Coupons ...End of an Era?

Good afternoon friends and savers. As usual, Americans can't just have one of everything. We need to hve 20 of everything. So as everyone got turned on to the TLC show Extreme Couponing, the deals that people were getting got bigger, then more limited and now they are being eliminated.

Some stores will be eliminating the use of coupons when the item is on sale. Target will be limiting the number of Buy One Get One free coupons to be used. Why? Why is the hammer coming down on a simple act of using a coupon? One word ... GREED. Greed is good was a theme of a movie, but it is amazing that the theme has never left the American psyche. If I can get shaving cream regularly $3.25 a can for $0.19 a can, then by all means ... I need to get up a midnight, get to Walgreens, and duke it out for all the shaving cream I can get my hands on. Really? Has it come to this? There is no way you will use 20 cans of shaving cream in a year. Even if you give these items to charity, there is no reason to get up at the crack of dawn to duke it out with other coupon cutters. NOt only do you give those that use coupons a bad name, but there is no more product for others to purchase and for retailers to sell. In fact those that are clearing the shelves are really ticking off managers of some stores (Walgreens).

Now, per my last post in May, I was on this band wagon. I thought that this was a really neat thing to do. You save money and by having some items stocked up, you eliminate the number of trips to the grocery store. Now, I did try to get the most coupons as possible in my area to save some money. I played within the rules of my local grocery stores. Only 15 coupons (Schnucks, Dierbergs) and no doubling (Shop N Save) ... our area doesn't have discount cards for grocery stores like those shown on the Extreme Couponing show. That's ok, I was able to work the deals (use coupon with sale price) and save over 50% on my grocery bill.

But then came ... couponers remorse. I forgot to check my favorite websites for sales. Then the number of coupons that were printed one Sunday were less than lackluster. So, it came down to where is my time most useful? Cutting, sorting, and searching? Or enjoying time with my family? Hmmm.

Now, there has to be a happy medium. Do I cut a coupon for everything on my list? No. Do I still try to get a bargain? Sure. But 1 package of Chi Chi's tortillas will do me just fine. I don't need 10 of them. But if they are on a great sale and I can combine it with a coupon, be my guest. I'm losing ground with my deep freeze too. There is only so much room at the inn and I don't need to buy 5 freezers like one of the show's participants.

So, needless to say I'm frustrated again. Big shock. I want to save money but I really resent being punished for nothing I did. I'm waiting to see them come out with a junior and an adult sized coupon holder. I didn't realize how bad I was becoming until I picked up my purse and realized it weighed 20 pounds thanks to the coupons.

We'll see how the rest of this plays out, but plan on paying more money f0r everything and pay attention to the rules ... They are a Changin'!

Coupons Coupons Coupons

I have now jumped on the coupon craze. Now, I have always used coupons. But I would only use the coupons for my favorite brands.

After watching Extreme Couponing and talking to friends, I have now learned forget brand loyalty and just save.

I will admit I am new to this, but I am enjoying the journey. I have also found some great websites with great advice. Hip2Save.com, CouponPhenomenon.com, and StlMommy.com

So, as I am taking baby steps and starting to save 50-60% I will be posting some of my savings. I mean lets face it. If manufacturers are wanting us to buy their products and they are printining coupons, I'm all about taking them up on their offer. Also, the statistic that only 3% of all printed coupons are ever redeemed is a great thing. I'm just going to help try to get their numbers up.

I love getting things for free. I have entered contests and gotten free samples for years. It's just time to start working harder to save money to feed my family. If I can get something for free and I can pass it on I will. Happy Saving!

Sleeping Beauty

I need to go do about 20 things this morning. However, my darling boy is sleeping. Of course, yesterday morning when I wanted him to sleep in he woke up and ran. A normal occurrence for my G-man. Today? No school. It's after 8 a.m. and he's snoring. I just opened his door and we'll see if he wakes up. I'm hoping my angel wakes up soon.

Scooter 1 and Me 0

You know when the weather gets warm you want to be outside. You want to feel the wind in your hair, speed through the warm breeze, and try new things. This afternoon I tried to be a good mom. With one child out of town on a hiking trip, I took the other one swimming in the morning. We had a blast at the Renaud Center. We came home and the weather was beautiful.

As the afternoon progressed, I was asked by Graham if he could go outside to scooter. Of course! I told him I'd be out soon to watch. Well, it didn't take much of the warm air and the breeze to inspire me. I could scooter too! Can't be that hard, right?

I grabbed Adam's four-wheeled scooter since he was out of town. The scooter has 4 wheels and should be great for balancing. It even has a brake in the back and I've pushed on it a time or two in the basement. So when I grabbed the scooter to give it a whirl, I had all the confidence in the world.

Graham and I headed across the street to the sidewalk and started on our journey. I took off and I was flying. What fun! What a breeze! It was great! Graham asked how far we were going and I said not far as I turned around. What happened next should have been captured on video tape.

As I turned back around from looking at Graham, I made a sharp left turn. Next thing I knew I was trying to catch myself. I tried to catch myself on my hands and knees but it was too late. My right cheek headed for our neighbor's driveway and it hit. I got myself up onto my rump and then came the fun part...the check.

Everything was still moving. Nothing was broken. I looked up at Graham and he was about to cry. All I thought to do was laugh. I asked Graham to help me and he just stared. I told him I was okay and nothing was broken. I looked at my knees. They were just scraped and a little bloody. My right cheek was scratched and my right pinky finger had been hyperextended.

I sat on this driveway for several minutes trying to figure out how I was going to get myself the 30+ yards home before the pain got worse. Luckily there were no neighbors visible. If people did see my stumble, fumble, and tumble of grace and agility they did not run out of their doors to help. Thank God.

So now I have myself cleaned, iced, and bandaged up. I have told my relatives about my latest adventure on four wheels. Now I know to ignore my Spring Fever until I master the art of scootering properly. Next time, the scooter might not be so lucky.

Quotes and Questions

I just heard on tv that when Rosie O'Donnell's mother died, she felt like all the color was sucked out of the movie and made it black and white.

It's an interesting comment that struck a chord with me. I am hoping that with all that has happened to us over the past six months that it hasn't tragically altered my children. I remember so vividly the times that my dad was ill and hospitalized. I was scared of what was happening to us. I had that same feeling when my husband got so ill so suddenly.

I know kids have a resiliance, but only time will tell about how much all of this has affected them.

A Day of Observations

You know it has to be a full moon outside when a lot of weird things happen. Here are a few of the observations I made yesterday. It's kind of scary what strikes me, but yesterday was a banner day.

Observation 1:

While at my local St. Louis Bread Company busying myself for the day, I ended up having to go to the restroom. While in the restroom I noticed that there was a penny on the floor in the stall next to mine. So, a question came to mind. If you see a penny on a bathroom floor is it bad luck to ignore it for fear of the germs? Do you avoid picking it up and risking karma? Don't know if it is true or not, but I gave up and refused to pick it up. I'll find another way to make another penny somewhere.

Observation 2:

While waiting in a parking lot for my husband, I noticed at the neighboring Residence Inn there was an ice cream truck driving through the parking lot. Not only was the ice cream truck driver driving around the building several times, he was also ringing his bell. So, my question is was there going to be enough traffic at the Residence Inn to sustain business? I mean it was 12:45 in the afternoon. Most people staying at this type of hotel are office workers or executives from out of state, but I may be wrong. At last check, he had no customers. Unless the workers at the Residence Inn were jonesing for bomb pops, I think this was a bad business decision.

Observation 3:

Now we are at a Quik Trip at 5:30 in the evening. We live in a suburban community, not a place where you see a lot of Mennonites or Amish. Not sure if they were traveling through, but I saw a family of Mennonites or Amish (couldn't tell, but the dress was very traditional and the black hats gave them away) inside the Quik Trip. They were also using the slushie machine. Struck me as odd since the slushie machine is, well, mechanical and slushie is not what you'd call a natural substance. So, I didn't see any horses or buggies nearby but it was just an odd thing that occurred that I have never seen before in the town that I have lived in for almost 12 years.

So, full moon go to work again and give me some more odd stuff. If nothing else, it took my mind off everything else going on in my life.

So Much Has Changed

Well, in my last writing I was updating on what was the cause of all the change in our lives. Two common household bacteria crawled into an opening of callous on the bottom of my husband's foot. They made a home, set up shop, and started eating away at the tissue in his right foot.

So, long story short, after 2 amputation surgeries (1st for the 2nd toe which had a bone infection and the 2nd for all the other toes that couldn't be saved), being told the infection may be fatal, debriding surgeries, and a skin graft...my husband is left with two-thirds of his right foot. He's still on crutches with minimal weight bearing and we are now approaching the 6 month mark of dealing with this disaster.

I've dealt with home health care nurses, podiatrists, endocrinologists, infectious disease specialists, a general practitioner, anesthesiologists, and two fantastic plastic surgeons. I've learned wound care, skin care, and more nursing techniques than I ever thought possible. I've dealt with insurance companies, pharmacies, hospitals, and short term disability companies. In all, I've become an expert on "What to Expect When All Hell Breaks Lose and You are in the Middle of It." No one writes a script for this. Hell, if they did, they would look at me and say, "Really?" My reply is a very firm, "Yeah, really."

We (our household of 4) are still trying to put all the pieces back together to make everything work as it once did, but we still are still waiting for the day when my husband is finally fitted for a prosthetic for the front part of his foot. You try going from a men's size 14 shoe down to a ladies size 7. You are going to need some filler.

My kids have missed very little school. 1 child has lost 2 days for illness & a few hours to visit dad in the hospital. The other has missed zero days. So I averaged that out to being very little. They have missed no activities due to all of this. Both played baseball in the fall and are signed up to play baseball in the spring. Our oldest has only missed 1 campout with scouts (not a good time to go out of town when your father may have a fatal disease) but has attended every other activity they have put before us.

In the beginning of all the drama, we lost my sister-in-law to her 20+ year long battle against breast cancer and lymphoma. It made all of the news being presented to me all the harder to bear. But, slowly and surely my frustrations are getting more pronounced as warmer weather is coming and we will all want to participate in more outdoor activities.

Now, am I writing this for sympathy? No. Am I writing this for pity? No. There are many others that are worse off than our family and I make sure that my children know it. I am mainly writing to clear my head, release some of my stress and frustration, and to get some closure on what I think has been a pretty nightmarish chapter of my life.

We'll see what the doctors tell us today. Trust me when I say I really am trying to do such a good job at wound care that I want to be fired from it. I'm not a fan of wrapping wounds and poking at tissue. It's just another reason why the medical field was the absolute last of my choices on career day at school.

So, do I look forward to my next posting? Sure. Do I hope I never have to mention transmetatarsal amputation again in my lifetime? You bet!