Finding the Secret to Coupon Codes:

Just found some sites that might be helpful for those of you who do online shopping more than venturing to the mall. coupons.com , retailmenot.com , shopathome.com, and couponcabin.com are three sites that offer both printable hard copies of coupons for a variety of stores (both virtual and actual storefronts). Some are major brands while others are obscure and specialty. Some of the coupons are general (20% off total purchase) while others are quite specific (10% off non-sale brand XX children's wear), but if you're game for doing some research, it could save you a small chunk of change.

I haven't tried any of the printable versions as it strikes me as frustrating to pay for the ink to save 50 cents on a product... but I suppose that if I researched more I could make it worth my while. Of course, I never will be one of those Extreme Couponers that can purchase five carts of food items and spend 20 cents! Though, one can always dream!

I do envy, though, a stocked pantry that can supply one through the Apocalypse, even though I'm not sure how many jars of dill pickles one can stomach... it interests me how much these businesses use coupons as a marketing strategy... and how much the items are marked up in price. JCPenney's new CEO's strategy has also interested me, and I'm curious as to if this change in business plan will carry over into other companies. Or how Apple as a brand using 'hipness' and loyalty as a marketing technique. I would be interested to see how the 'economic downturn' has been affected by online shopping (or if it really has) or if this is simply a result of the reporting of the media and the panic of society.

I'll just keep surfing the net looking for deals before I head out to the store and let the UPS guy keep his job.

Winter - where are you?

Well, a dusting on Saturday morning does NOT qualify for a winter. The groundhog forecast six more weeks of winter, however, we hardly have had a winter to begin with. That worries me a tad...will March roar like a lion with three feet of snow... or will we Jack Frost miss us this year only to have his brother Jimmy Heatstroke blanket us this summer with triple digit temps and 90% humidity... we'll have to wait and see.

As for the investment in insulation, I'm not sure if I can actually count this year. I've had the furnace OFF at least twice a week all winter, and thanks to Eric, the fireplace has been roaring all month. We'll have to see how the rest of the winter months go...