I recently read an interesting article (found here) about the backlash consumers are facing because of the new TV show Extreme Couponing. While I have experienced this first-hand, I think the most important point of the article is that they point out some good do's and don'ts of couponing. If couponers will stick to these, we'll be better off in the end.

Here are some of them as listed in the article as well as a few of my own thoughts in italics:

Do Know Your Limits. Save time, energy and embarrassment at the register by playing with the rules established by retailers and manufacturers. Visit their Web sites to learn if there have been any updates or changes to their coupon policies. I have compiled a list of some retailers' coupon policies. I recommend printing these and keeping them with your coupons so that you will have the policy if issues arise.

Do Ask Friends and Neighbors to Leave Aside Papers. Some people actually subscribe to newspapers for the articles, not the coupons. It's perfectly acceptable to ask these friends and family members -- politely -- to set aside the coupons for you to pick up at a later time.

Do Start a Small Coupon Swap. Rather than stealing your neighbor's Sunday paper to benefit from the extra coupon circular, create a support system through a small, local coupon exchange. Members can meet once a week in person for 30 minutes to exchange coupons for things they actually would buy anyway. (One person's buy-one-get-one-free instant oatmeal is another person's 50-cents-off cold cereal.) Online exchanges also exist at savingsadvice.com and thriftyfun.com.

Don't Copy Coupons. Many stores mention in their coupon policies that "coupons are void if copied, scanned, transferred, purchased, sold " etc. Again, stick with the official policy. You'll still manage to save a good chunk of change -- and by skipping a long debate at the checkout, you'll also avoid unnecessary delays both for you and the shoppers waiting behind you. This restriction is printed directly on most manufacturer coupons. Please do not copy coupons - it hurts all of us in the end!

Do Ask Manufacturers to Send Coupons Directly. If you can't find manufacturers' coupons readily on their Web sites, email or call them to request coupons be sent directly to your inbox. That's what many successful couponers claim to do. It sometimes earns them freebies, as well. Don't forget that social media outlets are a great place to find high-value coupons and free product coupons!

 What are your thoughts about how Extreme Couponing has affected real-life couponers? Have you personally experienced any backlash in the stores when trying to use coupons? I would love to hear your experiences and stories!

Ha  Don't forget tt

Groupon is offering a good deal to Prime Time Steakhouse, here in Cy-Fair, located at 9275 FM 1960 Rd. W, Houston, Texas 77070.

For the next three days, get $40 worth of food at Prime Time Steakhouse for only $20! While this Groupon is not valid towards their all-you-can eat prime rib on Mondays or the Houston Restaurant Week menu, with a la carte steaks ranging from $24 to $40, this could make for a good discount on your tab.  There are also tasty- looking seafood entrees if you aren't a steak-eater.

You can also enjoy dancing and live entertainment after your meal (check their website for the entertainment schedule)!

Do you know of any good deals in the Cy-Fair area? I would love to hear from you!

What do you do when an emergency expense comes up? Do you rely on your credit card or do you have a savings account that you can use?

When my husband and I decided we were going to cut up all of our credit cards, we knew this was something we had to take care of… an emergency fund. Since there would no longer be that plastic money tree to run to, we had to have a plan!

We immediately began saving for our emergency fund. To start, that fund needed to be $1,000. This is just about enough to take care of any foreseeable needs. When we are debt free (except the house), we will stock up this fund to be at least six months of our living expenses (not six months of salary, but expenses). This will be a great cushion if anything happens like job loss, illness, injury, etc. Ideally, I’d like to have at least one year’s worth of expenses saved up.

This is a recommendation we learned about through Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace program. In his program, the emergency fund is Baby Step One and helps you not have to rely on credit when an emergency arises during your debt pay down.

I can vouch for this step, as we just had an emergency repair that was needed on our vehicle. The expense was right around $1,000 (ugh) but I am SO glad we had it! We did not have to run to a credit card to get us through! What a feeling of freedom it was to not have to add debt to our lives in order to take care of car repairs. Now, we will have to replenish the emergency fund before we pay additional payments towards any other debt (all we have left are student loans, yea!), but that’s okay. At least we can feel confident in the fact that we didn’t have to borrow any more money. Yippee!

Do you have an emergency fund? Does this sound like something that would benefit your family?

Check out this article from Dave Ramsey on How To Build An Emergency Fund Fast!