Buy 5, Save $5 Promo

This is my haul after the sale, the promotion, and coupons.  It came to $14.93 with the Herbal Essences coming in at $ .99 each, which is a darn good deal.  I like clear shampoos because I hate the way the creamy ones build up on my hair and good old HE works just fine, giving me squeaky clean hair.  My entire grocery trip saw a savings of 37% overall.  It only takes a few items that aren't on sale to bring your percentage down.

I just finished balancing my checkbook and paying the bills and I got to thinking about something my mom told me once.  She said that no matter how little or how much money I have, I somehow manage to change my standard of living so that I spend it all.  What she meant was that I should live BELOW my means.  I haven't mastered that yet.  I very carefully allocate my money, making sure that the bills get paid and savings saved, but I still spend more than is necessary. 

A good example of the way I usually do things is yesterday's Seahawks game.  A couple of people were coming over to watch the game because they don't have television.  I had planned on setting out some snacks, so that meant a run to the store.  I stopped myself and thought that if they are frugal enough to not have TV, then I should be frugal enough not to spend a bunch of money on expensive snacks.  What did I do??  I handed each of them a big bowl of warm buttered popcorn and a beer (one of them brought the beer) and we were all very happy.  And the game was great!!

Speaking of TV.  I have the Top 120 on the Dish and it costs me $50.80 a month.  I watch the Mariners and Seahawks, PBS and the CBS morning shows, and listen to Sirius radio.  That is it.  I hate network TV because of the commercials, so I don't watch it much.  Now that it is winter time and I'm not outside gardening, I catch up on movies and TV dramas, all from the library.  And best of all - no commercials!!  Right now I'm watching Breaking Bad, which I borrowed from my son, the plumber.  I've got four seasons to get through and I'm addicted.  How do they think this stuff up??

Payroll Deduction Update:

The guys that we voted for and sent off to the other Washington have let the payroll deduction expire.  What that means to you is 2% off the top.  Example:  if you make $3000 a month before taxes, your paycheck will be $60 lighter.  That is approximately equivalent to a tank of gas and a bag of groceries that are no longer in your budget every month.  Hurts, doesn't it??