Couponing for Charity

As I posted a bit ago, I have gotten more involved with couponing.  In the last year or so I had heard about places you could get coupons from but in the last six months I found a group on Facebook and got involved.  I am to the point where I have actually written a few articles over at Hubpages about couponing.  It’s not that I am an expert, but I want to help others.  Especially Canadians who are trying to coupon as it is different here than in the States.

But I have to say, one of my favourite things about couponing is getting things for very cheap or free that I can then donate.  Donating to charities does not always have to be about money, it can be about providing your time or a service.  But, by proper couponing, you can get things for very little money.

For instance, one of the best deals here is dove.  With the right coupons, you can get any dove product for a penny (plus tax).  So I have started a donation bin and I have shampoo, conditioner and deodorant in there to give away.  I have not figured out the charity – it may be for a family I hear of in need, it may go to the YWCA or maybe through a charity drive at work.  Another great deal is pads being on sale for $1.97 and I have a coupon for $2 off.   Every time I go to the store, I buy one or two packages.

I think one of the best things you can do as a couponer is to be responsible and respectful.  To me, this means not clearing the shelf of the entire product but only buying a few.  For instance, the pads above – that price is half price.  I can guarantee you that there are women out there who will gladly pay the $2 that they are listed for.  And this is likely why the shelf is quite bare when I am at the store.

A Neglected Blog

Wow.. my poor neglected blog!

A quick update on my life:

Still crafting – have donated quite a few items to various places.. But still have a lot of yarn left!

My cats – They are still crazy and enjoying destroying my couch :(

Blogging – I have several blogs going.. Some are neglected and others are current.  But I guess when you run a blog like a business and try to make an income from it, it makes it a bit different.

Writing – Still doing writing work and attempting to finish an e-book.  It is definitely a long process!

Saving Money – I have gotten into couponing more in the last few months.  I have had a few people ask me if I am an extreme couponer.  The answer is, not even close but I am working on it!

I am going to try and post here more often.  Likely my posts will be about my crafting and my couponing.  But I likely will post some pictures and stories from my trips that I have taken and whatever hits my fancy at the moment. 

Scarves for Special Olympians

If anyone is interested, the Special Olympics is looking for donations of scarves for all the Olympians. There is no set pattern - knit or crochet, with a blue and white colour theme with a bit of red.

There is a ravelry group here
http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/special-olympic-scarf-cana...

And you can find more information here:
http://www.stalbert2012.ca/news/fullstory/view/63

I am willing to collect these. I am hoping there will be a pickup location in Saskatoon though, but if not, I can collect and mail out (a few dollars donated to the cost of mail would be greatly appreciated but not required)

Fall is Coming

With fall coming, many of us get back to the routines that were abandoned earlier.  I find it rather interesting how the lives of so many revolve around school even if we do not have children.  

However, with that said, my fall this year does have some bearing on school as I am returning to night classes this fall.  I decided back in the spring that it was time to return to school and am working on my business certificate/diploma/I am not 100% sure.  The school I go to has a variety of different programs which are all connected which is why I am not exactly sure where I will end up.

I will be taking two classes this fall – one of which is a night class and the other is an online class. I do not expect either one to be too difficult as they are introductory classes.   Most of the difficult classes have been completed as part of my accounting certificate but I know I have one or two math classes to take.

Fall also means a return to my craft group which I am looking forward to.  While I have been crafting this summer with some different groups, it will be nice to return to this group as well.  This will bring my crafting time to two times a week and possible a bit more if my twitter group gets together and I am able to attend.

Another thing that I appreciate about fall is the cooler temperatures, although, I am not a fan of the cold temperatures that will come later.  But for now, I will continue to ignore them and not think about them.

My Kindle Review

I purchased the $114 Kindle from Amazon – it has Wi-Fi and some ads to help justify the lower price.

This Kindle is said to hold approx 3,500 books.  While I was downloading a lot of books before it arrived, I have nowhere near that amount to put on it.  You can sync the kindle to your online Amazon account which is also what you use to organize your books, as they can be hard to find on the Kindle, but I have not been able to play with this yet as I have had issues getting it to connect to my Wi-Fi.

Reading with the Kindle is very easy.  It is approximately the same size as a paperback book but much thinner.  The buttons to turn the pages forward and back are in a comfortable location and you barely even notice it happening when you are reading.  The screen is dull which helps with keeping your eyes from getting so tired like they would with a computer screen.   I thought that the screen was backlit for reading in the dark, but I read wrong and it is not.

The Kindle comes with a good battery life.  They say you can go a month without charging it even when it is left on.  I don’t tend to leave it on though unless I know I will be coming back to it shortly so I tend to shut it off completely.  As of the time of writing, I’ve had it almost a month and there is lots of battery left.

As with any technology, they are constantly upgrading.  I have heard rumors that there is going to be a colour Kindle coming out later this year.  I don’t foresee me having much need for that as I am just reading standard books although if I were to load a craft book, that may be handy to have colour for.

Likes:
*  The ability to carry multiple books with you and it does not take up a lot of space

*  I can borrow books from my local library and put them on the Kindle.
*  The ability to get books for free from Amazon and other sites for the Kindle. *  Long battery life
*  Ads – The ads on my Kindle are not at all intrusive.  They are more like a non-moving screen saver as they come up when you have set the book aside for a while.  I saved $25 over the same version with no ads.

Dislikes: 
*  Lack of light – That was just me not reading the listing properly and I found a book light cheap at a local store
*  Without having the Wi-Fi working, organizing the books is difficult
*  The functions are not as intuitive as I would like, but I’m sure as I play more, I will get better.

Note:  As of the time of writing, I have read 3 Kindle books and probably 4 paper books.