dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Jun 3, 2011 20:36:30 GMT -5
shelly: Well that makes perfect sense regarding the 403b. Have you thought about doing a Roth IRA? on your returns from your old 401k. A lot of people panic when there is a major downturn which is the exact wrong thing to do. You really should attempt to get your retirement savings to 15-20% of your income. Retirement planning for young people is a lot different from what it was when DH and I were young and starting out. We contributed 16% (the max) to DH's retirement accounts from the first day that he became eligible (on his first anniversary with the company) when he was 24 years old. Some people would have thought that we were crazy for contributing that much when we didn't have a decent car or own a home or anything else to speak of - especially because it wasn't even tax deductible then!! Fast forward 28 years (2 years ago), when DH was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. This has been huge in his decision to take early retirement next year at age 55. Without diligent planning/saving for retirement, he would not have the option and might have had to work until he was too sick to do otherwise - and possibly too sick to even enoy retirement. Once you start making those regular contributions, your lifestyle will adjust and you'll be on automatic pilot - you won't even miss the money. Dancinmama--I completely understand where you are coming from. (BTW--sorry to hear of your DH's Crohn's, DBF's dad has it.. ). I have considered putting at least 10% of my pre-tax into the Trad. IRA. I have thought about the Roth. Can I have both? My big thing is the uncertainity of my job. For 4 years, I only made about $20,000 a year. During 3 of those years I was working 2 jobs to make that little. When I started making teacher's pay (almost 2x as much) I wanted to live it up a bit before concentrately on retirement....I put insulation in the attic, paid $1,000 cash for a 21 y/o car, $600 on furniture thats older than I am and a few other luxuries--modem instead of dial-up . I don't know how long this job will last....... I'll see what I can do to get $5000 in the IRA before the end of the year.... only $825 so far. shelly: One reason to do the straight IRA is the tax deduction up front; with the Roth IRA you pay taxes on the contribution, but not on the earnings - so you have to take all of that into consideration. Talk to whoever manages your straight IRA, they will be able to tell you what the limits are if you have one, the other, or both. You're probably in a pretty low tax bracket now which is why I suggested looking into the Roth.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Jun 3, 2011 20:52:22 GMT -5
Dancinmama--I completely understand where you are coming from. (BTW--sorry to hear of your DH's Crohn's, DBF's dad has it.. ). shelly: Thanks for your concern. So far DH has been pretty much asymptomatic (some very minor issues), but we have absolutely no idea how long that will last. He may be just fine for years or have major problems at any time. Life is too short. I've been running the retirement calculators backward and forward and it all looks pretty good. The only HUGE QUESTION is what the government will do with Medicare. If the Republican plan passes, DH will miss full Medicare by FOUR DAYS!! But we have planned on the possibility of early retirement at age 55 for our WHOLE LIVES. We did everything right - have always lived well below our means, saved our butts off, never carried car loans or credit card debt, etc. The Crohn's diagnosis just made the decision that much easier.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Jun 3, 2011 20:54:26 GMT -5
Ladies - Does anyone know of a Bayer coupon out for this next week's deal @ Walgreens? Seems like its been forever since we had a good meter sale around here - its $19.99 with a $10 RR. Last year I cleaned up on those!! But I think they caught on... sam: I haven't seen one for quite a while. That was an awesome MM back in the day; but I think you're right - they're on to us.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Jun 3, 2011 21:07:53 GMT -5
murphath: dogmom is right; there just aren't a whole lot of killer deals to write home about. Summer is usually slow anyway, but I think this probably will be the slowest summer ever.
CVS has taken some corporate losses this year (related to Caremark and their Rx side of the business) so I suspect that is one of many possible reasons why they have pulled back so much. Perhaps as they recover we'll start to see more $/$$ out of the red machine and more EB offers; we'll just have to wait and see.
Isn't it nice though that we all had this thread over the last four years to network and build our stockpiles? It might not be as easy going forward, but we need to continue to press on and work together to get the best deals that are out there!! ;D
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jdnstl
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Post by jdnstl on Jun 3, 2011 21:23:57 GMT -5
i don't know how many of you live near a Food-a-Rama but if so there are a couple of good deals.
francisco rinaldi pasta sauce - $0.99/24 oz jar. this is the rock bottom price for this sauce & it's the only "commercial" one DH likes.
Anatina pasta - $0.66/lb. this is pretty good pasta & DH likes it.
eggs - $0.88/dozen JUMBO eggs with in-ad q WY Spend $10, limit 2.
i picked up 10 sauces, 6 pastas & 2 dozen eggs for less than $16! that is my cherry picking for the weekend since there isn't anything exciting or needed from the grocery store this week.
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leanna
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Post by leanna on Jun 3, 2011 23:09:38 GMT -5
This is about couponing, so it's on-topic, but a little bit rambly perhaps.
I decided to create a coupon spreadsheet in Excel. It's a good therapy type exercise for me, and also I was tired of not knowing whether my local inserts have certain q's or not. I'm not finished with it, but I've got a lot entered.
It's interesting, because as I work my way backwards by date through the inserts, I notice something. It's fascinating how some q's have a really short turn-around and others are good for many months. Basically, it proves the point that it's good to hold onto the inserts, because there are inserts that have q's that are good for 6 months.
That's my rambling for tonight. Wish I also had some fun deals to add, but the only deal I know of is the upcoming Veet deal at RA. My test-market Wags is not giving RR's for the Reach this upcoming week. Darn. Because I have a bunch of coupons for floss, so I was hoping to stock up on more for free. Ah well, que sera, sera, right?
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debinwa
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Post by debinwa on Jun 3, 2011 23:14:49 GMT -5
Life is too short. I've been running the retirement calculators backward and forward and it all looks pretty good. The only HUGE QUESTION is what the government will do with Medicare. If the Republican plan passes, DH will miss full Medicare by FOUR DAYS!! But we have planned on the possibility of early retirement at age 55 for our WHOLE LIVES. We did everything right - have always lived well below our means, saved our butts off, never carried car loans or credit card debt, etc. The Crohn's diagnosis just made the decision that much easier. dancin': I know exactly what you mean. I hadn't intended to retire quite so young, but a very close friend of mine died very suddenly at work one day, and I just decided I was done. She was in her early fifties, the picture of health. I think you never know when your time is up, and I wanted to have time to enjoy retirement. Of course, we had always been very conservative with our money so our finances could support an early retirement. We have been retired for three years now and I can't imagine going back.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Jun 3, 2011 23:37:24 GMT -5
Life is too short. I've been running the retirement calculators backward and forward and it all looks pretty good. The only HUGE QUESTION is what the government will do with Medicare. If the Republican plan passes, DH will miss full Medicare by FOUR DAYS!! But we have planned on the possibility of early retirement at age 55 for our WHOLE LIVES. We did everything right - have always lived well below our means, saved our butts off, never carried car loans or credit card debt, etc. The Crohn's diagnosis just made the decision that much easier. dancin': I know exactly what you mean. I hadn't intended to retire quite so young, but a very close friend of mine died very suddenly at work one day, and I just decided I was done. She was in her early fifties, the picture of health. I think you never know when your time is up, and I wanted to have time to enjoy retirement. Of course, we had always been very conservative with our money so our finances could support an early retirement. We have been retired for three years now and I can't imagine going back. DH has to wait until age 55 before his pension and retiree medical kicks in, otherwise he would have been chompin' at the bit to leave earlier. As it is, I've told him if he gives me trouble I'm going to kick him out of the house and make him play golf. ;D
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leanna
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Post by leanna on Jun 3, 2011 23:43:12 GMT -5
Boy, I think a lot of men would like to have you as their wife, DancinMama!
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Jun 3, 2011 23:44:49 GMT -5
Okay, you guys, here's a deal for ya. ;D
For those who got the Icy Hot $.99RR, you can roll that right into the Sobe Lifewater this Sunday.
$.99 Sobe Lifewater - .99 Icy Hot RR 0 OOP --> $.99RR (Sobe Lifewater)
Okay, now ya can't say I didn't post any deals. ;D
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Jun 3, 2011 23:50:56 GMT -5
Boy, I think a lot of men would like to have you as their wife, DancinMama! leanna: That may be true, but my silver fox (I call him that so that his gray hair doesn't bother him so much ;D ) is the only one that counts.
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leanna
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Post by leanna on Jun 4, 2011 0:03:25 GMT -5
Okay, you guys, here's a deal for ya. ;D For those who got the Icy Hot $.99RR, you can roll that right into the Sobe Lifewater this Sunday. $.99 Sobe Lifewater - .99 Icy Hot RR 0 OOP --> $.99RR (Sobe Lifewater) Okay, now ya can't say I didn't post any deals. ;D LOL! You are too funny!
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leanna
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Post by leanna on Jun 4, 2011 0:03:47 GMT -5
Boy, I think a lot of men would like to have you as their wife, DancinMama! leanna: That may be true, but my silver fox (I call him that so that his gray hair doesn't bother him so much ;D ) is the only one that counts. That's a sweet nickname.
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rubyslippers
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Post by rubyslippers on Jun 4, 2011 6:05:03 GMT -5
I was going to take a break from printing out coupons but last night saw $1.25 off 2 Del Monte pineapple. Next week our Kroger has them on sale for $1.00 each, so I should get 2 pineapples for $.75. Someone mentioned Aldis has pineapple for $.99. You could pricematch at Walmart for cheap pineapple. This is something I've been craving and buying every week, so it makes it a good savings.
Rite Aid question: Does anyone have a theory to how their registers give the $3/15 survey codes? Is it a montly allotment per register or does it go by your card. Just wondering as I've been having a dry spell lately. I have one precious coupon to use and I want to make the most of it.
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emhalf
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Post by emhalf on Jun 4, 2011 7:55:57 GMT -5
I think at this point it may be based on specific areas or specific stores that they actually want to get more feedback on. I had quit getting them at the stores I used to shop at in Durham, and I know there are a lot of couponers there...they would be the type to actually take and fill out the surveys. Since I've moved, I've gotten a survey each of the 2-3 times I've shopped these new stores in the last couple of weeks. Given the amount of stock and general cashier attitude, I don't think there are as many couponers here. Or at least, not ones that do RiteAid. Just a theory.
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marvholly
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Post by marvholly on Jun 4, 2011 8:30:49 GMT -5
Gas Prices There are a couple of web sites to look up current gasoline prices: www.gasbuddy.comwww.gaswatch.comI am in a burb that instituted a 3% gasoline tax last 7/1 in ADDITION to the existing federal, county & state fuel taxes. I check by zipcode for the area I plan to be in on my driving & need gas days. That is 2-3x/week near my Dad and about 1x/month near DD1 (her area is significantly cheaper). My response to the town tax increase has been to buy my gas OUTSIDE of my hometown. Our lawmakers must think we are all TOTALLY stupid. Nearly every adjacent town has cheaper gas AND we MUST go to adjacent towns to hit any of our national chain grocers, Target, Walmart, Home Depot, Menards, Lowes..... We only have independent markets that do NOT take IP's, Aldi, CVS & WAG.
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dancinmama
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Post by dancinmama on Jun 4, 2011 8:40:07 GMT -5
Gas Prices There are a couple of web sites to look up current gasoline prices: www.gasbuddy.comwww.gaswatch.comI am in a burb that instituted a 3% gasoline tax last 7/1 in ADDITION to the existing federal, county & state fuel taxes. I check by zipcode for the area I plan to be in on my driving & need gas days. That is 2-3x/week near my Dad and about 1x/month near DD1 (her area is significantly cheaper). My response to the town tax increase has been to buy my gas OUTSIDE of my hometown. Our lawmakers must think we are all TOTALLY stupid. Nearly every adjacent town has cheaper gas AND we MUST go to adjacent towns to hit any of our national chain grocers, Target, Walmart, Home Depot, Menards, Lowes..... We only have independent markets that do NOT take IP's, Aldi, CVS & WAG. holly: Geez, if I could get cheaper gas so easily, I'd do it too. In my area the towns don't all run together (which I like) so you actually have to drive a ways to get to the next town over (15 miles to the north and over 20 miles to the south). You'd think that the gas stations in your town would go out of business. I guess it just goes to show that a lot of people are just too lazy to plan when they will buy their gas. Shocking since 3%/gallon would really add up over the course of a month.
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Post by bluecluessubtlety on Jun 4, 2011 9:57:02 GMT -5
Leanna, what kind of spreadsheet did you make?
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mizbear
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Post by mizbear on Jun 4, 2011 10:27:56 GMT -5
Coupon Vent- I took all of my expired coupons out of the "Share" box last week? to throw them out. I usually stack all of the expired coupons beside the box while I pull them so I just make one trip to the trash can. I am reorganizing the work stations and the coupons will be moving from this station to the other when I bring my little desk up. Anyway- I open the box to check for a coupon for my DB and my ex-SIL has stuck all of the expired Qs back in the coupon box when she was helping me clean the other day!!! I called her and asked why and she said "Well, I thought I saw them use expired coupons on that EC show". I calmly explained to her that "real" couponers do not habitually use expired coupons. That said- I think I am going to start hiding the coupons. I had the box set up so she could come in and look in it and find what she needed. Well, it's actually set up so when someone posts a hound, I can just look in it and find the category easily, but- either way- I think I'm hiding it. Can you make a list in MS Word, copy it and paste it in the reply box here? I have tried to paste excel charts (excel and I have been fighting lately) with coupon lists so anyone who wants what I have can get it. Have a bunch of pet stuff right now.
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leanna
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Post by leanna on Jun 4, 2011 12:32:22 GMT -5
Rite Aid question: Does anyone have a theory to how their registers give the $3/15 survey codes? Is it a montly allotment per register or does it go by your card. Just wondering as I've been having a dry spell lately. I have one precious coupon to use and I want to make the most of it. Yeah, not many surveys are coming with our receipts these days. It's a bummer!
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leanna
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Post by leanna on Jun 4, 2011 12:35:15 GMT -5
Leanna, what kind of spreadsheet did you make? I'm not sure what you mean by "what kind of spreadsheet?" It's in Excel - I used to be an Analyst so it's my nerdy self coming out. I can filter and search by any of the parameters. It would be fancier in Access, but I didn't feel like designing a database. I can post it when I'm done if you want to see it - might be a few more weeks. I'm working backwards in terms of putting the coupons in. I'm now in the month of April.
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saveinla
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Post by saveinla on Jun 4, 2011 12:40:22 GMT -5
Leanna, what kind of spreadsheet did you make? I'm not sure what you mean by "what kind of spreadsheet?" It's in Excel - I used to be an Analyst so it's my nerdy self coming out. I can filter and search by any of the parameters. It would be fancier in Access, but I didn't feel like designing a database. I can post it when I'm done if you want to see it - might be a few more weeks. I'm working backwards in terms of putting the coupons in. I'm now in the month of April. leanna, If you want a list to start with for every week, you can always use the spreadsheet (hound list) that comes out every week as a starting point. Let me know if you need the ones from January to April and I can forward them to you.
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Post by bluecluessubtlety on Jun 4, 2011 12:51:25 GMT -5
Leanna can't quote from phone. Are you listing all Qs and exp date? If so I would love a copy. Will make it easier to toss entire folder when I know last Q expired.
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saveinla
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Post by saveinla on Jun 4, 2011 13:03:09 GMT -5
Leanna can't quote from phone. Are you listing all Qs and exp date? If so I would love a copy. Will make it easier to toss entire folder when I know last Q expired. blues, Here is a website that I use to check which inserts to toss - www.pinchingyourpennies.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122825&page=1&pp=10It's based on the Arizona Republic, but should work for almost everyone.
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leanna
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Post by leanna on Jun 4, 2011 13:20:56 GMT -5
I'm not sure what you mean by "what kind of spreadsheet?" It's in Excel - I used to be an Analyst so it's my nerdy self coming out. I can filter and search by any of the parameters. It would be fancier in Access, but I didn't feel like designing a database. I can post it when I'm done if you want to see it - might be a few more weeks. I'm working backwards in terms of putting the coupons in. I'm now in the month of April. leanna, If you want a list to start with for every week, you can always use the spreadsheet (hound list) that comes out every week as a starting point. Let me know if you need the ones from January to April and I can forward them to you. Maybe I'm not looking at the right thing. I see a list in the Google Docs, but it looks like an individual list of things people want. Is there something else you were referring to?
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leanna
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Post by leanna on Jun 4, 2011 13:22:02 GMT -5
Leanna can't quote from phone. Are you listing all Qs and exp date? If so I would love a copy. Will make it easier to toss entire folder when I know last Q expired. Oh yeah - that's EXACTLY what I'm doing. Anyone could take my work and then modify it to their own region's coupons.
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saveinla
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Post by saveinla on Jun 4, 2011 13:28:29 GMT -5
leanna, If you want a list to start with for every week, you can always use the spreadsheet (hound list) that comes out every week as a starting point. Let me know if you need the ones from January to April and I can forward them to you. Maybe I'm not looking at the right thing. I see a list in the Google Docs, but it looks like an individual list of things people want. Is there something else you were referring to? The list should be the complete list of coupons for the week, but will also have the name of people who want a specific Q.
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leanna
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Post by leanna on Jun 4, 2011 14:21:37 GMT -5
Hmmm, SaveinLa, I'm just not seeing what you're referring to. I have input in my spreadsheet all the coupons from the most recent going back through April. I'm now working on March. The document I see says "GC Hound List." It has a person's name & the coupons they are looking for. But I don't see any master list of the coupons by insert and date. If you want to forward me one, that would be great. I'd be interested in seeing what's already out there. My coupons are always different than those listed on Sunday Coupon Preview and what's listed in some of the blog's databases. That's why I decided to create my own. I'm definitely open to utilizing anything you may have already created. I just can't seem to see or find what you're referencing. Thanks!
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Post by sharleone on Jun 4, 2011 14:26:08 GMT -5
Unfortunately both WAGS in town have been out of the Icy Hot every time I've checked. BUT, I did get free shampoo this week.
Finesse Clean & Simple is on sale 2/$7 with a $5 RR WYB 2.
There are $1/1 q's in the May issue of All You or in the 5/8 SS.
Not a MM, but my WAGS was out of the clearance Garnier as well. If you happen to see clearance Garnier, it's buy 4, get a $4 RR, and it looks like the clearance is giving a RR as well.
ETA I know the Finesse isn't a MM, but I don't have much of a stockpile since I'm the only one in the house that uses shampoo/conditioner. I buy 2 or 3 ahead of each and that lasts me for almost 6 months.
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Post by sharleone on Jun 4, 2011 14:27:24 GMT -5
Hmmm, SaveinLa, I'm just not seeing what you're referring to. I have input in my spreadsheet all the coupons from the most recent going back through April. I'm now working on March. The document I see says "GC Hound List." It has a person's name & the coupons they are looking for. But I don't see any master list of the coupons by insert and date. If you want to forward me one, that would be great. I'd be interested in seeing what's already out there. My coupons are always different than those listed on Sunday Coupon Preview and what's listed in some of the blog's databases. That's why I decided to create my own. I'm definitely open to utilizing anything you may have already created. I just can't seem to see or find what you're referencing. Thanks! Leanna, I might be wrong, but I think the suggestion is to use the hound list as a basis for your spreadsheet, just deleting the names, etc. That'd have the q's listed by insert.
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