What's in that purse?

A few months ago, I bought a new purse. The price was right ($20), the purse was cute (turquoise!), and my old one was dirty and fraying. I love this new purse. It's kind of like Mary Poppins' carpet bag -- seemingly bottomless. It's that capacity for carrying everything that is the purse's one drawback. Carting around a bunch of stuff can get heavy. Yesterday when I picked it up, I thought "No wonder my arm is all jacked up."

How heavy is heavy? I took the purse upstairs and set it on the bathroom scale. It weighed nearly 6 pounds! Truthfully, I expected it to be more than that. But still, 6 pounds is the size of some newborn humans.

So exactly what is in a purse that weighs 6 pounds? This:

• 1 box of generic allergy medicine
• 2 bottles of ibuprofen (the shoulder, you know)
• 2 different kinds of lip gloss
• Foundation (ironic, because I rarely wear makeup)
• Blush
• A broken mechanical pencil
• Lip balm, free from a exhibit booth at a trade show
• Binder clip (to pull back my hair)
• A Diet Coke cap waiting for me to enter the code for Coke Rewards (drunk by someone else)
• Wallet (sadly, the emptiest of all)
• Pool key
• 3 maxi pads
• 1 pack of Splenda
• 1 pack of Pure Via
• Acne medication samples
• Sunglasses
• 2 hardback books -- one biography and one daily inspirations
• 35 cents in loose change
• A pen that I told the kids absolutely must not leave the kitchen calendar area
• An envelope of coupons
• Random register coupons from Target and Walgreens
• 2 expired Walgreens monthly savings booklets
• Numerous old receipts that just got shoved in the purse as soon as the cashier handed them over
• Bag of box tops someone at the office gave me to turn into school
• A ticket I saved from Annie's last show
• An Rx for bloodwork

So, what's in YOUR purse?

How much is my time worth?

Mike got his last paycheck from his former employer yesterday. I won't get paid again until February 25th. So I'm trying to be very mindful about stretching that money over the next two and a half weeks.

To that end, I sat down to make a 3-week dinner menu, trying a new format some cyber friends suggested.

Sundays - Crockpot meal

Mondays - Chicken/beef meal

Tuesdays - Meatless meal

Wednesdays - Mexican (which may or may not be meatless)

Thursdays - Leftovers

Fridays - Pizza/sandwiches (until Lent begins, at which point this category will switch with Saturday's meatless option)

Saturdays - Meatless meal

Once I had my menu made out (only 1 repeat in 21 days, pretty good if I do say so myself), I sat down to make the shopping list. I spent 10 minutes debating whether or not I should bake my own bread and make my own hot chocolate mix. Seriously, I could not decide for the life of me.

I ended up deciding I'd make my own dinner breads, but would buy the sandwich breads and the hot chocolate. All right, already! Back to the list. I have some meat already purchased and in the freezer, so that's good. The rest of the list looks pretty manageable.

Then it was time to gather up the coupons to match what was on my list. Ideally, I would have made my menu with the grocery ad in front of me, then matched coupons to that. But I figured I was good to get the menu made in the first place. So first I went to coupons.com and clicked then printed all the coupons that appealed to me. Then I went to Meijer.com, clicked through the Meal Box and printed those coupons.

As if I wasn't couponed enough by then, I dug through last Sunday's paper for the coupon inserts to see if there were any coupons I need there. (Still haven't gotten that coupon system down I put on my 2010 to do list).

At that point, I needed to lay down for a nap because I'd been working on this freaking menu and shopping list for something like 3 hours! Feeling too guilty to nap, I stayed with it, marking the list as to what I'd buy at Meijer and what I'll buy at Aldi. Of course, neither store is very close to us -- that would be Marsh and Target. But their prices are higher - unless I have my 10% off shopping certificate for filling 10 prescriptions at the Target pharmacy.

Ordinarily, I do my big shopping at Meijer, but my sister swears by the produce at Aldi. I stopped in there the other day and some of the things were pretty cheap. However, shopping there requires a to-do list all its own. Have cash -- and a quarter for the cart -- ready. Bring your own shopping bags. Leave the coupons at home.

So now I have my 3-week menu, my Meijer list, my Aldi list, my printed coupons, my newspaper coupons and my obsessive mind wondering if I should get any of this stuff at Costco.

What don't I have?

Groceries.

Think I might have to go get those tomorrow because all this work getting ready to go shopping has quite frankly worn me out and left me thinking, "just how much is my time worth anyway?"

(And you know as soon as I get home, I'll be pulling out the Sharpie marker and putting half of the groceries into hiding. Otherwise all my budgeting and planning will be eaten right before my eyes!)

G is for groceries...and grateful

If you're one of my Facebook friends, then you might know that I had to go to the grocery store today because Annie argued that she couldn't make a breakfast out of carrots and hot dog buns. While I agree w/my friend Shelley that Annie just needs to be more culinarily creative, I did sit down to make out a menu and a shopping list.

I was feeling a little guilty (look! another G word) that I didn't have any coupons to take with me, but I decided to just plow ahead. I did at least plan to go to Meijer where I have found the groceries to be cheaper than at the two stores that are actually closer to my house. And I looked over the weekly ad, so I could plan my menu around the sales.

Once I was ready to go, I asked Robbie if he would come with me. I'm not sure what made me do that. I generally have a rule that I go grocery shopping alone -- keeps those impulse purchases to a minimum. But, I must have been thinking that having only two kids at home while I was gone would keep the peace a little better. So I asked Robbie to join me and amazingly he said yes. He's really a homebody and pretty much always will choose "stay home" when given the option.

So off we went, my little helper and I, armed with nothing but a grocery list. And do you know, we had a wonderful time! The store was not very crowded. We started out choosing a few pairs of waterproof gloves at 40% off and a $5 pair of slippers for Robbie's icy cold morning feet. Then it was off to the grocery department.

Robbie asked if we could stop to look at the fish -- the live ones swimming, not the dead ones in the meat case. So we did. We then headed to the dairy department, where we picked out cheese and yogurt and cinnamon rolls for breakfast one day this week. Robbie was so fun to be with. No whining, no pleading, no running off without me. When I turned down his cereal selections (Cocoa Puffs and Lucky Charms), but offered that he could pick out a box of fruit snacks, he was fine with that.

He did get a little weary, but didn't whine about it. Instead he asked, "Mom, is our cart full yet?" I'm sure some of you will think that I'm making way too big a deal about grocery shopping, but it was one of those experiences where I just felt so grateful to be there with that child, to be sharing a simple yet lovely time with a kid who often leaves me exasperated.

When, finally, our cart was indeed full, we took our place in line. As I unloaded the groceries onto the belt, an older woman came up to me, reached out a few pieces of paper in her hand and asked if I could use them. I looked and they were 3 coupons for 5% off the total grocery order -- and you could combine up to 4 of them at once. So instead of having no coupon savings, as I thought I would when we left the house, I ended up saving $40. All thanks to the kindness of a stranger.

So yes, G is for groceries...and for very grateful.

Livin' the day

Wow. Today was a great day. I am dog tired, but in a good way.

It was just one of those mostly ordinary days. I slept until 9am -- that's always a good start. When I got up, I decided to make my grocery list and gather my coupons because it's pretty slim pickin's in our fridge and pantry.

Do you know that it took me almost two hours to get through all the coupon inserts and try to match them up to the sales? By then, it was time to make lunch and then get ready for Charlie's soccer game. So while the kids finished lunch, I ran to Target to get a few must-haves, including dishwasher soap.

It was the first time that I've had a chance to use Mike's Target discount. I saved $5.20. Not riches, but I'll take it. Mike is really enjoying the job. It's not what he wants to do forever, but I think he's happy to be working as part of a team.

Then it was off to Charlie's soccer game. I really love watching soccer. I grew up playing it (bet you wouldn't have guessed that, huh?). Charlie's been playing with the same team for about 2 years. It's technically a travel team, but so far the travel has all been pretty local.

He scored a beautiful goal today. He was standing just in front of right midfield when the ball came to him. He set it up and took an awesome left-footed shot that sailed right through an opening in the defenders and arched to the left into the goal. Just after he made the shot, I wished that I'd had a videotape of it to show it here. But, in truth, I was enjoying just living the day and being present in the moment.

After soccer, we went to the First Communion Mass (which counts as Sunday Mass, so woohoo! Guess who is sleeping in tomorrow?!). All those little girls in pretty white dresses and boys who look like mini versions of their fathers in khakis and navy sport coats, faces clean and hair brushed (for once!).

We were invited to our friends' house to celebrate their son Jack's First Communion. So we finished out the evening sitting around visiting with friends, which is always good.

See? Nothing too special. But definitely a great day. Hope yours was too.

Who me? Use coupons?

I broke down and went to the grocery store today. I had the day off from work and the only thing left in the freezer were some frozen chicken breasts and two bags of vegetables. The refrigerator was equally bare, yielding a few oranges, two slices of deli turkey, a serving of yogurt and assorted condiments.

Early in January, I was at the grocery and watched a woman in front of me buy a cart full of groceries for only $27 after she'd used all of her coupons. I was amazed and felt guilty when the cashier asked me if I had any coupons. "Not today," I said, vowing that I sure would the next time.

Since then, I discovered Bargain Briana. Actually, I re-discovered her. I first became familiar with Briana in the Ridemakerz giveaway days. But I didn't really check out her site until recently. Intent on cutting my grocery bill, I've spent hours over the past few days on Briana's site trying to understand exactly how to get the best deal.

So today, I sat down with the grocery ad, Briana's site listing the store deals open on my computer, and my sparse collection of coupons in hand to make out my menu based on what's on sale this week. Then I headed out to shop.

First the dairy department. Shredded cheese on my list. It's on sale 2/$6. Plus there's an on-package coupon. Then Pillsbury Grands. 10/$10. I have a coupon for 50 cents off three. Oh wait, Grands Sweet Rolls don't count. Dig for the ones that do count.

Move on to the Italian aisle. $1 off /2 Prego. Oh, but not the size I usually get. The big size. Hmmm. Ok, I can use those still. Brownies. $1 off /4 -- but the ones I have a coupon for aren't the ones on sale. Which is cheaper? Do I really even need brownies?

I can feel myself starting to get slightly anxious. This whole couponing thing is hard work. Make sure I've got the right size, the right variety, the right number of items to get the discount. Boy, it sure was easier to go in with my list and ignorantly toss stuff into the cart without trying to match up to manufacturer requirements.

But still, I trudged on, consulting my list and my envelope of coupons. I was glad to get to the bottom of my list and head to the checkout. Once I got there, I watched the woman in front of my with a little bit of envy. Nothing in her cart was on the 10/$10 list and she had no coupons to redeem.

Then it was my turn. I piled my coupons on the checkout stand and waited for the cashier to scan and bag my items. After everything was rung up, my total was $162 and some change. I handed over the coupons.

I watched as 30 cents here and 50 cents there came off my total. When all was said and done, I saved almost $13! Small potatoes to the mega coupons queens out there, I'm sure. But enough to make me think that coupon ignorance may be bliss, but it sure is expensive.

Next up, I'm going to learn how to play the CVS game.