Coupons and Memberships

I still do a little bit of couponing but not nearly as much as I used to - partially because some of the stores where I used to use a lot of coupons are no longer in our area (ex. JCPenney) and partially due to lack of time and/or energy. I used to go to CVS every other week. I still do some couponing there very sporadically, but months can pass in between my visits. I still use coupons with everything I order on Shutterfly. For a couple of years I was able to get things totally free on that site. In 2018 (and thus far in 2019) the best I've been able to do is get the item for free and only pay shipping. Their shipping rates are a bit high, but considering that's all I'm paying for everything I order on their site, it's still a good deal. I also use coupons for AMC - either for free movie tickets, free popcorn, or a free drink. Usually around my birthday I'd use several coupons for free meals. One restaurant in our town gives you a free meal (up to $20 value) if you go on your actual birthday. I have used that one several times, but it's been a few years since I've been there. I have typically ignored the ones from TGIF (free dessert) and Texas Roadhouse (free appetizer). Most years I have used the ones for Perkins (free breakfast meal) and Red Robin (free burger meal). I'd go with the kids and just pay for their meals. The cost of doing that increased once it got to the point I needed to also order a kid's meal for Oliver. This year was the first I didn't use any of the birthday coupons I received, and I received a few new ones such as a free popcorn at the movie theater. There were three reasons I didn't use any of them this year #1 my diet (although I did find I could have a bowl of soup at Red Robin), #2 lack of time and/or energy, and #3 not feeling like celebrating due to my sorrow over the passing of my brother. I do still take the time to figure out which credit cards to use each quarter. Last quarter we were getting 10% back at grocery stores from Discover and 5% back at gas stations from a Visa. This quarter we are getting 10% back at gas stations from Discover and 5% back from grocery store and home improvement stores from the Visa. I used a $20 off coupon at Lowe's on Tuesday plus will get 5% more back from the credit card. If I hadn't been so rushed at Lowe's (stopping there after seeing a student teacher and before I needed to be on campus), I would have broken my purchases into two orders and could have saved another $7 by using a second coupon (I had three in my purse). I received those coupons because of having my brother's mail forwarded to me from Philadelphia and Maryland. I am getting some mail that was meant for my brother, but more of the mail I am getting is actually mail intended for my dad. The postal service doesn't distinguish between George Maurice Harton IV and George Maurice Harton V. My friend shared a $25 off a $50 purchase at a grocery store with me today. I will definitely be using that one! I didn't shop at yard sales much the last two years. I'm hoping to do more of that this spring and summer because my days of shopping from clearance racks came to an end when the Sears and JCPenneys left our area.

Although it's not exactly "couponing" per se, I look for other ways to save money. I am looking forward to two more years of having a fourth grader to take advantage of the National Park program where our family will get in free those two years (Ian will be eligible starting in September 2019 and Oliver will be eligible beginning in September 2021).  We have joined Owensboro for $40 a year for several years, and because they are a member of ASTC this has saved us hundreds of dollars per year as we've gotten into science museums and some children's museum for free. Back when I joined ASTC, I looked into joining AZA (zoo membership) and/or ACM (children's museum membership). At that time I thought ASTC was the best because you get in FREE at all the other museums whereas with the other two memberships  most of the time you "only" get a 50% discount. Plus there are many children's museums that are members of both ASTC and ACM.

After talking with a friend on Wednesday afternoon, I decided to research the membership options again because ours will be expiring next month, and I need to renew it before we go on vacation because we're planning on visiting several places for free via our ASTC membership. This one (in NC) was the cheapest ($69 for a family) I found that gives you ASTC membership plus AZA (zoo membership). Some places that give you AZA membership the most you can get is 50% off at the others who participate in the reciprocity agreement, but others you can get 100% off at some zoos (and 50% off at the rest). Even though this one has such a low price, it actually is at the 100% rate at some zoos. I also researched NARM, ROAM, Time Travelers, AHS (botanical gardens), and a few others. I saw several museums listed with Time Travelers that we plan to visit within the next twelve months such as the Mercer Museum and National Civil War Museum. NARM offers free admission just like ASTC. Had I joined that previously, I would have saved a lot of money as I paid full price for 5 tickets to the Museum of the American Revolution in November when visiting Maurice in Philadelphia. Time Travelers is very vague though in that it says "discounted admission" and doesn't state how much the discount is - hopefully more than say $1. Another museum that seems to offer a good deal if you are looking for multiple memberships is the Kern County Museum which charges $125 a year for a family to receive ASTC, ACM, NARM, and Time Travelers.

Since we were studying animals for the past two years, we visited quite a few zoos in that time period. Unfortunately, Nadia is not a big fan of zoos (she has a better attitude toward aquariums). She enjoys Reptiland (a zoo located less than 10 minutes from our house) because she loves feeding the birds. We go there once a year for free through our PBS membership. I also am planning to take the kids to Lake Tobias because Oliver was so small the last time we went he doesn't even remember it. Neither of those are members of AZA but the kids get in free to both through the PBS membership. So at this moment I'm leaning towards either renewing with Owensboro again for $40 or joining Kern County, if I can determine how much we'd save at the ones listed as "discounted admission" so I can determine if we would actually save money by spending an extra $85 on our annual membership.

Physically I have bounced back from the shock/grief of losing my brother. By that I mean that I am sleeping normally and the nausea has gone away. I can still have moments where I feel like bursting into tears, but I have been crying far less often than I did at first. One of my students used Starbursts in her math lesson yesterday, and that was a trigger for me as Starbursts were one of his two most favorite types of candy. Thankfully I managed to keep it together. Emotionally it's a whole different story. I feel numb and have this strong urge to just stay home All. The. Time. That doesn't actually happen very often. I ventured out of the house once today (took Nadia to art class), have no plans to leave our property tomorrow (unless I need to buy gas for the lawn mower), and only plan to go to church on Sunday, but that's not typical. I still find pleasure in physical affection. I crave it more than usual. I also still find pleasure in taking a walk outside, but other than that it's virtually impossible for me to look forward to something or feel excited. For most things my general feeling is "I couldn't give a rip." I keep doing most things even if my heart is not in them at the moment. Paul mentioned something about the NFL draft. I could care less about football right now. Maybe by the time the season begins I'll be interested in watching the Steelers play, but at the moment I haven't the slightest interest. It would be awesome if by some miracle this "numbness" would go away within a month, but I am dubious. I say that because I'd love to enjoy the vacation this year. I remember how I felt in San Diego last year, and it wasn't pleasant. Prior to Maurice's passing, I had really been looking forward to our vacation. When you have a cold or something like that you have an idea of  when you will probably be feeling back to normal (ex. 10-14 days). I wish it was possible to know when I will bounce back emotionally and feel normal again, but I have no idea what the time frame will be for this.