Those Coupons...

I was browsing through the coupons my local grocery store listed and, as usual, didn't find much that I could use. There are so many products that I don't use or use so seldom that a sale three years ago still has me stocked up.

What don't I use? First, let's get the things that are unique to me out of the way. I don't use pet food of any kind because I don't have pets, I don't buy bacon or pork of any kind because I don't/can't eat it and I avoid commercial cookies and most candy because the HFCS gives me hives. Also, I don't have any babies or kids so those things are out.

Now... here is what I could buy but I don't (taken from the coupon list).

Whipped cream cheese spread
Liquid eggs
Fancy crackers (Try plain inexpensive saltines with a little butter, toasted under a broiler)
Name brand frozen vegetables (store brand is just as good)
Cornbread squares (I make my own!)
Cashew butter
Almond butter
Paper towels
Paper napkins
Wet wipes
Cleaning wipes
Fabric softener
Sandwich slims (whatever that is)
Cold cereal
Margarine (including fake butter)
Coffee K Cups
Tide Pods
Canned tomato products (I usually grow my own)
Granola bars
Pop Tarts
Refrigerated biscuits
Cookie dough
Bread dough
Frozen waffles

And the list goes on. Convenience foods are not necessarily convenient and they're usually more expensive than what you make yourself.

That's why those coupon deals never work for me. I simply don't use the products they are good for. They're not worth it.

Eat better on a budget

Healthy eating on a budget means eating seasonally, avoiding processed food, sticking to basics, cooking from scratch and using coupons with wisdom and caution.

Eating seasonally might take some getting used to, but you'll get the best of food for the least price if you do. Produce which is in season means sweet and tempting strawberries in the spring lucious, juicy watermelon in the middle of summer, firm, bright apples in the fall and plump and tasty turkerys in early winter. Sure, you can get those things other times, but they're just not as good.

When you avoid processed food, you avoid paying for chemicals that you can't pronounce and your body either can't process or does it to its own detriment. Processing makes a food shelf or refrigerator stable at the cost of nutrients and flavor. Other, simple foods are just as easy to prepare and much better for you.

Basic food is food that covers all the nutritional needs without any fancy sauces or flavorings. No exotic or expensive tastes, but good, simple food that satisfies your hunger. Save the expensive and fancy food for special occasions and you'll enjoy them more, anyway.

Cooking from scratch is a necessity if you want to eat basic food because nobody else is going to make it for you. A pot of beans and a pan of cornbread is easy to make, inexpensive and oh, so good! Simple recipes may be harder to find than complicated ones, but it's worth the hunt. Google is your friend.

Coupons can be really good budget boosters, if you use them right. Never use a coupon to buy something you wouldn't buy in the first place. To save money, make out your grocery list, then go looking for coupons to lower the cost of what you need.

There you go. Lower your entire food bill and eat better, too.

Coupons as Part of Frugal Living

To be honest, I don't use many coupons. It's not because I don't think they save money; they do. The reason I don't use many is because I don't buy most of the products there are coupons for.

I went so far as to go to a coupon page - you know, the ones that list coupons for your area. You tick the ones you want then print them off. I went through five pages and found one coupon that I might use.

What don't I use? Pet food, frozen dinners, high priced toilet paper, paper napkins, paper towels, cold cereal, disposable diapers, refrigerated biscuits, air freshener, bottled tea... well, lots of things.

Most of those things have been created in the last few decades. I'm of the old school, I guess. I didn't need them 40 years ago and I don't need them now.

Now if they had coupons for flour (store brand), sugar, baking powder, loose leaf tea, vinegar and so on, I'd use them.

Online shopping: coupons, codes and good deals

I shop online quite a bit. Although the cost of shipping can sometimes cancel the savings, there are still ways that make online shopping very frugal and I try to take advantage of every one.

First, use a shopping bot like Bizrate or Pricegrabber. These shopbots search the web for the lowest price in the stores that are in their database. You can usually find a good price through them, but beware that they only search within their own databases, so check a couple of them before deciding.

Secondly, search for coupons or promotional codes for the product you want.  There are sites that list coupons and codes for almost every retail site online, but be sure to check the date and any other limitations before trying to use them.  Discontinued codes and coupons are usually removed, but not always. You will usually use these codes at checkout and they're usually good for anything on the site, unless it's restricted to a particular item. Combine these coupons with sales items and you can get a very good deal.

Another way to get coupon codes (some of them specific to you) is to sign up for site newsletters. These will often contain special savings, coupons, codes and "insider" news that will help you shop wisely.

Yet one more way and one that I've found is fun as well as money saving is to work a few "rewards programs" like MyPoints and Swagbucks. You can get gift certificates to your favorite stores and you're getting them free if you don't count the few minutes it takes each day to rack up points.

Online shopping has definitely come of age, so it's up to us to make the most of it.

CouponMountain and Toys for Tots

Here's a good deed you can do with a click of your mouse if you have a Facebook account. CouponMountain is donating money to Toys for Tots, and the amount will be determined by the number of Facebook fans they have on Dec. 31. They’re going to give $1 for every fan (up to $50,000).

There's just one day (today!) to meet the goal of 50,000 fans, so if you have a Facebook account, skip on over there and go to CouponMountain page and click on the "Like" button. Pass it on to your friends there, too. It's for a good cause.

CouponMountain was one of the first of its kind on the internet. I wrote about them 'way back when they first started because I was impressed with the way they implemented the concept of providing just about every coupon and good deal there is out there.  I'm still impressed by their service, so when they asked me to let you know about their Toys for Tots drive, I was more than happy.

And, nope... I don't get anything for saying this, except a good feeling.