No? Dang.
This time of year is hard for us at school. But really, who wants to hear about that?
I know I don't want to talk about it.
So, here's what's up.
We've had one of those months where we spent a lot of extra, necessary money on things like weddings, tuxes, etc. So, it has been my personal goal to save as much money for our family as possible in my grocery bill. I'll have you know, we are eating EVERY meal from stuff in our pantry (which is slim) and $14 worth of groceries. Um, go me. But seriously, I love to cook so this week will not be fun.
I've read a lot about coupons and saving money lately. I've seen people say they save $70 on their bills at Krogers by using coupons. I'll be the first to admit--I'm extremely wary of that. I shop at Walmart...not happily, but I shop there. I also supplement Walmart's lack of edible veggies with HEB. Again, I don't do this by choice but by necessity. HEB is a much more enjoyable experience and I am a fan of the business overall (actually, LLYC, the summer camp I worked for, was an HEB foundation camp). I also LOVE HEB brand natural peanut butter as well as their selection of foreign foods and meats. Ugh, the more I talk about it, the more I despise the wonderful world of Walmart. The one thing that Walmart does offer me, however, is affordability. I EASILY save $20 a week at Walmart compared to HEB and WAY more compared to Krogers. So here's my issue: whenever I see people's "savings" at Krogers, they are basing this off of what their receipt says. "You saved $45!" But did they save $45 of the mark-up that Krogers places on their items compared to Wally World? Not sure. Also, I found that coupons pale in comparison to the savings I can get by buying store brands. And I have yet to find coupons for things I actually buy consistently. We don't buy a ton of snack foods (actually, we RARELY if ever buy snack foods--I generally just make all of our snacks), so most coupons don't help us.
Yes, a rant about nothing, but I was thinking about this while fighting the crazies at Walmart last night. Speaking of which, www.peopleofwalmart.com. Go there. Enjoy yourself.
Also, I'm curious what size beds people enjoy. We will be buying a house in April-May, and I plan on putting our bed in the guest room and finding something new to match the rest of our bedroom set. I have a few options--Ikea sells a bed that is upholstered for a fair price in a light tan. My second option it to get a frame and make a headboard myself. We stayed at a hotel for a wedding recently that had a headboard attached to the wall. It was grand and really made a statement. My other set of options involves size. One of the first pieces of wedding advice I got was to buy a king size bed. A sweet friend said after 10 years of marriage, they have never slept better. If you know me or ever had the unfortunate displeasure of being my roommate, you know I am a sucky sleeper. Like crazy-mad sucky. I don't cuddle. I love to cuddle while awake but leave me the heck alone if I'm trying to sleep. I don't like noises. I don't like light. I don't even like it if I hear you breathing. It's not rational or sane or kind. I know. Don't lecture. But the king size bed discussion came back up at the wedding and was actually a suggestion from my poor, saint of a husband. My two drawbacks are that they take up huge amounts of space and EVERYTHING for a king is so much more expensive! Sheets, comforter, mattress...everything.
And please...don't judge me. I love my husband. I wish I could cuddle and be kind while I try to sleep. I just can't.
Speaking of loving my husband, check this out: http://fm.thevillagechurch.net/resource_files/audio/200307060000HWC21ASAAA_MattChandler_TheDivineMysteryPt2.mp3
This totally rocked our world. In the best possible way.
You are darling. Sorry it's been so long. :)
2 comments:
I agree w/ you on the Kroger thing. I have seen "testimonials" of people's savings, and one couple said that for two people they spent around $70 as opposed to $130, after using their Kroger coupons.
That made me feel better because I spend around $70 each week w/out using a ton of coupons, and am less likely to buy something I don't need, just because I have a coupon for it.
But I do miss HEB too, luckily I can't even be tempted by it all the way in FL. But my heart still longs for it.
Ok, I have about a million things to say in response to this post... maybe I should just call you? :) (Note: I am serious. We should totally have a phone date!)
But until then... this may be the longest comment ever.
I have been struggling with the Walmart/Kroger thing for a while, as well as the coupon thing. Our Walmart Neighborhood Market is just about as close as our Kroger. I have it in my mind that Walmart is cheaper (it probably is), so sometimes I go to Walmart to get canned/bagged things, and then to Kroger to get meat/produce (but it's annoying to go both places!).
BUT the thing is that I've always had it in my head that Walmart is cheaper than Target. And the long story short is that it's not. At least, not here. If it's cheaper, it's only by a few cents -- and totally not worth the extra drive/my sanity (I love Target and it's so much closer!). And on a few things I was really surprised to find out that Target was actually cheaper! So I'm left wondering -- what if I have the same misconception about Kroger/Walmart?
Soon, I want to take a couple of hours, go to both places, and price compare on brands and generics. (That's what I did with Target/Walmart.)
And as for generics being cheaper than brands, even with coupons, I feel the EXACT SAME WAY. But you know what that means, right? It means we don't know how to coupon. Because people who do know that you can get brands WAY cheaper than generics. I am just not good at it. And the websites devoted to it (couponmom.com, etc.) are overwhelming. But I would really like to learn! Our grocery budget is $265 per month. I went over this month. And I know a girl whose goal is to spend only $80 on food AND cleaning supplies this month. WHAT! My cleaning supplies are in a separate budget line. I seriously need to learn!
(BTW, I don't know what HEB is, but I'm assuming it's some kind of co-op?)
Bed: Go with a King size! Yes, more expensive all around, but so worth it. We have a Queen, but I can't wait for a King. I am the same kind of sleeper as you. When we first got married I begged Wes to "come to bed with me." (He works best at night and I am an early-to-bed kind of girl, so that never worked out!) Now, I plead with him to "just stay awake for another half hour so I can go to sleep first." His breathing bothers me. I can't sleep if I hear it. So I have to fall asleep first. If I don't, I end up on the couch!
I think that is all. Wow.
Post a Comment