Went to WalMart and saved 80% on my grocery bill. Cost before coupons was $38.64 and cost after was $7.46. I got the following items for free

3 10 ct packages Oscar Meyer beef franks - $2.50 each
3 10 ct packages Kraft Velveeta cheese slices - $3.98 each
3 16 oz bottles Kraft Ranch dressing - $1.98 each

I also got 6 more cans of the Muir Glen organic tomatoes for .44 cents each after $1 coupons and a box of Ronzoni Rigatoni pasta for .50 cents.

If you are looking for good coupons you should pick up the All You magazine at WalMart. Most months have high value coupons. The magazine costs $1.97 and usually has at least one rebate or coupon for a free item as well as several $1 or more coupons. To see what coupons they have in the September issue you can go here:

http://pennypinchingdiva.blogspot.com/2008/08/walmart-has-one-of-best-magazines-in.html

I guess Kmart is doubling coupons up to $2 this week in some areas of the country. I haven't gotten the ads yet so don't know if it's true in my area. If so I will probably make a trip there later this week.

Finished reading my book Damien by Jacqueline Frank. Supernatural. Very Good

Finished reading the library book Tribute by Nora Roberts. Mystery/Romance. Excellent. I just love her books, characters and dialog.

I'm following a blog of a woman who feeds 4 people on $800 a year. Amazing and very inspirational.

http://jane4girls800dollarannualbudget.blogspot.com/

I don't do near as well as she does but I did get some good deals this week. Went to King Soopers Wednesday and saved 64%. Spent $23.01 and saved $39.17

I got the following for free

10 oz grape tomatoes
1 lb carrots
1 package Fresh Express shredded cabbage
2 potatoes
1 onion
1 ear of corn
6 bananas
1 package ready to eat Uncle Ben's Cajun Style rice
3 16 oz cans of Planters cocktail peanuts
1 bottle French's mustard
2 boxes Rice a Roni Natures Way wild rice
1 4 pack Cottonelle TP

I had a coupon from Safeway for $10 off a $50 purchase which King Soopers took. It was pretty hard to get to $50 since I refuse to buy stuff when WalMart has it much cheaper. For example Ronzoni pasta is $1.50 at WalMart and #2.58 at King Soopers 42% difference. I have a $1 coupon so will get if from WalMart next week for .50 cents. I eventually got a large package of generic brand TP to make it to $50.

Went in town on Thursday and met a friend for lunch. Stopped at Target first and got $28 worth of stuff for less than $3 after a $10 rebate I will send in.

Target had Pop-Tarts on sale for $1.75 and had coupons for .50 cents each. So I printed 10 coupons and used 1 manufacture coupons for $1. Total cost before coupons $17.50 - $5 in Target coupons - $1 in other coupons = $11.50. And there is a Kelloggs rebate when you buy 10 items for $10 back so final price 10 boxes for $1.50 or .15 cents each.

I also picked up 5 trial size All laundry soap free after $1.00 coupons and 2 25 ct packs of Ziploc bags .50 cents each after coupons.

Went to Panera Bread for lunch. I'd never been there before. The sandwich was pretty good.

Went to the dollar movie and saw Kung Fu Panda for $1.50. It was cute. We wanted to see Mamma Mia but it wasn't playing at the regular theater and hadn't hit the dollar theater yet. Maybe next time.

Hit the used bookstore on the way home and traded for 6 books. No out of pocket.

Finished reading the library book Silent thunder by Iris Johansen and Roy Johansen. Mystery/Romance. Good

Finished reading the library book The lost duke of Wyndham by Julia Quinn. Romance. Very good.

For the first three weeks of my retirement I haven't done hardly anything. I feel like I've been on an extended vacation. I've mostly read, slept, cooked and watched TV. But that's ok. I really think I needed that time to de-stress. I'm feeling very relaxed now and my blood checks for the diabetes are the best they've been in a decade. I can't believe how much the lack of stress has helped lower those numbers. In fact they were so low one day I had to eat something to bring them up. That never happens. One of my main goals is too get of the medication this next year and this should certainly help.

I'm starting to wake up though from my vacation time and get energized to start doing something. Anything I doubled the amount of walking I do each day from 40 min to 80 min. I've been walking with my mom for 40 min a day for years now, but I'm adding two more 20 min sessions after meals. This will also help with the blood control and maybe help me lose some weight which will also help with the blood.

I'm slowly getting my house really clean and will be working on decluttering also. I need to determine all the stuff to give to Goodwill before the end of the year since this is probably the last year I will have itemized deductions on my tax form.

I've started to do lists for each day and am getting most of the items done. Fall has always been an energizing time of year for me. It's my favorite with cooler days and nights.

I have a big pot of beans cooking today. Plan to have beans and rice for dinner.

I think most people would have to agree that Amy Dacyczyn is the queen of frugal. When I read books/articles or blogs about saving money I get really tired of reading the back-handed slams at her. How many times have you read people saying they are frugal but wouldn't think of washing plastic bags or reusing dryer lint. That's fine, no one said you had to, but there's no need to slam the ideas as kooky or going too far or just plain cheap. She was making a point and her brand of frugality made most people think about what they were or weren't willing to do to save money. She never said you had to do everything she wrote about, so quit acting like your brand of frugality is so much better. Everyone has areas they will or won't go to for saving money. The point is to save money and live within your means and that's different for everyone. So if you don't care for an idea don't do it, but don't put down everyone else who does.

This is not aimed at anyone on this site, I've just read three different blogs and 2 books and they all made the same types of comments and it ticked me off.

I finished reading the library book Vulcan's Forge by Jack Du Brul. Adventure. OK

I finished reading the library book Jhegaala by Steven Brust. Sci/Fi Good.

I have a ton of coupons for $1 off the Muir Glen organic products. I've been buying them in 4 to 6 can lots all summer from WalMart. I was there Tuesday and paid $1.34 per can for the canned tomatoes with Basil and Garlic. This was an increase from $1.24 earlier in the year. I went again today with my mom and the price is now $1.98 WOW! I must have missed some important news about a tomato disaster. That's an increase of 32%. The plain canned tomatoes increased to $1.44. But with the $1 coupon they were only .44 cents so still a good buy an I bought 6 of the plain tomatoes. I use canned tomatoes a lot in soups, chili's, spagetti sauce, pasta dishes etc.

I bought some pasta on Tuesday also for 1.20 and now it's 1.28. But eggs have gone down almost 50 cents a dozen. So back to eating eggs more often and looking for sales on pasta. My overall spending on groceries has remained the same for several years now. I just look for bargains more, stock up or don't buy something that's gotten too expensive until it becomes more reasonable again.

Finished reading the library book Cheap eating : how to feed your family well and spend less by Pat Edwards. This was pretty good. A lot of good ideas on saving money on food.

Finished reading the library book Your Scandalous Ways by Loretta Chase. Romance. Very good. Funny and witty and smart.

Finished reading my book The Dragon Queen by Alice Borchardt. King Arthur. I have always enjoyed reading the King Arthur books. I must have read 40 versions of the story. This is a completly new take and it's excellent. It's supposed to be a trilogy and this first book concentrates on Guineviere's childhood. A second book is out and I've put a hold on it at the library. While searching for the third book in the trilogy though I found out the author died and so no ending. Big Bummer! For her and me. She's the sister of Anne Rice. I don't care for Anne Rice's books since I don't care for horror, but she is a good writer. It's interesting that the family produced two really good writers in such different categories.

I've been looking for some blogs of people who have retired early. They are surprisingly hard to find. Most of the ones I do find are from people who want to retire early but haven't done so or from people who could retire early but again haven't done so.

I did find one I like at http://retiredsyd.typepad.com/retirement_a_fulltime_job/. I only have one issue with her. She is very concerned with how people will percieve her now that she is retired. Frankly I think retiring early is something to be proud of, not something to be be afraid to tell others because they might think you are lazy or boring. As far as I'm concerned if someone has a problem with my not working at this age - it's their problem not mine.

I used the $10 GC I got in the mail for Kohl's today and got 3 pair of gold toe crew socks. On sale from $12 for $9. $0 out of pocket.

The new Walgreens opened in my small town last week, but they don't have any of thier sale items so I wasn't very happy with them when I went there. They keep telling you to come back or get a rain check. I don't care to make multiple trips and the rain checks don't generate the Register Rewards so what good is that? Irritating

Went to MacDonald's on the way home and got a free Southern Chicken sandwich with purchase of med drink. $1.61 The sandwich is ok, nothing special in my opinion. Chicken and pickles and bun.

My company finally mailed me the paperwork to get COBRA health coverage. I will fill it out and send it in tomorrow.

Finished reading the library book The Monster of Florence by Douglas Preston. True crime. OK

Finished reading my book High Noon by Nora Roberts. Romance/Mystery Very good

The last two nights we've had huge thunder and lightening storms around 2 and 4 in the morning. When I was working this would have caused me a lot of stress since I would be anxious because I wasn't sleeping and I knew I would be tired the next day. Now that I'm retired I just enjoyed the experience. I like lightening storms especially at night. I got up and opened up the drapes and watched for while. I knew I could sleep in as long as I wanted the next day and if I got tired during the day I could take a nap.

I'm feeling much more relaxed overall. I'm hoping to get off the blood pressure medicine sometime in the next year as the stress levels drop.

Finished reading the library book Phantom of the Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Romance. Very Good.

Finished reading my book Innocent as Sin by Elizabeth Lowell. Romance. Very Good.

1. I had a paradigm shift

It was the early 80s and I was in my early 20s. I was working an entry level job and living paycheck to paycheck. It was difficult to find jobs at the time and I was always living in fear of What if…? What if I lost my job? What if my car breaks down? What if I get sick and can’t work for a while? Etc, etc, etc….

Then I ran across the following article in issue #4 of The Mother Earth News magazine. How to Retire 6 Months Every Year. The basic point of the article was by lowering your expenses to half of your income you could retire 6 months of the year.

What? What a minute, you mean there is another way to live? I don’t have to work a 40 hour job for the rest of my life, constantly worrying about the future? This was a revelation to me. I had never considered retiring early or not working week-in and week-out until I was old. I didn’t make enough to live on half my income and wasn’t willing to go to the extremes the article suggested for cutting expenses. I also didn’t want to quit work every 6 months and hope to find another one in the future. But the thought of lowering my expenses to where I could save enough and not have to work any longer by the time I was 40 was extremely appealing. So my goal was defined.

2. Create a financial foundation.

The first thing I decided to do was make myself more secure. I was tired of being afraid of a financial mishap. I had about $1000 in credit card debt and no savings. I started working all the overtime hours I could get and having garage sales and eventually paid off the debt. It took about 7 months. I also got a bonus of $500 around then and saved all of it for the start of my emergency fund. I gradually built my emergency fund up to $1000 which made me feel more secure. $1000 was 3 or 4 months living expenses at the time. It took a long time to actually get the $1000 to remain stable. It seemed like as soon as I got to $1000 I had to spend part of it on car repairs or replacement of some item. However, I eventually added a $100 monthly savings to my budget to cover unexpected expenses which helped stabilize my budget and made me feel much more secure.

3. Make a plan

I had defined my goal - retiring by age 40. Now I needed a plan on how to get there. Based on my living expenses at the time and adding a 10% cushion I decided I needed $10,000 a year to live on assuming my house was paid off. At the time you could make 13 - 14% on CDs, so I decided I needed to save $100,000 by the time I was 40 with a projected interest of 10%. I gave no thought to inflation at the time. I divided $100,000 by 15 years and came up with $550 a month. Well of course I couldn’t afford to save that much, but I messed with the calculations and added in the interest I expected to earn during the 15 years and calculated projected raises and eventually got to a number I thought I could save each month. I don’t remember what it was now, but it was a hefty amount by my living standards then. I determined to save a percentage of my salary each pay period. I think it was 5% to start and increase it by 1% each time I got a raise. The plan didn’t work out exactly as I expected but at least I started and was saving and investing money.

4. Learn about investing

I started reading whatever books and magazines I could about investing to educate myself. I took advantage of the company stock plan and 401K offerings. I started prepaying my mortgage with any extra money that came my way.

5. Make adjustments to the plan.

At first the plan was too stringent and I rarely made my goals, but I was saving more than I would have without a plan. Eventually I started exceeding my savings goals. When I was 37 my job was outsourced and I was laid off. However, because I had built my foundation and had several months living expenses saved, plus my investments and low expenses I viewed it as an opportunity instead of a disaster. I knew my field was dwindling and jobs in the sector were not plentiful so I decided to take my severance pay, unemployment insurance, government grants and savings and go back to school to retrain in a new field.

I took every class I could cram in during the next year and got my 2 year degree in 1 year in Computers. I went thru all my liquid savings and had about $1000 left when I got a new job in my new field; for less money than I was making in my old field. I quickly advanced in the new field and was making more than I had in my previous field within a year. However I had lost quite a bit of momentum towards my goal of retiring at 40. By this time I was very interested in my new field and didn’t want to retire at 40, I enjoyed my new job. My living expenses had increased during that time also. So I revised my goal to retire at 50 with $24,000 a year income. I determined I needed to have my house paid off and $600,000 in savings earning 5% a year.

6. Persevere during down times

There have been many downturns in the stock market during the last 25 years but I kept my money in regardless and continued to invest during good times and bad. When I started investing in stocks the DOW was 400 something. I went thru the 1987 Black Friday plunge. The early 90s downsizing craze. The 2000 tech market bust and now this years downturn, plus many other recessions in between. I didn’t panic and sell when times got bad and then buy back when times were booming. I diversified and continued to invest during it all.

7. Know myself

I had to know what was important to me for this to work over all the years. Retiring early was the most important goal and many things were sacrificed for that, but I needed/wanted other things too. Everyone has certain levels of comfort where if they can’t have enough of some things life is miserable and you can’t continue with the plan. I analyzed what was important to me and directed my money to those things and scrimped on other items that I didn’t care about.

Living alone was important to me. Having a nice, safe and comfortable house. It didn’t have to be fancy, but it had to meet those criteria.

Having books to read. I like owning books so a pretty big chunk of my money was spent on books. Now I’ve mostly satisfied that need and am much more content with borrowing books verses owning. I still like to own some, but it’s tapered off during the years.

Good, reliable transportation. It doesn’t have to be expensive or fancy, but it has to be reliable.

Eating out. I enjoy eating out both for the food and the social aspect, so I budget for that at least twice a week.

Most everything else was lower on the list and could be put aside for other priorities. Vacations, clothes, gadgets etc.

8. Getting the most for my money

Savings always came first in my budget. To afford more for savings I had to make the rest of the budget stretch as much as possible so I didn’t feel deprived. I started learning how to get the most for my money. Couponing, bargain hunting, using less, recycling etc all helped to make those dollars stretch farther and allow me to get the maximum amount for the money spent.

I read virtually every money saving book or article I could get my hands on to help with this. The best resource of course was the Tightwad Gazette. But I was constantly finding new ways to save money.

9. Revise the plan again.

After 11 years in my new job, the situation changed. It was no longer as interesting and the environment was much more stressful. I hated going to work and was under a lot of stress. I had been living on budgets and lowering my expenses for years so knew what I needed to live on. I reran the numbers on what I needed to retire and determined that if I was careful and adjusted as needed I could retire now. My new numbers were $18,000 to $21,000 a year income. I determined I needed my house paid off and $525,000 in savings. My house will be paid off this month. And I had more than the necessary savings. I also had a cache of money put aside to cover big expenses for the next 12 years until I am 60; when I can withdrawal money from my Roth IRA and not pay taxes on the withdrawals.

10. The courage to quit

I had determined that I could retire on paper. But we are in a downturn in the stock market and it’s a scary time to retire. I think most anytime is scary. Even though you have planned and revised and thought and thought about every possible scenario and response, you still hesitate and wonder if you’ve thought of everything and if your plan will really work. At the end of the day you have to just take the plunge and have the courage to follow the plan. So I retired at 47. I’ve been retired for less than 2 weeks now so it remains to be seen if it will work out long term. But I have faith that I can adjust for whatever comes my way and I will make this work.

There is a grocery store in the next town that has really good loss-leaders each week but since they are 40 miles away, round-trip, I never go there. Lately I started taking their ads to WalMart and getting the price-match. This is so cool. I went to WalMart for grocery shopping yesterday morning. It was pretty slow, which is what I'm looking for in a grocery shopping/Errands day. So Monday may become my grocery day.

I got 6 8 oz cans of Hunts Tomato sauce for .33 cents each. WalMart regular price is .46 cents so saved .13 cents per/can or 28%

I got 2 pint sizes of Ben and Jerry's ice cream for $1. Regular price 2.98. Saved 33%

I got 3 18 oz jars of Peter Pan peanut butter for 1.50. Regular price was $2.68 55% saving. I had 3 $1 coupons so ended up paying .50 cents per jar.

I also bought the rest of my groceries which included another 8 15 oz cans of the Muir Glen organic tomatoes for .34 cents each after the $1 coupons.

Good mail day too. I got a $10 GC from Kohl's. A free sample of Dove shampoo. I got several very good coupons from Krogers and I got my gas bill. I do budget billing and the bill went from $34 a month to $14 a month for the next year. I have a $200 credit which is why it went down so much. That means last year I used $200 less energy than the year before even though the price went up.

I tried a new recipe that I'm not going to keep in my repetoire. Cauliflower mashed potatoes. I used Yukon Gold potatoes for the first time and I really like them. I will reuse them. I steamed them for 6 min in the microwave - new process and I liked that. I used buttermilk and no butter to mash. I really liked this and plan to do that again. However, the part where I steamed cauliflower and mashed it in with the potatoes will not be redone. It wasn't that bad, but the texture was funny in some spots and you could tell it was cauliflower. I didn't care for it.

Today I am cooking pinto beans with onions, celery, beef bouillion, garlic, salt and pepper. I will add some smoked sausage latter on. This isn't a new recipe, just a good one. The house smells terrific.

Finished reading the library book The complete idiot's guide to type 2 diabetes by Davidson, Mayer B. Health. Ok nothing really new.

Finished reading my book The Shadow fo the Lion by Mercedes Lacky, Eric Flint an Dave Freer. Alternative history. Very good. Huge book over 900 pages but quite interesting.

I went shopping with mom yesterday. Target was first where I got a free trial size bar of Dove soap and a free trail size of All laundry soap. I also picked up 6 25ct packages of Ziploc bags for .50 cents each. I had 3 $1/2 coupons.

Next was Walgreens where I got 4 boxes of Special K cereal for .50 cents

They had 4/$10 and I had a BOGO coupon and 2 $1 coupons so that made the price $5.50 and then they gave me a $5 register rollover coupon - final price 4 boxes for .50 cents.

I also got 3 18 oz jars Jif peanut butter for $4. On sale 3/$5 and I had a $1 coupon.

Next was Borders where I'm still using my free American Express Spring Fling Gift Cards. I got 3 books for free and used 2 25% off coupons on 2 of them.

We had a one day pass to SAMs and when we went in the lady at the door gave me a stack of free samples they were giving out. When I got home I opened them and each one had a free Ziploc storage bag inside. I got 8 of them. I also picked up 6 lbs of Walnuts. They were more than $1 lb cheaper at SAMs than at WalMert. I got 1 book for 30% off and 2 large jars of beef boullion and chicken boullion

Last stop was Whole Foods. I'd never been there before and don't expect to go back. I can't figure out how people can afford to feed there familes from there. Garlic and cauliflower were both 2.99/lb everything was hugely overpriced.

One of my retirement goals is to cook more and become a better cook. Today I am practicing making a spaghetti sauce. I like a chunky sauce with mushrooms, celery, garlic and tomato pieces visible in the sauce. I'm making a huge batch so will have some to share with parents and plenty to freeze. If I like the final result I'll post the recipe later.

I've been working on a jigsaw puzzle on and off all week and finished it today. Last night I sat down and was just planning to do a few pieces but I got on a roll and stayed up an extra hour. Oh well that's what retirement is for to continue doing something you are enjoying for as long as you want to.

I'm already much more relaxed and feel so free. I love this.

I got 4 tomatoes from my tomato plant today. The first ones and one cherry tomato. The cherry tomato was delicious. Will have some of the others tomorrow. I have a bunch more coming along. The netting I put around them is helping keep the birds away. I basically just stapled the fabric to itself around the tomato cage.

Finished reading the library book One Bite Stand by Nina Bangs. Supernatural. Good

Finished reading the library book Cash-rich retirement : use the investing techniques of the mega-wealthy to secure your retirement future by Schlagheck, Jim. Finance. Wasn't real impressed.

One of the downsides of retirement and having no set schedule is I am a night person. Going with my natural body rhythms means I stay up later and later each night and wake up later each morning. Now that isn't necessarily a bad thing except for when I want to do things with the rest of the world

For example, last night I went to bed at midnight - deliberatly early so I would be able to get up by 8. However I've had a bad heat rash on my legs driving me crazy and not letting me sleep well so it was almost 9:30 when i actually got up. I was wanting to get up by around 8:30 because then I would be able to go to bed and to sleep tonight at midnight again. I need to get up at 8 tomorrow because my mom and I are going in town to shop. Oh well, I guess I will have to rely on the alarm.

What usually happens when I have a lot of unstructured time is I stay up till 2 - 3 in the morning reading and sleep till 10:00 - 11:00, but I'm hoping to keep a fairly normal schedule so would like to keep a 12 - 1 sleep time and get up 8 - 9 each morning. This is much better than work though when it was a 7 hour sleep cycle. Now I can have 8 or more hours depending on how I'm feeling.

I went to the grocery store yesterday morning. I'm trying to figure out what's a good time to go. I normally went on Sunday morning while working since it was the least busy. I had read where the fewest people grocery shopped on Tuesdays so thought I would try that. I guess no one else in this area read that. It was pretty busy with customers but no cashiers. By the time I was ready to check out there were 8 people ahead of me with overflowing carts. What a pain. So I'm going to try Friday or Monday to see if those days are better. I may end up going back to my pre-retirement time since it was always pretty light.

Finished reading the library book One Bite Stand by Nina Bangs. Paranormal. Cute.

Finished reading the library book The Joy of Not Working by Ernie J. Zelinski. This was very good - thought provoking.

Friday was my last day at work and I am now officially retired. This morning is when I really felt retired since I stayed up reading till almost 2 last night and got up around 10 this morning. Leisurly morning breakfast and blogging so far.

One of the problems I'm facing is I have all this time and all these things I want to do it's hard to pick one and do it

I have 3 tomatoes that are super close to being ready to pick. I bought some netting at WalMart yesterday and need to get out there and protect them from the birds

I finished reading my book The Hunted by William Johnson. Adventure. Very good.

I finished the library book Health Care on Less that you think by Fred Brock. Financial. Very good. Lot's of good information.

King Soopers was having their Mega Event sale and I saved 71% on groceries this week.

The following were free

2 packages Betty Crocker cookie mix
3 bottles Cattleman BBQ sauce - gave 2 to parents and 1 to brother
1 bottle French's hot sauce

Plus I got Cottonelle TP for 1/2 price
2 Betty Crocker warm desserts for .50 cents each

Colorado Corn on the Cob was on sale 5/$1 so I got 10 and froze them. That's probably going to be the best price I see this year.

Total after all sales/coupons was $12.35

Went to Texas Roadhouse for lunch - used a $5 off coupon.

Finished reading the library book The Bountiful Kitchen by Barry Bluestein. This book tells about how these guys planted fruit trees and vegetables on the terrace of their 19th floor condo in Chicago and then preserved the harvest. Really interesting. I'm putting this one on my list of books to buy sometime. I'm going to check their other book out of the library. Homemade in the Kitchen

I got up early and walked with mom since it was cloudy. There was a garage sale along the route and we stopped on the way back. I got a brand new Braun emersion blender for $5. They had a brand new bread maker that I was tempted by for $10 since I want to try making bread when I retire. My mom said I should just use hers since she never uses it. So that's what I'll do when I'm ready.

We went to the Farmer's market and I got 10 lbs of Pinto Beans for $6. That's a very good price. The cheapest I've found them was at WalMart for .75 cents a lb. this is so that's a 20% savings.

Corn on the cob was on sale 4/$1 I got 2 ears. Mom got peaches, canteloupe, corn and tomatoes.

Finished reading my book Pandora's Curse by Jack Du Brul. Adventure. Very good. Similar to Clive Cussler type books.

My oldest niece will be a senior this year and they 'have' to get their school pictures done by a professional. Cost $500 - 1500. Unreal. My sister opted for the cheapest package at $500. My niece was complaining because she bought the cheap package. I cannot believe this. $500 for pictures... for a year book. This is insane. My niece wanted my sister to pay another $80 to add her baby pictures. How do parents afford this crap and why do they do it? Why do they allow the schools to dictate these expensive extras?

I had a good mail week. Free sample of Dove deodorant plus 4 $1.00 off coupons on Dove products

Discover sent me a coupon for $10 off at Red Lobster when I spend $20. First time I've gotten something like that from them. But that's cool since I eat there quite often.

Vocalpoint sent me 5 $1.00 off Coke 12-pack coupons

I got my Staples reward check from months ago for $10+

I finished reading the library book Blue Smoke and Murder by Elizabeth Lowell. Mystery. Very good

I also finished reading the library book Live it up without outliving your money! : 10 steps to a perfect retirement portfolio by Paul Merriman. Finance. Very good. Good information on various asset types and how to invest in them.

I sent my two weeks notice this morning. Last day is August 1st. So far no comment from boss....

I got a lot of good deals this weekend.
On Saturday went to WalMart where I saved $25 with coupons and price matches. My final cost was $42.

Target had a deal buy 4 14 oz boxes of Cheerios for $7 and I had WalMart price match that saving me a 30 mile round trip. I had two coupons for $1 off 2 so final cost was 4 boxes for $5.

I'm still stocking up on the cans of Muir Glen tomatoes. 4 cans at 34 cents each after $1 coupon.

I got 3 16 ct pkgs of Kotex for free after $1.00 coupons

I got 3 12 ct packages of Electrosol dishwashing tabs for 32 cents each after $2.25 coupon

I got 3 individual Wellness patches after $1.00 coupon. These were .97 cents so I 'made' 3 cents on each one.

My mom and I went to the farmer's market and I got 2 corn on the cob for $1 and 2 tomatoes for $1.50. The Corn was excellent. I haven't tried the tomatoes yet.

Sunday I went to King Soopers and purchased another $1200 in GCs making 10%. I got $1320 in GCs for the price of $1200. I also got 2 bottles of French's mustard for free after coupon and 2 4ct of Hawaian Sweet bread for free after coupons. I got a free newspaper on the way out.

I purchased a Red Lobster GC spreading my 10% savings in to restaraunt deals. I saved 33% on the grocery bill.

I got my second Spring Fling GC from American Express these week so went to Borders. I got 2 books using a 30% off one coupon and then in another purchase I got another book using a 20% off coupon. Both purchased gave me free Seattle Best Coffee samples. So 3 books and 2 copy samples free using the GCs. I have $30 left on those GCs.

Big Lots had a 20% off your entire purchase coupon but even though I spent a half hour there I couldn't find anything I wanted/needed so I gave my coupon to someone in line at the store.

Went to Red Lobster for lunch. Had a $4 off coupon. Lunch was $7 total for popcorn shrimp, baked potato, salad and rolls.

Last stop was Walgreens. I got the following:

Herbert's Chocolate bar - FAR
2 black G2 Pilot pens - FAR
20 ct Crayola washable markers - FAR
2 packs of 5 highlighter pens from Bic. On sale for .39 cents each but after $1 coupon 'made' 21 cents.

Spent $5.05 at Walgreens and get $5.00 back in rebates.

A lot of going to different places but only a small amount of spending. Love getting the free stuff.

I got a free sample of Red Spice body wash and Garnier Fructis moisturizer in the mail this week.

I finished reading my book Creation in Death by J.D. Robb. Mystery. Excellent.

I took my youngest niece to see Journey to the Center of the Earth in 3D last night. I don't care for crowds so I hate to go see movies until they've been out for 2 or 3 weeks, but based on last night going on a Monday is the way to see the movie without crowds. There were only 7 people in the theater for the 4:30 movie. It was the best 3D movie I've ever seens. The quality of the glasses was miles better than the old cardboard ones I remember. As far the movie it was ok, I thought it was kind of boring. My niece really liked it though so that's what counts. Tickets have gone up another dollar though. At the first of the summer I was saying they went up to $6 and now they've gone up to $7.

I filled up my tank with gas $41. Just last year it was the first time I had spent $20 to fill up then it was the first time for a $30 fillup now $40 in just a few months time.

We went to Red Robin for dinner -yum

We went to the dollar store on the way home and I found the same size lemon juice I've been getting from WalMart for .84 cents cheaper. I bought 6 bottles. Lemon juice in my water has really made a difference in my blood sugar numbers for diabetes. I read that the acid keeps them down. I also found the same size sunflower seeds for .74 cents cheaper. I bought one of those. I like dollar stores, I'm just not around them very often, so I stocked up on the lemon juice.

Finished reading the library book Cheaper and Better Homemade Alternatives to Storebought Goods by Nancy Birnes. Excellent book. Some really interesting recipes. I'm going to try to find this used and buy it for my reference shelf.

I finished reading the library book East of the Sun, West of the Moon by John Ringo. Sci/Fi very good

I had a great grocery shop this morning. According to the receipt I saved 57%. 36.47 in coupons and 17.18 from the sales.

I got a $1.00 catalina coupon good on anything on my next order and I will send in a rebate for $1.99 saving another $3.99

First deal was the Proctor and Gamble one. If you bought 3 participating products you get $3 off. I had 2 coupons for BOGO on Always 28 ct. It was on sale for $5.00 each. I bought 4 for $20 less $10 for the BOBO coupons less $3 for the promotion meaning I spent $7 for the 4 or $1.75 each. SCORE!

Next deal was Planter's peanuts. I had 3 coupons for $3 off of Planters when you buy 3 Nabisco, Oscar Meyer or Kraft products.

First peanut deal. 12 oz Planters cocktail peanuts cost $3.19

I had 2 coupons for .50 off Oscar Meyer hotdogs. They were on sale for $1.00 the coupons were doubled so free. I bought 1 pkg lemonade Kookaid for .21 cents.

So 2 packages hotdogs - Free
1 package Koolaid - .21
1 can peanuts - .19
Total cost - .40

Second peanut deal

3 packages koolaid at .21 each
1 can peanuts .19 after coupon
Total - .82

Third peanut deal

I had a coupon for free 12 oz Kraft cheese slices when you buy 3 planter, kraft etc products. So combined with deal #1 and #2 the cheese was free and contributed towards the 3 products needed to get the #3.00 off peanuts coupons. I added 2 packages Koolaid to make 3 products.

12 oz Kraft cheese $2.99 - Free after coupon
2 packages Koolaid - .21 each
1 can peanutes .19 after coupons
Total - .61

Total of all 3 peanut deals

3 12 oz cans of peanuts
1 12 oz package of Kraft cheese slices
2 8 ct pacages Oscar Meyer hotdogs
6 packages Koolaid
Total cost - 1.83

I had 2 .50 coupons on Hawaian Sweet bread which I love. At the deli they sell 4 packs for $1.00 after the coupons was doubled I got 2 packages for free.

Rice a Roni Natures Way was on sale for $1.05 after a .50 cent coupon that was doubled cost was .05 cents.

Excedrin back and body has FAR which I got and will sent in. The $1 Catalina coupons I got that can be used on anything was for purchasing this.

Hot dog buns were in the clearance section for .49 cents. I got 1 package.

4 pack of Cottonelle TP was on sale for .99 I had a .25 coupon so only .49 cents after it was doubled.

As I was walking out the store I got a free Sunday paper $1.25 with more coupons

The peanuts go in my stash for my brothers xmas presents.

I also got trial size cheerios and Gillette body spray in the mail this week for samples. And I got the first of the two American Express Spring Fling $25 gift cards for Borders/Best Buy in the mail.

Very good morning.

Only 3 weeks left to work before I retire now. I can't wait. This last week was horrible. So much stupidity, so many people screwing up my test caes and then asking me to fix them. BLEAGH

I finished reading the library book Against the Tide by John Ringo. Sci/Fi very good

I finished reading the library book Tail Spin by Catherine Coulter. Romance/Mystery very good

I finished reading the library book Fearless Fourteen. Mystery. I liked this but I didn't think it was as good or as funny as many of the others in this series.

I finished reading The Tangled Web by Anne Bishop. Sci/Fi. Excellent. I love these books by this author. Very well written and the characters make you care about each of them a lot.

i was going thru the ads in the Sunday paper yesterday and I happened to notice Checker Auto Parts store had a coupon for paper towels at .39 cents (limit 4). That's a very good price for paper towels. It never occurred to me to look at auto parts stores for household bargains before but you take a good deal wherever you find it.

Went to WalMart and got more of the Muir Glen organic tomatoes. Price went up from 1.24 to 1.34 but with the $1 off coupon they are still a great deal at .34 each. Got 4 cans.

I buy lemon juice to put in my water and it went from 1.68 to 1.84 another increase.

Found a penny at WalMart and picked it up

Finished reading my book Elijah by Jacquelyn Frank. Supernatural/Romance. Very good.

Only 5 weeks now till I retire

My town had a community garage sail day today so spent the morning going to garage sales. Found some very good deals.

Brand new electric throw $7 ($35 new)
2 brand new pillows $3 ($20 new)
Phone Albumn for mom $2
4 jigsaw puzzles $7
2 hardback books $1.5
A box of Petite Princess dollhouse furniture $8

We also had a produce stand open in town so I went over there and got 2 organic tomatoes for $2

I've gotten several carrots from my container garden now and my tomato plant has 3 little tomatoes starting. I'm continuing to get radishes and I've started some more green onions. Next year I plan to expand my container garden. It's been a lot of fun watcing things grow.

My oldest niece got a summer job working at King Soopers $7.5/hr plus 15% off anything she buys there. That's a pretty good bonus considering how much some groceries are inflating.

I have two more weeks of very busy days at work after which it should slow down a bit. I expect to spend most of my time training others my last 3 weeks.

Finished reading the library book Living rich by spending smart : how to get more of what you really want by Gregory Karp. Finance. Very good, some very good advice in this book.

I also finished reading the library book From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris. Supernatural. Very good.

I probably won't be blogging much until i retire. Work life is nuts right now and after spending so much time on a computer I don't care to spend more blogging. Look for me again in August

One of the reasons I enjoy blogging here is I get to brag about my the great deals I find. This week I saved 51% on my groceries. I got the following items for free.

Fresh Express salad bag
Barrilla Whole Grain Pasta - 13 oz
Knorr's Rice Sides
Suave Deodorant
Tums Quick Pak - FAR + 1.00 overage with coupon
Dove Deodorant - sample
3 21 oz boxes Stouffer's Lasagna

I also got the following very cheap.

Wisk - .49 cents after coupons
Ragu Pasta Sauce - .29 cents after coupons

King Soopers has Stouffer's lasagna on sale at 5/$10 or $2.00 each. They have 10 oz and 21 oz boxes of lasagna, which is one of my favorites. The 10 and 20 oz boxes cost the same, so I bought 10 of the 20oz boxes and will get 2 meals each. $1.00 per meal. Add some salad and a roll and I have a fast, tasty and well balanced meal.

The reason I was able to get so many things free or almost free is I added ecoupons to my King Soopers card. There are 3 websites were you can add coupons to your card.

Shortcuts - www.shortcuts.com
Unilever - http://www.softcoin.com/Sites/Unilever_MakingLifeBetter/Page/HomePage/
PG esaver - http://www.softcoin.com/Sites/PG_eSAVER/Page/HomePage/

You can only use the coupons on the cards once, but you can combine them with paper coupons getting double savings. They don't double the e-coupons.

I also made a separate transaction where I purchased two $25 American Express Cards. The activation fee was $7.90 for the two. But AmEX has a promotion thru 6/30/08. Buy two AmEx cards and get a $25 GC to Best Buy, Fandango, Borders or SpaFinder. So spend $7.90 and get $25 - I come out ahead $17.10. You can do 2 per household, so I will do this again next week. The GCs expire 3 months after you get them. I had read about this deal on some website but couldn't find the rebate form in the store. It wasn't with the display where they sell the GCs/AmEx cards etc. It was in the greeting cards aisle. I would never have thought to look there.

I finished the library book Tough Times by Milton Meltzer. Fiction Great Depression. Ok

I finished the library book Greatest Secrets of the Coupon Mom by Stephanie Nelson. Excellent. I thought I was pretty savvy about using coupons since I've been doing it for 25 years, but she had a lot of information I had not heard of before or thought about. One of the few finance/consumer books I've read lately that actually taught me something I could use to save money.

I've had my dad checking on an AARP saving account paying 4.5% Turns out you don't have to be over 50 to get this rate. He got the papers yesterday. It's FDIC insured. Minimum balance is $1. I've heard you have to have an AARP membership which costs around $13 a year. You can have an associate membership if under 50. Their CDs and MMA looks really good also. About 2% higher than I've found elsewhere. I plan to open an account next month when some money gets freed up. My dad is going to open one too.

The website is http://www.aarpsavings.com/

I got 4 free trial size bags of Target brand coffee to give to my brother for xmas on Sunday. Met a friend for lunch at Ruby Tuesday's. We shopped and went to see Narnia. I liked the movie. We wandered thru Costco looking at prices. They had really beautiful fruit. But I decided it wasn't worth the membership fee. For one thing it's too far away from me, plus I usually get better deals waiting for sales and using coupons.

I bought one of those Ped Egg things at Linens N' Things using a 20% off coupons. So about $8. I really like it. It smooths the cracks on the bottom of my feet. They feel great.

I finished listening to the library book on tape Blue Dahlia by Nora Roberts. Romance. Very good.

Finished reading my book Night Scents by Carla Neggers. Romance. OK

Got a free Icy Hot sample from WalMart in the mail this week.

Went to WalMart this morning and got the following for free

2 boxes Honey Bunches of Oats cereal - had $2/1 coupons. The cereal cost $1.97 so .06 overage. This will be given to brother for xmas

2 Wellness patches, (similar to Icy Hot) .97 cents each. I had 2 $1/1 coupons so again .06 cents overage.

1 Icy Hot patch. $1.00 I had $1/1 coupon so free.

I got Adidas deodorant which will be FAR and given to brother for xmas.

I got a 10 pack of Orville Redenbacher individual popcorn with will also be FAR.

I got another 4 cans of the Muir Glen tomatoes for .24 cents each. 4 coupons $1/1 and the original cost was $1.24 each.

Some more quotes from the $600 a year book.

"When we undertook to keep house on the small income of six hundred a year, i knew that it would require the strictest economy in order to make our expenses come within that sum, and so, from the beginning, I kept a close account of everything we bought. At starting we had this advantage,--and I mention it here for the benefit of the great family of young housekeepers who, like ourselves, must make the most of a little, Arthur had saved a hundred dollars before we were married, and with this little capital he laid in the following supplies to begin with: a barrel of light-brown sugar, five tons of coal, a pot of lard, ten bushels of winter potatoes, a box of brown soap, and a firkin of good butter. With these supplies we were able to start fairly, and, by my good management, I contrived to keep ahead. I soon ascertained that we were able to consume about two pounds of sugar a week, and in my weekly settlements I was careful to charge myself with that amount; also for the potatoes and other articles; these sums being laid aside, week by week, until, when the original supplies were exhausted, I had enough saved to buy more. By thus purchasing by wholesale I saved many dollars, in the year's expenses. But the accounts must be kept, and these amounts reserved, just as conscientiously as if the articles had
been purchased every week; else this plan of wholesale supply will prove a positive disadvantage to the housekeeper, by creating the impression that there is a surplus of money in the treasury. In the beginning I laid the following plans, which at once furnished me with the key to my future operations. The house-rent was reserved first, and that left me just $600, which, divided by fifty-two, gave me $ 11.54 for my weekly expenses.

Our coal for the year-- five tons,at $7 each - cost $ 35, or a fraction over sixty-seven cents a week; -and this also I deducted and laid aside, together with the other reserves, for sugar, potatoes, butter, lard, and soap. We had laid in ten bushels of potatoes at fifty cents per bushel, and as we used but one peck a week, they cost only twelve and a half cents. The lard, in these hard times, had cost eighteen cents a pound, and we used, on an average, a half-pound every week; this was nine cents more. Then the butter -three pounds at thirty cents -came to ninety cents; brown soap cost ten cents, and about three quarters of a pound sufficed for all the wants of the week, including washing. I know I saved at least a quarter pound of soap each week by my plan of always cutting up a large quantity of it into pieces of convenient size, and spreading them out in the attic to harden well. A piece of soap thus hardened will not melt away in hot water as rapidly as a freshly cut one is sure to do. Well, by the time I had prepared my list of weekly expenses it stood somewhat as follows: * At the date of which we are writing, when we really began our housekeeping, - -1860,- prices'of provisions were not quite so high as we have here stated; but by the time we came to lay in our second or third supplies they had risen much higher. Intending these rules to be some guide even in these times, we have therefore given prices to correspond more nearly with subsequent and present rates, taking a medium between the lowest former prices and the extremes which prevailed during the war.

Coal . . . . . . . $ 0.67 Potatoes . . . . . . .. O.12 Lard . . . . . . . . 0.09
Butter . . .. . 0.90
Soap . . .07
Two pounds Sugar, at $ 0.13 . . 0.26 Girl's Wages .. 1.50

Total, . $3.62

When this sum was deducted from the grand total of $ 11.54, it left me just $ 7.92 for the remaining household expenses. Of these my account book furnished me with the following list, for one week:-

Wheat Flour, twelve pounds . . . . $0.30 One dozen Eggs 0.25
Half-pound Coffee . . . . 25
Eighth pound Tea .0.15
Meat or a Substitute, $ 0.25 per day . . 1.75
Milk, one quart per day at $ 0.07 - 0.49 Salt, Rice, Indian Meal, Vinegar, Spice, Lights, &c. 1.00
Occasional Expenses, such as Brooms, Brushes, &c. 0.50

Total, . $ 4.69

I was thus in possession of $3.23, as a, reserve fund for clothing and other incidentals. Allowing seventy-three cents of this every week for extras that might be needed in the house, we had at least $125 per annum for our clothing; and with careful management we were able to dress ourselves very genteelly on that Amount. For myself, a few good dresses were better than many poor ones, and I have always found it the cheapest to buy good material, even if the first cost is rathergreater, than to get a coarse or thin article, which will last but a single season. I do not mean by this, however, that I bought expensive or extravagant dresses, or showy or costly shawls and cloaks. One dress of a season, of alpaca, cashmere, or all-wool delaine, cost about $ 12, including mak- ing and trimming; for I could sew it entirely myself, merely pta:ing a dressmaker to cut and fit it for me, at a cost of twenty-five cents. For summer, a nice barege, or some similar mate- rial, could be had for about $ 6, and a calico for $ 2 more"

I love reading old home economics book. They always seem almost current. The things they talk about are high prices, inflation and how to make the most of whatever they have.

I found this one many years ago in our library but wasn't able to check it out again. It may be in a special section now. It was written in 1865. It's called "Six Hundred Dollars a Year A Wife's Effort at Low Living Under High Prices" It doesn't say her name though. There's a website where this book is stored now and I'm re-reading it there.

http://www.letrs.indiana.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=wright2;idno=wright2-2235

Some highlights so far

The banks were paying 5% interest which was thought to be measly.

"My husband says that oil is to become a greater staple than cotton or coal. People are getting to use it for everything; he is half inclined to think they will take to drinking it some day."

The neighbor's wife started investing in oil stocks. "The furor of a female stock-speculator was an entire novelty. My husband and myself often talked over the unnatural interest which Mrs. Wilson manifested in such things, and he was not slow in predicting some kind of disappointment." Their servant girl also invested in stocks. Of course there was a downturn and they all lost thier money except for the author and her husband. Thus showing how prudent they are

They had a nice house which they rented for $200 a year. Since rents were going up they called their landloard and took out a 5 year lease to lock in the price.

It had parlor and dining room, large kitches, a shed for wash-house and summer cooking, 3 good chambers upstairs with bath and 2 attics. They had a garden in the backyard.

She furnished the entire house at the time of their marriage with a $700 dollar inheritance.

PARLOR FURNITURE.
Forty yards Tapestry Carpet, @ 1.00 .40.00
Walnut Hair-Cloth Sofa . . .. . . 30.00 Four Walnut Chairs, at $ 3.00 12.00 Walnut Centre-Table 5.00
Cloth Cover . . .. . . . 2.00
Small Pier Table with Marble Top . . . .. 8.00
Piano and Stool 200.00
Two Window-Shades of White Linen . . . . 2.00

Total, $299.00

FURNITURE FOR THREE CHAMBERS.
Seventy yards Ingrain Carpet, at $ 0.75 . . . . 52.50
Three Cottage-Sets, at $40 each . 120.00
Beds and Bedding . . . . . . . 50.00 Crockery Ware . .6.00
Muslin Curtains . . 3.00

Total, $231.50

DINING-ROOiM.

Twenty yards Carpet, at $0.75 . $15 00
A Good Second-Hand Table . 5.00
Six Cane-Seat Chairs, at $1.50 . . 9.00 Cutlery . . . . . 10.00
Stone-China Dinner Set . . . . . . 10.00 Tea Set, white French China . . 5.00
Window-Shades . . . .. 1.00

Total, $ 55.00

Kitchen Furniture, and Cooking Utensils . . . $30.00
Hall Furniture, and Stair Carpet .. . . 30.00 $60.00

Total cost of House Furniture . $ 658.50

This left me just $ 41.50 for table-linen, sheets, pil- low-cases, and towels; which was little enough, it --is true, but as muslin was cheap ,then, it bought me a dozen sheets, a dozen pillow-cases, five table-cloths, a dozen napkins, a dozen fine huckaback towels, a dozen crash ones for kitchen use, and left me some twelve dollars for sundry knicknacks, such as brushes and combs, waiters, dust-brushes, and lamps.

More Later......................

I finished reading the library book Retire on Less Than You Think by Fred Brock. Finance. Very good

I finished reading my book White Hot by Carla Neggers. Romance. OK

I'm reading a book called The Margin of Happiness The Reward of Thrift by Thetta Quay Franks. It was written in 1917

"Time, money, and health add to living a margin of happiness. The more time and money on can reasonably save, and the more perfect the health, the wider the margin of happiness."

Good quote. After I retire I will have a lot of time to spend as I please. I hope to spend some of that time on improving my overall health. After my living expenses are paid I will have $400 a month as my margin of happiness. This is the money that I have set aside for all other expenses after basic living expenses.

This money will go towards items such as:

books
jigsaw puzzles
miniature supplies
garden supplies
oil changes
clothes
haircuts
household do-dads
movies
outings with nieces
car registrations
classes

This includes all the little things that make life more enjoyable and is the part of your money that gives you the most enjoyment. I don't get much enjoyment paying utility bills, but it has to be done or I would be miserable thru freezing etc. I do get enjoyment in going to a movie with friends or reading a good book and enjoy spending money on those things.

The difference between paying all your living expenses/bills and the amount of your income is you margin of happines. The margin can be small or large dependinig on your wants. $400 to me is a lot and should more than cover my monthly wants.

In the book the author gives some examples of a low cost balanced meal served at a restaurant.

Tomate Soup .05 cents for 1 cup
Macaroni baked with chees .05 cents for 3 heaping tablespoons
Ice Cream .05 cents for 2 heaping tablespoons
Whole Wheat Bread with butter 2 slices included in the meal.

.15 cents for the meal. I'm not sure how nutritious it is.

She then gives an example of a high cost meal

Tomate Soup .05 cents for 1 cup
Roasted Beef .20 cents 3.5 oz
Creamed Spinach with egg .05 cents for a heaping tablespoon
Ginger Bread .04 cents for 2 oz
Coffee .04 cents for 1 cup
Whole Wheat Bread with butter 2 slices included in the meal.

Cost for the meal is .38 cents

Finished reading the library book Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs. Supernatural. Excellent.

Finished reading my book The Hollow by Nora Roberts. Romance. Excellent. 2nd book in the series. Love the series but now I have to wait till December for the 3rd one to come out.

Went to Walmart Tuesday and found some good bargains.

22 oz can Bush's grilling beans 1.25 - $1 coupon = .25 cents - got 2 cans
14.5 oz can Muir Glen diced tomatoes 1.25 - $1 coupon = .25 cents - got 3 cans
1 14.5 oz box Ronzoni pasta 1.50 - $1 coupon = .50 cents

2 Toby Keith 35 Greatest Hits CDs for 12.99 price match with Kmart ad. Saved $1 plus tax each

Got 2 geraniums for Mother's day.

Also got 2nd book in Nora Roberts trilogy.

I picked up a copy of All You magazine. It had tons of really good coupons. It also had a survey in the front that if you fill in and mail to the company they will send you $10

If you buy a $50 GC at either Sears or Kmart before May 11 you get an extra $10.

Finished reading the library book Wife for Hire by Janet Evanovich. Romance. Good

Finished reading the library book Thrifting into a Debt-Free, Carefree Lifestyle by M.R. Hartt. Finance. Ok not a lot of information.

Finished reading my book Up Close and Dangerous by Linda Howard. Romance. Excellent. Love this author.

Finished re-reading my book Saving Money Any Way You Can by Mike Yorkey. Finance. This is pretty good.

King Soopers is allowing customers to buy Gift cards in increments of $300 (up to $1200) and get 10% more. So you buy a card for $300 and the store puts $330 on the card. There are no experation dates on the cards or fees.

I purchased $1200 worth and recieved 4 cards with $330 each for a total of $1320value and my cost was $1200. I used my credit card for this and will get 1% back from them in cash. So I made 11% on my $1200. This is about a years worth of groceries for me. But I can also use these King Sooper cards to purchase other gift cards that they sell in the store, such as book stores, restaurants, retail stores etc.

I don't think you can beat a safe 11% return on your money from anywhere else. I will pay the credit card off with my savings which were earning 3.05%. I did have a problem paying with the credit card, since it was such a large amount the fraud division kicked it out. I had to call the CC company and get it approved first and then I was able to make the purchase. So if you want to do this you might call your CC company first.

I bought my groceries using one of the cards. Groceries this week were less than $5. I got free 1 lb mini peeled carrots, free cherry tomatoes and free bagged coleslaw. If you are on their mailing list King Soopers sends you coupons about once a month. This month I got a $6 off a $60 purchase, which is very difficult for me to use, since you can't buy gift cards, a lot of times I give these kinds of coupons to my parents. But I also get coupons like .65 cents off carrots, or $1.50 off produce when you buy $5, or $1.50 off dairy when you buy $7. Very good coupons.

I got my stimulus rebate check deposited on Friday. It's just going to savings.

I got two free samples in the mail this week. A box of GM Fiber One cereal and a bottle of Gillete Body Wash.

Found a penny at the library yesterday and picked it up - baselle

I went to two garage sales yesterday. I was late so slim pickings but I did get a brand new 3 roll package of xmas paper. Green foil designs - very pretty for .50 cents.

Finished reading the library book A Slice of Organic Life by Sheherazade Goldsmith. Good.

I also read my book Blood Brothers by Nora Roberts. Romance. Excellent. I love her books especially her dialog. It is so funny and real.

100 days till retirement

I am a magazine junkie. I love to read magazines but don't do it as often as I would like because of lack of time. Once I retire I plan to do a lot more. Library magazines of course I got a list from the library of all the ones I want to read each month/quarter etc.

ARCHAEOLOGY
BACKWOODS HOME MAGAZINE
CONSUMER REPORTS
COUNTRY
DISCOVER
DR ANDREW WEILS SELF HEALING NEWSLETTER
E /ENVIRONMENTAL MAGAZINE
FAMILY CIRCLE
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
KIPLINGERS PERSONAL FINANCE
MONEY
MOTHER EARTH NEWS
REAL SIMPLE
SMART MONEY
SMITHSONIAN
UTNE READER
WOMANS DAY

Finished reading the library book Dead Time by Stephen White. Mystery. Very good.