What I don’t need

10/366: Sunday Coupons

Photo by teamjtx.

I was reading my friend Katie’s new blog about cleaner living called The Curly Light Bulb. I didn’t know she had such an interest in living green but its certainly inspired me.

She wrote a post about what she doesn’t need. As many of us are trying to conserve money and resources, I too wanted to put my own list together. Katie mentions Starbucks, eating out less and dumping the home phone. I have already done all these so what else could I do. I also already vanpool to save on fuel and car repair expenses and to save time.

1. I could recycle more. I took out all the firewood and tools my husband keeps in our Waste Management green recycle container and started recycling in our home again. I am still figuring out what they will and will not take but I’m making an effort and encouraging the rest of the family.

2. I am considering dumping Netflix. I have the 2 movie at a time account but barely have time to watch those. I have mostly been getting movies for Mason and Danielle and they still keep them and watch them a few times. If I do get a movie I really want to watch, I usually only get to watch it late late at night when I should be sleeping. I also have a DVR and record enough TV that I can barely keep up with. Netflix has gone already about 5 times from our house without really missing it. I love that my queue is still there when I want to start having movies sent again.

3. I need to start using more coupons!!! I heard a story on Oprah last week where Stephanie Nelson cut her grocery bill by 70% by using coupons, taking advantage of store specials and shopping at stores that double and triple coupons. She gets a lot of stuff for free. I heard another story about coupon use on the rise on NPR this morning. I am embarrassed to say my average food bill for the month, which includes eating out, snacks, school lunches, and groceries is about $1,600. That’s ridiculous! Something must change.

Here are some Coupons sites I have browsed and liked:

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10/14/2008 | Close to Home | Comments

5 Responses to “What I don’t need”

  1. Posted by: Katie - 10/14/2008

    Yay for “Don’t” needs! I just let my cleaning lady go today at least through the holidays. She has been sick and was sending her daughter-in-law who already has clients so I know it is actually a burden off of her mind. I told her to call me after Christmas. So that is like $200/month savings! Totally hear you on grocery bills. I’ve started going to grocery stores that are no so high-end so I am less tempted by extraneous expenses. I also make a meal plan every week for Monday through Friday and stick to it when I go to the store. This helps a lot. Also helps with time savings after a hard day of work to know you have everything for a meal and can throw it together without thinking. Thanks for the links!

    Katies last blog post..My “Don’t Need” List

  2. Posted by: Erin - 10/14/2008

    I need to dump Netflix, too. I’ve had the same 3 movies sitting on my coffee table for about 5 months! As for the coupons, a friend uses one of the coupon websites & gets $100’s worth of groceries for pennies (which is really helpful considering she’s a single mom of 5 on a super tight budget)! It’s a lot harder when you’re just shopping for 1 person, but I should try it more often.

  3. Posted by: Brent Ozar - 10/15/2008

    Erika watched that same Oprah episode and it jump-started her into clipping coupons. Don’t feel bad about $1600/mo for food - we burn through $1200/mo and it’s only two of us! (sigh) And we’ve already cut back a lot. It used to be worse when we were both working - we ate out constantly.

    Brent Ozars last blog post..PASS 2008 Summit Meetups

  4. Posted by: treycranson - 10/16/2008

    My wife has been saving money on groceries for years doing exactly what you mentioned here. Our monthly grocery bill for fam of four is roughly $200, and we only eat out about 2-3 times per month.

    I’m definitely in need of more recycling. I’m trying to figure what I can do as far as composting as well.

  5. Posted by: Hello. My name is … » Archive » More of what I don’t need - 10/16/2008

    [...] really have taken this coupon thing and store specials to heart. Since my last post I have only bought a few things from the store but have used coupons for about 50% of the [...]

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