Monday, June 30, 2014

Hardly Working after Working Hard

So here's the thing: 5 years ago I got a summer job at this amazing, awesome, fun, crazy place called Schlitterbahn. Amazing, awesome, fun, crazy places tend to require a lot of energy out of you, and that's how my summer routine of exhaustion all began. I worked in the Admissions department for two years, and the third year I moved to Corpus, so that tradition didn't last too long. Well... it so happens that the mother of all Schlitterbahns is currently being built here in my beloved Corpus Christi!
I have no idea what made me do it... maybe it was nostalgia, maybe it was the lure of working at a water park, maybe it was the desire to be more active, maybe it was the promise of more money added to my bank account, or maybe it was a combination of all 4, but I applied. Not only was I hired 2 minutes after meeting with my manager, but I was promoted to my old position of Admissions Lead about 20 minutes into my first day there. That was 8 days ago. And since then, I've become a bit of a nut due to a combination of 5 factors:

1. I have a full time job that I am committed to (Great Sage)
2. I have a full time job that I am committed to (Schlitterbahn) 
3. I have a full time job that I am not so committed to, but am responsible for anyway (housewife)
4. I am a full time student and I've become very anal about grades dropping below a 95. 
5. I have just been called as 1st Counselor in the Young Women's Organization 

Looks like I've bitten off a bit more than I can chew, huh? I think so, too. Today I am extremely grateful about the fact that for some unknown reason my subconscious has refused to let me sleep in past 7AM every day for months now, so even when I'm exhausted and I try to go back to bed, I cannot fall asleep. This used to be annoying, but now it's great news! It means that I'll have no option but to get out of bed and go do the things I'm responsible for. 
Yesterday night as we sat in an office doing Admission-y things, my manager broke the silence and said "Dang girl, did you know you've worked 60 hours??" I said "yeah... I know..." and finished my act with a sincere yawn
If you think those 60 hours have been over the course of 2 weeks, you are WRONG, my friend. Those 60 hours have occurred during 8 days. Two of those days I was Off. Two of those days I only worked from 6PM to 10PM. You do the math. Want me to do it for you? I worked 40 hours in one weekend, and that's only because I asked for Sunday morning off so that I could go to church. 
Of course, that's only counting one job. I have not yet taken into account how I've also worked 30-some hours at my year-round job, or how I've sat for eternities in classrooms at school. 
Isn't that crazy? I worked about 93 hours in ONE WEEK!!! 
Student loans: Beware. My paychecks and I are ready to make battle! 

So what was the point of this whole blog post?? A few minutes ago I was thinking about how great it would be to lay my head down on my desk and close my eyes just for two seconds. Then, I was rudely awoken by a knock on my office door while I was dreaming about "how I really shouldn't leave my head down for longer than 2 seconds". I bet I was asleep for 10 minutes haha. 

This is how terrible I look like today. My hair is untamed and untamable. My eyes have forgotten what mascara feels like, and the hot, heavy, humid July weather has attacked my facial skin like only summer in Corpus Christi can. After years of a clean face, I have now sprouted 4 pimples and a lavishly decorative collection of freckles all over the place. 

You see them? They're all in a line under my nose. Wonder what's up with THAT. Haha. Whatever. 

Drawbacks to my current life: 
1. Sun damage to skin
2. Tired all the times
3. Hair is forever unruly

Benefits of my current life:
1. Never have trouble sleeping!
2. I wouldn't be surprised if I've lost 5 lbs in a week.
3. Extra money = death to credit card debt 

So my point is: I'm tired. But I'd also like to mention how great I feel. This morning I woke up thinking about how you never really know how much you can do until you're pushed past the limit. It feels awesome to feel tired after a long weekend and know that I did the best I could in every aspect. And so that's my story for today. =)

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Apples to Apples: First World Problems

So I've wanted to purchase a Mac for about... 8 years now? Big purchases scare me because I'm always afraid I'll make a mistake and regret it for a long time afterwards, but big purchases that involve consumer electronics scare me even more. I depend on these things too much! What if I can't get used to it? What if it's not what I imagined? What if what I REALLY wanted was that OTHER thing that I didn't get? As I'm typing this out, I am reminded of a personal favorite show (OK, who am I kidding, I'm addicted to TBBT) The Big Bang Theory's Season 7, Episode 19 (The Indecision Amalgamation) in which Sheldon cannot decide between two gaming systems.

The time has finally come to where I'm actually GOING TO BUY a Mac. But a few things frighten me:
1) Why is the Air suddenly $100 cheaper? Is it because there's a newer version coming out in the near future? If so, I don't want to get stuck with the old version...
2) I wanted an Air because its so small, but really... it's only a pound or so lighter than the Mac. I can handle an extra pound in my backpack. Oh but I forget: it's so light! and thin! and Air-y!
3) Alright, so what if I go with the Pro? Well, the Pro is slightly more bulky (but still lighter than anything I've ever owned), it's much more expensive (because I go for top-of-the-line stuff), but just feels so... powerful. And I'll be taking a TON of computer-y classes for the next 2 semesters (at least), so shouldn't this be my best choice?
4) But, I've also been wanting an iPad. If I were to buy an Air, I'd be able to afford that iPad along with it... Two new toys!
5) But wait, aren't I waiting for the rumored iPhad to come along? The next generation iPhone, the iPhone 6, the combination of iPhone and iPad... same thing. Whatever it is, and whenever it comes along, I'm getting it. My faithful little iPhone 5 has been going strong for a long time now, but (as the persistent golddigga AT&T keeps telling me) I'm much overdue for an upgrade. So if I'm getting a bigger iPhone... what do I want an iPad for?
6) And so if I really don't need an iPad, why would I choose the Macbook Air over the Pro?
7) Well... because the Air is cheaper, lighter, and looks prettier.
8) Hey! Who said we are going for looks here?
9) It's Apple... it's always been 80% about looks.

Ugh. I'm just going to adopt Sheldon's practice: 

Spoiled Rotten... Targeteering for Dog Treats!


Here's the main way I "save" money at Target: I always have TWO $5.00 Gift Cards ready to hand over in exchange for some new ones! This lowers my OOP cost and usually makes me feel like I got a better deal than I actually did... but whatever works.
During this Target shopping trip I realized that I spend a lot more on my dog than I do on myself... what up with that??
ANYWAY, back to my post: This week, Target has a mobile coupon for $10 off a $40 dog/cat purchase of food, litter, and treats. (Text PETS to 827438) They also have a deal of "buy one Pedigree dog food and one Pedigree dog treats, get a $5 gift card." Combining these two with some great Target and Manufacturer coupons gave me a great deal! See below:

  • Bought 2 Pedigree Dry Dog Food, 15.9lbs, $11.99 sale price
    • Used two $1 off Target Coupons (target.com)
    • Used two $1 off Manufacturer Coupons (pedigree.com)
  • Bought 2 Pedigree Marrobone Dog Treats 15 oz, $2.99 regular price
    • Used one $1 off 2 Pedigree dog treats (coupons.com)
  • Bought 3 Boots and Barkley Mini Franks Dog Treats, $1.89 regular price
    • Used 10% off Target Cartwheel
  • Bought 2 Boots and Barkley Dog Treats, $2.19 regular price
    • Used 10% off Target Cartwheel
  • USED $10 OFF $40 TARGET COUPON
  • USED TWO $5 TARGET GIFT CARDS (And received two more $5 cards)  
  • Paid with Target Red Card, which gave me 5% Off ending total
Total Before Coupons: $40.01 (Just one penny above my threshold!)  
Total After All Discounts: $14.51!!! (As an owner of a 1-year old Lab with a voracious appetite, this is our average cost for just ONE bag of dog food, so this is an AWESOME deal!) 

CLICK THIS BANNER TO PRINT SOME COUPONS! 

Monday, June 9, 2014

$2.17 MM at CVS for $60 of Product :)

So there's this new CVS that opened up last week and it's exactly on my way to work OR school, so I decided to go check it out. I happened to run into the king of cashiers there, he was the coolest dude I've ever had scan my purchases lol. I thought it was going to be difficult because it was a new store and this might be a guy who just learned how to be a cashier, but no. This guy knew all there was to know about coupons and was kind enough to explain how their system worked and even push through some rather unfriendly Almay coupons that beeped. Also, he had the deepest tenor voice and was about 6'8" or something enormous like that.
Anyway, here's what I bought using a complicated combination of CVS and manufacturer coupons:

  • Two Colgate Total Advantage Toothpaste, 7.6 oz
    • On Sale for 2 for $7.98, Buy 2 get $2 Extra Bucks
    • Used two $1/1 Colgate Toothpaste MC from SS 6/1
  • Two 3-Pack Listerine Breath Strips, $4.29 regular price
    • Buy one, get $2 Extra Bucks, limit 2
    • Used $3 off $15 Oral Care CVS Coupon
  • One Playtex Sport Tampons, 40ct. 
    • One Sale for $7.99, Buy one get $3 Extra Bucks, limit 1
    • Used $3/1 Playtex MC from SS 5/18
  • One Tena Pads, 14ct
    • On Sale for $3.50, Buy one get $2.50 Extra Bucks
    • Used $1/1 Tena Product MC (coupons.com)
  • One CVS Thin Pantyliner, $1.27 regular price
    • Used $3 off $12 Tampons or Pads CVS Coupon 
  • Two Almay One Coat Mascara, $8.29 regular price
    • BOGO 50% OFF
    • Used two $4/1 Almay Cosmetics Product from SS 6/1
  • Two Almay Shadow Softies Eye Shadow, $5.29 regular price
    • BOGO 50% OFF
    • Used two $4/1 Almay Cosmetics Products from SS 6/1
    • Used one $4 off $20 Beauty CVS Coupon
I also used one $10 off $40 CVS Coupon that was mailed to me last Thursday and I used $8.00 in Extra Bucks from last week. 

My total before Extra Care savings and coupons was $60.44
After coupons were applied, the $8.00 Extra Bucks had to be decreased to $7.68 because it exceeded my total (which was perfectly ok with me). 
My total Out of Pocket was $1.33, which was just tax and I received a total of $11.50 Extra Bucks

So to figure out the MM: $11.50 EB - $8.00 EB - $1.33 OOP = $2.17 Money Maker!!! 

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

New and Improved Coupon Binder


I've been planning to revise my old coupon binder into something more Me-friendly. I made the old one before I ever started seriously couponing and I soon found out that some things just didn't work for me. It was very well thought out, but since I was unfamiliar with the amount/extent of coupons out there, some sections (tabs) ended up not being used, while others tripled the initial amount of coupon-holder sheets in them. For reference, here are my old tabs/sections.
  1. Paper and Plastic
  2. Health and Hygiene (this section almost quadrupled)
  3. Cleaners and Aromatics
  4. Fresh Foods (there's like... no coupons for fresh food... ever) (ok maybe there is, but I never see any)
  5. Pantry Items
  6. Fridge and Freezer
  7. Office and Crafts
  8. Home and Misc.
  9. Eating Out
  10. Clothing (I don't think this was ever used, all the sheets in there look crisp and wrinkle-free)
  11. Just for Fun
  12. Shopping Lists
Now that I've made couponing my favorite hobby/lifestyle, I know what sections really need some extra space and which ones I can either condense or omit entirely. I also added a section to hold store-specific coupons. My 2 favorite stores allow "coupon stacks" (you can use one store coupon with a manufacturer coupon on the same item) and so I like to stick both into one pocket so they don't get separated. Having a section for each of these stores will make it much easier for me to find the coupons that I plan to use at that store and not use them at another one accidentally. Here's my Revised Coupon Binder Tabs
Cover Page with Contact Info (in case I loose it)
  1. Store-Specific (Target, CVS, Walgreens, Other)
  2. Paper and Plastic
  3. Health and Hygiene (Women)
  4. Health and Hygiene (Men)
  5. Beauty
  6. Razors 
  7. Cleaners & Aromatics
  8. Pantry Items
  9. Fridge & Freezer
  10. Pets (with a dog like mine, I need coupons)
  11. Baby (don't need this one quite yet... but I will sometime)
  12. Going Out
  13. Office/Crafts/Misc.
This is now organized from most to least used sections, and they should all more or less have an equal amount of coupons in them. The biggest help with definitely be making sections for certain stores. Feel free to take my idea and make it your own!
BTW, I took the time to Clip-Art the title pages into very nice, colorful ones... but then I decided to "go green" (or be colored-ink-stingy, whatever you want to call it) and print them in B&W instead. Does anybody else think the Target dog looks adorable? 



















 I used binder clips to hold the shopping lists I'd printed out a long time ago, but never used. It seemed like a big waste to throw them away, so I'll keep them just in case I get tired of using scratch paper to plan my coupon trips. The binder clips are also very helpful with holding inserts and full pages of printout coupons that I haven't gotten around to clipping yet.

Also, in case you really want to jump into couponing right away, click on the banner below to go to the coupons.com website and set your printer to work! 



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