10 Frugal Travel Tips

Deep Fried Cheese Curds   We just got back from our annual travel odessey Up North to visit our families and friends. We drove our rental car over 800 miles in ten days and maximized the trip. Between the family get togethers, concerts, State Fair, racing events and time with grandchildren...

The Coupon Game - Part 2

Usually on Friday I like to post my Publix Trip from the first day of the sale but I'm not really impressed with the ad this week, so I'm waiting to get the few things I need on Saturday when the new YAB flyer starts. There is a little moneymaker on the Friskies Party Mix using the $1.50/2 MQ in...

The Coupon Game

Today in my blog feeds there was an especially interesting article. Seth Godin posted about the Four Stages of The Game:   You don't even realize there's a game. (And any contest, market, project or engagement is at some level a game). You start getting involved and it feels...

Trial Size Trouble

Last night we went to Publix in a neighboring community. I like going there because it doesn't seem to get totally cleared out of moneymakers and BOGO deals. I think because it's a more affluent area, less people use coupons there. But after our shop last night, I think the couponers stay away because...

Is This Being Cheap?

Please give me some feedback on this, I don't want to be cheap and I will do whatever is the right thing to do. Here's the situation:   Our team at work is planning on giving our boss a gift for Boss's Day on Monday. The person who usually gathers all the donations and gets the card is...

Simplify Couponing

It seems like a lot of people would love to try to save a bunch of money with coupons, but they just can't get the grasp of it. Of course the simplest thing to do, is nothing. The next simplest thing is to read the early version of the store ad that you get in the mail or in your email, and...

Does Couponing Make You Fat?

As I pull on my pants each morning, lately the button seems a little harder to get closed. My tummy is a little more jiggly, and my boobs are bigger. I hate to step on the scale because I told DH and myself that I'm going to lose some weight as swimming season is here. But it hasn't been happening....

When Coupons Get Others Mad

I've been thinking One of the things that bugs me the most about being a couponer is that people (and by people I mean, cashiers, managers, other customers) think I am getting away with something, ripping off the store, cheating the system, some even say I am stealing. And it makes me furious. This attitude comes from a lack of knowledge about how coupons work. If you're here reading my blog, you...

Frugal Excess

So, you all know I'm battling with my OCD (Obsessive Coupon Disorder) and I'm not making much progress. I've gone to the store every day this week for one thing or another. It's especially troubling because usually when I set my mind to do something, I can pull out the willpower and do...

It's Not Working

On Friday, I confessed my addiction to couponing, and vowed to stay out of the stores until my next regular shopping day - next Thursday. Now its Sunday and I just back from Publix. I also went to Publix yesterday, and to Walmart. Between the three trips, I spent $2.86 and saved $93.51. It was great savings, but I've failed to stay away from stores. My vow is not working. I told DH he's making it...

Confession of A Coupon Addict

I am finally willing to admit that I am addicted. It is consuming my thoughts constantly, and it must be controlled. I am addicted to coupon shopping. It's the thrill of the hunt for the deals, and triumph of finding the shelves stocked, and ready for my match ups. But, last night my DH brought to...

The Computer Won't Let Me

I hate it when store personnel use that excuse to not honor a discount. Most of the time it's not true, it's simply that they don't know how to do it. The other day I had a Publix coupon for 0.55 that had expired two days earlier. I asked the assistant manager if she would approve it for me to use. She said no "the computer won't accept it". She was lying of course because we know that Publix computers...

Publix Pays

I'm not sure exactly how to report my latest shopping trip, but I think I got paid to shop at Publix. I bought the usual salad fixin's and some BOGO items with matching coupons to make them really cheap. The money makers were the knox gelation (4) and some shedds country crock (2). I did happen to have two $5 off $50 Publix coupons I could use since the total was over $100, and the free milk...

My Recruit

One of the biggest supporters of my fanatic couponing and frugal efforts is my DH. I'm proud to say he's even willing to venture out on his own for a deal if he's seen it happen before. Like the Bayer Contour meter deal at Wags, we each got one yesterday, and then he was tickled to be able to buy...

What's Up Wednesday

Well I'm drawing a blank on topics that are great and interesting, and unique. I could post all the deals like all the other bloggers but you've read them and deleted them all day long - freezer bag, photo cards, home depot, etc... So I'm just going to share with you a typical frugal day. To truly...

Tampa Is The Second Most Frugal City in America

  MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. - (Business Wire) A Georgia peach tastes especially sweet when purchased with a coupon, if Atlanta residents have anything to say about it. The Georgia state capital tops the list of Most Frugal U.S. Cities, according to the 2009 Savings Index1 released today by Coupons.com,...