The Coupon Project

Don't forget to tune in to see me live tonight!

I wanted to remind everyone that at 7 pm PST and then again at 9 pm PST, I'll be a guest on 24/7 Moms live webcast! These webcasts are free to watch, directly from your computer. This afternoon, I've been attempting to figure out how to embed the code to have you watch the show from my site...and I'm having issues.

You can for sure watch it directly at 24/7 Moms, and if I'm able in time, I'll be sure to embed the webcast here. As I mentioned yesterday, you'll be able to log in to the show and chat with your questions and comments. I'll be taking reader questions at the end of the show, plus there will be giveaways and lots of other fun stuff! If I'm a little MIA the rest of the day, know that it's because I'm preparing for this show!

Be sure to tune in!

I'm going to be LIVE on 24/7 Moms webcast tomorrow!

I'm excited to share that tomorrow at 7pm PST, I will be a guest on 24/7 Moms LIVE webcast! I'll be talking about Couponing 101! It's completely free to participate, and you can even log in and chat with other moms while the show is on live. At the end, there will be some fabulous giveaways, and I'll be answering questions from viewers. 

Be sure to check out 24/7 Moms for more about the webcast, how it works, and what you can expect! Tomorrow, I'll remind you and embed the video to The Coupon Project so you can tune in and watch me...right from my blog!  

Want a great part-time job? WSJ suggests couponing!

Coupon Connections NW sent me this very interesting article from the Wall Street Journal yesterday. Reporter Brett Arends concludes how one could potentially yield $86 in savings for each hour spent couponing.

If you've ever wondered if couponing is worth the time spent, you might wish to read how Arends does the math. 

Have you ever estimated the amount of money you save by couponing? 

Thanks, Coupon Connections NW! 

Local readers: free Martin Luther King, Jr. celebrations to attend

 

Today we honor an amazing man - a man with vision, faith, and courage. A man who was able to see beyond his present circumstances and into a future full of promise. I hope we will all take the time today in our own way to remember Martin Luther King, Jr. and pray for the continual healing of interracial relationships in our country.  

As a mom to two beautiful biracial children, I feel an enormous sense of gratitude for Martin Luther King and the many people who have made it possible for my children to grow up feeling accepted, loved, and respected. While we still have work to be done to move beyond our prejudices, I truly believe Mr. King would be proud to see the strides we've made. His life's work - and his death - were not in vain. 

In honor of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday, there are some local events taking you place you may wish to participate in. All the events I have listed our completely free to attend.

Tacoma Dome: 10 am; theme is "Unity in the Community." The Tacoma Dome hosts one of the country's largest indoor Martin Luther King remembrance events.  

Washington State History Museum (Tacoma, WA): film screening 11 am - 1 pm, "Tacoma's Civil Rights Struggle: African Americans Leading the Way," keynote speaker Lyle Quasim, musical performance.
 
Seattle Center: events run from 12 - 5pm and include a dramatic reading of King's "I Have a Dream" speech (12:50 p.m.), art exhibits, displays, and performances.  

Crossroads Bellevue: 12 - 3 pm; festivities include music performances and a health fair.  

For additional celebrations in the greater Seattle area, check out MLKSeattle.org. 

Washington Papa John restaurants to donate 100% profits to family of slain Lakewood officers

 

 

Thanks to my friend, Jessie, for bringing this to my attention.

Next Tuesday and Wednesday (the 8th and 9th), all Western Washington Papa John's franchises will be donating 100% of their profits to the families of the slain Lakewood officers. I was able to find some information about this here and here, but the company has yet to put out an official press release. (I will update this post once I have that information.)

If your family likes pizza, why not consider buying some next week and supporting some worthy families in the process? If I were to hazard a guess, the restaurant chain will likely be bombarded with orders, so place your order, be patient, and for heaven's sake, be kind and remember the cause behind this event.

Find stores and menus here..  

Another reason to buy your pumpkin now

 

I was skimming through posts over at The Consumerist tonight and this headline caught my eye:

"Potential Canned Pumpkin Shortage Threatens Thanksgiving."

Apparently, poor harvest conditions have left tons of pumpkins to rot away. Intrigued, I decided to do a little Googling for my readers anxious to stockpile canned pumpkin. 

According to this article by the Los Angeles Times, Nestle owns 85% of the pumpkin crop for canning and has indicated that heavy rains have destroyed much of this year's harvest. This will likely result in shortages after Thanksgiving. 

My advice? If you enjoy pumpkin and would like to have cans of it on stock beyond next week, consider buying it now. The 15 oz cans seem to be hovering around $1, but I purchased one of the larger cans (I believe 29 oz) at Fred Meyer a couple weeks ago for about $1.73.

Given the possible shortage, I wonder if we'll see prices dip further than they are at present.  

Our family also enjoys pumpkin pie and desserts around Christmas, so I will for sure be picking up some extra cans to have on hand. Another alternative? Use fresh pumpkin.

Photo credit Erin Payne 

  

The Coupon Project in The Federal Way Mirror!

Today I had the pleasure of being interviewed for The Federal Way Mirror! You can read the article over here. 

And if you are a Federal Way Mirror reader, welcome to my blog! In addition to finding you deals, I'm here to help you make sense of how coupons work, where to find them, and what sales you should consider using them on to save the most money. For the month of October, I'm focusing on helping you getting started. If you're ready to learn, just click the link on my sidebar for the "October Coupon Lessons" category and we'll get going.

If you have any questions or feedback, let me know! I can be reached at thecouponproject at hotmail dot com, or just by leaving a comment on this site.

Pierce County, WA residents: get library fees waived through Oct. 10!

If you live in Pierce County, Washington and have outstanding library fees, I've got some very good news for you today! From now through October 10th, you can have up to $75 in fees waived simply by asking! Pierce County Libraries are offering fee-forgiveness to bring back patrons that have likely avoided the library due to outstanding fees. 

The important thing to note is that you must ask to have your fees waived, this won't happen automatically. So if you have fees, you will need to swallow your pride a bit!

For more details, check out today's News Tribune.

Who has more influence than Oprah? Try Ms. Rosenfeld of Kraft Foods.

Late last night I was thumbing through the lastest edition of Forbes magazine and came across something very interesting indeed.

It's a list of the world's most powerful women.  

The methodology "isn't about celebrity or popularity; it's about influence," the article touts.  The womens' influence was measured by factors such as the size of their company (or country) and the amount of press they'd received.  Forbes also looked at their proximity to the top of their respective professions as well as their accomplishments.  And of course, the number of Twitter followers (where applicable).

What took me by surprise were the number of highly-ranked women in the food manufacturing industry.  Check it out (the number in front indicates their rank):

1 - Angela Merkel (Chancellor, Germany)
3 - Indra Nooyi (Chief Exec, PepsiCo)
6 - Irene Rosenfeld (Chief Exec, Kraft Foods)
21 - Mary Sammons (Chief Exec, Rite Aid)
29 - Brenda Barnes (Chief Exec, Sara Lee Corp)
36 - Hillary Clinton (Sec of State)
40 - Michelle Obama (First Lady)
41 - Oprah Winfrey (Chairman, Harpo)

I couldn't help but wonder about Ms. Rosenfeld.  She's apparently done wonders for revitalizing the Kraft brand and making it profitable again.  Under her guidance, the Oreo cookie made $1 billion in sales in China alone last year.  Anyone think she's partly responsible for all those awesome Kraft promotions and printable coupons in recent months (not to mention the rebates)?  Thanks, Ms. Rosenfeld!  I wish more companies would follow suit. 

Maybe it's just me...but does anyone else find it a touch humorous that to have more influence in this country you should instead run a company that sells cakes instead of run for Secretary of State?  OK, I better shut up before I get in trouble... 

You can view the entire "Top 100" list by going here.

Tacoma readers: today only, get the News Tribune $1 for 26 weeks

The Tacoma News Tribune is having a one-day only sale for today (Tuesday the 18th):

Get the Sunday paper for $1 every Sunday for 26 weeks!  The Tribune recently upped its cost to $2 for the Sunday paper, so this is a great way to save!  The other thing I've noticed recently is that the Seattle paper hasn't carried the Red Plum for the past few weeks, while the Tacoma paper has.  Hmm.

I just called to set my subscription up and I asked if I could get two subscriptions at that price.  That was a no-go.  But I was happy to at least get one!  I'll start to receive my paper this Sunday and was told I'd receive a renewal notice when I got close to my 26 weeks.  Please note you also have to pre-pay, so you'll be paying $26 up front for 6 months' worth of newspapers.

To learn more or get started, call 1-800-289-8711 or visit www.thenewstribune.com.

I know this offer won't apply to all of my readers, but for the ones in this area, I thought it'd be worth it to share!