9:58 a.m. - 2008-01-09
Wii love coupons and Obama
Okay, so Obama didn't sweep New Hampshire as he was expected to which is really a bummer. I am really going to have to face the possibility that Hilary might be the Democratic nominee. I said in an email earlier today that I guess if that does happen, I am just going to have to get really excited about a woman being president. Because the particular woman really doesn't impress me all that much. She comes off as so...bitchy. But I am sure she has a softer side. Regardless, it ain't over yet.
Dog walking has been fun. I went again yesterday and I walked this huge husky and this little old Beagle named Flash. I thought it was a joke when I saw his name, because he is small and gray and kind of limps. But when I took him out, he was rather speedy and spry. I am learning a lot about dogs and that is fun - I haven't done something really new in a while and that's not how I want to be. So this is good. And it's making me exercise and barely even notice because I'm having fun.
We ran some reports on Quicken about our spending in 2007. What a frightening thing to look at how much you spent on things like groceries and beer. It wasn't horrible but it does show us where we can trim here and there so we can save more. It also makes me appreciate my husband's type A side and not get annoyed when he bugs me for my receipts so he can enter in every dollar we spend. We definitely need to spend less on groceries. My goal is to spend 20% less on that this year. I wish I could be one of those coupon maniacs like Kelly's mom who manages to receive money back when she goes to the grocery store - like she has so many coupons they actually owe her money when it's all said and done. My problem with coupons is that it literally takes twice as long to shop when using coupons - even though Kevin categorizes them in this little organizer for me, he clips way to many. When I'm standing there in the store, sorting through 34 coupons in the snack item section looking for a coupon for whole wheat crackers, I want to scream "Kevin, I am NEVER going to buy a gallon sized jar of snack nuts!!!!" And, the brands that have coupons that week are usually more expensive than the store brand and they never on sale, so I have to stand there and figure out if I buy two cans of premium chicken stock and save .25 is that a better deal than the big store brand container that is actually on sale. There is some serious math involved here people! And there might be a really great deal for something like cheese, but all of the stuff that you would use the cheese with, like lunch meat, tortillas and crackers - not on sale. So do I buy the cheese AND the additional items to use said coupon or move on to something else. Then, after all that, at the bottom of my receipt, it says "You SAVED $1.13!!!!"
Did I tell you i procured a Ninteno Wii for my kids? Yup - I am awesome. Long story short, I found this guy on the Internet - no, not how I found my husband - who was selling a Wii for the retail price to a charity to use in a raffle or something. I emailed him, told him about how I told the kids I would get them a Wii for Christmas if they earned it (followed the rules, quiet during homework time, etc.) and then discovered that Wii systems are nearly impossible to get. Well, he called me and said he would sell it to me at the retail price. I bought it from him with a check from the finance department and then, wonder of wonders, it turns out he works for Best Buy and he is going to give us credit in the amount of the price we paid for the Wii to buy games and any other electronic equipment we need. So basically it was free.
Woo - hoo!!
