Just Call Me Coupon Kathy

But first, a word about the new guy on the block. Logan Wolf Track wasn't born yesterday, but yesterday was his coming out party.

September 1 was the release date for ONCE A FATHER, but it's been in stock at Borders and Amazon for several days, and it's already doing nicely on both of their series bestseller lists. And Romantic Times magazine gave it a very nice 4 1/2 star review. (Check out my web site for an excerpt.)

So Kathleen is pumped!

The four books on the left are loosely connected, and I can't help noticing--because, yes, I let my fingers do the clicking at least a couple of times a day--that the first 3 books are also doing quite nicely on Amazon. I'll draw a name from today's commenters and let that person choose one of the first 3 books. And here's my question: Can we get as much of a kick out of saving money as we do spending it?

Have you seen the commercial for... rats, I don't even know what it advertises (must not be a great commercial) but it has guys (men!) whooping it up over saving money on an everyday purchase. Not a car or a boat, not even whatever they're advertising, but something somebody actually needed. I got such a charge out of it the first time I saw it. Guys scoring a BOGO, high-fiving over a $10 bargain.

Last week I came home from grocery shopping with a cash register receipt that merited center stage under a refrigerator magnet. I had saved more than I spent. It was double coupon day, and I had coupons for quite a few items on my list that were also on sale. There were a couple of items I got free because the double coupon was worth the whole sale price. I also had a "$10 off your next shopping order" coupon and a few more perks, so on a $115 shopping order I paid less than $50. At Rainbow the cashier calls for a supervisor's approval when that happens, and everyone oohs and aahs. And then there's the "fuel perks" reward on top of it all, and on that register receipt we were up to 70 cents a gallon. Clyde used to disappear when I whipped out the coupons at the register, but he's finally gotten over it. He's all "Coupon Kathy counts another coup!" And he loves the fuel perks card. If there's one price guys watch, it's the one outside the gas station.

I've always used coupons, more or less. Mama grew up during the Depression, and she knew how to stretch a dollar. I was the oldest kid--the one whose parents are "starting out." I helped Mama fill the Green Stamp books and learned about outlet shopping back when outlets were attached to mills and factories. We used to buy fabric at the knit mill and hats at the millinery outlet--hats were big in the 50's and 60's--and shoes at the factory outlet. (Yes, children, there was a time when there were actual textile mills and shoe factories in Massachusetts.) So shopping sales and using coupons is in my blood. I adore the triple whammy of double coupon on top of weekly sale.

Admittedly my coupon clippers languished during the boom years, but with the recession, I've come to my centses. Just because money is tighter than it used to be doesn't mean there's no fun to be had with it. Ohhh, it feels so good to stretch. It's all in the attitude.

Here are some other savings measures I've taken lately:
--Craig's list (stuff like bicycles)
--sharing a premium Costco membership with dear daughter
--trying generics, sticking with good ones (Target's especially)
--Blockbuster online (1 dvd at a time works for us)
--get magazine subscriptions for as little as $5 a year online
--never use vending machines (grandkids don't ask anymore)
--use the Sunday paper
--trim the fat, spend on what nourishes (like BOOKS**)

What recession-busting tips do you have to share with us? Any lessons learned from generations past? Any hard lessons you've learned from our times that you want to pass on to the next generation?

**Mama watched the budget like a hawk, but I was always allowed to order 3 books from the Scholastics Book Club flier. Thanks, Mama. Not only for the books themselves--although I remember many of the titles to this day--but for making them a priority.

P.S. Don't forget to scroll down a put a firm click on the mammogram button!