Terrible Tuesday - Envy

This Terrible Tuesday I thought I would tackle the sin of ENVY.

Envy is a nasty, nasty thing. To not only be unsatisfied with what you have, to be ungrateful, but to also covet what is not yours...well, it just seems to bring out the worst in people.

Envy is the sin that leads people to commit dumb crimes. You know the ones I'm talking about. When a bully beats up another kid to steal his sneakers. When a group of guys assaults a lone kid on the subway simply to snatch his iPod. So. Effing. Stupid.

I am guilty of envy to a certain degree. I think we all are. Some of us have extreme envy, others just a touch.

My particular envy is pretty mild. I don't tend to be envious of others' beauty. I'm satisfied with myself. I don't tend to be envious of others' possessions. I think when you own too much, your things tend to own you. I don't tend to envy money. I'm a realist who knows that there is a level of wealth that is simply out of my reach. I will never own a home here, have a summer house in Miami, and a condo in the city. I'm ok with that. [Ok, fine, so I would totally die for a condo in Manhattan, but whatever.]

My envy is geared towards something much more general: Security.

I envy the security of a steady income that others have. [There is nothing steady about the trucking industry.] I envy the security of those who own their own home. I would love to own my own home. Not a big house. I'm not looking for acres of property. Hell, I don't even care if it only has one bathroom, so long as it's mine. Just thinking about my children coming home from school to an actual house makes my heart ache with longing. I envy the security of those who do not have to pick and choose which bills to pay each month. I envy the security of those who do not have to stick to a rigid budget at the grocery store in order to also afford to put gas in the tank. I envy the security of those who can send their children off to school with confidence because they know the school system is a good one. I am envious of those who don't have a constant tension in their chest due to the precarious nature of their finanicial situation. I'm envious of those who sleep in peace instead of having uncomfortable dreams about the bottom falling out from underneath their feet.

I know that someday I'll have the security that I envy so. However, at this time, in this job market, that someday seems so far away. For now, all I have is my envy...and my hope.
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Thanks Jill for giving the seven deadly sins a virtual rebirth.
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Sunday Steals and Deals

My CVS-ing was minimal this week. Mainly, I tried to hold true to last week's tutorial about incorporating items I need into my CVS trips. I did really well too.

Please note that not everything is pictured here. Missing are: another pack of Huggies and three cans of cat food.

A little side note about Huggies also. I really don't like them. They always leak. However, they were on sale this week and I had coupons. I knew I could get a great deal on them and hey, beggers can't be chosers, right? Free diapers are always welcome in my house.

Anyway...

ECB's = Extra Care Bucks
Q = Coupon
OOP = Out of Pocket expense

Transaction 1:
1 pack Huggies: $8.99
1 tube Colgate Total: $2.99
1 Schick razor: $9.99
2 Colgate 360's: $7.98
2 cans Fancy Feast cat food: $1.78
Used:
$4 CVS Q
$2.00 Huggies Q
(2) $1.00 Colgate 360 Q's
$4.00 Schick Q
$1.00 Colgate Total Q
$17.98 in ECB's
OOP EXPENSE: .80 cents
GET: $15.98 in ECB's
($2 for Colgate Total, $6 for Schick razor, $7.98 for Colgate 360's)

Transaction 2:
1 pack Huggies: $8.99
2 tubes Colgate Total: $5.98
1 pack Garnier towelles: $5.99
1 can Fancy Feast: .89
Used:
$4.00 CVS Q
$2.00 Huggies Q
(2) $1.50 Colgate Total Q's
$5 Garnier Q
$7.98 ECB's (adjusted down to $7.85)
OOP EXPENSE: .07 cents
GET: $4.00 ECB's
($2 ECB's from each Colgate Total)

That is $53.58 worth of stuff for .87 cents. I rule.

Thrifty Chick Tutorials Vol. 2

What are ECB's??

That is the question of the day, it seems.

ECB's or Extra Care Bucks are a CVS promotion linked to your frequent shopper card.

CVS runs special weekly and monthly sale items that give back ECB's when you purchase them. The ECB's print out at the bottom of your receipt and can be used like cash on your next purchase. They usually expire after a month. Letting them expire is like throwing away money. Seriously.

The trick is, to use your ECB's to purchase other ECB items. This is called "rolling" your ECB's. Combine with coupons and you have a sure fire way to save a ton of money.

For example:

A May monthly ECB promotion is Aquafresh toothpaste: on sale for $2.99 giving back $2.99 in ECB's.

If you bought 1 tube, then you would pay $2.99 + tax. On the bottom of your receipt, a bar coded coupon for $2.99 off your next order would print. This is called an ECB.

So, you buy another tube of toothpaste for $2.99. Instead of paying with cash, you give them your $2.99 ECB. You pay nothing for the item (except maybe tax) AND another $2.99 bar coded coupon prints at the bottom of your receipt.

You decide to do this one more time since you really need toothpaste. This time, you also have a $1 manufacturer's coupon:

1 tube Aquafresh: $2.99
Manuf Coupon: -$1.00
Sub-Total: $1.99

Uh-Oh...problem. You have an ECB worth $2.99, but your total is only $1.99. The cashier can adjust the ECB down to $1.99 for you, but that would be like throwing away a dollar and that's just silly. So, add in a low priced item to bump up your total so you can use your ECB. This is called adding a filler item. Most grab candy bars as a filler item. I like to use cans of cat food as a filler. You can use anything really. The thing is to pick an item that is just over the amount needed to bump your total up so you can use your ECB and pay as little as possible out of pocket.

You decide to throw in a candy bar to bump up your total. You glance down and notice that Twix bars are 2 for $1. You grab two and the cashier rings them up.

Sub-Total: $1.99
Twix: $1.00
New Total: $2.99
Use: $2.99 ECB's
GET: $2.99 ECB's

So, between all three transactions you got:

3 tubes Aquafresh
2 Twix Candy Bars

You paid: $2.99 + tax

You still have: $2.99 in ECB's for your next CVS trip

This is, of course, a very basic example meant to give you an idea of how ECB's work. The longer you roll ECB's, the better you get at it. When I first started "CVS-ing" I would end up spending $1-$5 out of pocket. Now, I can usually keep my total out of pocket spending (or OOP) under $1.

It takes some work. It takes some practise. It takes some time. But, it is so worth it when you see how much you can really get for free or almost free. Give it a try if you haven't already.

**Cough** **Cough** **Sneeze**

Lunanik's guide to making sure you successfully avoid getting a good night's rest:

1. First night: Get sick. Make good and sure the mucus in your nose is so stubborn that no amount of cold medication or blowing will help dislodge it, thereby plugging your sinuses indefinately and making breathing barely an option.
2. Second night: Add a thrashing, feverish toddler to your bed for the night and endure many, many kicks to the head, torso, and knees.
3. Third night: Treat bruised head, torso, and knees. Develop a fever of your own and as a bonus, vomit violently and repeated thoroughout the night. (*Bonus* Lose 5 lbs of water weight!)
4. Fourth night: Add a thrashing, extremely feverish (yet surprisingly spirited), slightly younger toddler to your bed for night and sleep only an hour or so between vomitting sessions and cold compresses.
5. Fifth night: Pray that your now well (and very rambunctious children) will sleep thru the night allowing your coughing, sneezing, and over tired ass to get a good night's sleep.

Last Day to Get Your $25!!

Today is the last day that Revolution Money Exchange is crediting your account with $25 when you sign up.

You see that nice, green button on my left-hand sidebar? Yep, that's the one...click it. Go ahead, you know you want to.

Clicking that button will not only sign you up to get your $25, but it will give me an additional $10 for the referral. Bonus.

For all you married or attached couples try this:

Sign up today and get $25, then have your spouse/boyfriend/whatever sign up thru YOU. This way, he gets $25 for signing up and then you get an additional $10 for the referral!! In TEN MINUTES you guys could make $60 just by signing up for an account!

Come on, now...you know you could all use the extra $60. Just click that little green button on the left and *poof*...you're that much richer.

Terrible Tuesday - Sloth **Updated**

My motto is don't do today what can be done tomorrow. You see, my most sinful act of slothfulness is expressed through my procrastination. Let me clarify, my persistent and excessive procrastination.

Sounds familiar, yes? I bet it does.

Thing is, I'm not alone on this one, I know I'm not. I think many of us suffer this sin in this manner. It's just so easy to put off going grocery shopping one. more. day. [Until your kids are eating ketchup and mayonnaise sandwiches without the bread.] It's easy to put off starting your diet until tomorrow. And it's way too easy to promise yourself that you will get up and exercise in the morning, so you can sit in front of the computer and blog watch television read a book tonight.

And honestly it's not even entirely our fault. Sloth has become a selling point to the American public, an integral part of society, a way of life even.

Think about it...we drive everywhere even if our destination is within walking distance, we have remote controls for the TV, fast food, Netflix, drive thrus, food delivered to your front door, online ordering, grocery delivery services, dog walkers, and the list goes on and on and on. All of these things/services make it easier for you to sit on your ass and do as little as possible.

Seriously. Any new service or gadget that's new on the market which grants people the ability to be even lazier [if that's even possible] is sure to be a money maker. It's no wonder we are the fattest country in the world.

Now, I may sound like I'm bashing these ingenious, lazy-maker products, but I'm totally not. Oh no, quite to the contrary, I sing their praises. And why? Because I'm a slothful fuck, that's why. I like just clicking a button to change the channel (come on, who doesn't?), I like getting pizza delivered to my door, I like that I can call someone to come and mow my lawn, and I like that if I wanted to, I could order my groceries online and have them delivered to my door. Don't we all though?

My own procrastination is at the forefront of my existence. I often put off tasks, even tasks that would be fun, if they require to much energy expenditure or thought, in exchange for loafing around and letting my brain get mushy. I love vegging in front of the tv and I welcome the slight muscle atrophy that comes with surfing the web for hours on end. My life is consumed with to-do lists that never get done (and a reader that never gets emptied). I will drive the three blocks to my local CVS rather than walk. I will order pizza and groan because I have to get off the couch to open the door, rather than pick it up from the restaurant. I will always use the drive thru lane at the bank, which has a 5 car back-up, rather than get my ass out of the car and go inside where there is no line at all. You can always count on me to search like hell for the tv remote in the couch cushions, or watch whatever lame show is on, rather than actually get up to change the channel. I am that slothful.

I could go on and on about this forever. Seriously, I could, but I just don't feel like writing anymore or even coming up with a witty ending to my little diatribe. So, I'll finish it later...or tomorrow...or which ever comes first...::snore::

P.S. I'm at work right now and can't remember my Mister Linky password so I will add it when I get home...or ya know, later on sometime, whatever...

**UPDATE**

Would you like to hear a bit of irony? Today while at CVS, I locked my keys in my car. Yep. I had to walk three blocks home (oh the horror) to get my spare set, then walk back to CVS and get my car. So much for slothful, eh?

Also, when I said that I like that I can get groceries delivered...I don't actually do that, though I love that I have the option. I'm pretty sure it's more expensive for delivery and you can't use coupons. I'm even more of a cheap bitch than I am a slothful fuck so I'd rather go to the grocery store and use double coupons and stuff. Too bad Cheap As All Hell wasn't a deadly sin because I would embody that one to a T...seriously.

Scatter-brain Monday Venting

My Mother's Day was nice, but busy. I house hoped which is usually what I do on holidays. It's nice, but tiring and I was happy to finally be home to relax with my kiddos and watch some tv.
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My brother is a recovering addict and currently lives in a half-way house up in the northern part of the state. This same facility also provides food and shelter for the homeless, a dental clinic (one of the best in the state I hear, with a 6 month waiting list), and general community outreach. It's actually a really great facility that does tons of good work in the community and, most importantly, has been an overall good influence on my brother. He's doing well there...most of the time. I gave him the glucose monitors that I got free at CVS. I gave them to him so that he could donate them to the facility because I'm sure there are diabetics that are in need and go there for help. It made me feel really good to be able to give back, even in this small way.

Then, after driving him home, my Hubs tells me that my brother mentioned in the car that he isn't going to donate them at all, that, in fact, he is going to return them just to get some money back!

I. AM. LIVID.

I can't even voice how angry I am. Those monitors were supposed to be donated to the needy. More than just needy, actually, being that they would be for low income/no income diabetics who probably can't afford to buy the monitors that they desperately need to maintain their health. I am shocked, appalled, and disgusted that he would do such a thing. And why would he do it...to buy cigarettes. Cigarettes!! He would rather cash those monitors in for cigarette money, than see someone who truly needs them, get them. I tell ya, the thought process of addicts astounds me. Prick.

I'm usually pretty good at knowing what his intentions are going to be. I know him well and I can't believe I was so naive. I honestly thought that he was going to donate them. Argh...I'm totally kicking myself. Especially if he gets full price for them ($70 each!!). What a schmuck he is. I tell ya what, he won't get another dime from me. Nothing. Not even a tube of toothpaste from my CVS stash (which I even raided yesterday to make him up a goody bag of soap, deodorant, etc.). Dickhead.

::deep breath::
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On a happier note, one of my favs (and fellow Jersey girl) Feener is doing an awesome giveaway. Go and check her out for your chance to *win*. And, if you love her giveaway as much as I do, give her a shout out on your blog. The more the merrier kids, the more the merrier.