earphones!

I received free earphones in the mail today! Yahoo! I got them from the site http://1saleaday.com/
I also signed up yesterday with them to get a free breast cancer pink ribbon pin. I wasn't sure if it would work, but the earphones arrived, so I'm very happy! Sometimes they have stuff you have to pay for (at a discounted price) but every now and then, they have a free item.

One of my best friends ever sent me this link today:
http://financiallyfit.yahoo.com/finance/article-113020-10125-1-how-to-get-the-most-from-coupons?ywaad=ad0035&nc
I liked the article very much. I had actually been wondering about the effect the show Extreme Couponing was having on stores, people who previously did not use coupons, and people who do use coupons. There are several things you have to take into consideration about the show:
1. The deals they show on the program are usually the biggest deals the couponers have done. I mean, it has to be good t.v., or we wouldn't watch it!
2. Those people spend as much time doing coupon stuff as a normal person would spend at a full time job.
3. To get $1000 worth of groceries for 25 cents, these people have to be flexible on what they're going to buy. They already have a stockpile of items, so they do not have to shape their grocery list around what they need for the week; they shape it around what items are on sale.
4. They typically buy multiples of the same item with multiples of the same coupon, which make their savings look extreme.

I do not condone people stealing newspapers, trying to rip off stores, or using 30 coupons for the same item. I have been known to have some extreme savings (I once bought a brand new $200 coat for $10--It was out of season, it was marked down because it was missing a button, the store was having an additional discount on all discounted merchandise, and I had a coupon), but, I would typically call my savings pretty average. I love to watch my grocery bill drop $20 or $30 when the cashier runs my shopper card then my coupons. Even if I'm still spending $35 or $40 for groceries, I still feel like I've done a good job. There are specific things I need--bread for sandwiches, eggs for breakfast, milk for cereal, etc.--that I probably do not have a coupon for, but I am going to buy anyway because I have a family to feed!

I don't want to be that person holding up the line for three hours because I've jammed up the register with all my coupons. I also do not want to be the person who ruins it for everyone else. I don't need thirty bottles of mustard. I don't really know anyone who needs that! So, I'm not going to buy 30 bottles of mustard all at once, even it I have 30 coupons for it! That way, other people who need mustard can still buy it.

I would not recommend for anyone to quit his or her job to become an extreme couponer. I would also encourage those who do have stockpiles of items to share them. If you have 100 boxes of cereal, donate them, give them away, or let friends "shop" in your garage. You don't need them all, and you will probably be getting more next month!

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On the job front, today was my second day at the book store. Tomorrow will be my last day this week. Then, I'm off for the weekend. I have decided I will give myself a job within a job. I appointed myself as cleaner, straightener, and keeper of textbooks today. I went around, gathering all the stray books and finding a home for them. I also cleaned up, organized the desk, grouped like things together (pencils here, paper there...), and picked up all the trash laying everywhere. This occupied my time for most of the day, which is a good thing, since the managers still do not know exactly what to do with me. Every time I ask one of them a question, he or she directs me to another manager, who directs me to another manager (you get the picture). Somewhere down the line, one of three things happens:
1. I am directed back to a manager who had already directed me away. At this point, I just figure out something to do.
2. The manager I have been directed to is no where to be found. At this point, I just figure out something to do.
3. I give up. I am tired of going up and down the escalators, through doorways, and across warehouses looking for managers. At this point, I figure out something to do.
Do you see a pattern here?

We shall see what tomorrow brings!