Blog Challenge Day 10: Extreme Couponing

Alright, the title is a bit of an exaggeration but I have seen the light and it shines with savings.  Although I think this officially makes me (as my great aunt lovingly called me) an old married lady, I have become a couponer.  In no way am I anything like the people seen on TLC's Extreme Couponing show.  However the savings I've seen in the few months since I've starting "couponing" have made me a believer.  I just wish I hadn't waited this long to start!

One day the hubs and I were relaxing at home when we heard a knock at our apartment door.  On the other side was a teenage kid selling newspaper subscriptions as part of a fund-raiser.  Although at first it seemed like a scam, after looking at the literature presented to him, my husband took pity on the poor guy and signed us up to receive The Orlando Sentinel.  Although, I really don't read the paper much (I get most of my local news from their website and twitter feed) I definitely look forward to the days when it is filled with savings. 

The Sunday paper is by far the most useful to me.  Not only does it contain booklets of coupons but it also holds sale flyer's for the week. I spend a couple hours each week matching up my coupons with sales for the products I need.  I have been able to save a lot of money and has definitely been worth the cost of the newspaper delivery.  Most of the stores where I currently shop not only print the savings on the receipt but the cashiers seem to delight in telling me how much I've saved in my shopping trip.  Once on the show, the woman featured explained the "high" she got from couponing.  I thought that was kind of silly or maybe strictly reserved for those who get out of the grocery store paying 2 cents for $500 worth of groceries.  However, I have definitely felt the excitement of a good bargain and savings.  On a recent shopping trip to Walgreens, I couldn't help but smile as my register reward coupons just kept on printing and printing. When the cashier looked at me and said, "you're not going to pay anything for this!" and I knew I'd made it.  Ha!  I know this sounds really mundane but in these difficult economic times especially as a newlywed couple just starting out, anything we can do to save money and better our situation and future is honestly cause for excitement.     

As a new couponer, I have caught myself purchasing way too much of something because I felt like I couldn't pass up a good deal.  Luckily this hasn't happened with anything that will expire or that I won't use eventually.  However I can understand how the people featured on the show end up with the "stockpiles" that they do.  I've struggled with feeling like I need to take advantage of a deal because I worry if it will be offered again at a time when I need the particular product.  However, I've found that most stores offer these deals often and that maybe I don't need to use the coupon this month.  In the same vein, many companies seem to distribute coupons for the same products month after month.

No matter how extreme my couponing may (but won't) get, I'm glad that I've started finding ways to save our family money.  I know that the tips and tricks I'm learning now will help me in the future.  I'm sure that this will not be the worst of times financially for us and I want to have the tools and experience I'll need as the needs of my family change and fluctuate. 

Thanks for reading.

BC10-8/8

Blog Challenge Day 2: Home is where the...

Google's street view of my house (well my mom's house I guess I should say)

Wait. At this point in my life, I feel like the expression should read "home is where?"

I went and did it again. I moved across the country and set up shop in a new place. Now as I have before, I feel the tug between here and the "home" where I grew up. The last time this happened, I was 18, a recent high school graduate and ready to take on the adventure of college. Instead of "adventuring" somewhere within driving distance, I figured I'd go as far as I possibly could from my home. (OK, this wasn't my intention however my "dream college" happened to be just outside of Los Angeles, California.) My freshman year was fun and exciting. I met a lot of people from all over the country. I made some friends and was able to travel most of the west coast being lucky enough to make my way from San Fransisco all the way to Ensenada, Mexico. Although I was enjoying my adventures "on my own," I missed home dreadfully. I had gone and fallen in love the summer after my senior year and being so far away from him was so difficult (Luckily I've since married him so we should never be that far apart ever again!) I missed my family, high school (life-long) friends and the east coast. The west coast is fun and exciting but with all its flair, it loses its homey-ness. This is the way I felt anyway. I loved being there but never felt at home.

I ended up having to move home and transfer to a more local college and although it was nice to be home, I really did miss what I had left in California. I had come to terms and gotten used to the idea of living at home again when I had to travel back to L.A. right before school was set to start because 1) I had bought a round trip ticket the previous spring and 2) I had to pack up the stuff I had left in a storage unit to ship home. When I got there, all my friends were moving into their dorms and getting ready to begin classes. I so badly wanted to be there that I went to the financial aid office and pleaded with them to find a way for me to stay but unfortunately it was not possible. I never expected to feel the way I did upon returning. I had known for most of the summer that I was not returning to that school but once I was there, I felt such a desire to stay.

Over the course of the next few years, I slowly stopped missing my west coast experience. I fell out of touch with friends as everyone moved on with their lives. I had moved on as well and had created another new life for myself at the university I attended in Connecticut.

When I finally graduated, the downturn of the economy was just beginning. Suddenly there were no jobs in CT, so I my best option seemed to be to go back to Orlando, FL where I had done an "internship" during college. As much as I enjoyed being in my home state, the prospect of starting a career and another new adventure got to me again. So I convinced the boy to come with me this time and we left on our adventure. Well, since recessions don't leave much room for adventuring, things were not as we expected. After dealing with about a year of difficulty in trying to find permanent work, we thought maybe it was time to move back home. But (of course) a job opportunity presented itself here that we could not pass up. It has been a few years now and we've started to feel at home here.

Now I am stuck yet again. We are not in the position to move for another couple years but have begun talking about where we want to make our future especially if we start a family. I have gone and made friends and created some semblance of a life here but still feel so strongly tied to where I grew up. I hate being to far away but I don't know if I'd be happier moving back home.

Which brings me back to where I started...

Home is where?

Thanks for reading.

BC2-7/31

"Light the Lamp! Not the Rat!"

This is the third holiday season since I moved away from my family and friends in Connecticut. Because Christmastime is the single busiest time of year at Disney, as a Cast Member, they own my soul from Oct. 31st to Jan. 7th. Literally, we're not even allowed to request any days off during that time frame. Anyway, since I have very little seniority with the company, I have not been able to travel home for the holidays since moving here. I always miss my home and family during this time, but especially my sister.

I was blessed with one sibling. A younger sister born about two and half years after me. Although after joining a sorority, I've been lucky enough to have many wonderful women to call my sisters, I only have one true, flesh and blood sister. I'm sure many of you share your most treasured holiday traditions with your family as well. But being that we lived 3 hours away from our closest relatives, I usually spent the holidays with my immediate family only. We created many traditions and memories over the years but the ones I remember most fondly are those I created with my sister.

She is the only person who understands that it is an absolute requirement that we not only watch, but quote and sing every word of The Muppet Christmas Carol on Christmas eve and she knows my exact favorite part of the movie and that I fall over laughing every time.

She knows that on Christmas eve we'll try to make a fire in our fireplace which usually ends in a lot of smoke and a sad little flame while we open our 1 present.

She's knows that Jeff (who is a tree and not a person) spent every Christmas in our kitchen sitting atop the (unused!) wood stove. And she remembers the first Jeff and how he came to be in our house.

She is the only one who knows all the melody parts of which I know the harmony on the Amy Grant Home for Christmas CD that we sing along to while driving around looking for the craziest Christmas houses after church on Christmas eve.

She is the only person I've gotten trouble with during the Christmas eve service at Church. She also lets me freak out every year about her lighting my hair on fire during the candle lighting even though she's never come close.

She is really the only other person who understands my mom's love for A Christmas Story movie and will leave the marathon on, all day Christmas day.

She knows that although our dad loved How the Grinch Stole Christmas and pretended he felt the way the Grinch did about Christmas, he really loved making it magical for us and our mom.

And she is the only person who will drag her mattress across the hall into my bedroom so we can wake up together Christmas morning. <3

 And I could go on and on. My sister and I are very different people and have never been the closest of siblings but I always miss her so much during the holidays. I hope that my children create holiday traditions and memories together that they will cherish as much as I cherish the ones I have with my sister.

Here we are at Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party in 2005

Thanks for reading.