THAT WAS EASY! or Why I Love Staples

Wait, you're in the right place. You may think you're at Amanda's Frugal Report blog, but I assure you, you're in the right place.

I have been a huge fan of Staples ever since I got a Teacher Reward card a few years ago and began getting some healthy discounts. Then, when I had the first copies of my book printed in 2007, no printer could come close to Staples price, plus, I still earned rewards.

Staples adjusts their Rewards program periodically, but it always involves a coupon that's as good as cash-- not just a discount. And it can be applied to any purchase.

Sometimes they really outdo themselves. Last October I needed to reprint a few dozen copies of my book. Lo and behold! Staples was offering 50% rewards on all print orders until mid-November. So I had plenty of time to calculate about how many I wanted and placed my order. The price would have been reasonable anyway compared to their competitors. But 50% rewards for me meant that I would eventually be getting a store coupon for $154.00. I said $154. 00.

Now that money doesn't go as far at Staples as it would at Wal-mart. Staples is pretty high-priced and doesn't carry a lot of the things I would have purchased if I'd had an equal amount of money at Wal-mart (like birdseed, garden supplies, tarps for the woodpile).

But needless to say, I had no trouble spending the money, and here's the list.
DRUM ROLL, PLEASE!!!

1 Five-foot walnut-top folding table 54.99
3 62 Quart Buckle-up storage boxes 35.97
3 10-packs of trading card pages 9.87
6 10-packs of 4x6 photo pages 20.94
1 10-pack of poster board 4.99
1 2-pack of compressed air 6.00
1 10-pack of Zebra Z-grip pens 3.79
1 Office-size Energy Club Mojo Mix 5.99
1 40 ounce bag of Snickers Minis 12.99

Grand Total: $1.64 (11 cents tax)

The nice thing was, none of these were necessities. By the way, the Snickers and Mojo Mix were like a "reward within a reward." I didn't really have to get them.

I could have gotten the Peanut M&M's instead.

The whole experience didn't take much time. It was very satisfying, but I can't really compare it to the way Amanda, Judy, and Jennifer (not to mention Amanda's growing list of "disciples") regularly whittle their grocery bills down astonishingly. Their system is to study, diligently organize, and squeeze every penny out of store and manufacturer coupons and other offers. These offers have proliferated as stores compete for your business during the economic recovery.

I won't be getting any more mega-deals from Staples anytime soon, but you can get deals at some of the drugstores and grocery chains weekly. If you want to save big bucks, don't forget to visit Amanda's Frugal Report blog. She'll direct you to many other helpful resources.

NOW, WASN'T THAT EASY?

Another Appreciative STAPLES Customer

Last fall I blogged about a very gratifying shopping trip at Staples where everything I got was free, based on Reward points.  This morning I read Amanda's Frugal Report blog about her impressive savings at Staples.  Lo and behold, I had just gotten back from spending $21 of free Reward points myself.

I think Staples is a big box store that "gets it."  Although their regular prices are rather high, that's typical of places that sell office or educational supplies.  Their quality is consistently good and their customer service is topnotch.  But it's their rewards that keep me coming back.  At Christmas I got two 20 packs of batteries with a 100% rebate.  We needed the batteries for Christmas candles and various children's toys.  A few days ago I received the $21 coupons for said batteries.

I browsed the store for a while, knowing I wouldn't find anything cheap.  I was right.  I finally headed for the checkout counter with an $8.00 file storage tub (can't get too many of them) and a 100-pack of sheet protectors, which I use all the time for music, genealogy, articles, and so on.  I calculated that those two items would eat up the whole Reward amount.

When I checked out, the girl told me that the tub was half price ($4.00) and I could either get a coupon for the balance or go back for another item.  I had already scanned their office snacks sections, because I've often gotten trail mix type goodies marked way down.  Didn't see any today.  But somebody had set down a single pack of trail mix right there at the front.  I knew it was over $6.00 but decided to splurge.  But when she rang it up it was only $4.00 and I had 21 cents left over.  So really, I got all this stuff and the batteries (from December) for the price of the batteries.  Can't complain about that, because I'll use it all.
Staples:  That was easy.  Yep.  I like Staples.

*********
On a related topic, I have to brag about a deal I got on a magazine for Judy's birthday (don't worry, she already knows about it).  She regularly purchases All You magazine at Wal-mart on a monthly basis.  If it weren't for that magazine and its coupons, she probably wouldn't go to Wal-mart twice a year (she might send me, however).  Anyway, this week she gave me some of the little subscription forms found in the current issue and said she'd love to get this magazine for her birthday. 

I decided to subscribe on-line.  Each of the four forms she gave me quoted a price of $1.94 per issue, plus 30 cents postage.  The website quoted the same price.  I surfed the website briefly and found a little drop-down menu called Coupons and Deals.  Click on it and the last item is Special Magazine Savings.  Lo and behold (that's twice I've said that in this post), I saw the same exact ad I had seen before, but with a cost of only $1.66 per issue.  I was able to lock it in for two years.  And you won't believe how much money Judy will save from the coupons over that period of time.  Well, if you know Judy, you WILL believe it.  (If you are interested in the low rate for All You magazine, here's the link:  All You for $1.66

Anyway, along with all the smart, savvy, money-saving women in my family, I also like to find a bargain.

Because I'm cheap.  Happy frugal shopping, y'all.

Note:  In sympathy to Amanda's computer dilemma, I'm not posting any photos on this post.  Also, I don't have any.  But a new computer may be in my future-- all for Judy, of course!

Staples Teacher Rewards: That was easy!

I'm a big believer in Staples Teacher Rewards. When you save your reward points until great sales come along, you can really rack up savings. My biggest success has been when I printed dozens of copies of my book (Mystery at the Loyd Homeplace), then got 40% back in rewards. That has kept me well-stocked on items like storage tubs, binders (for my books), and even a heavy duty folding table.

But as the ladies in my family will attest, you don't have to save big bucks to get a very satisfying feeling. If you get something you really want or have been looking all over for, at a bargain basement price, even a small purchase gives you "shopper's high."

For me, the latest episode came about from a $6.00 coupon from recycling two ink cartridges.
I was a little surprised how far my six dollars went. This is how it went down.

• My most expensive item was a $7.99 notebook marked down to $3.00. This is for keeping some of my sheet music I carry to rest homes and the hospital.
• 3 containers of Fruit and Berry Trail Mix and 2 containers of Yogurt Trail Mix. The regular price was $5.99 each. But I found them on the "marked-down" shelf. So they were marked $2.99. But I knew from previous experience that they might be reduced even further. After confirming this at the front register, I got ALL FIVE at fifty cents apiece! At that price, I would have bought them even if they they had a little pinestraw or twigs mixed in. Hey, I've eaten REAL trail mix at Camp Cherokee!
• This left me with another fifty cents to dispose of (there were no more trail mixes). Spiral notebooks were 15 cents (I know, they were a mere penny last week, but the limit was 2), so I got three. The nice cashier told me I had to use the entire $6.00. So, not being able to find anything for a nickel, I got another notebook and had to ante-up ten cents.

Spending the dime didn't dampen my euphoria. I immediately came home, bragged to Judy (Coupon Queen emeritus), and took a picture of my booty. At regular price I got $38.54 worth of merchandise for a dime. And that's counting the notebooks at 15 cents, which I know is not their regular price, but they were not marked.

Hey, come to think of it, it's about time I broke into some of that trail mix! See ya later.

An Agenda Worthy of a Monday

By a working person's standards, today was nothing unusual. But for a retired person like moi, it was a busy, productive, and satisfying day. And it's going to get better!
Here's how my day went so far:

• 8:00 a.m. Got long overdue haircut at Eastwood Barber Shop. Saw Mike, Justin, Lee, and Shorty, all of whom have cut my hair at one time or another. Good times.
• 8:50 a.m. Stopped at Eastwood Service Station to inquire with Don about recycling tires. A dollar a pop sounds good. More about this later.
• 9:05 a.m. Lowe's Home Improvement. Got 40 pounds of birdseed, 5 gallons of rooftar for storage building roof, replacement handle for bathroom louver window, and some screw in light sockets with pull-chains for the garage and porch.
• 9:20 a.m. Staples. Walked in, recycled ink cartridges. Saw storage tubs on sale, from $11.99 down to $4.99. Bought two--with my $9.00 Staples Rewards Coupon. More Rewards coming soon and I've already been scouting how to use them.
• 9:45 a.m. Dollar Tree. Bought the off-brand corn chips for about one-third the price of Fritos.
• 10:00 a.m. Got to Best Buy just as they were opening. Recycled batteries, monitor for Jennifer's old Gateway computer (college) and her Brother word processor from high school.
• 10:45 a.m. Arrived home. Unloaded booty. Checked messages. Called Atlanta to check in with family. Set up ladder at back of house and cleaned wire covering on smokestack.
• 11:20 a.m. Moved ladder to front of house. Did touch-up painting of rust spots and streaks on tin roof.
• 12:00 noon Ate lunch. One PBJ, BBQ corn chips (off brand from Fred's), almonds, a Clementine (small tangerine-type fruit), and one chocolate covered cherry.
• 12:40 p.m. Moved ladder to garage/storage building. Swept leaves, limbs, and pine straw off. Spread five gallons of roof tar on areas deemed "most likely to leak."
• 1:20 p.m. Used a generous amount of baby oil to scrub most of tar off of my person. My work clothes were a disaster, but I had one more nasty job to do, so postponed changing.
• 1:30 Serviced and cranked tiller successfully.
• 1:45 p.m. Loaded 15 junk tires to take to Eastwood to recycle. Many were from previous owner's junkpile back in the woods but others were part of a massive "tire swing" (with numerous tires held together by a massive rope years ago). Filled the back of my old faithful '73 Mercury Montego wagon (it holds more than many pick-up trucks). It was absolutely necessary to change clothes before going to Eastwood, even though I knew I'd get those clothes dirty unloading the tires.
• 2:15 p.m. Delivered tires to Eastwood, said "Good riddance" to them, and filled up two gas cans. It's almost time for tilling the garden and cutting grass.
• 3:00 p.m. Got home about the same time as Judy. We reviewed our equally busy days. I finally got cleaned up-- no small task.
• 4:00 p.m. Blogged and reminded myself I would have gotten all of these things done back when I was teaching, but they would have taken all my spare time for several days. And there wasn't much "spare" time.

Well, I told you the best was yet to come. Still ahead is dinner with Amanda, Brianna, and Joy. Leaving soon, so that's all for today. More pictures soon!

If I Remember Correctly

(Here's the "teaser" picture from Aberdeen Lake-- nine more are at the end of this post)

With a memory like mine, it just doesn't pay to go too many days without blogging. What's done is done, though, so I'll try to fill you in on what's been going on since Thanksgiving Day.

Thanksgiving itself was wonderful, including the meal, family time, and a nice walk at Rassie Wicker park.

Friday, I cut wood from about 8 to 10, then got cleaned up for a lunch with Amanda and Stephen and his family from Atlanta. We enjoyed our usual meal at 195 in Southern Pines. Afterward, Judy and I went to Aberdeen Lake and walked their trail for the first time in years. It was the most pleasant weather of the week and we delighted in the wild ducks and scenic boardwalk.

That evening we had a terrific time at Joy's, featuring the grand tour of her new home, plus oyster stew, hot dogs, salad, and dessert. Good times, believe me!

Saturday we dropped by the Habitat for Humanity store, hoping to use two half-price coupons. Sadly, we could find NOTHING that seemed like a bargain, even at half price. The trip was far from wasted, as we made up for this at Aberdeen's new Salvation Army store. I found some exotic salt and pepper shakers (S&P's will be blogged about sometime this winter) and a couple of intriguing videos, Easter Parade with Judy Garland and Fred Astaire, and The Count of Monte Cristo, filmed in 1934. They were 99 cents each, compared to $3.00 at Habitat. See what I mean?

Judy made her famous turkey soup while I did some genealogy searches and checked up on ACC football. By 3:30 we had made some soup deliveries and I settled in for the Duke-Carolina football game. It was a great game, and I wouldn't have been at all surprised for Duke to pull an upset (a la N.C. State), but we survived.

Sunday was a pleasant day with turkey soup and grilled cheese. We were home early, but couldn't go walking because of the rain. That was okay, because church was called off that evening, allowing me to watch UNC play UNC-Asheville live instead of taped. It was a fun game, but not a close one. I finally finished reading my second "Jason Bourne" novel that night. It was very good, but I plan to read some shorter works during December.

Monday was a catch-up day and I actually did more than I expected. We headed to Staples so I could order 40 more copies of my book (let me know if you need one), then on to Wal-mart for a short list of items. Having easily resisted participating in Black Friday, we were jubilant as we breezed through the checkout lines with no waiting! After a delicious lunch featuring left-over ham, I hung and strung Christmas decorations outside. I may post some pictures of that later.

Today, I cut and hauled wood in our "outback" until getting cleaned up for lunch. Then I took Chipper (in his Santa suit) with me to play the piano at the hospital. I played Christmas music exclusively today, and wore my Looney Toons Christmas tie. Judging from the swaying, gyrations, and toe-tapping of the hospital staff and passers through, Feliz Navidad and Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree were today's favorites.

Well, for the moment that brings me up to date. I've got plenty of blog ideas for December and beyond. For now, I'm only going to post pictures from Aberdeen Lake.

Ducks galore!

I couldn't resist experimenting with lighting effects.

An artist's pallette of lily pads. Made me think of Monet's garden.

View from the boardwalk.

View OF the boardwalk.

That's the aeration fountain-- not a giant waterbird on steroids (Judy's contribution to this blog's humor).

All parks need Troll Trees!

At the gazebo, I utilized our camera's self-timer for the very first time ever!

SFL Nature Trail Makeover: Day 1

Easter week of 2013 marks a huge

milestone in the history of our beloved

Sandhills Farm Life Nature Trail.  The 

photos and captions in the next two blog

posts will seek to give you a sense of the

excitement of the upgrade in our trail's quality.

Whether you are a former student at SFL, a

teacher, parent, or community member, the

trail will now be a greater resource for you than

ever before.  As dogwood season is almost upon

us, I invite you and your family and friends to

come "home" to the nature trail sometime in the 

coming weeks.  I think you will be thrilled with

what you experience there.  Now, for a sampler,

let's dive right in.

The entrance to our trail is at the bottom of the
concrete stairs to the ball field.  Enter to the
right of the fence.

The stream is as full of free-flowing water as I've
ever seen it.  Big Rock awaits your visit.

This rotten log is the remnant of a massive tree which
fell across our stream more than 25 years ago.  The rest
of its trunk has returned to the soil.

To the side of the trail is one of the few remaining
posts which numerically identified specimens on the
trail back in 1985.  We hope to add new signage with
words and images next year.

This is the same bridge built by students
in 1985.  Not only is it rather rickety, but
on the other side is "no man's land." All of
our trail now lies on school property, on the
near side of the stream.  Students should not
cross the bridge without adult supervision, and
even then, at your own risk.

This photo highlights the type of deep erosion evident
on the trail after years of no protection from rainfall.
This week's corrective measures should help dramatically.

With low spots filled with gravel, then covered with
hardwood chips, roots will no longer be a hazard.  Of
course, you should always watch your step!

Old Man Poplar looks on with approval at
the major improvements taking place.  

Here are some of the tools of the trade that a hard-
working crew from ASIS will use to perform their magic.

You can see the imprint of their Caterpillar's
treads as they give the trail a run-through
prior to beginning work.

The Cat will be valuable for delivering materials to the
 trail, but it will take manpower to accomplish the task.

Two years ago, this same Cat, with a different front-
end attachment, mulching our trail to a width of five
feet.  Today marks the latest upgrade.

Areas that have been chronically muddy in past wet
seasons are filled with stone before the new trail is put down.

Two widths of geo-tech are put down over the entire
trail to inhibit plant growth in the walking path.  If
you see sprouts ON the trail (from fallen nuts, seeds,
or berries) feel free to uproot them and toss them aside.

Beginning at the bridge, the workers will work
"backwards," working their way gradually to the
start of the trail.

These devices place giant staples every few inches to
hold the geo-tech in place, hopefully for years.

The Cat will deliver countless loads to the workers
over a two day period.

The first load of hardwood chips has arrived.

The first load of chips is headed to the bridge.

It's a muddy business, but all signs of mud will vanish
by the time this project is completed on Good Friday.

Highly efficient teamwork.

This is the almost completed spur of the trail
from the bridge to the "Y." (I'll explain the "Y" soon).

Here at the viewing area / teaching station at Big Rock,
a wider area will be covered in chips so that groups can
spread out a little for easier viewing.

I'm sure I could have rounded up plenty of volunteers
to haul these chips down there in wheelbarrow,
but then again . . . .

Thanks to this gravel "fix," muddy shoes will no longer
be a fear of teachers taking groups on the trail.  And we
won't have to seek out "detours" that might lead through
briars or poison ivy unintentionally.

Here's another of our original sign posts, this one still
standing.  It's no longer beside the trail, but you might
spot it if you have sharp eyes.  I think I'll leave it.

This pictorial narrative continues in the next blog post
which follows below.