My husband has given me a challenge: slash our monthly grocery budget by $40-$50. We're behind in meeting our financial goals so it's crunch time. We're trimming wherever we can and grocery shopping is my domain. I'm definitely up for the challenge and I've been doing my research.

I'm ready to try meal planning, I've signed up for every grocery loyalty program for the stores I shop in, I've organized my Google Reader so that the frugal blogs I read most are at the top, we got rid of our ink sucking printer (more on that later) and my coupon binder is finally complete. The only thing that's going to suck is how much time I'll be spending in the stores.

I got a start on re-building our stockpile a few days ago. We needed cereal and the deal at Vons was great. But, with the way so many So Cal stores have changed their coupon policies, I can't walk in and use all the coupons I have in one transaction. In most stores, I can only use 4 at a time, only one will double and sometime there's a specific dollar amount I need to purchase. All the rules will mean more trips to the stores. Case in point, the cereal.

This is three trips to two different Vons stores* plus Target for the coffee creamer (the meat was a happy accident). The in store coupon only for the cereal only allowed me to buy 4 boxes at a time. Between the paper and e-coupons I had 10 to use. Fortunately, I live in an area where almost all the stores I shop in are close enough that I can combine errands.

But, I think that, in order to make the absolute most of my coupons, I'm going to have to commit to scheduling more trips to the stores. Which means staying organized and getting my hand on more coupons so I can take advantage of more deals. If I'm going to go to a store three times, I might as well get all of the deals**! It seems I'm closer to becoming an 'extreme' couponer than I thought.

So, let me ask you: how willing are you to run multiple errands to take advantage of a great grocery deal? What types of deals do you consider too good to pass up?

*Pictured: 16 boxes of cereal, six creamers and 6 packages of ground beef.
*I don't buy things we don't eat or don't have room for just because they're on sale. You will not find pallets of soda in my garage.

Magazine Subscriptions on the iPad | Things iLove Thursday

I've already written about reading books on the iPad so I thought I should talk about magazines as well. I LOVE reading magazines digitally. I currently have Cosmo, Entertainment Weekly, InStyle, All You, Wired and Martha Stewart Living. With the exception of Cosmo, I am a print subscriber to those titles, too.

Publishers are putting really awesome touches to their digital editions. Elements on some of the pages move (snow falls, lighbulbs glow for example), music plays, you can watch video tutorials, listen to interviews and lots of the ads are interactive. The video below is from Wired's site*. It shows the process of putting a digital issue together and some of the features of the app. My inner nerd loves behind the scenes stuff like this.

All of the digital magazines I have were free with my print subscription except Cosmo, which was a free deal I found on a blog. My Wired print subscription only cost $10 for the year and my Martha Stewart print was a freebie I found online too. Free magazine deals pop up all the time online.

As more and more companies offer the digital bundled with the print, you could be able to score some really great deals that will give you access to both if you keep your eyes open. If you have an iPad but someone you know does not, split the subscription cost. My mom has been wanting to subscribe to All You and I only have one issue left. Perfect timing.

Do I need both a print and digital copy? Not really. But, I usually leave a few magazines in my car for waiting in the car pool line, my ortho appointments or Tyler's hockey practice. I don't always take my iPad with me. I can read the digital copy in bed without needing a reading light and without the page turning keeping Phil awake. So far, I have had few problems with the apps crashing. The issues  download quickly and the features are easy to use.

Now, I'm more inclined to buy a print subscription if I know I'll have digital access for free. I'm hoping to renew Real Simple for just this reason. I do think there's a market for print and I hope the industry sees the wisdom in offering both formats to consumers. I see the future of digital copies being that we'll be able to share articles over different platforms.

Here's a list of magazines that offer a free digital subscription with a paid print:

InStyle, Entertainment Weekly, Real Simple, Wired, Martha Stewart, People, Time, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents, Fitness, Business Week, Fortune, All You, Health, Southern Living, Cooking Light, Sports Illustrated Kids, Essence

For those with an iPad are you reading magazines on it? Do you like it? If you don't have a tablet, do you see yourself using this feature?

Find out what other bloggers are loving this Thursday 

with Jill over at Diaper Diaries.

Edited 7/10/14: The video has been removed but, for reference, Wired Magazine's first iPad issue came out in 2010. Read about on Wired.com and NDTV.com. 

Our Son Got To Meet His Favorite Author: DJ MacHale

This definitely falls under First World problems. Lately, we have to stay on Tyler about reading too much. Not the quantity, more like how late he stays up at night to do it. This kid is flying through books. Most recently, he fell in love with the Pendragon series by DJ MacHale. Combined, the 10-book series has just over 4500 pages. He read them all in about  2 1/2 months.

To say we are incredibly proud is an understatement. But. Our son floats through life as though time doesn't pertain to him (is that true for most kids?). We tell him it's time to go to bed, and that he can read until his bedtime, which is 9:00. If we don't follow up, he'll keep on reading. I admit, we've started watching a movie and forgot all about him until we go to bed ourselves.

Since this is one of the only problems we have with Tyler, we usually let it slide. He's a good kid, and reading until 11:30 on a school night is no big deal in the grand scheme of things. So, a few weeks ago when I saw a posting on MacHale's website that he would be signing books locally, I decided to surprise Tyler and take him to the book store.

When we got there, he saw the poster outside with MacHale's photo promoting his newest book.

"Hey, that's the guy who wrote the books I'm reading."

"I know. He's inside. We're going to buy that new book and he'll sign it for you."

Tyler's eyes got so big. "I get to meet him?"

"Yep. You can ask questions, too."

We bought the book and waited for the author to come out. He was so nice to all the kids. He asked them questions, posed for pictures and hinted at new projects he's working on. Tyler was in heaven.

We couldn't stay long because we were on the way to hockey practice, but Tyler was in heaven. He was one of the youngest kids there something MacHale pointed out after he asked Tyler his age. He assumed Tyler was in 6th grade and was surprised that he'd only recently turned 9. We could tell Tyler was proud of himself when MacHale said Tyler was one of the youngest readers (of his works) that he'd met.

Tyler and his favorite author

I really hope we get to do something like this again. We definitely don't have a problem getting Tyler to read, but having him meet the people behind the words he reads I know will make a really lasting impression and reinforce that reading is fun.

Have your kids been able to meet any of their idols?

Arguing on Christmas Eve

I spent part of my Christmas Eve arguing with my mom and Gramma. My mom got a gift that she ended up not wanting. Someone re-gifted to her some cheese, meat and chocolates. I'm not sure what she thought she was getting but they told her it was a gift basket and she took it. When she got it home and opened the box, well, she was less than impressed.

She tried to pass it off to me and I declined. The two of them were discussing whether there were any parties they could take the food to when I said, "why don't we give it to a homeless person?" They both agreed it was an excellent idea. "Great, I'll get a zipper bag to put it all in."

They looked at me as though I'd sprouted another arm.

"You can't do that."

"That's tacky.

"You can't give someone a gift in a zipper bag."

"But. They're homeless."

"So? That doesn't matter.

"It's Christmas."

"OK. So, how am I supposed to hand someone this giant box through the car window?" And how are they going to carry the box around?"

That stumped them a bit. We went around some more with me still in favor of simplicity and they in favor of gift wrapping.

Coffee mug added for scale

"Are you really arguing with me on how we're going to give a homeless person something neither of you want?"

"Well, when you put it that way..."

We finally settled on putting all of the food in zipper bags and then using one of the gift bags Mom had in her stash (also something she didn't want).

We put the gift bag in the car and headed out for last minute shopping at Target. On the way there, all the homeless people we saw were on the opposite side of the street. But, when we were leaving, there was a man standing right in the median.

I started to hand the bag to my mom and she shook her head slightly.

"No, not him."

"Why not? He's not homeless enough for you?"

I couldn't believe we were going to end up bringing the food back home after all the fuss. But, mom remembered she needed something for a recipe and while I ran into the grocery store, she and Gramma drove across to the other parking lot and found someone who met their (obviously) very strict Homelessness Guidelines and gave the food to him.

Next time, I think I'll just take the re-gift and handle things my way.