Next installment!

I was just getting to our recent purchases (meaning, yes, PURCHASES, as opposed to all the stuff I get for free/ridiculously cheap, although of course we still tried to get the best deals).

We got a Wii Fit! It was very difficult to find one, as they're still super in demand. Here's Ryan doing yoga on it:

For the record, he tried a few yoga poses once and never did them again. He mainly plays the skiing game. I've been trying to work out on it 5 or so times per week, including yoga, strength training, aerobics, and the balance games. Like most video games, the first week or two I was totally hooked. Now it's a little harder to get myself to do it, but it is more fun than regular exercise nonetheless.

We also got a new laptop to replace Ryan's (5 years old, screen often blacks out). It's another Dell, basically a newer version of mine but with a standard screen instead of my widescreen. And it's blue, too!

We also (a month or so ago) got a china cabinet to house all our wedding booty. It looks waaaay nicer than the rest of our living/dining room furniture:
It's a Rick James china cabinet, because every time I pay attention to it, I think to myself, "I'm rich, bitch!"

Then something we didn't buy, but got as a late wedding present was a hammock. Here it is hung up:

The best part is that Jib likes to jump up in with us! He's done it 3 times so far, and each time he hangs out for 10 minutes or so. What a sweetie pie!
Not sure what caused the camera to put that line in, but that's the only picture with it. Ok, that sums up all the new stuff!

So, the schoolwork. Ugh. I think tomorrow I will be finished the first of the three papers I have to write. Truth be told, I ended up writing considerably more than I had to and will now have to axe some to fit in the page limit. So hopefully with the others I will have a better feel for how much to write, then won't have to cut out what it took me so long to write. It's been a really slow process, though. For one, I can't force myself to work more than 4 hours a day when I have no official deadline (but no, still don't want a deadline!). And secondly, it's a lot of ground to cover for each paper (which is the point, they want me to be well-educated or something. durrr...). Hoepfully I will get the second done before school starts...but realistically...hmmm...

Did I mention we're going to San Francisco for five nights in a couple weeks? Don't think I did. We're visiting Ryan's brother and seeing the sights. Should be fun, but also less time to work on my papers.

And I believe the last subject on the table of contents was wheeling and dealing. It's been going well, of course, and takes up most of my free time because I'm ADDICTED! We spent about $160 on food last month, which isn't too shabby. There's a town flea market in September and I'm going to get a table and sell some of my drugstore stuff- I figure I can make a couple hundred dollars easily. It should more than pay for the gas I use driving all over down searching for deals!

Since Christ asked about how I do so well at the grocery store, I thought I'd put together a mini-tutorial on how to "coupon." It's really quite simple on the surface, but can take a lot of time to really get into.

1. Amass coupons. Lots of them. The Sunday paper is a good start. Keep your eyes open for coupons being offered ANYWHERE. And get multiples; 10 free boxes of cereal are better than one!
Amassing all these coupons has Choco plum tuckered-out. I told you it was hard work!

2. Organize your coupons. Don't throw any away! Even if you don't use a product normally, what if you got paid to take it? I have!

3. Replace your Glamour, Cosmo, Harry Potter, or whatever it is you read with your local store flyers. Get to know the regular prices for stuff, typical sale prices for stuff, and rock-bottom prices for stuff. Also get to know the stores' coupon policies: many stores double small-value coupons, so your 50 cent off will turn into a dollar off! A couple of my stores occasionally have triple-coupon weeks, aka HEAVEN!

4. Combine incentives. The most common way I save money is buying at rock-bottom sale prices when I have coupons. You can only use one manufacturer's coupon per item, but can combine a store coupon and a manufacturer's coupon on the same item.

Incentives you can double- or triple-dip on (aka, you can do them all at once and get a great deal or turn a profit):
manufacturer's coupons
store coupons (usually in the weekly ad)
mail-in rebates (offered by specific companies or by the store)
online rebates (Walgreeens, Rite Aid do these)
instant rebates: CVS Extra Care bucks
"Catalina" offers: ever have the cashier hand you a coupon printed on receipt-type paper that spit out of a little machine next to the cash register? It's called a Catalina machine. What it prints is triggered by your purchase. Often stores have deals such as, "Buy $20 Proctor & Gamble items and get $5 off your next purchase!" So you buy the stuff ($20 before coupons, less after) and get a store coupon that's good for $5 of pretty much anything at the store.

You really have to be the sort of person who enjoys the thrill of the hunt, but I sure do!