Coupon Burnout: Overcoming the Guilt of NOT Couponing

In addition to people who hate couponers, there’s a segment of shoppers who feel guilty that they don’t coupon. What to do if you have a bad case of Coupon Burnout.

I’m part of a lovely book group, and many of the women were in my January coupon workshops. Last night was a get-together and when a couple of the women who I haven’t seen in a while saw me, they told me they fell off the coupon bandwagon, or that they just can’t do it, or that they just can’t shop like I do. The guilt was palpable and it made me uncomfortable.

If you hop from store to store and feel your heart racing when you find products for free with coupon, you are heading for Coupon Burnout. Then, you’ll quit couponing and the guilt will set in. Stop the silly cycle of burnout and guilt. Take it slow! (Photo credit: Hotcouponworld.com)

I am not sure if they still think I’m an extreme couponer (I’m so not). When I told them that I don’t use coupons every time I shop, they were shocked! I only use coupons when I see a great deal that’s on sale that matches my coupons (i.e.: free containers of Wet Ones wipes at ShopRite this week–we use them all summer on our boat and at the beach so of course I’ll grab four to eight of them!). But folks…there’s no need to feel guilty if you DON’T use coupons, for heaven’s sake! If not couponing works for you, then that’s completely okay!

The guilt is going to set in soon since a new season of TLC’s “Extreme Couponing” show begins end of May. Inevitably, more people will ask me how to coupon, more people will go nuts with coupons, and then they stop couponing. Just like the women who went to my workshops. They have a case of Coupon Burnout. The trick is not to use every coupon you see in every store you shop. It’s a matter of what you need, what you want, what’s on sale, and if you have the coupons to stock a few of the same product (so you don’t have to go out and get one full price).

A bit of guilt is normal after going gangbusters on couponing. But that phase should last a short time. Just enjoy coupons, enjoy what you buy, and stop feeling guilty every time you see me :–)

~Marilyn, TFF

Related articles

• Extreme Couponing Myths (savings.com)

Why We Don’t Have a Lawn Care Service–Hint: It Used to be Cheaper When Teens Did It…

What happened to the simple joy of cutting your own lawn…and what happened to letting a teen make a buck by cutting your lawn? Now, so many people in Fairfield feel the need to hire expensive “professional” mowing services once reserved for commercial properties. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Lawn mowing services may be a convenience, but at what cost?

It’s lawn-care season, but this post was on my mind during leaf-raking season, too. I was pushed to write this post when I saw a lawn care service truck parked in front of an otherwise frugal friend’s home.

We mow our own lawn, but one of my frugal friends said it costs her $60 every two weeks to have the grass cut, which means it’s $120 a mont–of course that’s not all year round, but then there’s raking services… I’ve also seen services with deals for $25 a mow (not around here, however), and heard that other companies charge $45 a mow (around here). That cost is just for mowing, not for other services, such as fertilizing, etc. (see post from CostOwl.com below). My kids are more than willing to cut the grass once a week for neighbors at a lot lessthan that! There seem to be no more lawn-cutting or leaf-raking gigs for teens around here, unfortunately.

Needless to say, these lawn service guys (in teams of two to four people) spend all of 10 minutes at each house if they are there to mow a lawn and whack some weeds–they have the heavy-duty (and really loud) equipment to do it in record time. I’ve timed it! We are talking about small quarter-to-half-acre plots of land here. Plus, it’s a high-volume business which means they have to get in, get out, and get to the next customer’s lawn to make the hour worthwhile. And the lawns don’t look all that much better than ours (well, now we have a weed whacker so we look a lot better). But if you do have a service and want to know why it’s expensive, here’s an article that explains the price increases.

There are times when a service would be quite handy–if you are unable to physically take care of your property, if you work an ungodly amount of hours, or if you have acres of land. So, what should you pay for the service if you get one? One blog, Landscaping Ideas Online, gives you some good tips, which will hopefully talk you out of feeling the need to get a service.

Here’s an excerpt of the post from Landscaping Ideas Online:

If you are looking for the very barest of basic services, the average cost of lawn care services in Small Town, USA should run somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 per week, which puts you anywhere from between $120-150 per month. Not really bad when you consider that other services cost considerably more than this each and every week and most of us could easily axe a daily run to Starbuck’s in order to make up for this particular expense.

Of course, me being me, I like to look at everything from the point of view of personal value. Most basic services include moving, edging, equipment provided as well as fuel, trimming the lawn, and general removal of debris (limbs and such) though you should check with the provider you are considering before you hire them to be certain. I certainly would not pay more than $30 per week for less.

Why not use your own lawnmower and save the money (better yet if you have an electric mower), or even better yet, get a push mower (read Aimee’s post on the value of cutting your grass with a push mower here).

More Lawn Care Costs, courtesy of CostOwl.com.

• A reasonable price for lawn care is $25-$35 per week, or $100-$140 per month. By the hour, this works out to $20-$25 per hour, or $40-$50 for half acre lawns.
• Most landscapers will include basic lawn maintenance such as lawn mowing and edging.
• Larger lawns cost more.
• The local cost of gasoline will affect the price.
• Trimming, pruning, clearing planting beds, trimming the hedges and clearing debris generally all cost extra.
• Lawn care services such as applying Scott’s LawnService or Tru-Green run about $50-$60 per application, with about eight applications per year, or a total cost of $400-$500. Such a service handles fertilization and both kills and prevents future weeds and pests.
• Tipping and the use of an additional worker for some jobs costs extra.
• Most lawn care can be easily handled by a homeowner and doing it yourself will save money over hiring a professional lawn care business.
• This Old House offers lawn care tips on everything from cutting the grass to more complicated landscaping.
• Organic lawn care is actually cheaper in the long run than using synthetic fertilizer and pesticides. This Old House offers an excellent guide. Also, check out this list of frequently asked questions about organic lawn care.

Until we are unable to mow our own lawn, we’ll suffer with some less than perfect patches on our lawn.

~Marilyn, TFF

Stop Stereotyping Couponers: The Majority Frugally Shop the Outer Perimeters of the Grocery Store

There was yet another article about couponing, this time in “The New York Times Magazine,” (May 3, 2012) featuring the folks at Fabulously Frugal, and yet again, I’m astounded at how a topic like couponing can get people so riled up (read the comments, they are more entertaining than the actual article). Many of the misinformed comments that come after the article prejudge people who use coupons as unhealthy hoarders who are a burden to those who don’t use coupons.

NOT what I buy! (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’m not sure people were so fired up about couponing before that dang TLC show about extreme couponing came along. But every naysayer thinks that people who use coupons buy loads of junk food one step up from the fast food chains. (Oh, how I wish I could find out how many people who write negative comments about coupons frequent McDonald’s or other fast food establishments I wouldn’t be caught dead in… I’m sure more than a few…). Here’s the reality of most couponers (not those on television): we save money on non-grocery and grocery items using coupons, and so we can buy good meat and fresh produce. If I can get razors and toothpaste for free-ish using coupons, that money goes towards fruits and veggies. Most of us are not like the woman in Erie, Pennsylvania, featured on “Extreme Coouponing” who has a locked door to a special room in her basement filled with cookies and snacks, called “Mom’s Cookie Room.”

One Canadian blogger tried to explain her healthy couponing in this informative, helpful article–and then she was lambasted by a reader in the comments section–you may want to read her gracious reply to this reader. Another healthy couponing article by Shape Magazine listed Lean Pockets as a healthy food to buy with coupons. I would never be caught dead with a package of highly processed Lean Pockets in my house. The article also lists Yoplait yogurt, which I know is high in sugar. My take away from these articles: we all have different definitions of what eating healthy means for us–some of us prescribe to healthy-enough while others are more strict. We don’t have to agree with each other, but let’s have a healthy level of respect for one another.

Most of us have heard health advocates, such as the Mayo Clinic, say to avoid any inner aisles of grocery stores food. So, besides buying cereals, pasta, crackers and decent cookies (when I don’t make from scratch) inside the store perimeter, ingredients for tomato sauces, and always flour, sugars, oils and other baking and condiment needs, my own cart is filled with perimeter groceries. It is most definitely not filled with fruit roll-ups (tons of coupons for those) and the like!

Speaking of perimeter groceries, there ARE coupons and sales for those! You have to find the store in your area that holds the best perimeter sales. Thankfully, ShopRite has produce Super Coupons, and besides that, I’ve been able to use manufacturer’s coupons to buy almonds, raisins, protein bars, orange juice, cheeses, yogurts (favorite is Activa), organic eggs, organic milks…with coupons matched with sales! Maybe there are not coupons  and sales for all the items all the time, but most of the time, I’m able to frugally shop the perimeter of the grocery store.

Here’s a small sampling of recent purchases using coupons/sales at ShopRite for fresh/healthy foods:

• Sale: $1.29 a pound for organic apples
• Super Coupon ShopRite: whole pineapple $1.49
• Super Coupon ShopRite: broccoli or cauliflower .99 cents a lb.
• Coupon + Sale: Blue Diamond Almonds (not in perimeter but healthy) for $1.50 a can.
• There’s always BOGO sales on potatoes, carrots, and onions–which reminds me of the bags of baby organic carrots for $1.66 each on sale, no coupons needed.

Here is a short list of alternative coupons I used to get healthy items:

• Groupon to Whole Foods ($10 for $20 worth of items and I bought meat and poultry)
• Fairfield Coupon to Fountain of Youth ($9 for $20 worth of items in this organic store in Westport, and I plan to buy produce and/or meats)
• I use the coupon booklets from Whole Foods, as well. Sometimes you get amazing deals, as you can read about in one of our posts.
  

  I bought nine packages of antibiotic-free chicken drumsticks at Whole Foods because they were affordable at .99 cents a pound thanks to a 70% off sale. Good to know that even Whole Foods has super sales! Photo: TFF

It’s always possible to buy frugally around the perimeter using coupons and sales, or just sales. To all of the coupon critics: Buy frugally around the perimeter by simply reading the store’s sales flyers!

~Marilyn, TFF

Frugal Foodie Kitchen Investments With Your Kohl’s 30%-Off Coupon

Attention Working Moms and Stay-at-Home Moms!  Busy People Everywhere!  While I say that cooking from scratch is the most frugal and sustainable way to go, I know – Life is Busy!  Your Kohl’s 30% off coupon can help make cooking from scratch easier.

Here are a few helpful kitchen appliances that I bought on sale using my coupon and, in some cases, Kohl’s Cash:

Zojurushi Breadmaker – see my previous post - Put the ingredients in the pan, press a couple of buttons.  Bread can bake over night.

Ninja Master Prep Professional Blender Set – see my previous post - guacamole, fresh salsa or smoothies in a jiffy.

Fagor Duo Combi 5 Piece Pressure Cooker Set –  I got a great two-pot set on sale for $94 (retails for $150 elsewhere) - dried beans (least expensive), rice, and other food cook in a fraction of the time, which saves energy.  (I will soon post the hummus recipe I make with dried chickpeas cooked in the pressure cooker.)

Black and pinto beans make up a regular meal of bean and cheese burritos at our house.

Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer – I got a great deal on this (in a fabulous cobalt blue color!) because it was on sale and eligible for a $30 rebate.  Total cost = $210.  (retails for $3.49 elsewhere).  I earned $40 in Kohl’s Cash for this purchase, which I used for a food grinder attachment.  It was on sale and I was able to use the same 30% off coupon.  Total cost = $14. (retails $55, elsewhere)

Besides using the stand mixer for dessert recipes, I now use it to make hamburger rolls.  Check out this great recipe from another frugal mom:  Homemade Buttermilk Buns (I use 3.5 cups of whole wheat bread flour and 1 cup all purpose flour)

The first time, I followed the recipe and made eight burger buns.  They came out perfect, but were a bit on the jumbo side (kale chips are on the left).

Second time, I made 16 burger rolls. These were just the right size. I freeze whatever rolls I don’t use.

With the food grinder attachment, any cut of beef can be made into ground meat for hamburgers, chili or lasagna.  Marilyn and I are part of a “Beef Share” through a local farm and get a wide variety of cuts for a great price.  (These days, especially with the revelation of pink slime, it pays to know where your beef comes from!)

My best Kohl’s Coupon deal yet!

No pink slime here-

Whatever eggs were left over from the “egg wash” for the tops of the hamburger rolls, I used in my hamburger recipe. Waste not, want not.

Kids’ dinner plates – homemade burgers, buns and oven fries with strawberries for dessert.

I got this huge slow cooker for opening up a checking account at a local bank. Sadly, those days are gone.

I also use a slow cooker.  I got this huge Proctor-Silex Slow Cooker years ago FREE for opening up a checking account at a local bank.  Anyone remember those days?  We use the slow cooker for chili, beef stew and this red lentil stew recipe, which my kids love over basmati rice.  Please feel free to share your favorite slow cooker recipes!

Learning to cook is lifelong.  It starts at any age.  Involving/teaching children to cook provides for frugal fun as well as a lifelong skill (future post!)   Start here - Cook for Good!  Stay tuned for more frugal foodie recipes!

~Aimee, TFF

Is Having a Cleaning Service a Luxury or a Necessity?

When the economy imploded in 2008, a casual friend told me that her husband informed her that the cleaning lady could come only one time a week instead of twice. I told her that she was lucky to have a cleaning lady at all! But what I was thinking was this: hmmmm, she doesn’t work, she only has two kids, why can’t she clean her own house? So many people I know–with and without kids, stay-at-home moms, work-at-home moms, work-out-of-the-home moms–they love to drop in conversation the fact that they have a cleaning lady. Strangely enough, people love to quote how much  their cleaning service costs–anywhere between $60 to $80 every two weeks–or, $120 to $160 a month to have a house cleaned. I usually respond by saying something stupid like “Yeah, if I worked outside the home I’d have a cleaning lady, too.” That would be a lie, actually. I’ve worked outside the home most of my life and still never wanted a cleaning service. In addition to all that money, I’m still unsure of what the allure is about having a cleaning lady poking around into the most personal corners of your life.

I see many maid and cleaning service cars parked outside of homes in Fairfield County, like this one. Many are unmarked cars, but it's a giveaway when we see mops and pails being pulled out of the trunk. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’m just not comfortable having someone cleaning my own toilet, then having to look at them in the face afterward! I’ve written many articles over the years about cleaning the house, and I’ve interviewed numerous cleaning professionals, and whoa, they all know a-l-o-t about each client. They’ve told me stories about how dirty people’s sheets are, literally and figuratively. Ick. I’d like to keep my dust mites to myself, thank you very much.

Once in my 20s, my roommate and I hired a cleaning lady for our New York City duplex (which sounds more luxurious than it really was).  The cleaning lady lasted one day because my roommate cleaned up before she came, and I’m just too territorial to let a stranger into my stuff.

But more than being territorial, I’m frugal, and there’s no room in my budget for someone else to clean my home at $60 or $80 a pop. If I have dust bunnies and smudges on my walls, so be it. I look at it this way: cleaning my own home helps me bond with it, know it, feel it, and really get to know what we have, what we need, what can go out, who’s sneaking snacks at night, who accidently threw out a bracelet that only needed to be glued, even who had a bout of diarrhea! I didn’t decide to have a family just to keep my hands clean! I had a family so I could enjoy all the crazy dirt and mess that goes along with it. After all, I doubt anyone has ever gone to their deathbed thinking, “I should have hired a maid.”

I know the argument goes like this: “My time is worth more to me than money so that’s why I hire a cleaning lady so I can be more productive.” I’d rather figure out how to productively clean my own home while saving money which gives me peace of mind to be more productive in my work. Plus, it would be too much work to clean up before the cleaning lady arrives, and it would be too exhausting to follow her around once she’s there! That wouldn’t be very productive to me.

But…do maids clean kitty litter? Well…maybe that would be worth the money!

~Marilyn, TFF

Frugal and Quick: Delicious, Easy Homemade Vanilla Pudding Recipe for Pennies (No Eggs!)

My family loves pudding, but the powdered and already-made versions are bland, expensive, and not very healthy. I researched recipes and realized just how easy and economical it is to make. I was looking for an egg-free recipe and ran across this one on All Recipes. I had about a cup of milk left in my fridge before going shopping, so I figured I’d experiment by halving the recipe below. It took all of five minutes to make. What an amazingly delicious recipe! Top with homemade whipped cream (whip some sugar and heavy cream until it forms peaks). You’ve got a frugal, quick, healthier and delicious dessert for pennies!

Here's what the pudding mix looks like when cooking. Looks a bit like white glue! But more delicious than white glue. No lumps because I whisked all ingredients beforehand, poured into pot, then cooked.

Pouring my experimental vanilla pudding into small glasses to be topped later with homemade whipped cream.

Vanilla Pudding Recipe (adapted from All Recipes)

• 2 cups cold milk (I used Trader Joe’s whole organic milk cut with water and I’ll try almond milk another time)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon butter

Put all ingredients into a bowl, except the butter. This step prevents lumps from forming when cooking. Briskly whisk ingredients in bowl. (Next time I plan to use an electric mixer for this step to eliminate every potential lump.) Then, pour  ingredients into pot on medium high heat, whisk more, then wait for bubbling to start. Don’t boil. Add in butter, whisk. Lower heat, keep whisking (it thickens up quickly). Take off of heat, pour into cups/glasses, chill in fridge. Enjoy!

Enjoy! ~Marilyn, TFF

Related articles

• Homemade Vanilla Pudding Mix (cupcakesandcandles.wordpress.com)
• Banana Pudding (21nogluten.wordpress.com)