Not-So-Extreme Couponing

I have tried a few times, but I just cannot get "into" the extreme couponing craze. It seems anytime I start I end up buying things I wouldn't have bought previously and end up eating a lot less healthfully.

Still, as a newly-married couple, my husband and I try to save where we can, and mostly that leads to our strategy of finding coupons for things we've already decided to buy instead of finding the coupons first.

A lot of times that means frequent trips to retailmenot.com

But recently, I have stumbled across Ebates. I know, how could I have missed this before?



Basically, it gives you free money for shopping. I only use it when I am already planning on buying something online. Once I make the decision to buy something online, and after I've decided where to buy it, I go to Ebates, find the store (if it is a participating store, and most are), check it for coupon codes, then open a ticket (you just click on the store from the Ebates list) and then shop. I will then get a percentage back of whatever I spend while that ticket is open. The Ebate is sent to me as a check or a PayPal deposit.

So, while I will probably never be a successful extreme couponer, stockpiling hoards of toilet paper and detergent, I can take comfort knowing I am at least getting part of what I do spend back, and I never shop online without a coupon code!

It's so easy

I find it incredibly easy to treat any ailment with the written word. If I am sad, a book can help me wallow or win out. If I am excited, a book can calm me down or get me even more pumped. Books make up a good percentage of my life right now.

If you estimate: I spend 9 hours at work (8:15-5:15). One hour at work, I read (12:30-1:30). I get home and make dinner (5:30-6:30). I spend some TV time with my husband (6:30-8:30), and then I read (8:30-10:30). I sleep (10:30-7:30) Don't get jealous it's never a full 9 hours of sleep, I am a light sleeper and spend most the time awake in between a series of naps.

So.... if you take my waking hours (15), and estimate at minimum three hours a day reading, that means I am spending at minimum 20 percent of my time reading. On the weekends, you could safely bump that to around 35-40 percent. So what am I reading you ask?

Great, I'll tell you.

Mary's bookshelf: read




More of Mary's books »

As a writer, I read a lot of what I would like to write some day: paranormal, fantasy, magic, fae, mystery, romance. And I try to read those separately, as well as books that incorporate all elements. My favorites, are the ones that can incorporate everything. However, as one of limited means, but a fantastic Nook Color, I find myself reading a lot of FREE books too, so those are in there too. But, it's a good thing, because chances are I am reading something currently that I would not even consider if I had money in my account to spare, thus furthering my literary horizons.

The added bonus of spending so much time with books: No matter how many hurdles I face with daily life -- The IRS, medical bills, customer service, etc. -- seem insubstantial compared with trolls, murder and mayhem. And I guess that's how I have always seen it, even when I was a child, spending time roaming the shelves of the library, grabbing and reading everything that caught my eye.

What do you read to escape?

Victory to the Vines

Life is a brick wall and all the complications, excitement, drama, news and events are the vines attaching themselves and taking over. These things will never stop. They will just keep climbing, and even if you cut them down, they'll be another ready to grow in its place.

In a dream this week, though, I thought, I really do like vines, and ivy-covered houses are all the prettier for not surviving the assualt. Even the scenes in Jumanji with the killer vines are some of the most beautiful in the movie. So I've decided to start keeping this blog to document the growth, as my brick wall begins its descent into being completely covered. The way I see it, I'm just starting out in life, and the things I do now and the issues I face, as a new homeowner, newly-married woman and 20-something embarking on the beginnings of a long-term career, will set the canvas for my life, which will hopefully become just as beautiful as an ivy-covered cottage.

So I say, Victory to the Vines! Let them keep coming, because without them, life would be a plain brick wall.