2010 Publix Art Calendar

I'm so excited I received my 2010 Publix Art Calendar in the mail today. Since they won't be distributing them in Tampa, I emailed corporate and they shipped one off in a day. There are great coupons for each month of the year, so if you want one I'd recommend requesting your own copy.

 

The coupons included are:

January: $2 off a $20 Purchase
February: $1 Off Any Grocery Item of $1 or more
March: $1 Off any Produce Item of $1 or More
April: $1 Off any Bakery Item of $1 or More
May: $1 Off any Meat/Seafood Item of $1 or More
June: $1 Off any Deli Item of $1 or More
July: $3 Off A $30 Purchase
August: $1 Off any Grocery Item of $1 or More
September: $1 Off any Bakery Item of $1 or More
October: $1 Off any Produce Item of $1 or More
November $3 Off of a $30.00 Purchase
December: $5 Off of a $50 Purchase

New Years Resolutions

Well it's the last day of the year and I have to admit, I haven't accomplished what I would like with this blog. I've spent a decent amount of prep getting the site up, and getting affiliates and trying to create interesting posts. However, I just haven't made it my priority. With a full time very boring government job you would think I could sneak in a few posts each day. But the death of me has been google reader and all the RSS feeds that I browse each day. There are a lot of great blogs out there with meaningful posts that I read and think, geeze I could write that too - but I don't because it takes a lot of time to write a good blog post. So with said, here are my frugal new years resolutions

• Create a clear focus for the blog and have every post be related to the focus
• Post regularly, not too much like some do but hopefully at least once a day
• Provide meaningful content with every post, not just ads or deals that everyone is posting
• Link up to Facebook and Twitter (@frugalapolis) and use those networks

So my goals are to just grow the blog with increased readership, and to share frugal practices and deals so others can benefit from a frugal lifestyle.

 

Happy New Year to You!

Is Your 2009 IRA Fully Funded?

You still have a few months to contribute to your IRA and Roth IRA's for 2009. This is a great way to cut your tax burden and save for retirement. There are some exciting changes for Roth IRA conversions this coming year that you should investigate which allow you to defer claiming half of the contribution until 2011, therefore easing the tax burden. According to the IRS, maximum IRA contributions for 2009 are the same for both a Traditional IRA and Roth IRA.  You can also split your contributions among both Roth and Traditional, but your combined contribution amounts are subject to these same limits.
Under 50 years old at the end of 2008:

• Traditional IRA contribution limits = $5,000
• Roth IRA contribution limits = $5,000
• Combined IRA contribution limits = $5,000

Over 50 years old as the end of 2008:

• Traditional IRA contribution limits = $6,000
• Roth IRA contribution limits = $6,000
• Combined IRA contribution limits = $6,000

IRA deadline for 2009 contributions is April 15, 2010.

Quizzle

Another great tool I use to monitor my finances. Every 6 months you can check in, and get your FREE credit score (not just your report) on Quizzle.com 
Your home, money and credit go hand in hand in life, here you can manage it all. At Quizzle, you'll get access to helpful tools and information that will help you make smart decisions about your life, including:

• Free Credit Report
• Free Credit Score
• Credit Improvement Tool
• Home Value Estimate
• Home Loan Recommendations
• Personal Budget
• Advice on How to Improve

Knowing your home value and the prices of homes recently sold in your neighborhood will come in handy when you want to sell your home, refinance your home loan or make home improvements. Staying on top of your money situation will allow you to cover life's expenses and save for your future. Understanding what's on your credit report and what your credit score is will put you in a position to qualify for the best mortgage rates, get that dream job or snag the lowest rate and payment on your new car.

It is a secure site where you can enter your debt and income, and it will calculate your grade, A B or C in financial health. It's handy to see how your credit score changes based on how you spend or save your money. Mine actually went down to 797 (the range is 350 to 850) from 819 in the last quarter. I think its because we have less debt and have been spending less. Credit scores are really strange in how they are determined, and healthy financial choices don't always help your credit score.

 

So give Quizzle.com a try for the new year.

What is Swagbucks?

Recently on Facebook, the question was posed? "What is this swagbucks thing?" Well, simply its a way to search and earn. If you use google to search the internet, you could start using Swagbucks instead and earn points. These points can be redeemed for gift cards and merchandise at your favorite online vendors, like Amazon. I've been using swagbucks to search for quite a while now and earn about 3 points a day, so in 15 days its enough to get a $5 Amazon gift card. So twice a month I redeem points and they email me an Amazon code. It comes out to about $10 a month. The cool thing is I have a special word that I search for every day and it gets me at least 1 or 2 SB (swagbucks). Sometimes it yeild nothing, but then I just add an "er" to the end and search again, then I get points usually. So actually, I have 2 words that NEVER fail to give me points on a daily basis.  So you could try that theory, just use a word like "suspend", and then add er to get "suspender". Or try market, and marketer.  I also check Slickdeals Swagbucks thread and people post swagbucks and hints how to find them. Its actually pretty easy and the $10 bucks a month doesn't hurt. It all adds up.

 

 

 

Time For New Folders

Back to work again after a long weekend, still a little slow so this is a great time to organize for 2010. Of course lots of photos were taken on Christmas and Christmas Eve and new folders were created on the PC to keep them organized. You may wonder how I manage to organize thousands of photos dating back to 2003 when I first got a digital camera. First thing I do is remove all pictures from the camera SD card. I put the SD card in a USB card reader. First I review the photos quickly to delete duplicates, or bad ones. We usually take lots of pictures to make sure we get a good one, but they get screened and deleted before permanently saving on the computer. Then I rotate any that were taken sideways, so they show up in the correct orientation on a slide show on the computer. After review, click the start button to get MY COMPUTER icon, and go to the photo directory that I have sorted by year, and add a new folder for Christmas09. Then I MOVE the photos off the SD card into the Christmas09 folder by selecting and dragging them over. I also upload to my shutterfly or picassa directory online at this time too.

Now is also the time to consolidate folders, and to make a new 2010 folder for all the photos I'll take next year. Being organized helps you find photos you need in the future for prints or to share, or to make cards. Actually there are some deals out there for Shutterfly right now. CARDS4YOU is a code to get 12 free 5x7 cards and it may work in one of your accounts, not all work though. Also try to enter SHIPCARDS (exp 12/29) to get free shipping on your cards. I also got an email for 75 free prints by entering RUDOLPH.

Publix Sneak Peak 12/24-12/31

Well it looks a good stock up week at Publix starting Christmas Eve, they finally have some yogurt (Dannon Activa) that will be free or cheap with matching up the BOGO and coupons. Lots of cereals deals and more salad dressing. Keep checking back to the SNEAK PEAK this week as coupon matchups are added. Another great resource is www.iheartpublix.com for coupon matchups and deals.

 

Keep an eye out for the Publix Art Calendar which is being seen in some stores now, they have great coupons for each month of the year. Get at least 2 copies if you can so you can maximize.

Saved 87% at Publix

Well we just got back from Publix, it took 50 minutes to shop, probably 20 of it was the cashier scrutinizing every single coupon. We got all the regular salad fixin's plus some fun stuff that will go in gift bags so I can't say what they are - but I'm sure I had over 60 coupons. Spent $27 and saved $167. But now I'm totally couponed out. I look at all my RSS feeds with more and more deals and I have to just click them away. I'm over it for now. We have enough to eat in this house for a long time, and a lot of products to clean, and candles to burn, and more than enough of everything. I guess I'm thankful for that. Anyway, with no coupons coming out the rest of the year, maybe we'll take a break from the coupon game. Hope you have a bountiful kitchen for the holidays and if you don't, try couponing.

Another Shutterfly deal $15 off

This seems to be account specific and may not work for all but, it seems to work on old and new accounts. If the code doesn't work on one account, try entering it in one of your "friends" accounts. Anyway, enter FIFTEENOFF in the special offers field to get a $15 credit for any purchase over 15.00. Supposedly this is valid for 6 days after entering into your account, but offer expires TODAY and must be entered in your account NOW. It will show an expiration of sometime in 2109 (over a hundred years from now) so obviously its a typo. The real expiration date was reported on slickdeals.net.

 

I'm not sure if you can combine with the previous offer mentioned HERE where you can get $10 credit. But I'm thinking it may combine since the $10 credit is a unique code, and the other is a targeted offer. Try it. I can't because Shutterfly.com is blocked at work - but I'll do it later. 

No Coupon Inserts this Sunday

It is with great sadness I share with you that there will be no coupons in the paper on Sunday morning. Guess its time to put the extra paper on vacation hold for a couple weeks. And on Sunday the 27th, there will only be a Proctor & Gamble insert, no others. So it looks like I won't have to go recycling for the rest of the year. That is news that brings me some small amount of joy, because I was just complaining to my helper elf that its a drag digging thru the papers for coupons hidden among the million Christmas ads.

Print this Great Coupon

 

Who doesn't love mashed potatoes? These are simple to make and go great with any holiday meal. Click the banner or go HERE. Available at Publix in FL, available at CUB in MN.

Amazon

 

Amazon is my favorite online vendor and its the first place I check for items. If you are shopping at Amazon, do me a favor and click through my site so I get a couple pennies. Just click the banner ad above, or search using the search box on the sidebar of the the blog.

 

If you aren't a member of Prime which gives you free 2 day shipping, here's how you can sign up for a FREE MONTH of PRIME SHIPPING!

Here is how:
1. Add "Cars" Blu-ray disc to your to cart at AMAZON
2. On the checkout page you'll see a one month Amazon Prime trial offer to sign up for.
3. Click on "Learn More"
4. Start your FREE trial
5. Remove the "Cars" Blu-ray from your cart and continue shopping as usual!
Don't forget to uncheck the box for auto-renew or you will be charged when the trial is up.

Eight Free Disney Digital Books

 

When you go HERE and register to choose your childs reading level and take advantage of features like:

• 500+ new and classic Disney books.
• Click to hear words pronounced.
• See definitions using the built-in dictionary.
• Be immersed in Look and Listen stories with voices and sound effects.
• Use Story-Builder to create Disney stories.

$10 off any Shutterfly Order

Register HERE (Parenting.com Baby Model Search) and instantly get a unique coupon code for $10 off any Shutterfly order. You can use your $10 off anytime before November 15, 2010!

 

Remember to cut and paste the code to keep it somewhere safe where you can find it again when you need it. They will send you an email but you might think its spam and accidently delete it - I did! Anyway, you could use different email addresses to get a few codes since they are good for almost a YEAR.

Frugal Gift Bags

This year lots of family and friends will be getting Gift Bags of stuff rather than a single present. Some of our friends are unemployed or underemployed, or have had their hours cut back at work and just don't have the means to give lavishly. So for our gifts this year we're going to put everything in Publix re-usable bags that we've gotten free this fall with coupons. We'll put other items we got free or for less than a $1 so that by the time the bag is filled it will have a $50 or more value. This is what's going in the bag:

1. Arm & Hammer Toothpaste
2. Reach Toothbrush
3. Razor
4. Glade Fragrance Collection Candle
5. Glade plugin air freshner
6. Dog or Cat treats food
7. Candy bar
8. Fisher Fusion Nut Snack
9. Progresso Soup
10. Crackers
11. Alexa crunchy snack
12. Chinet plates and napkins
13. Infusium Shampoo or Conditioner
14. Snuggle Fabric softener or All Laundry Detergent

Back on Track

Well its been a while since I've posted and I apologize to all those new readers who click and see that old post. I'm going to try to make it more of a priority to keep this place updated with lots of interesting frugal thoughts. The bathroom remodel took a lot of effort and we're still finishing touches like installing knobs on cabinets and towel racks, and hanging pictures. Still haven't figured out what to do with the toothaste and toothbrush, but that will come.

 

We did well on the budget with the bathrooms, remodeling both completely with new fixtures, walls, ceiling, tile floors, tile tub and shower walls for only $8300. We have a great handyman who did top quality work. Its funny now that we've experienced having tile installed in our home for the first time, we are both very alert to seeing grout lines and tile everywhere. Its amazing the spectrum of quality work you can see, and most of it is not quality.

 

Anyway, the kitchen remodel is next. I'll post more about that as we get to it.

10 Lifestyle Changes

Here are 10 lifestyle changes you can make to lower your blood pressure and keep it down. For more detail see source HERE

1. Lose those extra pounds and watch your waistline

Blood pressure often increases as weight increases. Losing just 10 pounds can help reduce your blood pressure significantly. In general, the more weight you lose, the lower your blood pressure. Losing weight also makes any blood pressure medications you're taking more effective.

2. Exercise regularly

Regular physical activity — at least 30 to 60 minutes most days of the week — can lower your blood pressure by 4 to 9 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). And it doesn't take long to see a difference. If you've been sedentary, increasing your activity can lower your blood pressure within just a few weeks.

3. Eat a healthy diet

Eating a diet that is rich in whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy products and skimps on saturated fat and cholesterol can lower your blood pressure by up to 14 mm Hg.

4. Reduce sodium in your diet

Even a modest reduction in the sodium in your diet can reduce blood pressure by 2 to 8 mm Hg. And bigger cutbacks mean greater reductions in blood pressure.

5. Limit alcohol consumption

Alcohol can be both good and bad for your health. In small amounts, it can help prevent heart attacks and coronary artery disease and potentially lower your blood pressure by 2.5 to 4 mm Hg. But that protective effect is lost if you drink too much alcohol — generally more than one drink a day for women and more than two a day for men.

6. Avoid tobacco products and secondhand smoke

On top of all the other dangers of smoking, the nicotine in tobacco products can raise your blood pressure by 10 mm Hg or more for up to an hour after you smoke.

7. Cut back on caffeine

The role caffeine plays in blood pressure is still debatable. Drinking caffeinated beverages can temporarily cause a spike in your blood pressure. And some studies show that people who drink caffeine regularly have a higher average blood pressure, suggesting that caffeine might have a long-term impact. But other studies show you can develop a tolerance to caffeine so that it doesn't affect your blood pressure.
To see if caffeine raises your blood pressure, check your pressure within 30 minutes of drinking a cup of coffee or another caffeinated beverage you regularly drink. If your blood pressure increases by five to 10 points, you may be sensitive to the blood pressure raising effects of caffeine.

8. Reduce your stress

As with caffeine, the influence of stress on blood pressure isn't settled. Stress or anxiety can temporarily increase blood pressure.
You need to know what stresses you before you can try to reduce your stress. Take some time to think about what causes you to feel stressed, such as work, family, finances or illness. Once you know what's causing your stress, consider how you can eliminate or reduce stress.

9. Get regular health care

If you have high blood pressure, you may need to monitor your blood pressure at home, or use the monitor at Walgreens or Publix.

10. Get a support system

Supportive family and friends can help improve your health. They may encourage you to take care of yourself, drive you to the doctor's office or embark on an exercise program with you to keep your blood pressure low.

Still Tasty

Many of you are probably off work at home shopping for Turkey Day. But then there will be the inevitable questions about shelf life and how long are those Thanksgiving leftovers still good to eat. HERE is a website Still Tasty that lets you know how long food is really good for. As a former food scientist in the food industry, I know for a fact that expiration dates on products are mostly there to protect the company and help with inventory management. The majority of food and products are good for much much longer than the stated expiration dates. Also remember that when you heat up leftovers for the second time to 160F you begin your shelf life over again. However, leftovers should not be reheated more than once unless you are certain they were sanitarily prepared and stored.

$3 Free MP3 downloads from Amazon

Click HERE to get the code MP34FREE for 3 free songs from Amazon.

• Promotional offer valid for a limited time only and subject to change. Promotional offer is valid from November 23, 2009 12:00 AM PST through November 30, 2009 11:59 PM PST. You must redeem the code by November 30, 2009 11:59 PM PST.
• The promotional offer value is $3.00; if you don't use it fully for a song or album, the remaining dollar amount of the code will remain in your account and will be applied to your next MP3 purchase. You may use it to purchase a song or album priced above $3.00, in which case your credit card will be charged for the amount in excess of $3.00.
• Promotional offer can only be used for MP3s sold at Amazon.com.
• Promotional offer limited to one Amazon MP3 promotional code per customer.
• Amazon MP3 music downloads are available to customers located and with billing addresses in the 50 United States or the District of Columbia only. You must have an Amazon.com account and accept the Amazon MP3 Service Terms of Use to redeem the code.
• We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to terminate or modify this promotion.

Access Denied

It is so annoying when bloggers only send partial feeds of 2 sentences, and to continue reading their content you have to click again to go to their site to finish reading. I have all my reading set up through a RSS feed reader so I don't have to go to each site. Problem is the sites are blocked at the office, but the feeds aren't. I know I know. But anyway, I'm unsubscribing to all those annoying partial feeds. Then I leave a comment to let them know why I unsubscribed. There's enough stuff out there to keep me busy, I certainly don't need to be annoyed doing it.

Veteran's Day Freebies 2009

I salute our military and armed forces and want to thank all of our veteran's. Sometimes it's easy to forget the price you've paid for us but we sure appreciate it.

• Go here to receive a 33% off coupon for Family Christian Store. 
• Free canes from Sam's Club info here
• BOGO Free pizza from Uno's here.
• Free Bloomin Onion from Outback Steakhouse details here
• Free Applebees here
• Free Abuelo's here
• If you're a veteran or an active member of the military get down to Krispy Kreme for a free doughnut on Veterans Day! Click here for a list of participating U.S. Krispy Kreme stores.
• Free meal from Golden Corral on 11/16/09

Give a Day - Get a Disney Day 2009

BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2010, when you sign up HERE to volunteer a day of service with a participating organization
(and your service is completed and verified) you'll get one day admission to a Walt Disney World® or Disneyland®
theme park, FREE! We want to inspire one million people to volunteer a day of service.

 

Program Terms & Conditions

• Receive free admission* to one of the theme parks of the Walt Disney World® Resort or Disneyland® Resort when you sign up and complete a day of volunteer service with a participating organization.
• You must sign up for eligible volunteer opportunities for the "Give a Day. Get a Disney Day." program through this site. Participation in volunteer activities outside of this sign up process does not qualify for a free ticket.
• Ticket quantities for this program are limited.
• One ticket per person, regardless of the number or hours of volunteer service completed.
• The program begins January 1, 2010 and continues until tickets are distributed or December 15, 2010, whichever occurs first.
• Eligible volunteer opportunities are located in the United States, including Puerto Rico, or Canada only and you must have a residence in the United States, Puerto Rico or Canada to sign up.
• You must be at least 18 years of age to sign up, and you may sign-up up to a maximum of 8 additional members of your same household. Children must be at least 6 years of age to volunteer under this program and receive a theme park ticket. Children ages 6-17 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian when volunteering. Other age restrictions may apply to certain eligible volunteer opportunities.
• Volunteer opportunities are posted a limited time in advance of the date of opportunity.
• Volunteer service must be verified.
• Once verified, you will receive an email with instructions on how to print a voucher to redeem for the free theme park ticket. Please print the voucher and present it at the designated will call ticket window at Walt Disney World® Resort or a ticket booth at the Disneyland® Resort, along with valid photo ID, to redeem for your free 1-day, 1-theme park ticket. Valid ID is one of the following: valid Government Issued Passport, valid Driver's License including a photo, or valid Government Issued Photo ID. For children under 18 who do not have any of the previous listed IDs, a copy of a Birth Certificate is acceptable. School IDs or children security IDs are not deemed government-issued photo IDs and will not be accepted.
• The theme park tickets distributed under this Program will not be valid for use on the following dates:
  • For Walt Disney World® Resort: March 29 - April 8 and July 4, 2010
  • For Disneyland® Resort: February 13-14, March 21, June 21-22, July 4, November 21, and December 11-12, 2010.

Tickets are non-transferable.

If you are an Annual Passholder or a multi-day ticket holder, you may choose from one of three options instead of receiving the free 1-day, 1-park ticket. No cash refunds or credits will be provided.

Vouchers must be redeemed for tickets or Passholder and multi-day ticket holder options, as applicable, by December 15, 2010. Theme park ticket must be used by December 15, 2010.

The program's eligible volunteer opportunities are made available solely by or through HandsOn Network ("HON"), Points of Light Institute and their affiliates. Disney is not affiliated with HandsOn Network, the Points of Light Institute or any of the volunteer opportunities available under this program, and shall not be liable for any damages, injuries, losses, claims or expenses of any kind resulting from the volunteer opportunitiesor any activities related thereto.

Subject to these terms and conditions, tickets may be obtained under this program by (1) signing up for an eligible volunteer opportunity in 2010 at a participating organization from this site and completing such volunteer service, or (2) signing up with HON, with Southwest Airlines or though the Disney VoluntEARS program to participate in a volunteer activity that is later designated by Disney as a volunteer activity conducted in conjunction with the "Give a Day. Get a Disney Day." Launch or Tour and actually participating in and completing such activity, or (3) receiving and accepting an invitation from HON to participate in a volunteer activity that is later designated by Disney as a volunteer activity conducted in conjunction with the "Give a Day. Get a Disney Day." Launch or Tour and actually participating in and completing such activity.

These Program Terms and Conditions are subject to change without notice.

How can I find out if the organization I volunteer for is included in the program? Volunteer opportunities are handled through HandsOn Network. Please visit their website at http://www.handsonnetwork.org/disney for more information on the volunteer organizations included their network.

We signed up with Hands On Tampa Bay, and for the Minnesota connection, you can sign up with Hands On Twin Cities. Basically, you need to sign up and register for a one hour orientation class to learn how to be a volunteer. Then you are qualified to volunteer at any number of events throughout the year for your day. Volunteer activities can be done at homeless shelters, the local Lowery Park Zoo, Horses for Humanity and tons of other places.

Twenty (20) Items You Should Never Have to Pay For

Since I've been couponing about six months now, there are some things that I'll never have to pay for again, simply because I can get them for free with coupons. Everyone has a CVS, Walgreens or Target near them and most of these items can be had for free by stacking store coupons with manufacturer coupons, or using the CVS Extra Care Bucks (ECB's) or Walgreens Register Rewards (RR) that are essentially money back and many times give you overage or extra money back so it's a moneymaker.

 

Its important when you coupon, to NOT be brand loyal – If you only will eat Hunts Ketchup, instead of Heinz or whatever brand ketchup is made by, you're costing yourself money. You need to be able to brush your teeth with any of a multitude of brands of toothpaste like Arm & Hammer, Crest or Colgate. If you can't bring yourself to do that, go ahead SPEND MORE OF YOUR MONEY.

 

Anyway, here is a list of items that you should never have to pay for, or if you do it should be a very small amount, like less than a quarter each.

 

1. Toothpaste – on BOGO at Publix a few times a year, stack with coupons and get it free. At CVS or Walgreens you can get free toothpaste usually every other week with the ECB or RR and a coupon.
2. Toothbrushes – CVS and Walgreens are the best places to get these regularly, but they limit quantities. Kmart has double coupon deals where you can stock up, and Target will stack their store coupon with manufacturer (MQ) coupon to get for free. Publix seems to rarely have toothpaste deals unless you can use the Target coupon stacked with a Proctor & Gamble (P&G) coupon and its on BOGO. Then you can stock up.
3. Dental Floss – Easy to get all the time free with P&G coupon stacked with Publix or Target store coupon, or with Walgreens coupon.
4. Bandaids – Johnson and Johnson always has high value coupons that stack with Publix advantage buys, at least quarterly. Also good item for double coupons at Kmart where they double up to $2 coupons.
5. Deodorant – Most brands Dove, Sure, Degree, Suave, Gillette all can be had for free at all stores, usually involves stacking coupons. Remember those coupons in Walgreens ads are store coupons and can be stacked with a MQ. Plus this is a good thing for the homeless give away box, as are all the personal care items.
6. Razors – Oh this is a fun freebie because they cost so much, but they are easy to get for free with the high value coupons out there. Most often found at Target or Walgreens, stacking a sale with a store and MQ coupon.
7. Air Fresheners and Candles – P&G is big with high value coupons available on the internet and email, lots of free or BOGO coupons to be had, stack with a Publix advantage buy or Target sale.
8. Shampoo & Conditioners – Suave, Dove, Pantene, and many others I can't remember are often on sale for a fair price that you can stack a store and MQ to get for free at Walgreens, Target or Publix.
9. Makeup and Tools – Publix is notorious for offering Maybelline, Cover Girl, Revlon and Max Factor store coupons that can be stacked with MQ coupons, and then wait for the store Advantage buy to get lip gloss, tweezers, mascara and nail files for free.
10. Yogurt – match a MQ coupon with BOGO at Publix for free yogurt, usually once a month.
11. Salad Dressing – when the high value Kraft coupons come out in the summer this is the time to stock up, the coupons are scarce now, but the BOGO deals are still out there. We're still using our supply from May of this year and I'm hoping it lasts. I didn't realize how long in between those great $2 coupons. So, its off to trying other brands that stack with sales.
12. BBQ sauce – this is an easy freebie to get all year round. Lots of brands, notably Kraft, Uncle Rays. Stack a coupon with BOGO to get free.
13. Mustard – usually Frenches is the freebie to get fairly often. The coupons aren't that high value, but stacked with a BOGO deal or Walgreens deal, you can get for free.
14. Cereal – Usually need to start with a good sale like $2.00 box or less or BOGO, and stack a Target coupon with MQ coupon at Publix. This week you can get GM and Kelloggs and Kashi cereals for free with combining printables off the internet. I think we got about 14 boxes of cereal yesterday for mostly free when we shopped at Publix.
15. Tomato sauce or paste – there are always $1 Muir Glen internet printable (IP) coupons, and the sauce is 0.89 so it's a moneymaker any day without a sale. Paste is 1.09 so it costs nine cents.
16. Pasta – combine a BOGO with MQ coupon to get this product for pennies.
17. Pet Food and Treats – These go on BOGO often at Publix, and on sale at Target and the coupons available are high value and BOGO. It's easy to frequently stack a Target BOGO with a MQ BOGO and get all of them free at Target or Publix. Brands available all the time are Pedigree, Chef Michael, Purina, Friskies.
18. Paper Products – free Chinet plates, Dixie, Hefty can be had by combining a great coupon with store sale, or even regular price. Also possible to get toilet paper, paper towels and napkins really cheap at Walgreens and CVS by matching the sales with ECB deals and coupons.
19. Reusable shopping bags – look for peelies or store coupons, I have dozens of these and have never paid for any. Publix has a cute new holiday bag out, and GM has peelies on their products to make it free.
20. Instant Potatoes – these are often BOGO and can be matched with a  coupon to get for free.

October Brag

Yesterday, I made my 5th or 6th trip of the week to Publix to use that wonderful $4 off GM store coupon to get more booty. It was totally a coupon run to either stock up or get rain checks and since it was after work my mind was still sleepy and I forgot THE GOLDEN COUPON RULE. In case you can't pull that little rule out of your already cluttered mind, the rule is make sure you have more items than coupons otherwise your transaction will require a supervisor override. Since I was stacking the $4 Q with MQ coupons and I didn't get filler items, the clerk had to call over the manager. He was cool no big deal, it was all legit (ALL my transactions are).

 

So its taking a little longer than normal and I was done bagging and signing, and a gentleman was behind me in line. He had seen me unpack my cart and it filled up the whole belt and then he saw the pile of coupons and then started peering over my shoulder at the total going down and down and down. When the total was final, the clerks are supposed to read you your receipt and tell you how much you saved at Publix, so she says "you saved 90.14 today" (I paid $15.15) and hands me my receipt and I walk away with all my bags. I heard the guy behind me ask the clerk in amazement, "How much did she save??". It was one of those very few times when I felt proud to coupon. Most of the time coupons are a game to me, its fun. Sometimes, they're a hassle and they make me pissy. Sometimes they make me feel smart, and sometimes they make me feel like I'm being perceived as poor. It's actually amazing how wide a range of feelings one can get from coupons.

 

Anyway, my main brag is to celebrate couponing for about 6 months now and my system just seems to run itself with less and less time from me - or maybe I'm just more efficient. My stockpiles are TOTALLY stocked and I have learned to pass up purchases (even if they are free after coupons) if I don't need the stuff. Our total grocery bill for the month of October was $183,  but then I returned dog food that the dog is allergic too (I had purchased in Sept) for a $81 credit, so the net total was $102. I don't have all my receipts itemized so I don't know how much I saved, but I'm sure it was a lot (maybe $700-$900??) based on how full my cupboards, freezers, fridges and spare room are!

 

So, there - I'm bragging and I'm proud! 

Publix Sneak Peek 11/05-11

Go HERE to see the sneak peek at BOGO deals for Publix next week.

Publix Deals 10/28, 2 money makers

People have been asking whats coming up at Publix as far as deals.

 

For the Publix ad sneak peek at Hot Coupon World GO HERE

 

There are a couple money makers you can do at Publix this week too.

 

1. In Ad Qs (starts Thursday): $4.00 Off the purchase of four General Mills or Nature Valley Products, 5 oz or larger.

Muir Glen is a General Mills product and the tomato sauce is priced at .89¢ and the tomato paste is $1.09.
Use four $1/1 Muir Glen coupons from the Better At Home Booklet and the in ad Publix coupon for some major overage (if your store allows).  There are also several Muir Glen IP's available: HERE on the left side of the Muir Glen Facebook site 

So the math works like this 0.89x4=$3.56 - 4 ($1/1) = -0.04 minus the in ad coupon $4 = $4.04 overage.

 

2. Anytime as long as you can get the coupon - quick Go HERE to print a $4/1 any Knox product coupon. The Knox gelatin (usually found in the jello section) is around $1.50 (or less) at Publix so it is possible to get overage (if allowed by your store). Use ZIP code 30187. $2.60 overage

Crappy Crapper

We're moving along in the bathroom and the tile and toilet is the next thing going in. The crappy thing about the toilet, besides being that it's what you crap in - is the poor workmanship we've experienced. We've decided on an American Standard brand toilet since we thought it was good quality and easily available. Plus its the same brand as the toilets at my work, and the mall and everywhere else. You probably haven't' noticed brands of that kind of stuff, but when you're remodeling you tend to notice things like that.

 

So its time to stage the supplies for the next phase of the project and we pulled the stuff out of boxes to inspect. Well the first bowl had a blemish right on the front lip that you would see ALL the time, the enamal wasn't coated there, just a grey rough spot. So back in the box it goes to get returned. We checked the bowl for the other bathroom and that ones fine, so we can keep it. The tanks were both okay.

 

When we returned the toilet to Home Crappo, we got another one. There were 3 to choose from and the other two boxes appeared to be returns. We paid the $84 for the bowl and opened it up in the parking lot to inspect. You guessed it, another manufacturer defect - this time a crack patched in the bottom of the bowl. Right where you would see it all the time, except if it were covered up with poo. It went right back to the store, so now we have no bowl for the 2nd bathroom. More shopping required. Again.

 

What pisses me off is that companies are cutting back staff and crap is getting out of the plant, into the truck, and onto the store shelves. Then we consumers have to deal with defective merchandise. We've never really had to deal with the extent of defects that we've seen in bathroom cabinets, toilets, fixtures, tile and other supplies. The same thing happened to a friend who recently remodeled, three different toilets before they got one that wasn't defective.

Free Photobooks, Free Tshirt and Free Drama

I have acquired many Shutterfly 8x8 photobook codes for a free book ($29.95 value) that I most likely won't use, so I'm offering them up for my readers. If you want a code, let me know. It will cost $7.99 for shipping, so its not really free. The codes expire NOV 15th, so if you get some great Halloween pictures it might be something you want to make a book out of. You can email me HERE if you want a code.

 

There is also a new offer out there to to get a free Tshirt from Marlboro by signing up and logging in your account. Its something to do with make your own brand and you can design your own Tshirt logo using your initials. I made on for Scott using his favorite race car numbers rather than his initials, and it may be kind of dorky, but we always need shirts to do lawn work in. Besides next year I can wear it cause it'll be my age. That would be really cool to walk around in a dumb shirt with my age blazoned on the front. Oh well, a free shirt is a free shirt. Be fore warned to sign up you do need to provide your birth date and driver license number so they can verify you're old enough.

 

Now for the free drama. Actually, I hope the worst drama is behind us with the remodel. The plumbers picked up their check without ripping up the pipes so maybe they got over it. Scott is still really pissed and talks about doing mean things to them. I've just been posting negative reviews of their company and services on the internet. There are several sites that more informed consumers use in their project research so I'm hoping my experience will help others avoid dealing with the plumbers.

So the handyman has been working on the walls trying to put up the electric, fix the pipes that wouldn't fit behind the backer board cause the plumbers didn't really care what the hell they were doing on day 2 when they were goofing off. He's discovered something, that we figured was kind of weird when we were tearing down the walls - they're not square, or straight or anything having to with geometry, except maybe sin and cosine curves. Or maybe an arc cosine curve too. When we were hammering the tile and concrete we noticed that in some areas the walls were 1" thick concrete, other areas were 1/2" thick and some were much thicker, maybe 2" or more. Well, that made it easier for the original installation of the tile walls so that the tile would appear to be flat on the walls. It was flat on the concrete but not the walls. The poor handyman now is going crazy trying to get the walls level in preparation to lay tile. They are really groovy walls, with lots of variance. I guess these old houses didn't need to worry about flat, straight, square walls since none of the walls have drywall, they're all stucco.

 

We're thinking more these days about when to tear into bathroom number 2. Its a bit of a dilemma since both share a common groovy wall, and on one side will be the brand new tile and grout of the tub area, and on the other is the old tile wall and shower wall - both of which need to come down under the force of the rotary hammer and sledge hammer. Scott has lots of power, and if he thinks about the a$$hole plumbers when he's smashing walls, he'll probably break right through the old wall and the new wall Seriously though, we need to remove the old tile before putting grout on the new tile on the other side of the wall, otherwise we'll ruin the new wall. That means..... we need to probably take showers in a plastic bag type enclosure in a demolished room, at least for a couple days. Doesn't that sound fun

 

I know we've deprived you all of seeing pictures of this project but its really not that pleasing to look at. It looks like crap. And it upsets me to see things while they're "in process" between destruction and completion. I remember years ago when my 1988 Hyundai  had a bike rack on top with bikes and we were at a dealership in Indiana, when they drove my car through the garage and ripped the bike rack and bikes off the top of the car. When we got back home and it was being repaired at the dealership, I stopped by since it was taking so long and they showed me the car as they were working on it and I almost fainted. I started crying and moaning and became inconsolable at the state of my car. They had the top half of the car cut apart and peeled back like it had been through the jaws of life. The velour covered seats had welding burn holes all over them and their was metal shavings all over the car. The car was less than a year old and it was trash. But, I got it back and everything was like new, but I'll never get that picture out of my mind how destroyed it was.

 

So I haven't really taken any pictures of our progress. The room doesn't have electric hooked up so there is no light. I try to just walk down the hall fast and not look in that room. It kind of upsets me to see it destroyed. This weekend we'll put the door back in place and close it so I don't have to see it. Its been only 3 weeks and I'm over it, I just want it done, but that's not happening for a long time. Meanwhile, I just try to pretend in my mind, its all good .

Relationships Lost by Being Frugal

Presently we are remodeling our bathrooms and plan to also do the kitchen. A couple weeks ago while removing the bathtub I broke a water line which required emergency repair from the plumbers. We called them and they came out pretty quick (within 3 hours) on a Saturday, and fixed the water break. We also discussed re-piping the house since all the 50 year old water lines were patched and possible breaks in the future. So the last ten days have been taken up dealing with estimates, preparation, shopping and decisions about the re-pipe job. Its finally over and done, but it was a negative experience.

 

I can't help but wonder if we brought it on by being frugal. We felt it would be a pretty easy job for the plumbers since a newer main water line was already to the house. We offered to dig a trench and lay new cpvc around the perimeter to save them time and to save us money. I didn't really like the idea of busting through terrazzo floor slab and stucco walls and having a water line in our closets. We have enough problems keeping them mold free. So we dug up a trench and laid the pipe to the back of  the house. We also bought our own bathtub valves and shower valves so they match, and to save us from the 3x markup on parts that plumbers typically do. So basically, all they provided was labor for 11 hours and lots of pvc and elbow joints, a few shut off valves for sinks and toilets.

 

To make a long story short, they finished most of the job in 2 days and tied in the new pipes. So to save money, we told them we would take care of installing the bathroom valves so they could consider the job wrapped up, please give us a bill. We figured at $85/hr we were in for just over $1000 for labor and the parts at worst couldn't be more than $500, so we calculated about half of the estimate. Boy were we out in left field. The plumbers expected labor of 15 hours to include the time for giving us an estimate, shopping for parts, and driving to our house. They wanted close to $1000 for parts.

 

Well, we were not pleased to be f**ked like this. We told them our expectation and asked them to explain theirs. It got ugly with raised voices, arguing and bullying from the plumber and hostility. They turned it into a totally unprofessional situation, where we just gave in rather than argue with this man. We decided on a number in the middle of the final quote and higher than our expectation, but a liveable price. We felt we were being more than fair, but this man wanted to screw us.

 

The unpleasantness of  this situation is that we've used these plumbers for almost ten years, as do our neighbors who recommended them to us. The plumber does business with our neighbor who is in the AC business. They are our best neighbors who watch our house, lend us their truck, invite us for holidays, watch our dog when we're away, make us great food and in general are great people. It hurts to know they may be offended if they find out how this deal all turned out. I'm not going to get into the drama with them, but the plumber might say something about how we're cheap a$$holes or something.

 

It's a tough situation to be in when you know you are being unfairly charged for a product or service and its not by mistake. What do you do? Risk the relationship to settle the difference, or just pay it to keep peace. I know we have sometimes forgiven crappy cold chicken wings at our favorite bar and grill, because we go there often and don't want to be known as the complainers. We also have paid more for a service when we have no other choices, or it would cost more to start over.

 

So in our short 3 week time span, this is the second vendor we have pissed off who probably won't deal with us anymore than we would deal with them, just because of price. First the trash haulers who wanted double what they agreed to, and now the plumber who finished the job in half the time quoted (due to our prep and assistance on the job) but wanted the full price. Hope it doesn't happen again. At least our handyman is a good guy who's honest, forthright and reasonable.

U2 on YouTube

In case you decided to skip the madness of the Tampa Concert, or perhaps they are not playing in your city for this tour, you can watch the Saturday night concert from California live on your laptop in the comfort of your own backyard.

 

U2 will stream an entire concert live on the YouTube video sharing site this weekend, the Irish band said on their website. Sunday's show at the Rose Bowl in California is already a sellout, with an audience of 96,000 expected, and U2 said it would be the first time for such a large show to be streamed live.

"The band has wanted to do something like this for a long time," said manager Paul McGuinness in a statement.
"As we're filming the LA show, it's the perfect opportunity to extend the party beyond the stadium. Fans often travel long distances to come to see U2 -- this time U2 can go to them, globally."
Google Inc's YouTube will stream the concert across five continents, and two replays will be available after the live feed -- on www.U2.com and YouTube.
The band behind hits like "Beautiful Day" and "Sunday Bloody Sunday" kicked off the U2 360 Tour in Barcelona in June and has boasted high attendances by using a circular platform that can be viewed from all sides of arena.
YouTube has had an uneasy relationship with the record industry in recent years, with labels arguing that popular social networking and online video sites should pay them more for the right to feature their artists.
At the same time they recognize the importance of maintaining their presence on sites that help shape young fans' musical tastes.

A Little More Progress

 

Well you all know we've been remodeling our bathroom, gutted the walls to the studs - only to find we hardly have any studs on the main wall between bathrooms. We've had so many leaks over the years, that it's time for the re-plumbing of our water lines. Unfortunately this makes our $5000 project closer to a $10000 project. The costs are raising everyday that the handyman comes, or we go to the store to get pvc, or valves, or order cabinets.

 

We kind of had a ballpark budget of $5000 for each bathroom, hoping we could actually do both with just 5K. That obviously is not going to happen since the re-plumb will add close to 3K. We've ordered or purchased all the supplies except paint, and lighting for each bathroom, and tile for the shower - so hopefully that won't be more than a couple hundred. We still have a lot of labor to pay for so I'm keeping an eye on it.

 

We got the ceiling re-done yesterday, getting rid of the 50 year old exhaust fan and a heater coil. I can't imagine what they were thinking when they build the house and thought Gee, its cold after a shower or bath, lets install a heater?? When we bought the house 15 years ago, we were kind of scared of using the heater, afraid it would burn the house down. I'll be glad they're gone. So we have a new skylight and new exhaust fan thats installed.

 

This weekend we'll lay pipe to bring the water line to the house, to save the plumbers the effort of digging a water line. Hopefully it'll save us on the re-plumb too. Since the re-plumb has been delayed a week, we've taken the time to shop for things and run other errands, plus go for a walk to Busch Gardens one day. Last night I had a good shop at Publix and spent $34 OOP with a savings of $152 (81%). The lady behind us in line was impressed and asked how we did that. She said she cut coupons but never remembered them or could find them a deal. She thought she was doing good with BIGI deals. I told her to go to my favorite website www.iheartpublix.com to see the matchups and coupon links to print from there. But if you want coupons, you can click on the banner ad above too.

Free Cheerios

FREE CHEERIOS take a survey and get free samples

Venom Coupon

PRINT COUPON for $1.00 off a bottle of Venom Energy Drink

Craigslist works wonders

We're on our way to a new bathroom with the room gutted down to the studs and the fixtures removed. We now decided we might as well replace the old bath tub with a new one since it would be the only old thing in the room. Plus this is the only opportunity EVER to do it. More shopping tonight to get a new tub and then tomorrow replace it in the bathroom.

One of the unpleasant tasks of remodeling is getting rid of the old construction debris from the teardown. First we thought about the FREE way to deal with it was to bring it to the dump, but that involves more handling and time and getting a friend who lives in unincorporated county to come along for the proof of the tax payment. Even though it would be cheap, it would be a hassle. We told our neighbor about all our junk and he offered his truck to have us load the truck and dump it at his works dumpster, but that too would be a hassle. We already have a lot of errands, clean out tasks, tear down and other jobs associated with the project. So, we took a picture of the junk and put it out there on Craigslist for our town and placed a WANTED ad to haul away our construction debris for fifty bucks. Man o man, I feel like I was too generous. I had 7 calls within an hour, and finally pulled the ad. I also put an ad out there for a FREE Bathtub, and got 3 calls within a couple minutes. I pulled that ad too shortly thereafter.

 

So after work today, a guy is coming to pick up the trash for fifty bucks and another guy is coming in the morning to get the tub. Problem solved.

Remodel

Last week we finally met with the contractor that a friend referred to do our bathroom remodel project. We live in a very old house built in 1955, and the bathroom needs some updating. Everything is functional, but aged, and its not that big of a room just five by seven We wanted to gut it and put in new tile in the tub, on the floor and get new fixtures and cabinets. One quote we got to do this on both bathrooms was $6500 each for a total of $13000. I was like, how much? For two weeks of work, you want $13K? NOT.

 

We decided we wanted to minimize the costs by doing the tear down and disposal of scrap ourselves. We also wanted someone who would be willing to work with us and let us do the simple stuff like hook up the sinks, nail the cabinets to the wall, paint, etc. It was important to us that the contractor agree to work by the hour too. So we met with the guy and he looked at our bathroom and we discussed us doing tear down, and him do the buildup. So it looks like it will cost us less than $1000 in labor for one bathroom.

 

So on the weekend, he lent us his rotary hammer to tear out the old wall tiles and concrete. What a job! Its dusty and a work out for the arms and shoulders. We're both achy this morning and sore and tired. We still have more to do.

 

So that is the priority in our frugal life these days, meaning cut backs to extracurricular work like concerts. Bare minimum of couponing, and focus on eating out of the stockpile.

Get Paid To Do What You Want

I think I've mentioned before that we have a busy October month ahead of us, and it just became a little busier since we signed up to work at Raymond James Stadium for the U2 concert coming up October 9th. One of the reasons we have a busy month ahead is because there are a lot of entertainment venues and events that we like to attend, and we are GETTING PAID to go. How, you many ask?

 

Years ago, we were given the opportunity to volunteer as ushers at the Outback Bowl in Tampa, and it meant we got to see the game for free. We thought it was a fun experience talking to Wisconsin Badger fans and enjoying the afternoon outside on a beautiful New Years Day in Tampa. We also talked to other staff there and found out that many were employed by Sentry Event Services and made about $8/hr to watch the football game. We also learned that Sentry did event staff and security for the concerts at the Ford Amphitheatre and Tropicana Field for baseball games. This was a great opportunity for us both to attend entertainment events, and get paid. Usually a show is about 5 or 6 hours of standing around, so about $48 each of us, so we bring home close to $100 for every event we work. We were hired in 2004 and have worked about 30-40 events each year since.

 

But, Sentry Events doesn't staff events at the St Pete Times Forum which hosts indoor concerts, hockey games, basketball games, the circus and skating shows like Disney on Ice. So we marched down there and applied so we also get paid to attend events we want there too. The pay isn't as good, but it still brings in $75 to $90 per evening, and the work is a lot simpler, since we are just guest services, rather than security staff.

 

So between the Forum and Sentry, we are both working 6 events this month that we would like to attend, and will bring home close to $500 rather than spending it on the ticket prices. Its a good gig if you are healthy and can stand for up to 6 hours and you enjoy being around crowded events and people. We've been working shows and sports events for over 5 years now and the savings in ticket prices and entertainment dollars is significant. If there is a show we really, really want to have fun at with drinking and partying, then we spring for a ticket. We have often purchased tickets for high demand shows knowing we can double or triple our money on Stub Hub selling the tickets, then we just sign up to work. If the tickets don't sell (which hasn't happened yet...) then we just would plan to attend rather than work a show.

 

So, if you're looking for a way to attend those football games, concerts, baseball games, contact your local venue and ask who does the staffing for guest services and security, its usually contracted out so its not necessarily the venue that employees you.

It's Not That Hard, Is It?

This weekend I passed along some coupons to a friend who had mentioned needing some razors. In fact, they use Schick Quattro and I  happened to have multiples of a $4 off MQ and a matching $4 off Target coupon, making the $7.94 razor free. I cautioned how they have to take these coupons and get the deal at Target since it is a Target coupon, and they would need to tell the cashier to do a "manual adjustment" since  there was a 0.06 overage that Target registers kick out. 

 

Well today I followed up with that person to find out if they got the free razors. He said they still seemed kind of expensive. I said how, they were free. Well, turns out they didn't go to Target, they went to some drugstore. Target was too far away, like a couple miles. Anyway, of course the drugstore wouldn't take the Target coupon! Duh. I'm sure the price was higher too. Oh but they took the $4 coupon.

 

I couldn't believe it. I try to help people understand couponing and show them matchups, do the deals first myself, so I can tell them what to expect, and they still either don't listen, think it doesn't matter where you go, or they just aren't that bright. It's not that hard is it? Are we all genius's who can figure out how to match up and stack coupons with store sales? I don't think it's that complicated, but it does take some practice and to start out with simple one item deals to make sure everything works out as planned.  But I wish I knew an easy way to share the coupon love, because I don't have the time to go shopping with everyone to train them in. I generally refuse to cut coupons for others too, since the ways I get them are accessible to all others.  They can print their own, and get extra inserts, and of course scan store aisles for blinkies and peelies and booklets.

 

So this friend wants me to teach a coupon class to a bunch of ladies in her neighborhood. I would love to do it and plan to do it. But since I need to figure out a way to simplify the process. I just hate to feel responsible for people who don't catch on, and they end up spending money they intended to save. There are many deals that I would never do if it weren't for the cheap cost with using coupons. Oh well, back to the drawing board on this one.

Are you ready for Tax Day?

Well its almost the end of the 3rd quarter of the year and this is a great time to assess your tax burden for the year 2009. If you are typical wage earner and have your taxes taken out of your paycheck, you can easily determine if you're going to have enough to have your taxes paid and maybe get a refund this year. We typically like to have less than a $1000 tax refund so more money goes into our pockets during the year, but I absolutely hate to pay additional taxes on April 15th.

 

The IRS has a nifty calculator that lets you calculate your tax burden and it takes into consideration several legislative events that occurred this year.

 

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, introduced several changes that affect this Withholding Calculator:

(1) The new Making Work Pay Credit:   The new withholding tables that employers should have implemented by April 1 have been incorporated into the calculator.
You should use this calculator to ensure that the reduced withholding will not result in having too little income tax withheld (possibly causing you to owe taxes next year) if:

• You are an employee with two concurrent jobs,
• You and your spouse both work, or
• You can be claimed as a dependent on someone else's tax return (since you are not eligible for this credit).

(2) Pension income: Non-government pension income is not eligible for the Making Work Pay Credit, and the calculator now accounts for this. If you expect to receive a significant amount of pension income in 2009, you should use this calculator so that you can adjust your withholding appropriately for the second half of the year.
(3) Unemployment Compensation:  The first $2,400 of unemployment compensation an individual receives in 2009 is now tax free. The Withholding Calculator now accounts for this, so enter the full amount into the calculator.

Purpose of This Computer Program The purpose of this application is to help employees to ensure that they do not have too much or too little income tax withheld from their pay. It is not a replacement for Form W-4, but most people will find it more accurate and easier to use than the worksheets that accompany Form W-4. You may use the results of this program to help you complete a new Form W-4, which you will submit to your employer.
Tips For Using This Program

• Have your most recent pay stubs handy.
• Have your most recent income tax return handy.
• Fill in all information that applies to your situation.
• Estimate values if necessary, remembering that the results can only be as accurate as the input you provide.
• Consult the information links embedded in the program whenever you have a question.
• Print out the final screen that summarizes your input and the results, then use it to complete a new Form W-4 (if necessary), and keep it for your records.

Who Can Benefit From This Application?

• Employees who would like to change their withholding to reduce their tax refund or their balance due;
• Employees whose situations are only approximated by the worksheets on the paper W-4 (e.g., anyone with concurrent jobs, or couples in which both are employed; those entitled to file as Head of Household; and those with several children eligible for the Child Tax Credit);
• Employees with non-wage income in excess of their adjustments and deductions, who would prefer to have tax on that income withheld from their paychecks rather than make periodic separate payments through the estimated tax procedures.

For Special Situations If your situation is among those listed below, you will probably achieve more accurate withholding by following the instructions in Publication 919, How Do I Adjust My Tax Withholding?

• If you will be subject to alternative minimum tax, self-employment tax, or other taxes; or
• If any of your current jobs will end before the end of the year.

NOTE: The information you provide is anonymous and will be used only for purposes of this calculation. It will not be shared, stored or used in any other way, nor can it be used to identify the individual who enters it. It will be discarded when you exit this program.
2009 IRS Tax Withholding Calculator
 

I'm not on Target

Yesterday since I was going to be travelling by a Super Target, I thought I would stop to get a few coupons deals that have been blogged about lately, especially ones that stack manufacturer coupons with the target store coupons you can get using the Target coupon generator at Hot Coupon World. I was especially excited about getting my dog some dog food, and also getting some Schick Quattro razors.

 

Well I stroll into the dog food aisle and see all these big wide open empty spaces, right where my dog food should be. The shelves are cleared out. I suspect they've been cleared out a while since someone had left their coupons there in the blank space. Kind of like they've been checking back and the item is never there. I had 3 different brands and items I wanted and they were all gone. What a wasted trip. I went over to the razor aisle and got my razors but then I had the checkout drama. I knew there was a 0.06 overage from stacking the 2 coupons per razor, so I bought a filler item to take up the overage. However, Target cash machines don't work that way, they just kick out the 2nd coupon because it exceeds the value. You have to have the cashier manually adjust each coupon to match the remaining value of the item. What a pain. Apparently, they're getting some new software and this won't be a problem soon. But the first cashier didn't see the problem. I told her my whole bag of items should be free except for my filler, so I didn't want to finalize the transaction yet. We called over the manager, who voided the whole thing and we did it at a different register.

 

Meanwhile, a line of people is behind me moaning about the delay. It was a rather unpleasant experience using coupons. This type of transaction is why I don't normally care to shop the deals at CVS, Walgreens and Target. There are two many complicating factors to getting the deals you think you can get. Sure, if you roll over your rewards or ECB's regularly and know to get fillers to get more items in your purchase than coupons, they will work. But its a hassle, and I stop to think before I even head out to these stores, do I really need that item? Many times I don't, or I can get it at Publix. I love that Publix is so coupon friendly, so I'll be getting my dog food there on my next trip.

Dannon Activia Class Action Lawsuit Settled

Dannon has just settled a large class action lawsuit concerning Activia Yogurt.
They have announced that a settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit involving Dannon's Activia® and DanActive® yogurt products. The lawsuit alleges that Dannon falsely advertised the health benefits of its "probiotic" yogurt and dairy products. Activia® was sold nationwide beginning in February 2006. DanActive® was sold nationwide beginning in January 2007.

 

Under the proposed settlement, Dannon will create a $35 million fund to provide cash refunds to Class Members who timely submit a valid CLAIM FORM

 

Dannon has agreed to amend its labeling and claims of Activia and DanActive, making the scientific names of the so-called probiotics more visible; Dannon will also remove the word "immunity" from DanActive, said the LA Times. Currently, labeling for DanActive states it has "a positive effect on your digestive tract's immune system," reported the LA Times. That statement will be changed to state that DanActive will "interact with your digestive tract's immune system."

According to the LA Times, the refund will apply to consumers who purchased Activia and DanActive yogurts up to $100 per customer, citing court papers. Consumers will be required to complete a claim form, said the LA Times that will be accessible once the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio has approved the settlement.

Chinet coupons

HERE is link to get free chinet coupons

Publix Sneak Peek BOGO's 9/24-9/30

BOGOs:
Publix Deli Southern Style Potato Salad, 16 oz container, save up to 2.49
Campbell's Select Harvest Soup, 18.6 to 18.8 oz can, (excluding bowls), save up to 2.39
Dole Fruit, Gel or Parfait Bowls, 4 pk, 4 or 4.3 oz cup, save up to 2.29
Joffrey's Coffee & Tea Company Coffee, 16 oz bag, save up to 9.99
Thomas' English Muffins The Original, Plain, 12 oz pkg, save up to 2.99
Quaker Oats Oatmeal, Quick-1 Minute or Old Fashioned, 18 oz tube, save up to 2.59
Aunt Jemima Syrup, 24 oz bottle, save up to 3.49
Aunt Jemima Pancake & Waffle Mix, 32 or 35 oz box, save up to 2.59
Post Honey Bunches of Oats Cereal, 13 to 18 oz box, or Just Bunches!, 17 oz box (excluding Family Size), save up to 3.99
Kellogg's Eggo Waffles or Special K, 9.9 to 12.6 oz box, save up to 1.99
Bantry Bay Mussels, 16 oz pkg, save up to 4.99
T. Marzetti's Dressing, 12 or 15 oz jar, save up to 3.99
Quaker Cereal Cap'N Crunch, 20.7 to 22 oz, Life, 21 oz or Squares, 16 oz box, save up to 4.49
Pillsbury Moist Supreme Cake Mix, 18.25 or 18.9 oz box, save up to 1.69
Ronzoni Pasta, 12 or 16 oz box, (excluding Lasagna, Manicotti, Jumbo Shells, or Florentine), save up to 1.39
Zatarain's New Orleans Style Mix, 5.2 to 8 oz box, save up to 1.99
Ocean Spray Juice Cocktail or Cranergy or Juice Drinks, 4 or 6 pk, 10 or 12 oz bot, save up to 3.99
La Famiglia DelGrosso Pasta Sauce, 26 oz jar, save up to 7.99
Powerade Sports Drink, Liquid Hydration + Energy, 8 pk, 20 oz bot, or 10 pk, 12 oz bot, save up to 6.79
Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 32 oz bot, save up to 11.99
Carroll Shelby's Chili Kit Original Texas Brand: White Chicken or for Beef, Fix It Hot or Mild, 3 or 4 oz box, save up to 2.19
A.1. Steak Sauce, 10 oz bot, save up to 3.75
Mt. Olive Sweet Relish or Pickles, 16 oz jar, save up to 2.19
Quaker Quakes Rice Snacks, 3.03 to 4 oz bag, save up to 1.79
Orville Redenbacher's Popping Corn, Microwave, 6 or 10 pk, 12 to 19.8 oz box, save up to 4.89
Nature's Own Bread, all natural or organic 24 oz loaf, save up to 3.49
Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Miniatures or Hershey's Kisses, Miniatures, Nuggets or Hugs & Kisses, or York Peppermint Patties, Big Bag, 17 to 19.75 oz bag, save up to 5.49
Nabisco Ritz Crackers, 13.66 to 16 oz box, save up to 2.99
Keebler Fudge Shoppe Cookies or Wafers or E.L. Fudge, 8.5 to 15 oz pkg, save up to 3.49
Yoplait Yo-Plus or Yo-Plus Light Yogurt, 4 pk, 4 oz cup, save up to 2.50
Kozy Shack Pudding, 22 oz tub, save up to 2.89
Smart Balance Spread, 13 or 15 oz, or 2 pk, 7.5 oz tub, or Spray, 8 oz bot, save up to 2.59
PhillySwirl Frozen Treats, 17.5 to 24 oz pkg, save up to 2.99
New York Texas Toast 13.5 oz box, Olde World Ciabatta Cheese Rolls, 10 oz box, or Garlic & Parmesan Pizzeria Dip'N Sticks, 11.5 or 16 oz box, save up to 3.29
Kahiki Meals, 32 oz pkg, save up to 6.99
Smart Balance 50/50 Butter Blend Sticks: Omega-3, Original or Made with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 16 oz box, save up to 3.49
Purina Tida Cats Cat Litter or Box Filler, 14 lb pkg, save up to 6.99
Spray 'n Wash Laundry Stain Remover Advanced or Max with Resolve Power, 12 or 22 oz bot, save up to 2.99
Fantastik Cleaner, 26 or 32 oz bot, save up to 2.99
Lysol Basin, Tub & Tile Cleaner Aerosol, 24 oz can, save up to 2.99
Right Guard Xtreme Anti-Perspirant & Deodorant, 2 to 4 oz pkg, save up to 3.99
Birds Eye Voila! Meal, 21 to 23 oz bag, save up to 4.99
Ore-Ida Steam n' Mash Potatoes, 24 oz pkg, save up to 3.99
Gorton's Fish, 18.2 to 24.5 oz pkg, surprisingly low price

Publix BOGO Sneak Peak 9/17-23

BOGOs::
Publix Deli Old Fashioned Lemonade, 1 gal bottle, save up to 2.99
Nabisco Family Size Crackers, 12 to 16 oz box, save up to 4.49 (Wheat Thins and Triscuit are pictured)
Kraft Mayonnaise or Miracle Whip Dressing, 32 oz jar, save up to 3.99
Perdue Breaded Chicken Breast Nuggets or Chicken Tenders or Breaded Chicken Nuggets Fun Shapes, 12 oz pkg, save up to 4.39
Hebrew National Kosher All Beef Franks Original, Reduced Fat, 97% Fat Free, or Jumbo; or Knockwurst, 11 or 12 oz pkg, save up to 4.99
Tyson Chicken Patties, 26 oz pkg, save up to 6.59

Kraft Easy Mac Macaroni & Cheese Dinner Original, Extreme Cheese, Big Pack Original, or Animal Shapes, 12.05 or 12.9 oz box, save up to 3.39
Kellogg's Special K Cereal, 11.4 to 14 oz box, save up to 3.89
Post Cereal Fruity or Cocoa Pebbles, Honey-Comb or Alpha-Bits, 11 to 12.5 oz box, save up to 3.89
Quaker Chewy Granola Bars, 8.4 or 8.7 oz box, save up to 2.99
Quaker Instant Grits, 12 pk, 12 oz box, save up to 2.79
Betty Crocker Fruit Snacks or Sunkist, 4.5 to 9 oz box, save up to 2.59
Northland 100% Juice Blend, 64 oz bot, save up to 3.95
V8 Splash Beverage or Diet V8 Splash, Antioxidant Plus, 64 oz bot, save up to 3.11
Ken's Steak House Dressing or Lite Accents, 7 or 16 oz bottle (excluding 8 oz Salad Dressings), save up to 3.19
A.1. Steak House Marinade, 16 oz bot, save up to 2.89
Chatham House Croutons, 5 oz bag, save up to 1.49
Doritos Tortilla Chips, 11.75 to 14.5 oz bag, save up to 3.99
Planters Peanuts Dry Roasted or Cocktail Peanuts, 16 oz jar, save up to 3.19
Keebler Sandies Shortbread Cookies, 9.5 to 16 oz bag, save up to 3.99
Pepperidge Farm Swirl Bread, 16 oz loaf, save up to 3.59
Entenmann's Pop'ems Glazed Donuts, 16 oz box, save up to 3.99
LifeSavers Candy or Mints, 6.25 oz bag, or Pops, 4.2 oz bag, save up to 1.89
Arnold WholeGrains Bread, 24 oz loaf, save up to 3.69
Breyers Ice Cream, 48 oz carton, save up to 4.99
Weight Watchers Smart Ones Desserts, 4.58 to 6.6 oz pkg, save up to 2.00
Purina Beggin' Strips Dog Snacks Bacon Flavor or Cheese & Bacon Flavor, 10 oz pkg, save up to 4.99
Glade PlugIns Scented Oil Refills, 2 ct box, save up to 5.49
Glass Plus Glass & Multi-Surface Cleaner, 32 oz bot, save up to 2.49
Electrasol Finish Dishwasher Detergent, Powerball or Gelpacs, 32 ct box, or Quantum, 20 ct box, save up to 7.79
Hefty Everyday Plates, 130 ct pkg, save up to 4.99
Bausch & Lomb Renu Multi-Purpose Solution or MultiPlus No Rub, 12 oz bot, (33% more free on select pkgs, while available), save up to 8.99
Del Monte Fresh Cut Vegetables, 11 to 15.25 oz can, (excluding Specialty Vegetables and Asparagus), save up to 1.29
Del Monte Tomatoes, 14.5 oz can, save up to 1.39
College Inn Broth, 32 oz carton, save up to 2.79

from Hot Coupon World.

Is it Frugal or Cheap?

Another blogger recently wrote about this subject and I thought it fitting since we just spent a week travelling to visit family out of state, and there was mention of how "You're from the cheap side of the family". I prefer to believe that my lifestyle and money management behaviors are frugal, rather than cheap. Sure we live in an older home, but everything works as designed and besides it'll be paid for in three years, less time than a car loan. We travel more than anyone else in our families, and have more toys like motorcycles, a boat, swimming pool, tractor, trailers, power tools, hot tub, nice bicycles, and cars than most. All of these things are paid for too. To me, Frugal is getting the most for your money, Cheap is being frugal at the expense of others.  Using this definition, we are not cheap.

 

Recently on our trip up North, we asked our families if they could host a party for everyone to get together in one place rather than us making individual plans to see everyone. We sent envelopes of coupons and a check to cover BBQ expenses, and even paid for more stuff when we found out several more people would be attending. We left a thank you cards with more cash to cover the incidental expenses and hassle of having us stay and drink their coffee, break their furniture and mess up the place. We did not want the hosts to feel like we were cheap, and expected them to cover the costs of our visit. When we visit family, we rent our own car rather than borrowing one from someone, which we could - but that's cheap in my opinion. We wouldn't dream of staying at someones house and not offering or insisting on compensating them for the trouble. We also appreciate our neighbor watching our pet and home while we were away and give a generous gift card to let her know. To not do this is cheap.

 

We know people who stay at others houses and just because they are family, its okay to not offer up any thank you gift or cash. We also know people who travel and expect to be picked up at the airport by their friends or family, chauffered around town and delivered back - just because they are too cheap to rent a car.

It's cheap to eat at someone's house without providing for a part of the meal. Its cheap to drink all your hosts beverages without chipping in, or bringing your own.

It's cheap to eat at a restaurant and leave too small of a tip because you don't have change, even though the service was fine. It's cheap to bring your own lunch to work and use someone else's salad dressing or mayo, or worse yet to store your condiments or beverages in their small fridge so that they don't have room for all their stuff. Its cheap to go to a potluck lunch empty handed and yet eat all you want. Its cheap to split the bill at a restaurant when you ordered drinks and your friend ordered tap water to go with the meals. Get it? If saving your money doesn't cost anyone else their money - its frugal, not cheap.