go to the PO.  Usually, the week AFTER Christmas you could land aircraft in the place, it's that deserted!
Imagine my surprise at having to stand in a loooong line.....for about 20 minutes to get some extra stamps stuck on my envelope Tuesday!  Why the heck is everyone mailing packages on December 29th?

Oh yah....rate increase....
Duh!

Sluggy

Meal Plan Monday.....December 28th Edition....More Room in the Freezer Now!

Last Week's Menu Postmortem...

Well I don't have one this week because I never got around to doing a Meal Plan last week. Just too crazy at the holidays ya know.lol

#1 son came home from college so we are back to 5 willing eaters.lol  Though I didn't do a meal plan on paper last week, I did have a loose one in my head.  I made quiche, clam chowder w/biscuits, lamb, baked chicken and hamburgers.
Here's what I will be serving our family of 5 this Week.....

MONDAY--Beef Stroganoff(freezer/fridge), Tossed Salad
TUESDAY--Spaghetti and Meatballs(stockpile), Swiss Chard(freezer)
WEDNESDAY--Chicken Alfredo(stockpile/freezer), Green Beans(freezer)
THURSDAY--Homemade Pizza(stockpile/freezer), NYE snacks(whatever I can find here to make)
FRIDAY--Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf for #1 son(freezer), Mashed Potatoes(stockpile), Cauliflower/Carrots/Broccoli(freezer)
SATURDAY--BBQ Chicken(freezer), homemade Mac & Cheese(stockpile/freezer), Peas(freezer)
SUNDAY--Date Night w/Hubby-the teens will fend for themselves
SNACKS/DESSERTS--Cantaloupe, Pineapple, Brownies, Cookies, Bread Pudding, Cake Balls

Last week I spent $70.48 on food/toiletries. $40.20 was at Weis, $4.99 on sliced cheese at Carone's, $6.05 at a local grocer where I had a $20.00 gift certificate to use($26.05 total before gc), $6.35 yesterday at Target(after xmas food) & $12.89 at the Bread Outlet.  That's not to say that I didn't go to Rite-Aid, I DID!, but the OOP was put on a Gift Card so Zero spending there last week.  It didn't seem like I spent $70.48 but it does add up to that. I feel a bit better about that amount though when I calculated that for that $70.48 I got a load of food/toiletries valued at $233.34 regular retail, for a savings of 69.80%! 8-)

Food Waste Report....no waste this week, beyond the usual veggies parings into the compost.  I had leftover quiche egg/cream mixture and leftover stale bread and used both to make bread pudding today.
Pretty proud of myself for doing that! ;-)

This week's menu doesn't require any grocery purchases.  We do need some fresh produce and milk and #1 son is eating a path through the deli meats so those will need replenishing.  I have to go through and see if there are any deals/coupons that need using up this week as well.  I am trying hard though not to buy stuff beyond immediate grocery needs still.  I spent 2 hours this morning in the stockpile reorganizing and rearranging things so I can get to stuff easier.  I really can see a lot of empty space now in the freezer too!  By next week I'll be able to rearrange in there and take an inventory without having to pull out a ton of icy cold food and freeze my hands.lolol

Check out ORGANIZING JUNKIE to see what other Home Cooks are serving this week.

Sluggy

FREE SOAP at CVS

WHERE: CVS Store
WHAT: 3 packs of Ivory Soap on sale for $.99 + $1/1 Ivory Soap Coupon in the 12/27 P&G coupon insert=FREE SOAP!

Need I say more? ;-)

Sluggy

I am Guilty of Coupon Neglect!

See that pile in the picture?
Do you know what it's a pile of?
That's the pile of EXPIRED COUPONS I pulled out of my coupon binder last week!
In preparation for a NEW Year of Couponing I finally got around to weeding out my binder.
And folks, I'll tell you it was NOT a pretty sight.
Some of those coupons I pulled out had expired 2 MONTHS ago, or MORE!!
What.
A.
Mess.

That's right....My name is Sluggy and I am guilty of Coupon Neglect.

Over the past year, the year I began to coupon with intensity, I have used just about every filing/storage system out there.
I went from no system, to an envelope system, to a series of wipey boxes system, to a binder system, to a hybrid of binder and wipey boxes.
I also went from clipping ALL coupons to clipping what I'd probably use and filing the unclipped inserts to use later if needed.
I've also gone from buying a couple of Sunday papers for coupon inserts to buying 10+ papers for the inserts to buying 1 Sunday paper for inserts and buying individual coupons I'll use via a clipping service.

And you know what?
I haven't found the perfect system for me yet.  The reason is as I've moved through this year of coupon-ing, I've changed what I buy and how much I coupon.

I am going to sit down this coming week, before the new year begins and rethink my couponing methods and madness.  I'm hoping this will help me figure out the right method for me.

I have gone from buying everything I could get for free or almost free, no matter if I can/will use it, to buying a lot less in the last few months.

Buying all these things I didn't need, left me with tons of things that I ended up selling at a flea market a couple of months ago just to get it out of my life.
True, I spent very little money out of pocket and ended up with a 2 year supply of toiletries for my family and enough leftover to make $900+ at a flea market selling the excess.
The money I made was nice but it couldn't give me back all that time and energy expended to gather all those things I didn't need/want.

I also ended up with piles of diabetes meters that I can't use.  These were bought just to get something else for free or get ECBs or RRs to buy things I could use.  Though I have found homes for almost all of them now, these meters have taken up room in my home for many months and have taken up my time and energy as well--between collecting them, storing them, and rehoming them.  Time and energy that could have been used more constructively in my life.

Now I'm not saying that chasing after every deal is a bad thing.  It's just a matter of where you place your life's priorities.  I'm realizing that I need to be a little more choosy in the deals I spend my time and energy on.

Clipping and filing that pile of expired coupons took a fair amount of time and energy.  Though I did use a lot of what I clipped and filed,  look at what a waste of my time and energy it turned out to be for that pile! 
Is clipping and filing and using coupons and hunting down deals worth your time and energy?
You bet!
You just need to step back now and again and see where you can make changes to how much couponing you do & what you coupon on versus what and how much you should do!

So tell me....do you have a coupon storage system that works for you?  

Are you a 'no holds barred' couponer who goes after all the deals?  Or are you selective?  

Do you buy things you won't use if that thing will help you get something you can use for free?  Do you think that that is a good reason for buying something?

Do you buy lots of Sunday papers for the coupon inserts or do you use a clipping service and just get the coupons you will use?  Which do you think is more cost effective in the long run--buying papers for inserts or using a service?



Do you need to rethink your coupon storage system and/or what deals you go after as I am doing?  

Leave a comment and let us all hear where you are in your 'coupon-ing journey'.


Sluggy

December Charity Challenge...Playing Santa!

I spent the earlier part of this week playing Santa.
As some of you know, in the past I've sold toys and collectibles on eBay.  I still have a METRIC TON of old, still in the package toys left to sell.

I've been a member on a Yahoo List called Christmas Wishes for the past 4 years.  It was set up by a local woman here.  The purpose of this list is to allow folks who want to help fulfill Christmas wishes to find folks who need help at the holidays.  It's open to any person who lives in PA.  I do believe the owner of the list has also opened up similar lists for every state since.

Anyway, people who are having difficulty providing Santa for their kids or grandkids at Christmas post to be adopted on this list.  Usually they are people who can't get on the Toys for Tots, Salvation Army or other local charity lists.  They either are among the working poor who make too much money to qualify for these programs or they have had a recent setback, like a loss of employment or other financial crisis or something like a house fire, left an abusive relationship, etc.  The reasons for needing the help run the gamut.

So most every year I gather up a bunch of the toys I have left to sell and offer them on that list.  The folks who respond arrange to meet me and I give the parents/grandparents the toys so their kids don't go without a gift at Christmas.  There were also quite a few requests for teenage girls who wanted girly stuff like toiletries and makeup this year, so I raided some of my toiletries/make-up stockpile as well.
Here are some of the goodies I delivered around Teeny Tiny Town this week.....

There were another 3 bags of toys that hubby delivered up by his job this week that I didn't get photos of first.

This is the only reason why I mentioned in the last post that I 'might' go out toy clearance shopping in the next week, even though none of my kids are of the age where they are into toys anymore.
I had used that Kmart Toy Clearance $5/$20 Q and used the BOGO Transformers Q this summer to get some toys very inexpensively.  Those toys were given out on the ChristmasWishes List as well.

Not sure on the value of all this as I haven't tried adding it up yet, but it has to be at least $300 of toys/toiletries.

So did you make an charitable donations this month?
Tell us all about it and be sure to link and check out the CHARITY CHALLENGE over on the CVS SAVER BLOG.  The Charity Challenge is located Here.