JOYFUL REFLECTIONS

Saturday, January 31, 2009

I'm a Coupon Queen

I have a good friend, Susan, who lives near Atlanta. She has been 'couponing' for many years. She tried and tried to get me involved--but I just didn't have time. WELL---once I retired and had more time in my life (HA HA), I started talking to Susan about what to do and what not to do. She was a great teacher. She even bought me my first coupon organizer. (I now have TWO--both quite full!!)

Couponing is NOT for everyone --but someone with my Type A personality and my love for lists and details, would enjoy it!!!! AND--if you have time (it does take time every week), then it may be for you. SO--for the past couple of years, I can call myself a Coupon Queen... WELL--I might just be a Princess, since I don't go into as many details as some people do with coupons. BUT--I have saved us quite a bit of money the past couple of years.

Here's a few pointers:
-Look for store specials; If you have coupons for those items, you'll double your pleasure.
-Look for the store's policies about coupons and savings (my Kroger's offers double coupons up to 50 cents; my Kroger's also takes expired coupons--which really helps; AND my Kroger's offers a 5% discount to Senior Citizens every Wed.--on top of our coupons.)
-Compare the store's own brands with the name brands; Sometimes the store brands are cheaper, and just as good, than a name brand WITH a coupon.

I could go on and on and on, but I know how much I hate reading LONG blogs. So I won't go into more details about how I save money using coupons. BUT--anyone who is interested is welcome to email me (betsyadams@mac.com) and I'll give you lots of pointers. It's really alot of fun--if you enjoy this type of thing.

Comparing what we spent in the year 2007 to the year 2008 in our grocery budget, we saved almost $500. And you know how much the price of groceries have gone up in 2008, don't you?? SO-- saving $500 on top of that is SUPER, don't you think??? Therefore, when I can save a bunch of money by using coupons, it is worth all of the effort I put into it!!!! That gives us more money to travel and see waterfalls!!!

Friday, January 30, 2009

A Love-Hate Relationship

"Well, Hello there, Beautiful!!!" OH--ya gotta love these gorgeous creatures!!! After all, didn't you see "Bambi"???? How special they are!!!! I've blogged about them many times before--and truly do love them!! BUT............?????
BUT--- they aren't so darn cute when they come into our yard and eat our flowers and shrubs. GRRRRR!!!! Why can't they enjoy dinner in someone else's yard??? Why OURS? I guess it's because ours has so many entrees for them to enjoy!
George and I could go into business telling others in the same situation (who live in the woods) what works and what doesn't work. We've tried it all--and although I'm not getting paid for this free advertisement, the best thing we've found is a spray called LIQUID FENCE!!!! The spray is costly (but worth it) and it does STINK--when you spray it. However, the smell goes away quickly. And--this spray doesn't hurt them, or any critter. They just don't like it---so they stay away, thank goodness!
We have used Liquid Fence for almost two years now---and we have had NO more deer in our yard eating our shrubs and flowers, like we had before we found the Liquid Fence. SO---right now, this love-hate relationship is only a LOVE relationship. It's hard to live in the woods and also have beautiful flowers.. Right now, the Liquid Fence allows us to have our flowers --and also enjoy seeing the deer--from a distance!!!
Ya Gotta Love 'Em.... AND---Ya Gotta Hate 'Em! ALL I know is that we've spent a small fortune trying to 'control' 'em! Oh Well--Tis life in the mountains! Here are some deer pictures we took on 1/26/09. George took the pictures from inside our home--facing the golf course fairway behind our home.