Retire@50

It's monsoon season here. What that means is that in the morning it gets to 90 degrees and then around the noon the clouds come in and we get a massive downpour for 10 - 20 minutes. As much as an inch at a time, with winds upto 70 mph and sometimes hail and a lot of thunder and lightening. Then it stays cloudy and we might get another 1 or 2 storms before midnight. We should get a couple weeks of this.

Personally I love it. I like watching lightening and I'm very happy when it cools down. I have been getting up early to walk, so haven't had to deal with the rain yet for that.

We didn't make it to Rosie's the other night. Mom didn't get home till after 7, so I just fixed bacon and eggs for myself at home. Still good.

I finished reading my book Ruthless Game by Christine Feehan. Paranormal - excellent.

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 611.98
RX total = 184.64
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 1,003.81

Over $1000 saved in coupons, prescription deals and discounted gift cards so far.

Went to Safeway this morning to pick up another prescription. I've transferred 4 this month, which gives me a $30 gift card. If I transfer 2 more before the end of the month, I will get another $30 gift card. The prescription was $2.

Went to King Soopers and they sent me another survey for $5 off when I returned it to the pharmacy. I spent $6.86 for $31.86 in groceries. I used $5 in coupons, $5 RX deal and 4 $5 visa cards Kellogs sent me for the cereal deal a couple weeks ago. They came really fast. I'm expecting 3 more of them and 2 $10 ones.

I got 3 lbs of bacon on sale at 3.99/lb - still expensive, but best I've seen lately. 3 doz eggs for $1/doz. 4 candy bars - free - go to my mom. I gave all the ones I got last week to her too. 3 Tic - Tacs - free - go to my niece. On clearance I found two huge bottles of potassium supplements that I take on sale for $4.79 each 50% off.

I entered the vitamin codes into Nature Mades wellness site and got 110 points for each bottle, that put me over 500 points and I ordered a $7 coupon.

I know dad wants to go to Rosie's tonight for their prime rib special so I plan to have an omelet for supper. For breakfast I decided to have dinner. I sauteed chicken sausage with mushrooms in butter - it was so good. I'm definitely having that again. I cut the 1b of sausage into 3 sections so I can make it 2 more times.

I sold a book on half com for the first time in a year or so. I just put 2 on last week. Hope the other one sells as fast. Went to the post office and mailed it - $2.82. When I got home there was a message I had a trade on paperback swap, so will have to go back to the post office again tomorrow. Fortunately it's less than a mile away. I've made 4 swaps now, this is pretty good. I have so much credit at the used book store I can never use it, so this is another way to get more books that I want.

I finished reading the library book Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin. Sci/Fi - very good. New author for me, so put the next one in the series on hold too.

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 584.98
RX total = 179.64
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 971.81

I went to King Soopers this morning to get a few groceries. I had a survey offering me $5 if I returned it. They wanted to know why I transferred a prescription. So I got another $5 put on my card. I got 8 free candy bars (4 milky way and 4 3 musketeers). I hope to give them all away to either my mom or nieces before eating one. I also got 2 bottles of Lipton tea for free, which will go to my dad.

The main thing I went for is vitamins. They had CoQ10 BOGO and I had some $2 coupons. These are really expensive vitamins. I'm really trying to get my diabetes under control and the numbers have been very good lately. If I can drop them another 20 points, I will be in the normal range for fasting blood sugar. I read that this supplement helps, so decided to try it out for awhile.

My blood pressure has been spectacular lately too - 110/60's. I plan to see the dr in August and see if I can go off some of the meds, if not all.

While in the store I saw they were advertising free-range nuts (walnuts and almonds). How ridiculous, am I supposed to believe these nuts come from trees that freely range about? Just another stupid marketing ploy that adds about $2/lb to the cost.

I finished reading the library book Caine's Reckoning by Sarah McCarty. Western/Romance - very good. A new author for me, I put some of her other books on hold at the library.

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 559.80
RX total = 174.64
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 941.63

Not a lot going on right now. I can't get interested in any of the deals, it just seems like too much work. I think I'm burned out. I read about them and think - eh I don't feel like it. Hopefully I'll snap out of it.

I went to Walgreens this morning and used a $6 RR to buy two jars of Hellmann's mayonnaise. Also got a dozen eggs for .99

The fried jicama the other night was the best out of the two methods of cooking. I don't think I baked the chips long enough. I might try it again for longer next time. The fried jicama was really pretty good and I'll probably end up fixing most of the rest of it that way.

I finished reading the library book Wit'chstorm by James Clemens. Sci/Fi - very good.

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 553.80
RX total = 174.64
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 935.63

Ran errands this morning - library, post office, walgreens, safeway and food pantry.

I dropped two bags of grandma's books at the library for donations. I'm not sure how come they came to me, but mom handed me a box and said I could do what I wanted with them. They were like new, but when I checked on half.com they were only selling for .75 each. It's not worth my time to list and deal with them for that, so I decided to just donate them.

At walgreens I spent $10.33 and got back $11 in RRs. I got 3 6-packs of Dove men's soap for $6 each. I used 3 $4 coupons making them $6 plus taxes. When you buy $18 worth of Dove you get a $6 RR back. When you buy $20 worth of merchandise and use your AARP card you get an RR of $5 back. So I borrowed mom's AARP card and got 2 bags of Russell Stover sugar free candy to get over $20. I'll give one of the packs of soap to mom as thanks for using the card.

At Safeway I got a head of celery, a huge jicama and 4 tomatoes. I used a $1 off $5 produce coupon and a $2 off produce coupon that I got from buying Wish Bone salad dressing. I spent $2.80.

I've been reading about some recipes for jicama and decided to try making jicama chips tonight for supper. I'm going to try both frying and baking them to see what they are like. I will have enough leftover to make a few more recipes too. They didn't have any small ones so I could just try it.

At the food pantry they told me they just keep getting more and more customers. I would have thought it would be better by now, the economy isn't that terrible around here.

I finished reading my book The Linz Testament by Lewis Perdue. Adventure - pretty good.

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 538.80
RX total = 174.64
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 920.63

I took my youngest niece to see the X-men movie using two of the free movie tickets I got last week buying cereal. The price of the movies has gone down, it was only $5 for the matinee. We both really liked the movie.

We went to Wendy's for lunch and I paid with a discounted gift card - $11.46. She didn't want any junk at the theater, which surprised me because she has a big sweet tooth. I went to Walmart for a few things on the way home and got her an ice cream sandwich for a $1.

I got another prescription transferred to King Soopers - spent $5.81. Instead of giving you $25 to use on groceries, they changed their program and now give you $1 off per gallon of gas. Not as good of a deal for me, since I only fill my tank up once a month and have 6 prescriptions. Safeway has a prescription transfer deal I'll have to check out instead.

I finished reading the library book Hold on Tight by Stephanie Tyler. Romance - very good.

I've been getting up early, (for me about 8:30), so I can walk while it's still cool. This morning it was already over 70 by then so I will walk this evening. I went to the Farmer's market instead. They were passing out samples of local grown cherries and tomato slices w/salt. OMG the tomatoes were so good, so were the cherries - great marketing ploy :0. I ended up buying both and spent $9.25 - pricey but local and so good - worth it.

Mom called and wanted to go out to lunch so we went to Texas Roadhouse. I had a burger and salad - spent $9.55 using a discounted gift card to pay.

I finished reading my book Nightmare in Pink by John D. MacDonald. Mystery - very good.

between moving my furniture for the carpet installation and helping my sister move the last 2 days I have bruises everywhere. The top of one leg is one massive bruise - maybe 8 inches across and 4 inches wide. I have them all over my legs, my stomach (from balancing boxes), my arms - it's ridiculous. I'm not that sore, but did take an Aleve last night when I got home.

I got all my cashed in rewards in the mail this week, I was starting to wonder, it had been quite a while.

I finished reading the library book Burning Prey by John Sandford. Mystery - very good.

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 501.83
RX total = 174.64
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 883.66

The carpet installers installed the rest of the carpet downstairs on Saturday. I'm so glad it's done. I think the first crew did a much better job though. The seams are more visible downstairs and the carpet doesn't look like it's completely straight although you really have to look to notice it.

I have a wall bed and dad and I took it apart on Friday. What a pain. I had muscle spasms for the last 2 days in my back. Mom, dad and I put it back together this morning and it was much easier with the 3 of us.

My cleaner was supposed to come today so I only put the bed back together and hadn't started bringing anymore furniture down yet. I want her to do a good vacuuming before I do that, but she called and said she wasn't coming because she put her car in 4-wheel drive and can't get it out. Huh?

So don't know when she'll be here now. I'm competing with my sister for dad time on help moving stuff She's moving tomorrow and Wednesday. I'll help out there, but that means dad can't come back till at least Thursday for me. I only have a few things I need his help with and they can wait a few days.

I did the cereal deal again yesterday. 2 more free movie tickets and enough UPC codes for 2 more $5 gas cards and finish the $10 rebate. I think I'll do it one more time tomorrow for 2 more free movie tickets, 2 more $5 gas codes and one more $10 rebate.

We took dad to Texas Roadhouse for father's day yesterday. That's the second time I've been and the steaks haven't been that good. Usually they are great. I gave him the $50 Elephant Bar gift cards and the $10 bonus card that came with them.

I finished reading my book Master of Smoke by Angela Knight. Paranormal - pretty good.

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 496.83
RX total = 174.64
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 878.66

I went to Safeway yesterday and did some really good deals on steak, produce and cereal. The deals were better because I was able to stack them.

Safeway has a promotion when you buy a $50 gift card to penny's, lowes or Kohls you get a $10 on your next order coupon. I got the gift card earlier in the week so I had the $10 coupon.

Sirloin steak was on sale for $4.99/lb. However if you bought $20, there was a coupon for $4 off in the ad. And if you bought $25, you got a free $13 steak Knife. I purchased $25.50 worth of sirloin steaks and the steak knife. The steak knife was free and after taking off the $4 coupon and using the $10 coupon I paid $11.50 for about 8 pounds of steak. I used the knife to cut them into single serve portions and froze them. The knife was really good, usually it's a cheapy thing with these kind of promotions.

My second stacking deal was on cereal. There are several layers to this deal.

Layer #1 - Kelloggs cereal is on sale for $2.49/box. Not a great sale, but a sale.

Layer #2 - wyb 5 boxes in one transaction you get a coupon printout for a free movie ticket upto $12

Layer #3 - if the boxes have the Cars2 codes you can enter them at the Kelloggs site for $5 in visa gift cards. 4 codes = $5. Each person can enter 30 codes.

Layer #4 - some of the kelloggs cereals can also be used for a rebate offer buy 10 get a $10 mastercard.

Layer #5 - coupons, and if the coupons were printed from the swagbucks site get 10 swagbucks for each coupons used

Layer #6 - some of the cereal comes with coupons for $1 off fruit wyb 2 boxes of cereal

Layer #7 - pay with discover card and get 5% back on groceries this month.

Layer #8 - get gas points to take .10/gal gas

So based on that information I bought two sets of 5 boxes of cereal. I paid $15.91 or 1.59/box. I got 2 $12 free movie coupons. I got 2 $5 gas cards. I got 4 boxes towards the $10 rebate. I used 8 swagbucks printable coupons. I paid with my discover card. I used the fruit coupon to get $1 of cherries for free.

I plan to do this deal two more times and finish up the rebate. I gave 4 boxes of cereal to my dad, I donated 2 and gave 4 more to my sister. I expect I will donate the rest of the cereal.

The last deal was on produce.

3.18 - 2 bags Fresh Express salad
1.10 - cherries
.99 - radishes
.58 - celery
-----
5.85
-1.00 - $1 off fruit wyb 2 kelloggs cereal
-1.00 - 2 .50 q's for fresh express salad
-1.00 - $1/$5 produce
-----
2.85

I finished reading my books The Deep Blue Goodby by John D. MacDonald. Mystery - pretty good.

And African Ice by Jeff Buick. Adventure - pretty good.

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 466.15
RX total = 174.64
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 847.98

Went to Safeway's this morning and got 6 more bottles of BBQ sauce to donate to the food pantry. It is Bull's Eye brand and was free after doubled coupons.

Safeway is having another gift card deal. Buy $50 gift card from J.C. Penny's, Kohls, iTunes or Lowes and get a $10 coupon on your next order. I bought a penny's card and paid using my Discover card which is giving 5% rewards on groceries this month.

Also went to King Soopers and picked up another prescription. I had a $10 Target coupon and so that was added to my loyalty card to use for groceries. Spent $2.80 on the prescription. I got 3 dozen eggs for $2.98 and some radishes and celery and 2 more bottles of Santa Cruz lemonade to donate.

Yesterday I went to Walmart and got 2 travel sizes of Dial body wash on sale for .97/each. I used 2 $2 coupons and bought almost a whole can of Planters cocktail peanuts with the overage. The peanuts were 2.88 and the overage was $2.06

I finished reading the library book A River in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters. Mystery - very good.

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 449.15
RX total = 174.64
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 830.98

I went back to Staples today and got 3 boxes of 25 sq ft aluminum foil priced at $1 each. I used my $3 coupon and they didn't even charge me tax. So all 3 for free.

Dropped off 3 bags of clothes at the Goodwill while I was over there.

Cashed in another 900 swagbucks for 2 more $5 Amazon Gift Cards.

Used a 40% off coupon and free shipping to order a cookbook from Borders. I need some more Borders gift cards and none of the 3 discounted gift card sites I use right now has them, maybe next week. I almost have enough to order a $25 one from Discover using my rewards.

I finished reading my book The Good, The Bad and the Uncanny by Simon R. Green. Sci/Fi - very good.

DirectTV has free movies this weekend on all 3 networks - HBO, Starz and Showtime. I forsee lots of movie watching this weekend.

Staples put out a $3 off your purchase coupon this week. I went today and they had Quilted Northern toilet paper on sale for $4.99/12 rolls. A very good price. I used the $3 off coupon and spent $2.15 with tax. I used an 8% discounted gift card to pay.

You can use one $3 coupon/day. I think I'll go back tomorrow. They had 25 sq ft rolls of aluminum foil for $1/each. I'll get 3 of those.

I finished reading Eve by Iris Johansen. Mystery - very good.

I got a rebate check for $15 in the mail for an item I got for free.

I went to mom's for dinner last night to celebrate niece's bday. She was pretty happy with her gifts. I gave her 3 books and 7 movies and mom gave her 2 books and 5 movies plus the first 7 Harry Potter movies. She's planning several movie-thon's with her friends.

She booked a flight to California later this month to vacation. It was only $190. That's a pretty good deal.

Sister is moving in with parents today for a few days and then on to Arizona for a week with other niece.

Mom and dad are on vacation on and off most of July.

I have no vacation plans this year. I'm happy staying in my house, maybe next year. I'd like to go to Maine in the fall sometime.

I finally signed up for paperbackswap. I had meant to do this for a long time, but never got around to it. I got my first trade email yesterday and mailed the book. Should get my book in the next week.

I finished reading the library book Chasing Fire by Nora Roberts. Romance - very good.

I cashed out several of my reward programs today. I ordered $45 in books from Borders and will be reimbursed by one of my shopping programs.

I order 2 $5 Amazon gift cards from Swagbucks. I should have enough bucks to get another 2 by the end of the week. I got 27 swagbucks on one search yesterday, that was pretty cool.

I ordered a $50 Amazon gift card from MyPoints.

I ordered an $80 check from my Chase credit card.

Last week I ordered a $40 Shell gas card for 20 reward points from Discover.

Total rewards this last week = $225 - the mail should be fun this week

I finished reading my book The Girl in the Plain Brown Wrapper by John D. MacDonald. Mystery - pretty good.

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 438.48
RX total = 174.64
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 820.31

I went to King Soopers this morning and transfered another prescription which gave me another $25 in free groceries on my card. I paid $7.32 for the prescription.

I had a $10/$50 coupon for Safeway but King Soopers takes them. They had their Quilted Northern toilet paper 12 big rolls on sale for $5.99. I loaded 2 e-coupons on my card - one for $1 and one for $2 off. I bought 2 packs for $12 - $3 coupons = $9 + .72 taxes = $9.72 and since I had $73 in groceries I used the $10/$50 safeway coupon to get the toilet paper for free.

I also got 3 candy bars, a protien bar and Suave professionals shampoo for free. I donated the candy bars to the food pantry and the shampoo goes to my niece. I also donated 2 jars of Santa Cruz lemonade that I got for .25/each.

The entire order was free after the $10 Safeway coupon, $20 in manufacture coupons and $43 in RX coupons. Mostly produce, and pantry basics like rice wine vinegar, jello etc.

I dropped off 8 bags of stuff at the food pantry today and cleaned off my countertops - yeah!

I finished moving things upstairs for the carpet installation except for things I use every day, like my reading lamp and table.

I went thru my closet and pulled out around 40 items to donate to the Goodwill. I'll drop that off sometime this week.

I finished reading the library book Blood Bargain by Maria Lima. Paranormal - very good.

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 406.50
RX total = 130.78
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 744.47

This morning when my mom came over to walk, she gave me a sealed envelope. I asked her what it was and she said it's for you. So I opened it and it was a check for $5000. My parents have decided to start doling out some money to me and my sister before they die. I don't need it and told her to spend it on something they want, but she refused. I always feel so weird when I get money like this. I didn't 'earn' that money so it feels wrong to have it. Ah well, into the bank it goes, it more than paid for my carpet.

I think part of the reason they did it now was because my sister is buying her new house and has a lot of unexpected expenses right now and they want to help her out, so they think if they give her money, they should give me money. I keep telling them if they want to give money to my sister or my brother when he was alive, it's nothing to me, it's not my money, they can spend it however they want. Before he died they gave my brother almost 90K with the understanding it was coming out of his part of the inheritance. At least he got part of his inheritance before he died.

Mom and I went in town yesterday to scope out Costco and try to decide if we should purchase a membership. We decided we didn't think it was worth it, even if we split it. She was also looking for bday gifts for my niece so we went to Borders where I got 3 books. I'm out of gift cards so I actually had to pay $9 after a 30% discount on each book and $5 in bonus bucks. First time I've had to pay at Borders in a couple of years I think. I need to cash in some of my rewards programs and get some more gift cards.

They didn't have the book mom was looking for so we went to Mardels. I had a 30% off one item coupon that I sent her, so we both had one. She found the book she wanted, but didn't want anything else so I gave my coupon to someone in the store to use.

We went to Ruby Tuesday's for lunch and mom paid, she had a coupon for 25%.

Last stop was Target where I got 8 boxes of Jello and a package of Oscar Meyer bacon. I spent $8.30 and used $5.44 in coupons.

Went to King Soopers this morning and transferred another prescription. Got another $25 in RX rewards on my card. Spent $2.40 for the prescription. Bought cherry tomatoes, celery and an onion paid with a $1 coupon and my RX money so free.

Finished reading the library book When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James. Romance - very good. Cute and funny.

The last of my discounted gift cards arrived in the mail today so I went to Home Depot and ordered the carpet for the downstairs.

Total for both upstairs and down was $4544.15

I saved ....

$200 - installation special
$491.14 - 15% discount on carpet material since they ordered the wrong pattern
$233.31 - 8% on discounted gift cards
$81.39 - 5% on amount charged to credit card for rewards
-------
$1005.84 = total saved or 22%

I have about 3 more days of making 5 trips up the stairs each day to finish getting the downstairs ready for the install.

I finished reading the library book A Taint in the Blood by S.M. Stirling. Sci/Fi - ok. I like his other books better and I'll read the sequel to this one, maybe the series will get better. He's very good at writing characters.

I helped my sister pack up to move yesterday and she gave me a stack of coupon inserts that she hasn't had time to go thru. So I clipped coupons last night and set out to gather more free stuff today. I have a huge load for the food pantry the next time I can drop off. They only let you donate Monday and Thursday afternoon and for some reason, that's a bad time for me - always some conflict - so I end up waiting till I have a ton of stuff.

King Soopers first. I got 2 free 20 ct packages of Carefree and a bottle of Santa Cruz lemonade for a quarter for the food pantry. I also got a free protein bar, 2 free butterfingers a bunch of radishes for .99 and a bag of shredded cabbage for .85. I used another $2.29 in RX coupons and it was all free.

Safeway sent out a bunch of coupons for free Safeway products so I went and got those today along with some other freebies. I spent $3.79. I used $17.26 in coupons.

I got the following for free - they all go to the food pantry

2 bottles Jack Daniels BBQ sauce - FP
1 40 oz bottles safeway ketchup - FP
10 ct safeway jumbo taco shells - FP
1 24 oz bottle safeway pasta sauce - FP
1 16 oz safeway spaghetti - FP
1 bottle Lawry marinade - FP

I got 2 bottles of KC masterpiece BBQ sauce which will be donated to the food pantry. They were .88/each. I used a $1 q and I had a coupon for $2 off country pork ribs wyb KC BBQ sauce. I got 1 lb of pork ribs for $2.50. So they were .50 cents after the coupon and I paid .76 for the 2 bottles of BBQ sauce. I've never fixed country pork ribs before - any suggestions on what to do with this? I froze them until I find out what to do with them.

I also got 2 bags of Fresh Express bagged salad with a BOGO sale and I had a coupon making one bag .49 - so I got 2 bags for .49. I got some tomatoes and used a $1 off $5 produce coupon.

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 393.98
RX total = 128.77
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 729.94

I finished reading my book Burning Up - paranormal short stories. Very good.

Walgreens was having a good 2 day sale starting today and I knew if I wanted to get the specials I would have to go early. I went at 9:30 but they were already sold out of the 2 things I wanted the most. Ritz Crackerfuls for my niece and Lily coffee for my dad. It's frustrating that Walgreens never has enough product on their best deals. They have 10 or so and they don't restock until the sale is over.

I did get some other good deals. 4 Right Guard deodorants for free and 3 boxes 45 Ct Ecotrin that I made .40/each on. These all go to the food pantry. I also got 10 boxes of sugar-free Royal Gelatin for .20/each.

I finished reading the library book The Storm Witch by Violette Malan. Sci/Fi - very good.

I watched this documentary Fathead on Netflix yesterday. I guess you can play it on hulu also. Really funny. It's a response to the guy who made the Super Size Me movie. Instead of believing everything you hear, use some common sense. It questions many of the Super Size movie 'facts'. This guy ate at fast food places everyday and lost 12 pounds in a month. It debunks a lot of the crap the government keeps trying to tell us about how to eat healthy. Following their rules we have diabetes, obesity, depression and ADHD epidemics.

Thanks to Single Guy I was able to get a $40 Shell gift card from Discover using $20 of my reward money. If I use a .10/gal discount with my King Soopers card, I might be able to fill up my car for that

I finished reading my book A Deadly Shade of Gold by
John D. MacDonald. Mystery - pretty good.

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 346.53
RX total = 126.48
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 680.20

Went to Safeway this morning and saved 92% on my grocery bill. Spent $3.84 and used almost $19 in coupons. I got the following for free. FP = food pantry donations

4 bottles Jack Daniels bbq sauce - FP
2 bottles Lawry's marinade - FP
3 Suave deodorants - FP
1 Zone perfect bar - FP
2 Luna bars - FP

3 bottles Wish Bone salad dressing - FP. These cost .19/each after coupons. There is a $1 rebate on the salad dressing so I will send off for that.

I also got 2 bags of salad - BOGO and some celery and sugar snap peas. Used a $1 off $5 produce coupon.

I finished reading my book The Reckless Bride by Stephanie Laurens. Romance - very good.

I ordered another $450+ in discounted Home Depot gift cards from Gift Card Rescue today. That will make around $1800 I have for the second carpet installation. I'll order the carpet as soon as I get the cards. My house is gradually being readied. I make 5 trips a day upstairs carrying books, etc. I figure another 2 weeks and I'll be done. If I order the carpet next week, then it will take about a week to get in and schedule.

I got a haircut at Great Clips today and used a coupon taking $3 off. Spent $11 with tip.

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 327.26
RX total = 126.48
Discounted Gift Cards = 207.19
Total = 660.93

I finished reading the library book Hard to Hold by Stephanie Tyler. Romance - very good.

I took my youngest niece to Seven Falls by the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs yesterday. Even though it was a cloudy day, it was beautiful up there. It's in a canyon in the foothills. I was woken up by hail yesterday morning and thought we wouldn't get to go. But we decided to go anyways and it didn't rain again till we were back home later in the afternoon.

Admission was $16.50 for the 2 of us and I got her a souvenir beaded bracelet with her name on it for another $6.27.

After the falls we went to Sonic for lunch - $11.79 and then hit an Albertson's on the way home. At Albertson's I spent $8.18 for 2 bottles of Potassium vitamins (BOGO), and 2 doz eggs and taxes. I got 3 boxes kleenex, 4 boxes Jolly Time microwave popcorn and 6 butterfinger candy bars for free. I gave my niece 2 boxes of popcorn and 4 candy bars. The other 2 boxes of popcorn will be donated.

I entered the wellness points from the two bottles of Nature Made potassium I bought and had enough points to order a $7 off coupon.

We stopped at a Redbox and got Tron for free using a promo code and then we stopped at a gelato place and got gelatos. I had a coupon for 50% off, so with tip I spent $4.49. The movie was ok, she liked it a lot.

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 327.26
RX total = 126.48
Discounted Gift Cards = 170.87
Total = 624.61

I finished reading the library book The Lady Most Likely. Romance - short stories, very good.

I got a notice in the mail yesterday from my health insurance provider. Due to increased health costs they 'have' to increase rates again. They increased them 14% in January and now are increasing another 14%. The new rate is $486/month about $79 more/month. Almost 30% increase in one year.

This is the only health insurance I can get in Colorado due to pre-existing conditions. Its state sponsored, but not cheap. If I were 55, it would be $606/month - $120 more. If I were 60, it would be $706/month - $220 more. It's insane.

I could go with a higher deductible, but that's a guessing game. The likelyhood of having two bad medical years in a row are slim, but possible. Last year was the first bad year in 25 years, I doubt if it will be 25 years until the next one, but the chance of one in the next 15 (pre - Medicare) is pretty high. But will it be this one or not for 5 years. I could go for the lower premiums/higher deductibles, but adding another $1000 deductible from my HSA actually adds a few dollars to the premium and out of pocket is $1000 higher, so that's not an option.

Going to a $5000 deductible lowere the premiums a little over a $1000 a year, but out of pocket if I need the max increases by $4000 a year. So I guess I'll stay where I am and hope that sometime in the next decade, a decent health care system gets implemented.

Before retiring I read that for each decade of early retirement you need to put aside $100,000 for health care costs, now I'm thinking that was a little shy, I'd bet on $150,000 per decade. I have almost 2 decades from when I retired at 47 to eligibility for medicare, which still costs, just not quite as much.

I finished reading my book Darker Than Amber by John D. MacDonald. Mystery - pretty good.

My neighbor brought me some banana nut bread this morning. It was so good - moist and big chunks of walnuts. Yummy! I'll have to think of something I can give her. I'm not a baker, or even much of a cook.

Mom sent me an email from Elephant Bar, buy a $25 gift card and get a $5 bonus card. Looks like dad's father's day gift. I need to remember next time I go in town.

I finished reading Queen of the Darkness by Anne Bishop. Sci/Fi - excellent.

Got paid to buy toothbrushes at Walgreens this morning. Reach toothbrushes were on sale for .99/each. I had coupons for $3.50 off. Paid .73 with taxes and got a coupon for $4 on your next order. Made $3.27. Paid with gift card so no OOP.

At King Soopers got another prescription filled and used a $10 Target coupon to get $10 put on my loyalty card. Spent $2.22 on the prescription

Got 3 tubes Colgate toothpaste and 2 toothbrushes for free. Bought 10 tubs of Cool Whip on sale for .89/each wyb 10. Gave mom 2 of them and froze most of the rest. Mom got 2 dozen of the medium eggs for .88/each. The lady told us at King Soopers the medium egg cartons are made up of other cartons that had broken eggs in them. So you can get Eggsland eggs or extra large eggs or whatever in the carton. I noticed last time I got them, I couldn't tell the difference in size from the large eggs.

All the toothbrushes and toothpaste go to the food pantry.

ytd = April 1 2011 - March 31, 2012
Coupon total ytd = 309.31
RX total = 126.48
Discounted Gift Cards = 170.87
Total = 606.66

I finished reading my book Heir to the Shadows by Anne Bishop. Sci/Fi - excellent

This book is written by Kathy Spencer. I got it from the library and I highly recommend it. It's the first saving money book where I've actually learned something new in a long time. She writes about how to buy groceries for free using coupons, catalina's etc. She says she spends $4/week for food for her family, I think she has 6, but not sure about that number.

She also has really good tips for getting other things for free/cheap. I won't use some of her methods because they aren't my thing, but they are good ideas for people who want to follow thru. Some of the things I learned are:

Catalina promotions are based on the pre-sale price.

If you have more than $2500 in materials for a home project Home Depot will give you a contractor price saving you 10 - 15%.

Check the internet for Black Friday sales prior to the sale date and if the item you want is at a store that offers price protection, buy it the week before the sale. Then take your receipt back and get the lower price. That way you don't have to fight people for the item. Some credit cards offer price protection too, you can just call them and get the lower price.

I went to King Soopers this morning to get some produce and eggs and do the last mega deal. I actually had to spend some money this time. All my prescription money is used up. I spent $4.10 for $23 of groceries. $13 in coupons and almost $6 in RX savings. I got the following for the food pantry.

2 Think Thin bars
4 boxes Quick Cook pasta
4 Reach Toothbrushes

The toothbrushes are a special Catalina deal right now. Buy 4 get $4 back in a coupon on your next order. They are also part of the mega deal

9.16 - 4 toothbrushes @2.29
.73 - taxes
-----
9.89
-2.00 - mega sale
-4.00 - 2 .50 q's doubled, 1 $2/2 q
-----
3.89 - get $4 OYNO coupon

I also went to Walmart and got 3 small bottles of Franks Red Hot sauce for free, that will go to the food pantry. I got a bag of coleslaw too, since King Soopers doesn't carry the kind I like anymore.

I bought another $500 in discounted gift cards to Home Depot from Gift Card Rescue at 8% discount. I need about another $500 and then will have enough for the downstairs carpet.

Coupon total ytd = 281.92
RX total = 119.45
Discounted Gift Cards = 170.87
Total = 572.74

I finished reading my book Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop. Sci/Fi - excellent. I'm rereading the whole series right now, since I read Twilight's Dawn last week.

I read about this site in the All New magazine. It's basically an aggregate site that lists gift cards for sale on other sites and who has the best price. It also lists who is paying the most if you want to sell a gift card.

There is also a challenge section. They challenged a woman with 2 kids to live on discounted gift cards for a month, everything except rent and utilities. It was pretty interesting. She saved about 10% overall.

Coupon total ytd = 253.35
RX total = 113.57
Discounted Gift Cards = 118.28
Total = 485.20

Ran errands this morning. I started at Safeway where I had a $10 OYNO coupon to use up. I got 2 lbs of ham and turkey deli meat, a doz eggs, and 2 bags of sunflower seeds. I paid .93

At Walmart I got a pair of Just My Size jeans for $11. Regularly $16, but I had a $5 coupon. I just thru away a pair because of holes in the pocket area and fraying on the hems, so I needed a new pair. I also got a 6 pack of Hanes panties for $5. There was a sign saying these were $5, but I checked the price before going to the register and it said $6.97, so I went to customer service first and she said just tell the cashier she said to charge only $5. Good deal.

At King Soopers I picked up a prescription for .57. I had a $10 Target prescription coupon so they put that on my card. I got $18 in free groceries using $14 in coupons and $4 of my RX coupon. I got the following, FP = food pantry.

2 bags Boulder chips - FP
8 boxes pasta - FP
2 Think Thin bars - FP
3 20 ct packs carefree pantyliners - FP
1 doz eggsland best eggs
2 bunches radishes
2 starkist tuna pouches

It looks like Sunday's coupons are going to be really good for things I buy. I may have to invest in a couple more papers.

I ordered another $250 in Home Depot gift cards from Gift Card Rescue @ an 8% discount. saving me about $20. I still need $1000 more for the downstairs carpet.

I'm about halfway thru putting my upstairs back in place - hope to be done by Sunday, and then I'll start tearing up the downstairs. I want to get the downstairs carpet ordered by June 2 to take advantage of the installation discount they have going on Martha Stewart carpet. Saves me a $100.

I finished reading my book Hell Island by Matthew Reilly. Adventure - very good.