If you are under 25, when I say 'monster', you KNOW what I am talking 'bout.
Can an imitation be better than the original?
You tell me.....
Enjoy!
Sluggy
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Frugality...the New Merchandising Ploy OR Step Away From that Cardboard Dresser!
Ok, since I was able to piss off quite a few people last week HERE....let's see how many readers and retailers I can annoy this week. ;-)
A couple of weeks ago, as I dug through the Sunday paper for the coupon inserts(why else does anybody even buy a newspaper anymore, right?lol), I happened to grab a Sales Flyer for a national chain store, that will remain nameless, by the name of Target.
I'm smooth, aren't I? ;-)
Anyway, I paged through the flyer, as I leisurely sipped my morning beverage, until I got to this page.
I chuckled......
Do you see what it says there, in lime green, right in the center of the page?
I chuckled but then I got mad.
It seems retailers are taking the basic fundamentals of the Frugality Movement and are twisting it to fit their Consumerist Culture.
Or another way of putting it is....retailers are using Frugality to Sell more Stuff by equating FRUGAL with CHEAP....which it is NOT!
Big diff...
If you look up the definition of frugal you'll find something like this explanation from Merriam Webster Online...
"characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources".
Furnishings your home with inexpensive NEW furniture is NOT frugal. While buying a cheap piece of new furniture is initially using your monetary resources economically(not spending much money), in the long run it isn't frugal.
Spending money on new, poorly built furniture that used up natural resources in the making of this badly constructed stuff & used up your personal monetary resources that could have been saved and used more wisely to buy quality built items or items you can find used or free is cheap.
Buying new cheap furniture is not good for your bottom line since it will not last and will break sooner and need to be replaced, thus you will end up spending twice as much on the cheap furniture you buy.
It isn't frugal for YOUR wallet, nor is it frugal for the planet!
Furnishing your home with USED New-To-You furniture, IS frugal. Even more frugal would be to look around your home at what you already own and see if "repurposing" some other item you already own or asking friends or family if they have something for FREE that they no longer need/want will work before you start looking to barter or buy used.
By not requiring more natural resources on this planet to be consumed by having them turned into a poorly made piece of furniture you have economized or saved those resources. You have also saved your monetary resources because you won't have to buy more furniture to replace the new inexpensive ones as they fall apart....and as an added bonus, since you didn't buy a new thing from the store, they don't have to order another one just like it to replace it, saving even more natural resources.
So, which would you rather do?
A--Spend $20 on a new press board chest of drawers(made in Bangladesh or some other 3rd world country no doubt)and have it fall apart within 2 years, necessitating that you have to buy yet another new press board chest, that has now gone up to $22.50 in price....rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat through the years?
OR
B--Spend $25 at a garage sale/thrift store/craigslist/etc. for a used piece of quality-made, real wood with mitered corners and dovetailed this & thats, etc. chest of drawers that may or may not have blemishes/need refinishing/painting/cleaning, that has been in use for 20 years or more and will last for many years to come?
Remember this....you get what you pay for. Cheaply made products don't last and by needing to be replaced frequently they suck even more money out of your wallet.
Why feed your precious, hard earned dollars to the Corporate Machine when you have a choice?
In this same vein, I found this interesting article HERE. Seems as people try to conserve their income, they have made many Dollar Stores boom. This phenomenon hasn't gone unnoticed by retailers, as they have begun to court these 'low-end consumers' more vigorously by adding 'low-end' merchandise.
Walmart has even lost business to the Dollar Stores and is taking steps to reclaim that lost revenue. I found some of the comments left after this article thought provoking as well.
Go ahead and discuss amongst yourselves.....
Be looking for much much more of this kind of marketing geared toward the frugal set to show up in the print and electronic media near you!
Just because they call something Frugal doesn't make it so.
As always, when it comes to business trying to separate you from your money it's Caveat Emptor.
Sluggy
A couple of weeks ago, as I dug through the Sunday paper for the coupon inserts(why else does anybody even buy a newspaper anymore, right?lol), I happened to grab a Sales Flyer for a national chain store, that will remain nameless, by the name of Target.
I'm smooth, aren't I? ;-)
Anyway, I paged through the flyer, as I leisurely sipped my morning beverage, until I got to this page.
I chuckled......
Do you see what it says there, in lime green, right in the center of the page?
I chuckled but then I got mad.
It seems retailers are taking the basic fundamentals of the Frugality Movement and are twisting it to fit their Consumerist Culture.
Or another way of putting it is....retailers are using Frugality to Sell more Stuff by equating FRUGAL with CHEAP....which it is NOT!
Big diff...
If you look up the definition of frugal you'll find something like this explanation from Merriam Webster Online...
"characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources".
Furnishings your home with inexpensive NEW furniture is NOT frugal. While buying a cheap piece of new furniture is initially using your monetary resources economically(not spending much money), in the long run it isn't frugal.
Spending money on new, poorly built furniture that used up natural resources in the making of this badly constructed stuff & used up your personal monetary resources that could have been saved and used more wisely to buy quality built items or items you can find used or free is cheap.
Buying new cheap furniture is not good for your bottom line since it will not last and will break sooner and need to be replaced, thus you will end up spending twice as much on the cheap furniture you buy.
It isn't frugal for YOUR wallet, nor is it frugal for the planet!
Furnishing your home with USED New-To-You furniture, IS frugal. Even more frugal would be to look around your home at what you already own and see if "repurposing" some other item you already own or asking friends or family if they have something for FREE that they no longer need/want will work before you start looking to barter or buy used.
By not requiring more natural resources on this planet to be consumed by having them turned into a poorly made piece of furniture you have economized or saved those resources. You have also saved your monetary resources because you won't have to buy more furniture to replace the new inexpensive ones as they fall apart....and as an added bonus, since you didn't buy a new thing from the store, they don't have to order another one just like it to replace it, saving even more natural resources.
So, which would you rather do?
A--Spend $20 on a new press board chest of drawers(made in Bangladesh or some other 3rd world country no doubt)and have it fall apart within 2 years, necessitating that you have to buy yet another new press board chest, that has now gone up to $22.50 in price....rinse and repeat, rinse and repeat through the years?
OR
B--Spend $25 at a garage sale/thrift store/craigslist/etc. for a used piece of quality-made, real wood with mitered corners and dovetailed this & thats, etc. chest of drawers that may or may not have blemishes/need refinishing/painting/cleaning, that has been in use for 20 years or more and will last for many years to come?
Remember this....you get what you pay for. Cheaply made products don't last and by needing to be replaced frequently they suck even more money out of your wallet.
Why feed your precious, hard earned dollars to the Corporate Machine when you have a choice?
In this same vein, I found this interesting article HERE. Seems as people try to conserve their income, they have made many Dollar Stores boom. This phenomenon hasn't gone unnoticed by retailers, as they have begun to court these 'low-end consumers' more vigorously by adding 'low-end' merchandise.
Walmart has even lost business to the Dollar Stores and is taking steps to reclaim that lost revenue. I found some of the comments left after this article thought provoking as well.
Go ahead and discuss amongst yourselves.....
Be looking for much much more of this kind of marketing geared toward the frugal set to show up in the print and electronic media near you!
Just because they call something Frugal doesn't make it so.
As always, when it comes to business trying to separate you from your money it's Caveat Emptor.
Sluggy
Monday, September 27, 2010
Go Enter This Contest.....Ends 9/28!!!
Go check out my blogging buddy over at PRACTICAL PARSIMONY.
She is holding a contest for all you computer savvy peoples.
You could win a free copy of Windows Home and Student Edition Software.
Check out the direct link HERE.
But you have to hurry as the contest ends tomorrow, Tuesday 28th at midnight!
Sluggy
She is holding a contest for all you computer savvy peoples.
You could win a free copy of Windows Home and Student Edition Software.
Check out the direct link HERE.
But you have to hurry as the contest ends tomorrow, Tuesday 28th at midnight!
Sluggy
Rite-Aid on Sunday....New SCR Period, Let the Party Begin!
So I scooted up to Rite-Aid on Sunday for the new sales week.
Here's what followed me home....
4 x Gillette Body Wash on sale $4.00=$16.00
4 x Gillette Deodorant on sale $4.00=$16.00
SubTotal...$32.00
Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25 Purchase AdPerk/VV IPQ=$5.00
4 x Buy One Deo/Get Body Wash Free ManuQ(Aug. P&G insert-expires 9/30)=$16.00
4 x $1/1 Gillette Deo. ManuQ(Sept. P&G insert)=$4.00
1 x $1/$10 any Skin Care purchase Wellness IPQ(sent to your email from Rite-Aid)=$1.00
Coupon Total...$26.00
$32-$16=$6.00
I used $6 in +Ups to pay so $.00 Out of Pocket...I didn't even have to use my free Gift Card! ;-)
Received $10 +Ups for buying $30 of selected P&G items(all the Gillette bought), and I qualified for a $2.00 SCR for buying 2 Gillette Body Wash or Deodorant.
Spent $6 +Ups, earned $10 +Ups & $2 cash rebate means I am $6.00 UP for this transaction. 8-)
Value of Items....$43.12
Then I bought.....
2 x large Crest Mouth Rinse on sale $4.99=$9.98
2 x smaller Crest Mouth Rinse on sale $3.49=$6.98
2 x Oral-B CrossAction Toothbrushes on sale $2.99=$5.98
2 x Dawn Hand Renewal Dish Soap on sale $.99=$1.98
2 x local Sunday paper($.79 with my 20% wellness discount)=$1.58 **Not Pictured**
SubTotal....$26.50
Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25 Rite-Aid IPQ HERE=$5.00
2 x $2/1 Crest Mouth Rinse ManuQ-P&G insert from 9/26=$4.00
2 x $1/1 Crest Mouth Rinse ManuQ-P&G insert from 8/29(expires 9/30)=$2.00
1 x BOGO Oral-B Toothbrush ManuQ-P&G insert from 9/26=$2.99
1 x $1/1 Oral-B Toothbrush ManuQ-P&G insert from 8/29(expires 9/30)=$1.00
1 x $1/2 Dawn Hand Renewal Dish Soap ManuQ-P&G insert from 9/26=$1.00
Coupon Total....$15.99
$26.50-$15.99=$10.51
I used $10 in +Ups to pay so $.51 Out of Pocket put on my Rite-Aid Gift Card.
Received $15 +Ups...2 x $3(large Mouth Rinse), 2 x $2.50(smaller Mouth Rinse) and 2 x $2(Toothbrushes).
Spent $10 +Ups, earned $15 +Ups means I am $5.00 UP for this transaction. 8-)
Value of Items....$41.50
As for limits on +Ups per item/deal.....I am hearing/seeing multiples on the Crest/Oral-B items(hearing from 3 to 5 on the $4.99 and $3.49 Crest items) and the P&G Buy $30 deal/Get $10+Ups. FWIW, I am hearing that on the Buy $30 Deal, if you don't get up to $30 and purchase more of the selected items in a subsequent transaction, the register is keeping track and will spit out the $10+Ups when you hit $30. If that's true I am $2 closer to a second $10+Ups if I choose to buy more of those selected products. I just might have to go get $28 more since I am curious.lol
Ann, over at COUPONS DEALS AMD MORE posted about someone who talked to corporate and the limit on the Crest/Oral-B items priced at $2.99/Giving $2+Ups is 5 deals per card. Here's a direct LINK.
Throwing Ann some Linky Love here for the Rite-Aid Deals, among others she writes up. ;-)
THIS TRIP
Total Spent....$.51(put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$84.62
SCR qualified for...$2.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$25.00
+Up Rewards spent...$16.00
These trips were an $11 moneymaker($9 in +Ups, $2 in SCRs).
GRAND TOTALS so far-October Rebate Period
Number of Transactions......2
Total Spent....$.51 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$84.62
SCR qualified for....$2
Other Cash....$0
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0
+UPS Totals for Oct. SCR Period
+Up Rewards carryover....$20.50
+Up Rewards spent....$16.00
+Up Rewards earned....$25.00
+Up Rewards left....$29.50
Sluggy
Here's what followed me home....
4 x Gillette Deodorant on sale $4.00=$16.00
SubTotal...$32.00
Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25 Purchase AdPerk/VV IPQ=$5.00
4 x Buy One Deo/Get Body Wash Free ManuQ(Aug. P&G insert-expires 9/30)=$16.00
4 x $1/1 Gillette Deo. ManuQ(Sept. P&G insert)=$4.00
1 x $1/$10 any Skin Care purchase Wellness IPQ(sent to your email from Rite-Aid)=$1.00
Coupon Total...$26.00
$32-$16=$6.00
I used $6 in +Ups to pay so $.00 Out of Pocket...I didn't even have to use my free Gift Card! ;-)
Received $10 +Ups for buying $30 of selected P&G items(all the Gillette bought), and I qualified for a $2.00 SCR for buying 2 Gillette Body Wash or Deodorant.
Spent $6 +Ups, earned $10 +Ups & $2 cash rebate means I am $6.00 UP for this transaction. 8-)
Value of Items....$43.12
Then I bought.....
2 x large Crest Mouth Rinse on sale $4.99=$9.98
2 x smaller Crest Mouth Rinse on sale $3.49=$6.98
2 x Oral-B CrossAction Toothbrushes on sale $2.99=$5.98
2 x Dawn Hand Renewal Dish Soap on sale $.99=$1.98
2 x local Sunday paper($.79 with my 20% wellness discount)=$1.58 **Not Pictured**
SubTotal....$26.50
Coupons Used
1 x $5 off $25 Rite-Aid IPQ HERE=$5.00
2 x $2/1 Crest Mouth Rinse ManuQ-P&G insert from 9/26=$4.00
2 x $1/1 Crest Mouth Rinse ManuQ-P&G insert from 8/29(expires 9/30)=$2.00
1 x BOGO Oral-B Toothbrush ManuQ-P&G insert from 9/26=$2.99
1 x $1/1 Oral-B Toothbrush ManuQ-P&G insert from 8/29(expires 9/30)=$1.00
1 x $1/2 Dawn Hand Renewal Dish Soap ManuQ-P&G insert from 9/26=$1.00
Coupon Total....$15.99
$26.50-$15.99=$10.51
I used $10 in +Ups to pay so $.51 Out of Pocket put on my Rite-Aid Gift Card.
Received $15 +Ups...2 x $3(large Mouth Rinse), 2 x $2.50(smaller Mouth Rinse) and 2 x $2(Toothbrushes).
Spent $10 +Ups, earned $15 +Ups means I am $5.00 UP for this transaction. 8-)
Value of Items....$41.50
As for limits on +Ups per item/deal.....I am hearing/seeing multiples on the Crest/Oral-B items(hearing from 3 to 5 on the $4.99 and $3.49 Crest items) and the P&G Buy $30 deal/Get $10+Ups. FWIW, I am hearing that on the Buy $30 Deal, if you don't get up to $30 and purchase more of the selected items in a subsequent transaction, the register is keeping track and will spit out the $10+Ups when you hit $30. If that's true I am $2 closer to a second $10+Ups if I choose to buy more of those selected products. I just might have to go get $28 more since I am curious.lol
Ann, over at COUPONS DEALS AMD MORE posted about someone who talked to corporate and the limit on the Crest/Oral-B items priced at $2.99/Giving $2+Ups is 5 deals per card. Here's a direct LINK.
Throwing Ann some Linky Love here for the Rite-Aid Deals, among others she writes up. ;-)
THIS TRIP
Total Spent....$.51(put on free Rite-Aid gift card)
Value of Items....$84.62
SCR qualified for...$2.00
Gift Cards earned....$0.00
+Up Rewards earned...$25.00
+Up Rewards spent...$16.00
These trips were an $11 moneymaker($9 in +Ups, $2 in SCRs).
GRAND TOTALS so far-October Rebate Period
Number of Transactions......2
Total Spent....$.51 put on free Gift Cards/Certificates so ZERO OOP
Value of Items purchased....$84.62
SCR qualified for....$2
Other Cash....$0
Additional Non-Cash Rewards....$0
+UPS Totals for Oct. SCR Period
+Up Rewards carryover....$20.50
+Up Rewards spent....$16.00
+Up Rewards earned....$25.00
+Up Rewards left....$29.50
Sluggy
End of September Weekend Garden Harvest...Still Picking!
Just a quick update on the garden.....
While we didn't get some of the beds cleaned up or the compost moved, Hubs & I did pick veggies Sunday. Well, he did most of the picking and I held the containers and supervised.lol
I got another 3 quarts of tomato sauce made last week......good thing too, because here's another large colander 3/4 full of Romas.lol At this point I complain but I will be sad when I can no longer make a BLT sandwich with fresh REAL tomatoes....
We also picked another larger container of Big Boys, 3 each of the Red Bell and Green Italian Roasting Peppers, 2 Jalapenos that had turned RED(hot!). The 4 little pale Green Bell Peppers were because Hubs snapped off the top of one of the plants they were growing on so we had to harvest them 'early'.lol
And we picked 5 of the Butternut Squashes too. There are 7 more left on the vines including a large one that is late in turning the pale color they are suppose to turn. I'm hoping the other 6 get a bit larger before the vines die off but they are all still large enough to eat at this point.
This Harvest----
Tomatoes--7 lbs. 4.5 oz.
Peppers--1 lb. 11 oz.
Squash--14 lbs. 11.2 oz.
TOTAL....23 lbs. 10.7 oz.
Garden Harvest Weight Total to date....77 lbs. 2.72 oz.
Besides the other Butternuts we still have Tomatoes & Peppers coming plus the Collard Greens after the freeze, which HOPEFULLY will hold off on coming until I make some room in the freezer!lol
What did you harvest from your garden this week? Leave a comment and let us know!
Sluggy
While we didn't get some of the beds cleaned up or the compost moved, Hubs & I did pick veggies Sunday. Well, he did most of the picking and I held the containers and supervised.lol
I got another 3 quarts of tomato sauce made last week......good thing too, because here's another large colander 3/4 full of Romas.lol At this point I complain but I will be sad when I can no longer make a BLT sandwich with fresh REAL tomatoes....
We also picked another larger container of Big Boys, 3 each of the Red Bell and Green Italian Roasting Peppers, 2 Jalapenos that had turned RED(hot!). The 4 little pale Green Bell Peppers were because Hubs snapped off the top of one of the plants they were growing on so we had to harvest them 'early'.lol
And we picked 5 of the Butternut Squashes too. There are 7 more left on the vines including a large one that is late in turning the pale color they are suppose to turn. I'm hoping the other 6 get a bit larger before the vines die off but they are all still large enough to eat at this point.
This Harvest----
Tomatoes--7 lbs. 4.5 oz.
Peppers--1 lb. 11 oz.
Squash--14 lbs. 11.2 oz.
TOTAL....23 lbs. 10.7 oz.
Garden Harvest Weight Total to date....77 lbs. 2.72 oz.
Besides the other Butternuts we still have Tomatoes & Peppers coming plus the Collard Greens after the freeze, which HOPEFULLY will hold off on coming until I make some room in the freezer!lol
What did you harvest from your garden this week? Leave a comment and let us know!
Sluggy
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