I am a self proclaimed tight-wad, verified three fold by independent sources.  With that, it’s inevitable that I would shop around for the best deals possible, saving pennies along the way.  I am not, however, penny rich and pound foolish, and I understand the value of my time.

So it should come as no surprise that I’m a coupon guy.  Every Sunday I look through the paper and pull out the coupon brochures (as well as the Best Buy ad) and go through them, pulling out coupons for items we use routinely.  Toothpaste, toilet paper, shampoo, green beans, frozen pizza; all fair game.

I read with interest today from an article in the Wall Street Journal about the natural progression of coupons in the digital age.  From the report:

“In the past four months, coupon usage has surged about 10%, according to Inmar Inc., a coupon-processing agent. And increasingly, shoppers are skipping the scissors and getting coupons online or having discounts sent to their smart phones and rewards cards.” -Source

Really.  I could go digital!

Kroger has come into the digital light by sending its free text messaging coupon program to the national level.  The program, provided by Cellfire Inc. sends deals via text message to your cell phone on a regular basis.  All you have to do is click on the link in the text message and the discount is added to the Kroger discount card.

Then there’s the good old internet.  I’ve used coupons.com before to find deals on toothpaste, which is a bit more forgiving because I’m not really particular on brand.  Colgate, Crest, whitening, tartar control… it really makes no difference to me, so long as its the price leader on the aisle.

Coupons.com has been hit and miss with me, because the coupon selection is fairly limited and focused.  The site usually has some coupons for Bausch and Lomb products, which we frequently use, and some various cleaning products.

One major deal they have right now is 35% off the Entertainment Coupon book with free shipping.  The book is typically $20 and we usually get ours from the neighbors kid who sells them for school.  The book easily pays for itself, plus some.

As always, the key to using coupons is to only use them on products you would typically buy.  Using a coupon on a product just because you get 35 cents off is like buying a $100 coat because it was 10% off.

Frugal Living coupons, Frugal Living

Yesterday I called up AT&T and asked them to disconnect my second phone line that was a dedicated fax line.  Over the past year I think I’ve sent one fax, and naturally that can’t justify the $26 per month cost to maintain the line.

I’m not at a point where I’m trying to cut expenses, but it’s as good a time as any since no ones job is really secure.

So I disconnected the fax line, but left my main phone line intact.  For some reason I like having the old copper, twisted pair line running to the house.

Some people have gone strictly wireless, and for good reason.  But I like the ability to give out my home phone number on applications and when filling out forms that “require” a phone number.  It’s much easier to let the answering machine screen my calls than get bugged in the middle of the day by my credit card company with the latest and greatest offer for its best customers.

One good outcome of disconnecting my fax line was that the customer service representative at AT&T was able ot convert my main phone line to a more basic program that cost $4 less per month, but gave me features I didn’t have; namely caller ID and call waiting.

To be honest, I could care less about caller ID and call waiting.  I’ve never had either of them in my life, and considering how much we use the land line, I probably won’t get much value out of them.  I will however get the $4 per month value out of the new program, and that part I like.

So I’m still wired, and not willing to give up the “old style” land line, but I’m also not spending money on service I don’t use.

What are you doing to save money these days?

Frugal Living, Saving AT&T, fax machine, phone service

I finally went out and started my Christmas shopping yesterday, and before I even made my way to the checkout line in Kohls I had found I came down with the funk.  You know, that feeling that on some level even larger than one man can comprehend, there’s something wrong with Christmas?

I have a feeling that the state of our country’s economic affairs has somehow infiltrated my emotional side, as hard as I try not to let it.

At some point in time while in that store I took a step outside the box.  I just sat there and watched what people picked up for others for Christmas, what they talked about, the expressions on their face.

I’ve found that I’ve become very pragmatic about what I give others for Christmas.  If you don’t have a list of what you want for Christmas, you probably won’t get much from me.  I’m not about trying to pick out something for someone else, hoping they will use it.  Chances are, they’ll pack it away in the basement only to collect dust.

I’ve thought about giving consumables (not edibles) this year like toothpaste, toothbrushes, toilet paper, etc. You know, stuff people can actually use and then throw away, spit out, or flush.  It takes up space only for a limited amount of time, and then goes away.

I’m also an anti-clutter type of guy (just ask my old college roommate, MJ).  If it doesn’t have a spot for storage, or if it never gets used, it must go. Trash, Goodwill, garage sale…  I don’t care, but it ain’t staying here.  There are very few tangible items I’m emotionally attached to, and I have no problems making donations to the local landfill.  In fact, I actually look forward to Thursdays… (trash day).

Anyway, while standing in Kohls, I noticed that the majority of stuff people were carrying around (besides clothing) was junk.  You know, the gimmicky cocoa frother who’s only purpose in life is to put a head on your cup of hot chocolate. I’ve got a wire whisk (actually two) that will do the same job and take up less space.  It also does eggs, jello, pudding, cake mix… a true multi-purpose tool that costs less that $3.

What about the smoothie maker which is really nothing but a blender with a tap in the bottom. Can you not make smoothies in a regular blender?

The thing I watched most people carry around was a giant insulated mitten with the head of an ice scrapper attached at the end.  $17.99 for that bad-boy.  I guess a pair of gloves that you can even use when your windshield isn’t icy and a $1.99 truckstop-version scraper just won’t due these days.

Just let me sulk, I’ll be alright.

It seems the spirit of giving has morphed into “giving for the sake of giving’.  And the opportunities started popping up two weeks before Halloween (soon Christmas will be a year round holiday).  Three months worth of Christmas music on the radio, and I’m burned out three days before the actual event.

In an age where we’re strapped for money, or so the media seems to indicate (I don’t know who to trust any more), it seems like Americans are still spending money on crap.

Perhaps I’ll just stick to sending out Christmas cards.

Does anyone else have a case of the Christmas funk?

P.S. If you get a Christmas card from me this year, I expect you to have thrown it away by February 1st next year.  I’ll send you another one next year, I promise.

Economics, Frugal Living, General, Saving buying crap, Christmas, giving, shopping, spending