Coupons and Toiletries — A Follow Up

by Katy on November 1, 2009 · 27 comments

coupons

I am loving all the comments in response to the recent column titled, “Coupons — Are They Worth The Trouble?” It does seem that many people are finding ways to make coupons work for them, despite an aversion to Hamburger Helper and other packaged food.

A number of readers shared websites that they use to print coupons from home, (Including a few extra that my friend Karen, an unapologetic Couponista recommended.) Here are the links:

I looked through coupons.com and did find a few coupons to print out. I also saw that today’s newspaper has a big Safeway coupon insert with store coupons that can be combined with manufacturer’s coupons, which is apparently the path to brag-worthy savings.

Many readers also wrote in about how they save money on “toiletries,” which I want to address.

By toiletries, I assumed people mean shampoo, soap, toothpaste, tampons and pads; cosmetics, shaving cream, etc.

It is certainly possible to use coupons to buy shampoo, but I just buy White Rain brand, which is always $1, (sometimes less) and call that good. Although my great shampoo savings is due to the fact that the people who rent out my mother’s guest cottages almost always leave shampoo behind. (I don’t think I’ve bought shampoo in the last six months!)

I am a strong believer in informed consumerism and Paula Beguon’s Don’t Go Shopping for Hair Care Products Without Me is a great resource for people looking to shovel through the hype and empty promises for a functional product. This great book was an eye opener for me, as there really is not a correlation between price and quality. White Rain is recommended.

Beguon’s Don’t Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me is another great resource that looks at cosmetics with the same critical eye, which is to say that spending more money on a product has zero correlation to getting a superior product. I hardly ever wear any makeup, and when I do it’s just lipstick and maybe some mascara, but if you are a regular makeup wearer this is an awesome book!

The last toiletry issue I want to address is just for us womyn, so if you are of the male persuasion or particularly squeemish please feel free to scroll right back up to the top of the page.

Okay ladies, it’s time to talk about tampons and pads — Expensive, inconvenient and the source of a lot of garbage. I use a Moon Cup, which is a silicone resuable menstrual cup that supposedly can last more than a decade. The initial outlay of cash was a bit much, ($28.00) but once you have it you no longer have to buy any more menstrual products. None. And best of all, there’s no garbage to deal with!

It did take a cycle or two to get used to, but it’s a fabulous no brainer now. I love that I no longer have to worry about whether I’m stocked up on supplies, and I leak less than when I used conventional products.

And I love that I don’t have to cut coupons and go broke every 28 days.

Are you a coupon clipper for your cosmetics? Have you made the switch over to a menstrual cup? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

 

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Happy Halloween!

by Katy on October 30, 2009 · 5 comments

jack-o-lantern-opt

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Not only is there no unpleasant family drama, but there’s candy involved. Not to mention it’s a perfect creative challenge for the Non-Consumer in all of us.

Put together a costume from this-and-that and then get rewarded with sweets, what could be better?!

Have a great Halloween!

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

P.S. I bought all my Halloween candy, and then gave it to the next-door-neighbors to store at their house. It is not frugal for a 41-year-old to eat all the candy ahead of time and then have to buy it all over again.

 

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Coupons — Are They Worth The Trouble?

by Katy on October 29, 2009 · 38 comments

coupons

When my friend Glenn sent me a link to a Good Morning America/ Huffington Post piece about a woman who feeds her family of six on $4 per week. My first thought was:

Wow, that’s a lot of lentils!

But no, the women is one of those coupon fanatics who’s able to combine sales, coupons and double coupons into enviable savings.

I have written before about my love/hate relationship with coupons, and am comfortable with with my somewhat erratic coupon usage. I gave The Coupon Game a try and found that the incredible deals were rarely anything I would buy, and cancelled my trial subscription.

Right now, my coupon usage is sporadic except for a once a month Safeway coupon that takes $10 off a $50 purchase. I do keep a small coupon folder in my purse, but it’s nothing compared to the coupon organization system of the true Couponistas.

I really only clip coupons for the products I would normally buy.

The Huffington Post woman is shown buying an entire grocery cart of foodstuffs and paying just a single penny, but they don’t do a rundown of what she actually bought. What do they do show is her buying seafood, (something I would buy) and Totino’s frozen pizzas, (something I would not buy.)

The woman’s pantry is then shown, and as far as I can tell, it’s full of packaged foods that I would never buy, (and I am far from a health nut.) In her defense, she does mention that she donates excess to food banks, which I’ve heard is common practice with the coupon ladies, (and c’mon people, I have yet to hear of any men who practice the art of couponing.)

I decided that it was time to check and see how much I spent on groceries for my family of four last month. Unlike Kristin of The Frugal Girl, I don’t budget a certain amount for groceries, instead buying simple ingredients that can be used to make a variety of meals. Also, I am not the only food buyer, as my husband has a tendency to purchase strange and random foodstuffs on the days that I work, ($52. 57 at Uwijimaya?, $54.27 at Trader Joe’s?) which would blow any budget I might try and keep.

So I looked through our bank records and saw that we spent $540.59 on food last month, which breaks down to $18.02 per day or $4.50 per person per day. This includes a single dinner out.

However, although we buy some of our groceries at Fred Meyer and Costco, we also buy non-food items there as well, such as underwear, cat litter, photo processing, socks and school supplies. Not to mention the occasional cash back-age.

I estimated that we spent $75 on non-food items, which brought our monthly food bill down to $465.59, which is $15.51 per day or just $3.88 per person per day.

My husband and I both work outside the home and bring lunches, as do the kids, so $3.88 per person per day is actually not bad at all.

Is it an impressive number that will get me on national TV?

Hardly.

But we’re buying real food like beans, flour, butter, meat, fruit, vegetables, cold cuts, cheese, eggs and spices. Food that rarely benefits from couponing. (Although . . . Fred Meyer had two pound blocks of Tillamook cheese on sale last week for $3.99/ limit two with an in-store coupon — I went three times!)

We could certainly be spending less on groceries if my husband were hot glue gunned to the couch on days that I work. But he is pretty nice and does have positive qualities that balance his somewhat impulsive grocery shopping habits.

Are you a Couponista? Do you have couponing practices to share with The Non-Consumer Advocate community? Please share your ideas in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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Your Favorite Fall Recipes

by Katy on October 28, 2009 · 20 comments

soup

Fall somehow always takes me by surprise. At first there’s a few leaves here and there, then come the rains and before you know it the cruddy days outnumber the nice ones and summer is officially gone.

Does this happen every year?

Yes it’s a little sad, but the season of cool and wet, (I live in Oregon, also know as the land of excessive precipitation) does have a positive quality or two.

Namely, an excuse to bake, cook and maybe even bake a little more.

Soups, breads and desserts all is the name of heating up my body, soul and kitchen.

But I’m always keeping an eye out for new recipes. Be it savory or sweet, baked or sauteed — as long as it’s warm.

I want you to share your favorite fall recipes in the comments section below. Because people’s tried and true recipes are always better than a random cookbook recipe.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

 

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Things vs. Experiences

by Katy on October 28, 2009 · 30 comments

Shoptimism

Last Sunday’s Parade Magazine included an article titled, “Why Shopping is Good Again” by Lee Eisenberg. I set the insert magazine aside, thinking the information included in such an ad based publication would certainly be an interesting read.

It turns out that Eisenberg has a book to be published next week called, “Shoptimism: Why the American Consumer Will Keep On Buying No Matter What,” so the article actually was more than the that silly recession is behind us, please buy our advertiser’s products that I had expected.

One part of the article that struck me as quite insightful was the subject of how experiences differ from things:

“Over the past decade, social psychologists have conducted numerous studies that find we’re happiest when, instead of shelling out for stuff, we spend money on things that provide social and personal engagement.

Shared experiences, researchers find over and over again, offer greater value than material buys. Pleasant memories don’t fade in the wash or go out of fashion. Just think back on that family trip out West. Sure, everyone returned home with assorted souvenirs that proved you were actually there. But now, what do you remember as the most meaningful part of the trip? Maybe it was the look you saw on your kids’ faces, their eyes wide as saucers, as they peered into infinite chasms that offered up a spectacle beyond anything they’d experienced before—including, even, the first time they fired up their PlayStation.”

My mother’s birthday was last week, and instead of buying her more stuff, I took her out on the town to see a play with dessert afterwards. We started this tradition a few years back when a showing of Sing-Along Sound of Music was in town and I decided that I had found the perfect gift for her. Not only would we get to spend a child-free evening together, (a rarity at the time, as my kids were still small) but the combination of singing and making smart-ass remarks at the screen was right up her alley.  My instinct was right on the money, and we still laugh about how fun that night was.

My mother already owns a lifetime of possessions and there’s nothing I can buy her that she doesn’t already have. Nothing.

I would suggest that you consider the things vs. experiences issue when making your gift giving choices for this year’s holiday season. Not only are you providing an experiential gift, but are not contributing to the excessive clutter that so many of us struggle with. Plus there’s none of that pesky packaging!

Have you received or given experience gifts such as theater or movie tickets; massages or homemade gift certificates in the past? Please share your stories in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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My New Obsession — Unitaskers

by Katy on October 26, 2009 · 10 comments

091014-onion

One of the blogs that I subscribe to is Erin Rooney Doland’s Unclutterer.com. And one of my favorite features is her Unitasker Wednesdays. This weekly column highlights a product that serves a single, often bizarre purpose. Of course:

“All Unitasker Wednesday posts are jokes — we don’t want you to buy these items, we want you to laugh at their ridiculousness.”

One would think that there would be a limit to how many of these products Doland could track down, but no — there seems to be an endless supply.

Here’s a few of my favorites:

The butter cutter

The garbage bowl

The electric paper plane launcher

The onion ring holder

This feature reminds me of the Japanese Chindogu, which are utterly hilarious spoof inventions. Unfortunately, the unclutterer products are real, yet still utterly useless.

Let me tell ya’ there is nothing Non-Consumer about products that serve a single unnecessary purpose.

But they can still entertain.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

 

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Comments From The Secretly Frugal

by Katy on October 25, 2009 · 10 comments

woman-shushing-21

The recent column titled, “Shh . . . it’s the Secretly Frugal” garnered the most amazing and inspiring comments.

Here are just a few, although I would highly recommend reading the entirety. Thank you to everyone who takes the time to share your thoughts and stories in the comments section.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

Shymom:

We are somewhat in the opposite situation. We are frugal to the core and have always been. (With the exception of a brief–educational– stint into too much credit card use in our 20s)

That frugalocity allowed us to buy a small house in a very nice neighborhood where the public schools are awesome and also allowed us to build a large nest egg. We would look to be an average American family to most of the country, but this is a much more expensive area. So here we appear to be relatively poor.

Since our house is smaller and older than many of those in town and the fact that we don’t even try to keep up with the Jones, we are sometimes looked down upon. Usually the rude behavior is by adults who are younger than us and don’t see us as being someone they can use to further themselves. I figure anyone who is rude to us because of how we dress etc. really isn’t very happy with their own lives.

We, however, are very blessed, but just don’t advertise it to the neighbors. What people don’t realize is that my husband retired from his 9 to 5 job 9 years ago at the age of 41 and has only held short-term, part-time jobs since. I work part time at a job I love so much I forget that I get paid to do it. ( I recently turned down a promotion that would have doubled my salary, because I didn’t want the stress. It would have increased my standard of living and lowered my quality of life.)

We are financially independent with enough in savings to live frugally for the rest of our lives. We have time to be with our kids and each other, we often go to concerts and plays, we go on a big trip every couple of years, and participate in rewarding volunteer work in the community.

While we may be poor in merchandise, we are rich in time and that is something you just can’t buy.

Tracy:

My husband and I are 42 and live in metro Detroit. Our cars are paid off, and we buy almost everything at resale and garage sales. (The house will be paid off in 13 years.) Except for building materials, which he buys at Home Depot; Chris does all the home improvements himself, which has saved us tens of thousands in the three years since we bought our 1941 fixer-upper home. He built the kitchen addition and the garage, sided the house, and is about to gut and re-do the bathroom (including using a light fixture I bought for $10 new at a garage sale).

Other people frequently sneer and act creeped out when I talk about buying clothing at resale, and then I gently remind them, “You eat off silverware at restaurants, no? Do you wash it yourself beforehand?”

As I’ve said here before, some of my co-workers have expressed astonishment and disbelief that I drive a 9-YEAR-OLD CAR. They act as if I’m Amish. I’ll be retiring early; they’ll be working for their new stuff!

Marguerite:

I’ve been speaking to my friends and family about the fact that we started to cut down, buy food on sale only, shop at second hand stores and I was surprised to see how many are doing the same thing. I was amazed. This is happening here in Montreal, Canada too. We were a lot affected by the American crisis unfortunately but we’re in a better position here than you guys as our laws for mortgages and loans are more restrictives. We can’t borrow for a mortgage we can’t afford and the free healthcare and medication law helps a lot too. Take care!

Shannon:

This all brings to mind one of my favorite books, The Millionaire Next Door. We too live in a pretty nice neighborhood, nice house, we take care of our things. We shop a lot from thrifts and yard sales, do our own landscaping, and save cash to do updates on our home. What’s funny to me is how people always comment about how lucky we are (like previous poster said) to be able to do improvements on our home—comments are made by friends who run out every week to buy dvd’s, music, go out to dinner, etc. What they don’t get is that we’re making lots of things for ourselves, doing a lot of vegetable gardening, that sort of thing, plus what we are NOT doing: eating out a lot, eating convenience foods, buying consumable things like movies, music and books, shopping for fun. So yeah, at the end of the year when the IRA’s and 529’s are fully funded, if we have something leftover, we make an improvement to the house or take a nice vacation. But again, our friends only see the nice new countertops or the fun vacation.

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When You Fall Off The Wagon

by Katy on October 25, 2009 · 22 comments

The Clothes Line by Helen Allingham

I am mostly a consistent and self-disciplined person. I’ve been with my husband since 1987 and in the same job since 1995. I have been doing The Compact (buy nothing new) since 2007 and hanging my clothes on a clothesline for over two years.

However, I’m far from perfect.

For example, my younger son leaves for a week long outdoor school tomorrow afternoon and the only way I could coordinate getting all his clothes clean, labeled and packed up in time was to crank up the ol’ electric dryer. I had worked the past two days, plus there was a torrential rain storm yesterday. This narrowed my clothesline option to an indoor line that requires a good two day’s time, and can only be properly used during daylight hours. (The room is unfinished and has no lighting.)

So Katy, the clothesline queen put three loads of laundry through the washer and dryer today.

Should I give up my hard won habit of hanging my clothes to dry? After all, It’s hardly worth the effort if I’m becoming inconsistent.

No way dude! Today was very much an electric dryer day, but that doesn’t mean I should give up. I am not perfect, nobody is. There is nothing to be gained by holding myself up to a level of expectation that is destined to fail.

Much of my Non-Consumer life is about doing my best, occasionally splurging on a dinner out, expensive birthday party or even the luxury of electrically dried clothing. But I don’t expect myself to live an austere and limited existance that does not allow for the unexpectedness of life.

I may have fallen off the wagon, but I’ll hoist myself right back up again tomorrow.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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Volunteering — Like Work, but Better!

by Katy on October 23, 2009 · 11 comments

The following is a reprint of a previously published blog. Enjoy!

My family volunteers.

Here, there and especially at the library.

My husband volunteers as the equipment manager for our local recreational non-profit soccer club. This means that he coordinates all soccer equipment for the largest league in the state of Oregon.

It’s a big commitment.

What this really means is:

The only clean and bright room in my basement is filled to the brim with goals, corner posts, soccer balls and other miscellaneous soccer crap. Really though, I don’t mind. I see the big picture.

My 11 and 14-year-old sons volunteer for our library’s summer reading program. They commit to a weekly two hour shift throughout the summer. They sign kids up for the program and pass out prizes and T-shirts.

Not only does this teach them the value of helping others, it also helps them get over their shyness about talking to strangers.

Me? I also volunteer for the summer reading program. Plus I volunteer for the schools, although less than I used to. One year as PTA President cured me of thinking school volunteering could be enjoyable.

Shudder.

The volunteer work we do now is very satisfying. Because we are choosing what we do, it’s better than real work.

When volunteering, we get to choose what we do.

Like reading?

How about the library?

Like soccer?

A job on the soccer board is right up your alley.

Also, you get to meet people who share your own interests.

Many companies, both large and small are supportive of employee volunteerism. Contact your human resources department to see if your workplace has a program to let you volunteer on company time.

Not sure where to volunteer?

Websites such as volunteermatch.com will help you find the perfect volunteer opportunity for you.

When you volunteer you’re not only helping out others, but get that lovely feeling of having done a selfless act.

Where do you volunteer? Tell us about it in the comments section below.

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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Sometimes Life is Too Full to Write

by Katy on October 23, 2009 · 4 comments

I was not able to write a blog post today because I worked from 7:00 – 3:30 P.M., helped my son with a school project, went to a play and then dessert with my mother and am only now at home at 12:30 A.M. And yes, I have to be at work at 7:00 A.M. again tomorrow, today.

I could publish a previous blog, but I thought I would share this instead. Life is great, but life is busy.

Have a great Non-Consumer day!

Katy Wolk-Stanley

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

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