Sense to Save

K-mart super double coupon days are back!

Oooh, it was so fun to check the mail today! I saw a Kmart ad that announced their super double manufacturer coupons are back!

In my area (and maybe yours, too!) from Wednesday, Oct. 1 – Sunday Oct. 5 Kmart is doubling manufacturer’s coupons up to and including $2!

This does not include printable coupons or manufacturer instant coupons.

You may use up to four like coupons. Be careful, though. Last time this happened, I had five coupons for Garnier Fructis shampoo. Some were good on conditioner or styler only so I thought these were different than the shampoo-only coupons, and I bought five different bottles. I don’t think one of the coupons doubled.

There is a maximum of 75 coupons per person per day. Limit one coupon for each item purchased.

There will be no coupon overage. For example, if you have a $2 coupon for something and it’s on sale for $3, you won’t get $4 off. It will be adjusted to $3, so the item is still free. You will have to pay sales tax where applicable.

Check this list on Slick Deals to see if your store is included. Be sure to call ahead or ask the service desk if this promo is going on before you start loading up your cart! You don’t want any bad surprises.

I’m not sure which freebies or bargains will be available. I’ll head over to Kmart tomorrow morning and I’ll let you know what I find.

A ‘debit card diet’ and paying off our car

I’m going on a debit card diet. I  truly prefer using my debit card for just about everything. I like the convenience and it’s nice that all of my purchases are tracked online. Plus, my debit card has a rewards program where I earn points that I can use to get gift cards for various retailers. It’s nice.

But. I think I probably spend too much money. I probably spend more at the grocery, since why not? There’s money in the account. I stop for a quick snack while I’m out running errands. I’m sure I do this a lot more than I realize, even though the evidence is right there in my online bank statement.

I’ll miss out on about 800 points (maybe more, if I would have earned some bonus points). That’s the equivalent of oh, $1.50 on a $10 gift card. No biggie.

In an attempt to rein in my spending for October, I decided to go cash-only for all of my purchases except for gasoline. Why not gas? I dunno. I like paying at the pump way too much, I guess.

I calculated how much I’ll likely need to spend on groceries, laundry, clothes for myself, trips to the drugstores, and other odds and ends. Shane’s parents are visiting in mid-October, and my parents and sister will come over toward the end of the month. I’m adding extra to my grocery budget so I can make sure we’ll have plenty of food on hand.

In all, I’m allotting myself $400 to cover all of these things. It sounds a bit high, but I don’t want to run out of money at the end of the month. I need to stock up on groceries and toiletries, and I think this amount will allow me to do that. If I come under budget, I’ll put that money toward our car loan.

Our next step: Paying off our car

Speaking of which, our “baby savings” fund is now complete! We have money in a savings account that we’ll use to buy a crib, mattress, car seat, and whatever else we want to buy before our baby is born. I imagine we’ll put money in that fund each month after he’s born so we can stay on top of diapers and other expenses.

Now that we have our six-month emergency fund and our baby savings pulled together, all of our extra money will go in a savings account. Each month, I’ll take that money and send a check to our bank. That’s the only way I can make sure the money is being applied to the principle of the loan. It stinks that I can’t just do it online, but whaddya do?

I’ll keep track of our loan progress in my sidebar. It’ll include our regular monthly payment of $277 plus our snowflaked amount. We took out $11,500 back in November 2007, and it’s now at $9,299.

I hope we’ll own the car outright in one year’s time. It’s an ambitious goal, but when I remember how quickly we were able to get out of credit card debt and set up our emergency fund, I think we can reach it. Let’s see how this’ll go!

Photo: I took this of my $400 minus $39.xx I spent at the grocery today.

Emergency preparedness: Food, water and more

Sorry for my unannounced absence! I thought I would have some posts prepared to run, but I didn’t quite get that done. Last week and through the weekend, Shane and I traveled to Indiana to visit family and friends. It’s probably going to be our last trip until after our baby is born!

Back to regularly scheduled programming…

Last week, we discussed the importance of preparing for emergency situations. You never know when they’ll strike, so it’s best to be prepared, right?

My first aid kits arrived just a few days after I placed the order. I got to use my car kit for the first time this weekend. Yay, preparedness!

Now, it’s time for me to make sure we have all of the essentials to get through some sort of emergency situation. We need:

• Food
• Water
• Flashlights
• Battery-powered radio

Most authorities recommend having enough food and water per person to last for three days. Based on what you have right now, can you and your family survive if your power went out and you couldn’t leave your home?

We couldn’t. Right now, we don’t have enough water to last us long. We have a water filter pitcher in our refrigerator, but that would only last us until it was emptied. If our power went out and the water was unsafe to drink, we wouldn’t be able to refill it. Bad!

How I’ll fix our water situation:

There are a few options. I can pick up some gallon jugs of water. These do expire, though. Or, I can buy a few refillable gallon jugs and put treated water inside. I’ll need to change the water periodically. You can buy little packets of drinking water, which expire in five years. Finally, you can get water treatment tablets. I think I’ll get a few reusable water containers. Still shopping around for these.

Our food supply is actually pretty low right now. We’ve been eating out of the pantry for awhile, and our stash has finally dwindled. We don’t have anything designated “emergencies only.” Rather, we’d start by eating the perishable items in our fridge and working our way through the pantry. It would be a bizarre assortment of canned veggies and fruits, dry goods, and beans. Yum. And, not the best plan.

How I’ll fix our food situation:

Instead of letting our pantry get so low, I’d probably be better off by keeping several meals stocked there, including canned goods that require little to no prepwork (I have a manual can opener, so no trouble there). I’ll use these ingredients as a part of our regular cooking, but I’ll be sure to keep a decent stash at all times.

Also, I’m actually considering getting some packets of basic survival food. You know, like to eat if things are so dire that it’s your last resort. They don’t look so yummy, but they’re packed with nutrition, are somewhat cheap, and don’t take up much space. I have hardly any available storage space, so I like this option. Of course, we’d only eat these things after our perishable and non-perishable stash ran out.

Lights and radio

I just checked my big flashlight, and the bulb is out. Better put a bulb and a backup on my shopping list this week. I have a few other flashlights, but it would be a good idea to get some more batteries to have on hand. We have plenty of candles, matches, and I even have an oil lamp and oil to use during a blackout.

Finally, I’d like to make sure we have a battery-powered radio (and extra batteries) in case that would be of some use. I’m *kind of* sure I saw one of these at the Dollar Tree before, so I’ll check there before spending much. If not, I’m sure I can find one at a thrift store for just a few dollars.

Some emergency kits suggest keeping a stash of blankets, clothes, and sneakers for people. We have all of those items, and for now, I don’t see the need to gather them all in one location. It would take all of two minutes to gather those things if needed.

Take a look at your household supplies. Can you feed everyone in your family and all of your pets for three days? Will you all be able to drink safe water? Will you be sitting in the dark the whole time? What sorts of items do you keep in your emergency stash?

My last steps in emergency preparations will be to make sure we have a cash emergency fund at home and copies of all of our important paperwork, and quick access to the original documents so we can grab and go if needed. More on that later!