Cheap jewelry makes me happy.

Not just cheap as in a bargain, but cheap as in not valuable. My husband has no idea how lucky he is. I like chunky, funky stuff. Have no desire for diamonds or gold. (Not that I don't find these attractive on others.) These pieces were picked up with a 30% off coupon at Savers (the pickings were slim, but I like these just the same.) The zebra necklace was $3.50 and the pin, $2.

I finally got some used jeans that fit

Forgot to mention, yesterday when Savers denied my coupon (that I had earned through making purchases), I did buy some jeans that were 30% off because it was a "sale" day. One pair of Gloria Vanderbilt Amanda jeans was $6.66 and the other was $4, both were in really good shape. I also bought a pair of Gloria Vanderbilt jeans that weren't "Amanda" and they did not fit at all. Took them back today (Savers allows you return an item within 7 days if it still has the tag on it and you have the receipt, though you must take your "refund" in merchandise that same day...a lousy return policy for a for-profit store like Savers, but better than most thrifts). I returned those today and bought some of the stuff I was going to buy with my coupon yesterday (today was "seniors" day, so I got a 25% discount). I think Savers is very expensive for most stuff, but I really needed some jeans.

My love/hate relationship with Savers is really more a hate/hate relationship

I had a 30% off coupon from buying a certain amount of merchandise during the Christmas shopping season. I went to use it today, after a long shopping session, only to be told it expired. While the dates during which you had to do the shopping to earn the stamps were somewhat prominent (for fine print) on the coupon, the expiration date of the coupon was hidden in even more fine print on the back. Sigh. It's bad enough that they seem to go out of their way to make you think they are a nonprofit (they are not), but then they have this kind of thing going on. Wasted all that time shopping for nothing. I must have had at least 20 pieces of glassware in my cart. Maybe I'll go back tomorrow and see if any of it is left (tomorrow I get my senior discount).

The ethics of being on the dole?

I've have never really been on the receiving end of the public dole. Sure, I have attended many heavily subsidized cultural events/performances (welfare for the rich that the wealthy so often forget they are receiving). I did have my Regents scholarship upped an additional $250 my freshman year due to my parents' low income, but my mother graduated from college and started working during my freshman year, giving me zero additional scholarship dollars thereafter.
However, I retired in 2014, at an age when it would be considered "early" retirement. My husband is on the autism spectrum and hasn't held a real job in over a decade. But, we did well financially...well enough to be able to afford early retirement as long as we keep our spending down...which I am very good at. I was born frugal.
The thing is, how much of "the dole" can I accept without feeling guilty? I've embraced whatever over-55 discounts that come my way...of course, those are from private enterprises. But, we did not apply for financial aid for our health insurance, even though we would surely qualify for it. Maybe that was a mistake? I retired early because I honestly believe I have less than 20 years left on this planet and I wanted to sort of relax for some of them (also because my work performance was starting to drop below my standards and I was having health problems that made it very difficult to perform my work on deadline...and was making my health problems worse...back problems exasperated by sitting for long periods). I certainly will embrace Medicare when I'm old enough. Maybe it is foolish of me not to apply for the health coverage financial aid. Maybe I will be forced to some year soon, but then, if I really need it to survive, I don't think I'll feel guilty about accepting it. (I'm figuring by that point, I wouldn't be able to work anyway, so I needn't feel guilty about retiring early.) What are your thoughts? If there is a disaster and you lose property, do you apply for aid even though the loss is one you can afford (I remember big controversy locally when such events transpired).

Double dipping on restaurant rewards

While I try to frequent locally based restaurants, I do go to the chains as well and some of them have great savings programs. The Outback, which always delivers a really good meal, has a 15% discount on most weekdays for AARP members. Combine that with some of their weekday specials and.or, for instance, the $20 bonus gift certificate they give away during certain holidays (probably be something like that coming up for mothers/fathers day) with the purchase of a $100 gift certificate, and you are eating mighty affordably indeed. TGIFridays has some great deals through their loyalty program, too. You just have to read the fine print. For instance, the $20 bonus gift certificates at Outback usually expire in about 6 weeks.
This post was inspired by a double-dipping tip from http://livingthesmalllife.blogspot.com/2015/01/quick-dinner.html on my last blog entry. Thanks, Alex!

Less "new" eats.

Went out to dinner at Mulberry's in Buffalo, NY (Mmmmmmm!). First time in a long time I didn't bring home a doggy bag and now I'm sad about that. Fact is, I've had this weird strategy for making my restaurant meals last that started years before I thought about going "not new."
Unless I'm in the mood for something that won't be good the next day, I'll often order a soup with my meal (LOVES me any homemade soup) and chow down on the bread basket, then take at least half my main meal home in a doggy bag. Sometimes I can make that last 2 more meals. NO COOKING for 2 extra meals! (Usually have other leftovers around the husband can heat up.)
BTW, the pic is not from a restaurant, but a friend's Halloween party. She sure sets a lovely table.

Really would like to go to "less new" movies.

The snow is supposed to pile up again, so the husband and I got out for a movie while we could. The husband is a movie fanatic, meaning we usually see movies right when they come out. (Do NOT even ask me about how we managed to get married on the weekend of a major movie opening...geesh!).
While we didn't pay full price for anything at tonight's performance of "Inherent Vice," it was certainly MUCH more than a discount show. Let's see, we had a free ticket from our Regal Cinema's membership, a discounted AAA admission ticket ($8) and a free Regal Cinema's membership small pop that we upgraded to a large ($3, I think) so that's $11 for a movie and pop. If we went to the local discount cinema, we could get a movie, pop and popcorn for $10 for both of us. If only the husband could show a little self restraint. Sigh. Delayed gratification just isn't his style. Except for home improvements. He's all about delaying home improvements.