Alright. I've got permission to post the tin box, I've got the coupons, and I've got worries.

Putting out the coupons is a nice fun idea, and I intend to keep with it. But also, we're moving in April. I'd need someone to be the main "manager" of the tin and check up on it.

So...I don't what I'll do about that time.

OK, so we're back.

Last time someone took down my Coupon envelope. For what reason, I'll never know. This time I have a strategy.

I'm going down to the main office and speaking to the person who is in charge of managing the laundry rooms, and this the fliers boards. I'm going to ask permission to "install" a permanent enevelope, the tin one I've been looking at. The last one I did in fact order I gace to my neighbors to use as an outgoing mail holder. Works great. Anyways.

Going down there and asking to install it permanently and hopefully next to the board instead of on it. I'm getting permission so that I can then do this: ask for a note that can be photocopied and posted NEXT to the envelope to let everyone know that I am allowed to have it there, and no, they may not simply remove it since it's made of paper and I paid for it. I'll prolly post a paper explaining how to use the envelope and some coupons.

I've partially put this motion in plan by going next door to my neighbors and gathering all the ads they don't need or use, to cut the coupons out. I also happened to get some from my friends mom, a nice good batch too. Overall, I've cut them and I have a LOT of coupons. I mean a lot. Basically, so many that I had to get a mini box to hold them all, and I'm still cutting.

Of course afterwards I purge them to make sure they are all valid and if there's any I might use. This is where a lot of science comes in, involving getting the coupons and applying them to personal use.

After I cut them, I trim them because no one needs access blockage. Then I purge them to make sure that they are all valid. Anything still good even two days from cutting day gets put in. Anything still good only for one day is not worth the time. I check the validity while cutting, and again after cutting.

When I'm done, I go through them to see if there's any I could use and this is where it actually got complicated.

First, you have retailer coupons, and then you have manufacturer coupons. Retailer coupons can only be used a certain store. Manufacturer coupons can be used anywhere that product is sold, for the most part.

Coupons are completely useless unless you know how to use them skillfully. (Yes, it is an art.)

Let's say I have a coupon for product Planet. But actually, I usually buy product Starfish. If product Planet isn't equal to or less than in price value compared to Starfish, I'm not really not saving any money. For example:

Planet: $3.00
Starfish: $3.60
Coupon: $0.50

I'd still be paying $3.10, so, I'm not saving anything.

Unless I intend to sample product Starfish.

So we have that. Next, I had some coupons for meal deals at various restaurants. This became pretty tricky since I can't just go eating all whenever I want, so I have to factor various things to determine which coupon is best to use:

When I'm going out.
The area I'll be going to.
Am I going out with another person?
Which location might be closer
Which location regularly has cheaper meals?
Do I want to try going to a different place anyways?
Can this coupon be applied to me and my friend if we eat out? (That way, we both might as well get a decent deal, since we can split the bill anyways. Many meal coupons require an extra entree or beverage to be purchase to get any value out of it.)

Wow, complex. Coupon moms, you should be teaching a class on this! American college kids NEED you.

I'm still working out it.
Howeve,r i nthe midst of all this, I did notice something. I personally think that instead of constantly making consumers keep up with various sales, deals and advertisements (and wasting SO many trees), it would be so much easier if Sears, and Best Buy and others could just put out COUPONS instead. But that's just me. I'm sure there's another side to it I'm not seeing, yet.

Happy Coupon Cutting!

It looks like my budgeting is getting off to a bad start. I was going ot go out shopping thinking I still had my 60$ but it turns out I only had 12$ to my name! Yikes!

Always ALWAYS check your balance before you go out.

...is when the store you want to shop at that night is closed. I seriously wanted to buy at least $10 worth of stuff at the Asian Depot but they were totally closed.


It's a perfectly good way to save money. Hard to buy stuff when the stuff isn't there...


So I went to Publix and bought $10 worth of birthday gifts for my brother.


I really really like the Asian store because they always have wierd imported foods that you can't read since it's written in Chinese. It's fun to pick it up and go "Let's see if I can finish this one!" so sometimes it's like going into a theme park for me. You never know what will be there. I buy the stuff just to try it. (Maybe if I start a really really good food blog on it, I'll get paid and be able to afford to buy the stuff =/ )

The Asian Store has a nice trick though, which isn't posted anywhere in the store. If you pay with a card, there's a minimum of $10 you have to buy, or they won't accept the purchase or transaction. It really makes me go gurr.

It's pretty expensive. When a box of Pocky costs like 2.99 to 4.99, yeah.

/sigh Oh Asian Store.

Working on a plane, people often seem to leave perfectly good things they pay for behind. Full bottles of water, whole meals. I find TONS of perfectly full water bottles (and I mean FULL, way more full than American water bottles) just left sitting there. And whole sandwiches with condiments in their plastic trays still wrapped in plastic.

I don't know if the meals are complimentary. Based on the services I have seen that BA provides to travelers, I would guess so.

Nonetheless, it's a shame to see people just leave it there. Especially if it's free. I don't care if it's an eight hour flight, you still have it, and it's still good. Take it home, stick it in the fridge, it'll still be good after 2 days. What a waste, wealthy or not.

OK, admittedly, I have a similar problem at home. Such as the potatoes Dad cooked tonight. I was thankful for the potatoes and the chicken and the veggies. I didn't finish my portion of the potatoes; I should have even if they were soggy. So...I...threw them away. But it's still something to work on. It's just more noticable when it's your job to literally find it.

According to one woman who I know very well who works in the BA's Club area (a.k.a The Lounge) some people do similar things. Now, the things in the the BA Club Lounge, ARE in fact free. All the accodomation and food and drinks there are free with membership. People take whole bottles of wine, pour one glass, take one sip, and leave it. Or the same with whatever other foods and drinks. One woman even took her purse and put all the lounges chip bags in it.


Wealthy or not, it's good to not waste, even if it isn't at your expense. It's simply good not to. Even if it's free. (Or especially if it's free!).

It's something I want to work on too, and am. Ironically, I can always clear my plate at anyone else's home. But I didn't finish my tatters.

My goal for 2010 Financially: Budgeting. I want to get it down to some sort of art if only for a year. I have a car bill, and a medical bill, and a car insurance bill (shared with Dad) to pay. I'm also considering the birthday gifts I need to buy. Sometimes I but them early so I'll be ready, but I can't buy too much, and I won't be buying ANY Christmas gifts again. So, things included in budgeting:

Medical Bill
Car Insurance
Money That Goes To Dad For Whatever Else
Car Repair Bill
Yearly Birthday Gifts
Random Needs
Occasional Wants
Tithe
Estimated Gas


*sigh*
I do need to spend it wisely. Let's see...there's not much I really want except for Makoto Shinkai's Sora no Kioku book, because I like his art. And I need about 2 to 3 new pillows because somehow they got soaked with only God knows what or how, and it's a health need for real. I may need a new photo album. I may need to get a new monitor, because my current one is actin' funny.
I also need to totally get my PC redone. But if it costs too much, I might as well save up for a new one, and God-willing I'll be able and it might even be a Mac, not that I need one or deserve one. But I'm a tech junkie and I haven't had a Mac to work on. On the other hand, I really think Safari is the ugliest browser in the world, but it happens to display things actually beautifully.

So, budgeting. Tomorrow in fact I'm going to start buying some early birthday gifts. (I'm one of those currently).

I'll prolly need to cut back on Starbucks. I don't buy too often but it CAN be addicting, only because Starbucks is like the only cafe we all know off the top of our heads anywhere even though all coffee you buy tastes the same anywhere.

So, budgeting for the third time is my goal.

Coupon Update: Somebody tore down my wonderfully cheaply made paper coupon envelope....which is why I've ordered a galavanized tin one I can screw it into the wall ^_________^. Or board.

I also need new clothes. Oh boy.