Are Coupons Making A Comeback or Just A Major Waste of Time?

image haominglAs much as I'd like to say I'm an avid couponer saving tons of money every month with my extremly organized coupon binder and extreme couponing skills, I just haven't been able to get motivated to clip coupons and actually use them.

I can get myself to get very excited about the idea of saving money with coupons, but when it comes to the reality of it- nah, it ain't happenin'. 

And why is that?! I think it comes down to the fact that I don't think I have enough time to dedicate to all that I think is involved with couponing. You know, the: learning, clipping, sorting, strategizing, and planning that comes along with the idea of starting to REALLY make couponing worthwhile. And, I guess (probably more than anything) with everything else going on, I don't know that I want to make it a priority in my life. 

Couponing is one of those "should" things. Like, "I should sweep more", "I should walk to work more", "I shouldn't eat this third spoonful of Nutella". 

I want to want to coupon because there's money there to be saved but, when it really comes down to it I don't really want to do it. Ah. You know what I mean?

So the question remains, is clipping coupons worth it, or not? And what about mobile coupons? Have you given those a try?

I really want to hear what you think about this! 

Is couponing worth your time or is it a time-suck? Would you rather focus on techniques that yield higher pay-outs for less time invested? 

A Giveaway of Charmel Delos Santos Book: High Heeled Traders

Awhile back the lovely Charmel Delos Santos did a guest post for And Then She Saved (read her post here) and now she has written a book called High Heeled Traders. I was honored (and shocked) when she told me that she included me in the acknowledgements section of the book. 

High Heeled Traders discusses why women are natural traders, and how being intuitive with trends is an asset with investing. 

Charmel is giving 3 readers a paperback copy of the book and she is spreading the love by giving everyone a free preview of the book here!

**This Giveaway is now closed*** 

Entering Is Easy! 5 Ways To Win

♥ To win a copy of the book just register on her site for a mandatory entry here and then leave a comment below letting me know you have done so.

For Additional Entries You Can

♥ Follow me on Twitter (@andthenshesaved) and/or Facebook, and then leave a separate comment below letting me know you have done so.

♥ Follow me on Pinterest and/or Instagram (@annanewelljones), and then leave a separate comment below letting me know you have done so.

The Giveaway will end on Wednesday, May 2nd at 8pm Mountain Time. When you enter please be sure to leave your email address in the fields where it asks for it so I can have a way to contact you if you win.

Thanks and good luck! xo anna

Update on May 3, 2012 by Anna Newell Jones

Congratulations to: Natacha, Brittany, and Ginger Mandy! You are the 3 winners of the book Giveaway! I will be emailing you soon.

It's Time To Stop Wasting Money On Iced Coffee Because This Is A Perfect DIY

In the spring and summer who wants a sweaty cup of hot coffee? Well, I guess I do sometimes;), but most of the time during the spring and summer iced coffee is where it's at.

Sometimes I'll make a pot of coffee and then I don't finish it and it just seems like such a waste of money (because it is) and now rather than throwing it out I'm going to put it in a container and slurp it up later as iced coffee. (I so wish I would've had this recipe down-pat when I ran into this problem awhile back.)

"While it's no surprise that making your own cup of coffee is cheaper than buying it on the outside, the savings over time are eye-opening. Here's a telling contrast: A 6-ounce cup of coffee made at home, at about 17 cents a cup per day, adds up to $1.19 a week and $62.05 a year. A 16-ounce grande coffee from Starbucks, at $2.29 per day, adds up to $16.03 per week, and a hefty $835.85 per year -- the price of a mini vacation."

(quote/stat via The Daily Finance) 

Just last week I perfected my iced coffee recipe and now I feel like a total schmuck for ever paying that crazy price ($4.00 !??!) for the fancy coffee shop version. Plus, have you ever noticed that iced coffee is (usually) more expensive than the already expensive regular hot cup of coffee-shop coffee? Wanna know why? It's because they "double brew" it.

So, what does "double brew" mean anyway, and can the homemade stuff be just as good (or better) than the expensive stuff?

Yes.

Totally, totally, yes it can. 

Here's how it's done. 

How To Make Perfect Iced Coffee At Home - The Recipe:

1. Make your coffee like you usually do

2. Pour the whole pot of coffee into a bowl (this will free-up the coffee maker if you're going to do a double brew)

3. So, what double brewing does is it makes the coffee super strong, and it also helps to the coffee to continue to have that "coffee" taste when the ice starts to melt and water it down.

How-To Double Brew: Dump out the grounds from the 1st pot of coffee (or even better, save them to re-use later as a coffee grounds exfoliator) then scoop fresh coffee grounds into the coffee maker/french press. This time though, instead of using fresh water, pour in the coffee that you just made. There you go, you just double brewed. Super easy, right.

On a side note: I've made a couple of batches of iced coffee and I tried the single/normal/one-time brew and the double brew just to see if it really did make any difference (because if it didn't I didn't want to spend the money on the extra coffee). Turns out, double brewing is much better for iced coffee, but then again, I like crazy strong tar-like coffee so if you don't like your coffee like that then a single brew might do you just right. 

4. Next, it's time to make the Simple Syrup. I never knew this stuff was so easy to make either. I've made the mistake of using regular old granulated sugar in my previous attempts at iced coffee and then I would get a mouthful of sugar grit, which sucks and then it's like, "Why am I eating raw sugar? Oh yeah, because I don't know that Simple Syrup exists." 

Simple Syrup: Boil 2 cups of water, then pour in 2 cups of granulated sugar. Stir it up until the sugar dissolves completely. 

5. Pour the Simple Syrup into a container. There's no need to buy something new to put it in. I looked around my apartment to see what I could use. This 24 oz water bottle was the perfect fit, and I was sure to label it to make sure no one accidentally downed the sugar syrup, dumped it out or... watered a plant with it.

6. Then, pour the coffee into a bowl, pitcher or some other container to store it in. I used an old orange juice jug that I rinsed out twice and it worked great!

7. Put the coffee and Simple Syrup into the fridge to cool down. I let it mine chill overnight and then got into it the next morning.

8. My husband got a water at a coffee shop and they gave it to him in a large plastic cup with a straw (lucky me) so I've kept that cup and straw and have used it for my iced coffee for a few days now. It's amazing how putting off-brand or generic stuff into name-brand containers makes some things seem not so rickety (this is a great tip to use with kids who love having name-brand stuff). 

9. Fill up the cup with ice, pour in your ice-cold coffee, and then add creamer and Simple Syrup to taste. 

I can hardly believe how easy iced coffee is to make and it really does taste as good as the coffee shop version. I'm so glad I've got this recipe ready to go for the summer! 

Do you have any tips or tricks for making iced coffee? Do you make anything now that you used to buy and were surprised to find how easy it was to make yourself?

What's The Point of Getting Out of Debt Anyway?

Last week I did #6 on the list of 8 Great, Cheap Summer Vacations. I was a bonafide Traveling Mooch when I went to Louisiana to visit my very good long-time friend Shayla.

One day we took a day-long road-trip to a Gulf of Mexico beach and it turned out to be a very sunny but chilly and windy time. We got blasted with sand most of the day and did our best to ignore it. Hours later on the way home we realized we had gotten fried since we hadn't re-applied the sunscreen like we normally would've on a typical hot sunny day. What the experts say is true, the sun can (and will) still burn you even if it doesn't seem like it will. We poured vinegar all over our burns (it's really does help with the pain, you know vinegar is amazing, right?) and took some pain relievers.

Lesson learned sun. Lesson learned.

It was fun to get away from my normal routine and to do things I normally don't get a chance to do like (among other things): be roommates with a 13 month old, eat humongous spoonfuls of chocolate chunk cookie dough ice cream at 11pm, have late-night giggly/serious conversations, and watch movies on a nice/amazing/wow TV (ours is a 15 year old TruTech;).

While it's fun to get away I can't help but feel guilty too. I mean, I spent money on a plane ticket! A plane ticket that wasn't a Need. Plus, I still have that frustrating medical bill that just won't quit. I know I should be piling money onto that bill so I can get it over with already but I'm fighting it for some reason. Like, I just want to pay the $150 that I agreed to pay, for like, ever. There's no interest accruing so that crosses my mind too, that it technically and officially wouldn't "harm" me to pay it super slow. But, the fact that it even exists, that I even have to think about it and that it weighs on me, that's a signal that it's not cool. After doing the Spending Fast and Spending Diet I'm super tuned-in to the fact that I need to deal with it and knock that bill out already even if I don't really want to (I don't).

Part of me thinks that I shouldn't spend any money at all since I write this personal finance/frugality/debt-free living blog. I kind of feel like I'm betraying this side of my life when I spend money, even though I did the work and got out of the debt that was weighing on me so heavily.

I was surprised when I got to talking to some fashion bloggers at a recent clothing swap and we were talking about this issue. I told them I felt guilty if I spent money and they were saying they felt guilty for encouraging consumerism and the "want, want, want" nature of our culture by doing their fashion and shopping posts. It was totally eye-opening to see that I wasn't alone, and that the guilt runs rampant ;) throughout the blogging world, even in completely opposite blogs and sites.

But then I think, "Why did I want to get out of debt in the first place?" It wasn't so I could have a life full of guilt! It was so I could have freedom! So I could have autonomy. So I could do fun stuff without the guilt of over-spending and getting into even more debt. So I didn't have to have that cyclical remorse anymore.

More than anything I got out of debt so that I could have a good life. Now, without the debt hanging over my head and grabbing mega chunks of my paycheck every month there actually is more money for fun stuff and not the pretend credit money that I used to have and rely on.

Having a good, fun, nice, happy, autonomous life was the point, and continues to be the point for me with getting and staying out of debt. I want to be able to travel, buy new clothes, and live in a nice house if I want.

What's the point of going to work everyday, working hard to get yourself out of debt, working hard to keep yourself out of debt, being diligent day-in and day-out if you can't enjoy yourself once in awhile? If you can't reap the benefits?

Life is about learning, and growing, and enjoying (and probably some other stuff). It's not about work, work, work.

Set your priorities, set your goals, achieve your goals, live the life you want and don't be bound to the crap you don't need to be thinking about anymore (debt).

What kind of life do you REALLY want to live? What's your biggest motivator to get out of debt?

Online Budget Management With A Twist: SpringCoin

Have you heard about SpringCoin? I found about it recently and it's an interesting concept. They offer online budget management with a twist: it's aimed at consumers who are struggling with debt. 

SpringCoin compares a client’s debts and spending patterns, then recommends a manageable monthly payment to erase the debt. SpringCoin’s software compares your debts with your income and spending patterns, and then it spits out recommended monthly payments to help you pay down your debt.

That, I like. 

For the month of April SpringCoin is giving away free lifetime accounts to And Then She Saved readers. Follow this link if you're interested. 

Have you tried any online debt management tools? What do you think about them? Do they work for you?

*Disclosure: SpringCoin is a sponsor of this site 

Gym Membership - Waste of Money or Totally Worth It?

image by bulletma9net

It's that time again. It's starting to be nice out more and more consistently. Running around the park and neighborhood is doable again because of all this light and warmth.

Heck yeah light and warmth. Heck yeah.

So what to do about that gym membership? It feels like such a waste (and is) to have a membership and not use it. To pay for ANYTHING and not use it is ridiculous, right.

Last year, I was able to "pause" my membership for the 3 hottest summer months (the months that I'm outside more anyway) where I'm more active than usual and don't want to be inside anymore than I have to.

The other part of it is I don't know if they'll let me put a "pause" on my membership again. I vaguely member them saying it was a "one-time courtesy" thing. So if they can't pause it should I out-right cancel the membership and see how I feel about continuing/re-starting the membership in the fall?

What do you think? Keep the membership or not?

There's also this to consider: 9 Ways To Stay Healthy and Fit Without The Gym.

Should I keep the gym membership?

Yes

No

How do you stay fit? Gym or no gym?

6 Ways To Save Money With A Baby On Board

We all know that having a baby in your life can be expensive (it is a whole new person after all). So, do you really need everything "they" say you need? What can be cut and how do you find some financial sanity when your whole world is getting rocked? Since Aaron and I don't have a little one in our lives yet I love getting the inside scoop from people who do.

Today, Heidi from Portland Babylon is sharing her top 6 tips on how she and her husband made their new life with a baby as frugal as possible.

"I’ve always considered myself a frugal person. I began working at a young age, in junior high, for my CPA father. I think that helped foster a strong work ethic. I also found that money provided independence and security, so saving money was always really important to me.

However, the old adage of 'the more you make, the more you spend' does seem to hold true.

In the past few years my husband and I have made more money, and we’ve spent more as a result. We seemed to be able to save a lot more money when we made less.

In the past year a lot has happened, and our savings have dwindled. Most importantly, last September our son (Hank) was born. He’s our first and only child. Another old adage rings true here: 'Having kids changes your life'. Boy does it.

We had a lot of financial burdens last year, plus we both work full-time and knew we had day-care costs in the $1,000 per month range staring us in the face. So, we knew we had to buckle down and try to make having a baby as economical as possible.

Here are a few things that have allowed us to not totally scrimp on our one and only child, but also be able to start saving some money again.

Saving Money With A New Baby In Your Life:

image courtesy of heidi. that hand-painted mural is really amazing! such talent!

1. Tap into your artistic skills (or your friend's artistic skills)

Decorating a nursery can be really expensive. My husband (who luckily for us is an amazing artist) painted Richard Scarry murals on Hank’s walls. This saved us a lot of money, and of course made his room one of a kind. If you’re a little less adventurous there are a lot of stencils that could be used to create something really special (and cheap!).

2. Go with vintage or used furniture

We bought as much vintage furniture as possible his room, except for his crib. We bought a dresser, bookcase and an adorable wall unit all at local vintage stores, stripped them down and repainted them. We already had a rocking chair, and just had to repaint it. Not only were these pieces a lot cheaper than new, they were made better in those days and they have a much more unique look to them.

3. Get crafty

Even with my limited sewing skills I was able to create curtains for the nursery using Little Golden Book fabric. It matchs the mural and they weren't as hard to make as I would have guessed.

4. Be okay with used clothes and hand-me-downs and spread the word to friends that you'd love their previously used items

Apparently, some people don’t want used clothes for their baby. Not us! My boss was nice enough to give us her two boys’ clothes, which really helped. We also continue to get clothes from a friend’s boy who is a few months older.

5. Use Craigslist and garage sales for the baby supplies

We bought quite a few things used at local re-sale stores and through Craigslist. I never knew you needed so much for a baby! We got a lot at our baby shower, but after he was born we realized how much more we could still use. We got some great deals on things like a bathtub, Boppy pillow, books, a Baby Bjorn carrier, blankets, and clothes. We even bought cloth diapering supplies and a huge quantity of baby formula from local sellers. The formula was an insanely good deal, and ended up getting us through a few months for dirt cheap.

6. Pick cloth diapers

Between birth to potty-training diapers can cost thousands of dollars so choosing to cloth diaper Hank was a pretty easy decision. Since it seems to be a trend here in Portland and since most of our friends do cloth diapering too, it made the decision a no-brainer. I felt like the biggest barrier to cloth diapering was having too much information available, which really confused me. Once I figured out what I needed the rest was easy – even the laundry’s not that bad (especially with an awesome husband). The initial set-up for the cloth diapers was a few hundred dollars but we’ll end up saving so much in the long-run since we decided to not go with disposables. Plus, being able to re-use the diapers means so much less garbage and waste!"

Thanks Heidi!

Do you have a little one in your life? How do you save money? What are your biggest tips?

Would you like to be a contributor on a topic related to personal finance or frugal living? Send me an email at: hello@andthenshesaved.com. (Please know that credit or lending companies will not be considered. Only real people with real stories and real experiences should email.)

Swap Updates and Swapping FAQ's Answered

the last swap. don't bring clothes to this weekend's swap, just accessories;)

It's hard to believe that the Accessories Swap (another link here) is already happening tomorrow!

Handbags.com and I have been working hard on prepping the event to make it a success. We've noticed and have heard from past swapping events that everyone seems to want things to be very fair so that has been our primary focus (along with making it a lot of fun!;).

I wanted to let you know of a couple of the things we're doing to try to ensure the fairness of the swap and to make it a quality event for everyone.

• Inspectors This one is all about quality control! No one wants to bring in a pair of $100 amazing shoes and only have broken earrings to choose from.


• No one will be allowed in the swapping area before the actual swap begins We want everyone to have the same shot at getting those most desirable items so we're keeping the swapping area separate from the attendees. This way no one can scope out the best of the best items before everyone else.

A few other quick notes/updates

Social tags Use hashtag #303Swap on Twitter and Instagram. Also @andthenshesaved and @handbagsdotcom puh-lease;)

Entry Fee Just a reminder that entry fee is $5 CASH. We'll have limited change on hand so if you can bring the exact amount that will be super helpful. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to SafeHouse Denver so you're helping a good cause too.

Parking The first 100 people who arrive at the swap will receive a free parking voucher at our check-in table. Be sure to park in The Curtis hotel parking garage. Also, here is a link to directions to the hotel if you need them.

Giveaway Bags Handbags.com will be giving away 3 Big Buddha bags to 3 lucky winners! They're all valued at approximately $100 and I've gotten to see a sneak peek of them and I want them all. They're all really cute! The winners will be announced at 9pm and you must be present to win. To enter the contest go to the handbag design area and submit an entry (there will be more details at that station;)

Items Bring great items that you would give to your best friend or sister after you've gotten sick it. Also, only bring items that you're ready to part with.

Make a night of it The Corner Office is a bar and restaurant attached to The Curtis Hotel.

Drinks The bar in the swap will have beer and wine. The first 50 people at the swap will receive 1 free drink voucher.

The swap will be in the Peek-a-boo room within The Curtis Hotel. Ask any of the hotel staff if you have trouble finding it. We will also have signs directing you to the swap.

Name tags Everyone who is working the event will have a name tag so just ask one of those people if you have a question about anything.

Restrooms When you get off of the elevator the restrooms will be to your right.

the last swap. don't bring clothes to this weekend's swap, just accessories;) Some FAQ's

• "What if I bring more than 10 items?" Feel free to bring more than 10 items (especially if you're questioning if some of them will be accepted). If you bring more than 10 then you can still only take the max of 10 items. For example, say you bring 13 items and all 13 are accepted you'll still only be able to take 10 items and not 13 items. If you want to include the 3 extra items in the swap that's up to you, but you don't have to. All of the items that are still left at the end of the night will be donated to SafeHouse Denver so the extra items will go to a good cause.

• "What items will be accepted?" We want everyone to have great items to choose from so if you're not sure about a certain item you can bring it and just see if it's accepted. There's no harm in that and please, don't take it personally if an item isn't accepted. It has nothing to do with your awesomeness;)

• "What if I don't have 10 items to bring?" If you only have 6 items, just bring 6 and then the max amount of items you can take will be 6 (or whatever number of items get accepted).

• "How does this work? How does the actual swapping happen? So, do I stand next to my items?" When you arrive you'll check-in and then you'll be directed to the inspectors table. The inspectors will tell you how many items are accepted and will give you a little tag with the number on it. That's the max amount of items you can take. Your accepted items will then be taken by another person and will be organized by item type. Shoes with shoes, earrings with earrings, etc. We'll make an announcement a little before 7:30 and then after the announcement/welcome the swapping will begin! Everyone will be able to enter the swap area and the exact same time. You won't be able to stand next to your items since they will already be pre-sorted and will be in various spots throughout the swapping area.

• "Will someone be checking to make sure we each only take the the right amount of items?" The swap is based on the honor system. We trust that everyone who attends will want it to be a fair and honest event.

• "How can I see the photobooth photos?" The photobooth images will be at: proofing.newelljonesandjones.com you'll be able to view all of the photobooth images 3-4 days from the date of the event and you can also purchase the prints online and they'll be mailed directly to you.

• "Can only women go?" Men are more than welcome to attend but there won't be many (if any) men's accessories. If men do happen to have women's accessories they're welcome to attend and swap if they want. Also, there will be lots of other fun things to do so men are welcome to come and hang out and attend the event too. We'll have cupcakes, a DJ, photobooth, a bar... lots of fun stuff. No one is excluded!

• "What's the price range of the items that I can/should bring to swap?" People will bring items that range from $5 bucks to over a $100 bucks. You can bring any item that is in great shape and is awesome, regardless of the price of the item. Again, just be ready to part with the item.

• "What happens at the end of the night?" At the end of the night (9pm) you're welcome to take any of the items you brought that haven't been swapped. The items that are left will be donated to SafeHouse Denver.

Also, The Denver Post wrote an article about the upcoming swap! How great is that!!?

Button-making = crafty goodness

Clothing Swap + Fashion Show with Project Runway Stars + The Swapaholics

illustration eunice stephensonNext Wednesday, February 8th there is a Clothing Swap and Fashion Show happening here in Denver. It is sponsored by Goodwill, Inc. and Project Runway Denver-based design stars Mondo Guerra, Fallene Wells (check out her Kickstarter project), and Julie Tierney will be showcasing their re-purposed and upcycled fashions at the event.

I'll be covering the Clothing Swap and Fashion Show for The Swapaholics (I love their slogan: "Retail Therapy Meets Recycling), and I couldn't be more excited! I'll be reporting back on the event, and if you're going to go too be sure to say "Hi"!