(Not so) Extreme Couponing (Yet)

So, with both of us finishing up at our 2nd jobs we're really trying to hunker down with our finances so we can make a big dent in our debt this year, and for several years after that. When your income doesn't change the only thing you can do different is to change your expenses. We've seen the TLC show a couple of times and thought it was way too extreme and intense, but we like the idea. Even if we can't save 90% when we go to the store it's still nice to save 15%. Every Sunday newspaper has free money in it, via coupons for things we buy all the time anyway. We've only been doing it for like a month, but I've learned so much already. Every trip we make to the grocery store we learn something new. Grocery shopping has always been enjoyable to me, but now I've turned it into a sport that I try to win.

Where

• So, coupons don't come out of nowhere. The first and most obvious place is your Sunday newspaper. The great thing is that most newspapers will let you just order the Sunday newspaper for about a dollar a week. Then, you can have all of the mainstream coupons. If you'd rather not pay for the coupons or just want more check out the website, www.grocerysmarts.com. This has become my go-to website for all things coupon and savvy shopping related. They list the major stores in every state so you can choose the places you shop to see the ads with the recent coupons that will add value to your shopping experience. It will provide you with links to various coupon websites so you can find them and print the ones you'd like. For really great deals or coupons for things you use the most print as many as it will let you. Grab coupons wherever you can so that you can use them when you find a really great deal!
  

Success

• Our first major success happened just the other night. We spent only 31-cents on two Speed Stick deodorants and a Nivea body wash. Here is how we did it: The Speedsticks were each $1.99 on sale. We had a Buy One, Get One Free (BOGO) coupon. The coupon then credited the full, non-sale price for the free one. So, that made the one we paid for only $0.49. Then the Nivea was a clearance bottle that was only $3.19. We had a $1.50 coupon for that. Finally, the prior week we had scanned our CVS Extracare card to receive in store coupons and we got one that was $2 off if you buy two deodorants. So, we tried that one last and it worked. That leaves a balance of $0.18 plus tax. That's how we did it basically. Impressed? I sure hope so. You can do it too!
  

Organization

• Okay, so now that you're totally pumped up about couponing and the real money savings, there is a bit of work involved. You can't assume that the coupons in the Sunday paper are going to be the most valuable to you for that week. So, you need to organize them for later use. There might be a great coupon for beans, but if they're at full price it might be best to wait until the beans are on sale and you can add the coupon in for savings. We do this by clipping all of the coupons we want and then putting them into clear slots, basically sheets for baseball cards this way we can flip through and see them. I also maintain a spreadsheet of all of our coupons so that we always know what we have coupons for. It's pretty great, but you may not have time or energy for that. A simpler way is to just file your little coupon books based on the day of the newspaper and then when you go to the website you can always just pull out the coupons from that day and clip what you need to go with your printed coupons.
  

Biggest Mistakes

• When we've gone shopping without a list all hell breaks lose. We look around and buy what we want or what sounds good, even if we're not hungry. Then we forget to buy the stuff that we might actually need. It's important to have a menu plan or you'll just end up making it up or spending more money as you go along the way the following week. That keeps happening to us. Fortunately I just downloaded the grocery smarts app on my iPhone, so if it's not on that list we're not getting it anymore.
  
• Sometimes we buy things that are yummy or fun just because we have a coupon. That's not what makes it a good deal. We either really have to need it or it has to be on sale too for us to buy it from now on.
  
• I'm sure we've made plenty of other couponing mistakes, but we're still learning as we go. It's all part of the process.
  

Tips

• Always shop with a list. This way you know what coupons you need and don't go over your budget because you get coupon-adrenaline.
• Don't be ashamed of using coupons, people use them all of the time. Sometimes it's just one, sometimes people have 15. You have to do what is best for you and don't be ashamed. You have just as much right to shop and pay like everyone else does.
  
• Ease in gently and learn as you go. Don' t beat yourself up over not being perfect. I'm certainly not there yet. But make goals and work towards them. You can do this if you want to.
  
• Learn your stores' coupon policies. Wherever you can get coupons doubled or find extra savings is a good thing. So check around and look for it on the internet. It's all there somewhere.
• Read your coupons. Just because it shows a picture of one thing doesn't mean that is all you can get. Sometimes it will let you use the coupon for other items of the same brand that you're more likely to use. Also, make sure you know the quantities you have to buy to get the discount. 50 cents off a cake mix might be a good deal, but 50 cents off three cake mixes might not be a very good savings on it's own. So watch out for those when you grab your coupons for the day.

Now that you know my secret, are you going to join me in my coupon crusade?

Pissing Marines

So, there are some sad Marines in the news these days. There is a viral video on Youtube of them urinating on dead Afghans believed to be members of the Taliban. I find this disgusting because of the lack it shows for human life. I find the idea of getting the revenge on anyone, even an enemy to be deplorable. The position these Marines are in is also disgusting, but maybe not for the reasons you might think.

As it turns out I'm not mad at these Marines for what they did. They are trained to view the enemy, whoever that is, as less than human. These are simply targets for them. Military personnel are praised for their aim and accuracy. They are encouraged to use lethal force rather than risk their own lives and country. Before joining the military it's very possible these guys would have never done this or even thought they were capable of it. But these are broken and redesigned men. Trained in the tactics of war.

During boot camp we break them down. Those drill sergeants don't scream at them to encourage them in a last push-up, but to break down who they are as a person, so that in time they can rebuild them into the military machines they need to be. We can't expect them to make the same rational choices as we would sitting at home watching this on our computers or on the news. We wouldn't expect someone who has been in an abusive marriage to make the same decisions about family that someone in a healthy marriage would make. Same goes for a homeless person and CEO. Different situations in life change us.

And these guys haven't just been through training. They've been in an active war zone. They have likely seen people die by explosion, they have seen children used in acts of war, they have been separated from loved ones, all that is human about them is stripped away. They are used like machines.

What I'm saying is, these guys weren't in their "right"minds when this was done, most likely. They shouldn't have done it, but they did. This is the time to cut them a little slack. We can't expect everyone to be able to mentally hold it all together. They have to numb themselves to the emotional trauma they experience everyday on the battlefield. Let's just stop hating and be more compassionate to who they are and what they're going though.

Mormon Women

So, I'm a Mormon Woman. A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. That's who I am and I heard something really interesting last night while having dinner with friends. He said that when people meet a real Mormon and get to know us their view of the church generally improves. There are just a few categories where that is not true, meaning that the person's opinion actually decreases after they get to know us. The main area where their opinion lessens is their view of how the church treats women.

I'm actually really bothered by this. I can understand how some people might think things are a bit backwards and what not, but it really does make so much sense to me. And never in the church, or by any church policy have I felt less important or less loved than a boy. If anything the church reveres women and treats them with the utmost respect and kindness. I am free to be the woman I want to be and do what I want to do. I'm not exactly sure which specific practice, experience or what not that people see that makes them not like the church's interaction with women so I will refrain from defending any of it. I am however a tiny bit curious what people think.

TSA Searching Children

Okay, this is not likely to go where you want it to go. That's okay with me. Anway, I read a tweet this morning that went something like this: The TSA just patted my child and then swabbed his hands for bomb residue. What is wrong with our country?" Well, I can tell you what is wrong with our country, sadly, there are bad people out there that want to attack us and other innocent people.

You can't even just say, well I'm white so clearly it's not me because they are recruiting everyone, even white people. I know many don't like the patting down of children, but at the end of the day I see no major problem with it. Here is why:

• Children are poked and prodded by us on a regular basis. We even pat and inspect diapers to check for poopies or to see if they've peed. We hand babies off to strangers (doctors, nurses, family members the baby has never met, etc.) all of the time, so a TSA employee isn't so weird to them. Nothing that is happening to them is that weird especially if you're right there with them watching everything.
• Having a child's hands swabbed for bomb residue might not be a bad idea because kids put their hands all over everything you have, so if you have a bomb it's very possible the kid touched it.
  
• If we stop checking children then suicide bombers may very likely use their own children to carry bombs, knives, and other weapons onto planes. If they believe in receiving eternal glory for their own martyrdom, why wouldn't it be good for their kids too?

A few moments of inconvenience for me is worth my overall safety. Anyone who doesn't want to get checked out for overall safety doesn't need to fly that bad then. It's a fact of life so let's deal with it. If you have ways to improve airport security then write a letter to TSA instead of just whining about how invasive the checks are. It could be a lot worse.

Now, please let me know what you think, but let's be nice about it.

Guy movies vs. Chick Movies

So, this is something I've thought a lot about before, but today it really came to the front of my mind. Why is it that us ladies always end up seeing the guy movie out when we really want to see a new "chick" film?

Somehow we give in and agree to see our boyfriend's/husband's/brother's/father's choice of movie instead. Even if we hate scary movies or excessive violence we still end up at those movies when all we really want to see is a cute couple fall in love.

Sure, because that's what our guy wants we give in and go. But why doesn't he ever give in to what we want to see? It seems to me that there is a disproportionate amount of girls giving into movies they don't want to see and rarely the other way around unless it's a birthday present.

I'm not complaining too much about my situation because my husband will see pretty much anything and I try to be reasonable about my requests, but still it can be hard. I see a lot of my friends have similar struggles. Guys need to suck it up and see a cute couple hold hands and kiss, it can't be any worse than girls sitting in a theater watching bodies get blown up. We all have to do things we don't want to do sometimes.

And, guys, if it's that mushy just cover your eyes and plug your ears like I do with excessive violence.

Organized Crime Bosses

So, maybe I'm out of line, but that's okay with me. First, I love mobster movies. I love the power and control these men have and the way they still remain so vulnerable to the other mob bosses powers. It's such an interesting play of characters that I totally get into. (Side note: I am not associated with an organized crime family in any way. I avoid being that vulnerable at all costs.)

Anyway, after hearing about the death of Osama bin Laden it kind of reminded me of organized crimes. President Obama actually ordered the killing of Osama bin Laden. This was a "kill operation". (MSNBC Article) This was carried out by a super elite team of trained military officers that only operates on very high ranking leaders commands, the president ordered this mission. He didn't want to just talk to Osama, he wanted him dead. I think most of the world is okay with that since Osama bin Laden is a well known villain.

I just thought last night as so many people feel relief over this that the president ordered a hit on another human life. Sure, it was against a bad guy, but still. I'm sure the decision was easy and logical, but it's kind of creepy to have to live with that. I just think it's an interesting way to consider it as an organized crime situation. Take it for what it's worth.