I just dug through a trash can. For food. More specifically, for coupons for food. I stopped by the mailboxes at my apartment complex on my way home the other day to see if I got any interesting junk mail, because – let's be honest – that's all I get. Well today was my lucky day because my junk mail was not junk at all! It was a postcard from Chick-fil-A with 3 coupons for free food! And the best part is that the food is actually free! It's not one of those "you can have 1 free small fry if you buy 2 large burgers and 2 large drinks and give us a kidney and half of your liver" coupons. It's just free – by itself. (*Note: 1 of the coupons does actually require you to buy a medium drink, but the free item is totally worth more than the drink.)
Anyway. I was excitedly reading the details of the coupons when I happened to look down at the trash can (which, to my credit, is more like a junk mail receptacle than a diaper/smelly trash/rotten food receptacle) and noticed that someone threw their coupons away! Of course I snatched them right up. But then I noticed there was another coupon postcard underneath that one! So I had to pick that one up, too. And then that got me thinking…how many more people have thrown their coupons away? So…I dug. I only had time to find one more before I heard someone walking toward me and had to collect myself and my stolen mail and walk away nonchalantly. (Oddly, I don't mind broadcasting to the blogworld that I was digging through the trash, but I just could not bear to have the middle-aged, hairy, talks-too-loud-on-his-cell-phone man see me do it. Why is that?)
I got in the car with a grin on my face, ecstatic to tell Jared that I just scored us 12 free meals – 6 each. I don't know about the rest of you, but I have personally been feeling the pains of this recession and subsequent job market, so I'll dig through the trash for coupons any chance I get. What have the rest of you done to save a few bucks?
Being in a dinner group has saved me hundreds of dollars on food this semester. There are 8 of us and we each have a night to cook. So that means we only end up cooking once every 2 weeks. It may seem like a hassle, since we're cooking for 8 people, but if you plan it out, you can do that relatively cheaply. All my other meals consist of cereal and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which I don't mind since I know that I will get a pretty good meal for dinner....and one that I didn't have to cook. Look into it!!
ReplyDeleteJenn... I think that's hilarious, but so very understandable... it's free food.
ReplyDeleteThe thing I've found to help me save money on food is to plan out meals in advance and shop for only those ingredients that I need to make those meals, and I try to find meals that will repeat using those ingredients or those that require only minimal shopping. Shop with a list... it helps a lot.
You're hysterical! I love this... I may just follow your example. I never look through my junk mail.
ReplyDeleteYou are lucky to get good coupons in your junk mail. And, if I were ever to get free Chick-fil-a coupons and didn't dig through the trash to find more, Derek would be so sad. He loves that place. Also, out here there is a pizza place that might interest you. They're rewarding penny picker-uppers by putting free meal coupons on tokens the size/color of pennies in the parking lot. If you are smart enough to pick them up, you get a free meal.
ReplyDeletehilarious-i love their fries. Cory probably would have shamefully asked the person that approached for their coupons and continued digging because he loves their food even more than me. We have been living on a good ole budget. It's kind of fun. I've also been coupon cutting-superfun. We also make meals for four and then eat the leftovers a couple nights later or for lunch. The biggest thing is food storage! It makes the hugest difference in saving money because you can wait to buy everything on sale instead of needing it.
ReplyDeleteI love to shop and grocery shop is no exception. I have tried to get better about buying just what I need or for food storage and making sure I don't waste what I buy. veggies and fruit are bad that way. I think oh it is healthy and then forget I have it and just throw it away moldy 2 weeks later. I only buy veggies I have in the menu or I know my kids will eat.
ReplyDeleteJennifer, i want to be just like you when i grow up.
ReplyDelete