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Is Your StockPile Insured?

If you have a stockpile of frozen food you need to call your insurance and make sure it's insured.  Some homeowners policies may automatically cover "spoiled food" others may require a special provision.  Typically, this coverage will cover up to a certain amount of "lost food" due to loss of power to your freezer.

In our case, we have it!  However, I don't think we had a few months ago.  Less than 3 months ago we changed insurance providers and in doing so went through all the initial questions and one of the questions the guy had was whether or not we had a deep freeze, and as such he included this coverage in our quote.

So, while we lost 15 cubic feet of frozen food, it doesn't feel so bad since we know we'll be reimbursed for it.

Tonight I cooked up the turkey that survived. It smells like Thanksgiving at my place.  Today we went to Publix and took advantage of the BOGO boneless skinless chicken breasts.  We spent about $50 (still saving about 60%) and still our fridge and freezer(s) are empty. 

Most of us (ourselves included) don't ever pull out their homeowners policy until something bad happens and then they (we) hope that it's covered (whatever IT is).  Don't wait till you need to know.  Check your policy and make sure your stockpile is covered.

Finally Got Power Back!

We finally got power back last night around 5:30pm (down just over 7 full days) and finally got our internet back this morning.  We were very lucky overall, we had some damage to our fence as the result of 3 huge trees that went down.  We were hit during the middle set of storms that went through around noon.  I knew that these weren't the only trees down in our neighborhood when the power went out.  There is one particular corner in our neighborhood that has often had trees go down during really bad storms, in the last few years.  When the power went out I knew something had gone down at this corner again, but I had no idea until I went for a walk after the storms died down a bit.  I only got to my next door neighbors house before I realized that we had a third tree go down, blocking his drive-way.  The huge tree that I knew had come down at the roots had fallen across his car and hit his house a bit (luckily, causing only minor damage).  There was another tree down blocking most of our road.  Another neighbor walking the neighborhood told me the damage on our block was nothing compared to what was down at the bottom of the neighborhood.  I walked down to the area where I figured trees had fallen knocking out the power and found that three houses in that area had trees on their roofs, as well as many trees and power lines blocking the road.  Another neighbor told me that the other entrance to our neighborhood was also blocked.  The neighborhood was already coming together to clear a path so people could get to their homes.

With the power out our only access to the outside world was the car radio and my phone (which had limited internet access including access to Facebook), so we really had no idea how bad things were in other areas.  It was only via Facebook updates that we found out that power had gone out throughout the county.  We were most thankful on Thursday morning that at least one station was doing nothing but airing local information (rather than their usual music), giving updates regarding the power situation and taking phone calls to help people get and share information.

We were happy to know that we had plenty of food on hand, although a little concerned at what might happen to the portion of our food that was in the freezer if the power remained off for several days.  We discovered that power was out to the entire area because the lines from the main nuclear plant were down, therefore power would remain down for several days.  We knew we'd have to do something with our frozen stockpile.  Thursday afternoon UPS showed up with the box of Omaha Steaks we'd ordered the week before; more too eat!  We were happy to be able to share our stockpile (and the steaks) with friends and neighbors over the next couple of days.  Despite sharing, we still had a lot of food we had to throw out when we finally got power back yesterday.

When it was all said and done and we got our power back, I emptied our fridge and both freezers and we were left with a turkey, 4 bowls of cool whip (still solid?), 2 bags of potatoes, some hot dogs, cookie dough and lots of cheese.

This morning I loaded up a bunch of bags of health & beauty items and non-perishable foods from our stockpile and took them to one of the local churches that were taking donations and distributing them directly to shelters in areas nearby.  Most all of us with any kind of stockpile have way more than we need and it is in times like these that we can use those stockpiles to help others who are in need.  There food banks and shelters that can use these items any day of the week, but at times like these there are so many more people in need.  There is no reason to not donate items from your stockpile.  Take some time and go through it, look for items that you have too many of or that you won't likely use before they expire.  Use this as an opportunity and reminder to clean out your stockpile, but more importantly to help others.

I posted the link from Passionate Penny Pincher of donation opportunities that she put together just a couple of days into the recovery process.  As more and more power is restored there are more and more locations where you can drop-off donations.  If you are not close enough to drop-off donations, please call some of these locations to see if you can't mail items, or find out if there is not a drop-off location closer to you.  There are locations all over the country that are bringing donated items into the area.  You can see a current list of donation drop-off locations, shelters and resources on the website of our local CBS affiliate, WHNT19.  Please consider helping in any way that you can.

Starbucks Happy Hour - May 6 - May 15

It's the return of the Starbucks Happy Hour!  Between May 6 and May 15, you can go to a participating Starbucks from 3-5 p.m. for a half-price Frappuccino blended beverage of your choice.  Of course, call your local Starbucks to make sure that they are participating.


(I know that we could probably make our own Frappuccinos at home for cheaper, but this is a great deal for a treat for yourself!)

Interview With The Couponer: MrCoupon Nathan Engels

For today's interview I'm talking with Nathan Engels (aka Mr Coupon) from WeUseCoupons.com. 

He's been featured on Extreme Couponers twice (on the original premier and again on the second episode of the new series, and now he's giving us a chance to get to know him better and ask him the hard questions. A few of you even submitted your own questions that we passed on to him.

Katie asks: Why do you have such a huge stockpile?  At what point does stockpiling become hoarding? 
Nathan: When people save for 30, 40 or even 50 years for retirement no one blinks an eye, but if you or I want to save essentially using the same concept on my grocery bill people think it’s odd, LOL.  People ‘hoard’ lots of different things from Christmas decorations they use for 3 weeks out of the year to their kids clothes.  I live by a simple concept, why pay for something tomorrow when its free or cheap today?  So to answer your question, live by you, your measures.  When it gets to be to much, dial it back!

Abed asks: How do you have time to Coupon to that extreme, work, keep the house clean, and spend time with your family?  

Nathan: There is always a method to the madness.  I have a good system, I keep up with it and am very organized.  It does take time, but often times I find myself shopping with my family and making couponing a family affair!

Julie: Do you really shop like this all the time?
Nathan: Oh gosh no!  Reality TV is not reality in most cases!  I generally save 50-70% on my grocery bill each week!

Julie: There has been a lot of controversy over the Extreme Couponing show, overall what affect do you think this show will have / is having on the couponing community?Nathan: We will see.  I feel that anything that raises awareness about saving money is a good thing.  If anything negative happens or a store changes their policy in the next few months I'm sure people will blame the show, and it may well be, but policies have been changing for a long time.  It's not a recent thing.  So we will see the new changes and adjust! 

Julie: If you were to put together a show about couponing yourself, what would it be like?
Nathan: I think it would be alot like Take Home Chef!  There would be alot more focus on LEARNING and tips, that the 'extreme' nature of it.  I do a little YouTube show now called FrugalTV!!  

Check Out WeUseCoupons where you can find Nathan's advice and blog
Check out WeUseCoupon on Facebook

Check out FrugalTV on Youtube

Helping Those Affected by the Tornadoes

We are at a hotel in Nashville for the night.  While our city is finally starting to see a return of power, after 4 days, we expect it to be the end of the week (at least) before we have it our house.  We did have a small tornado go through our backyard and take out a few trees.  It did more damage throughout our neighborhood, taking out at least 1/4 of the power lines in the neighborhood and leaving trees on at least 6 houses.  However, in comparison to the some of the pictures and stories I've seen of other areas, we were so very lucky. 

For those of you who would like to help in some way, Laurie over at PassionatePennyPincher has put together a great list of how and where you can donate time, money and goods to those in need in Alabama.  Right now, for the most part, they are asking that you not send things like clothes and furniture that will only clog up the system. However, non-perishable foods and water will be highly appreciated by the many still without power.  Please head over to PPP to check out the list that Laurie has put together.

I don't expect to be back up posting regular updates till next weekend, but I will try to check in via Facebook, as I can.

Memphis Area - FREE Pink Palace Family of Museums 3 month Membership

I just got this deal in my inbox this morning!  Every summer the Pink Palace Family of Museums offers a FREE 3 month membership that's good for unlimited access to the Pink Palace Museum and the Lichterman Nature Center.  You also are eligible for discounted tickets on IMAX and Planetarium tickets too.  I took my kids last summer and they had a blast! Go HERE to register, registration is May1-31.  They also have a Summer Membership FAQ section also for any questions that you might have.  Don't miss out on this!

Have You Hugged Your Swag Today?

It's Friday, and you know what that means!?  It's Mega Swagbucks Day!

So what's the deal with Swagbucks?
Basically, they give you points for doing things online that you'd be doing anyway, like searching the internet.  Just use their search engine and you could win points.  They also give you points for other things like surveys or even for buying deals on Groupon or Living Social.  You can even get points for printing and using coupons! How bout that?


Normally, Swagbucks starts out  new users with 30 Swagbucks, but right now they are running a promotion to encourage new users (and everyone else) to Help Japan.  When you join Swagbucks,  and enter the code HelpJapan they will give you a bonus 50 Swagbucks (through midnight May 2), for a total of 80 Swagbucks to start (you only need 450 to snag a $5 Amazon card).


So what's the Help Japan thing about? Right now you can donate your Swagbucks (any amount) to Help the victims of the Japan earthquakes.  Swagbucks is collecting them and will add them all up and make a huge donation.

Free Sample of Dove Ultimate Go Sleeveless Deodorant

Go HERE to get a free sample of Dove Ultimate Go Sleeveless Deodorant. Grab it before they are gone!

Be Prepared

As I'm sure you all know, the Southern US has been smacked with some very bad weather this week resulting in alot of destruction and sadly some loss of life.  Julie is in one of the areas that was affected, but she and her husband are safe and have no property damage.  Their neighborhood got hit pretty badly though. There are downed power lines and some of her neighbors have damaged homes from falling trees.  The power company is saying that it will be 4-5 days before her county gets power back, and possibly longer for Julie's neighborhood. Posts here at Money Saving Mode/Dual Income Need Coupons may be a bit slim for a few days.

If there was a natural disaster in your area, would you be prepared?  As we develop or are developing our stockpiles, we need to keep in mind that we also need to have an emergency kit prepared too.

Ready.gov is a wonderful resource for preparing for an emergency.   Below is the basic list for an Emergency Supply Kit. 

Recommended Items to Include in a Basic Emergency Supply Kit:

• Water, one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation
• Food, at least a three-day supply of non-perishable food
• Battery-powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alert and extra batteries for both
• Flashlight and extra batteries
• First Aid Kit
• Whistle to signal for help
• Dust Mask, to help filter contaminated air and plastic sheeting and duct tape to shelter-in-place
• Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for personal sanitation
• Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities
• Can opener for food (if kit contains canned food)
• Local maps
• Cell phone with chargers, inverter or solar charge

Additional Items to Consider Adding to an Emergency Supply Kit:

• Prescription medications and glasses
• Infant formula and diapers
• Pet food and extra water for your pet
• Important family documents such as copies of insurance policies, identification and bank account records in a waterproof, portable container
• Cash or traveler's checks and change
• Emergency reference material such as a first aid book or information from www.ready.gov.
• Sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person. Consider additional bedding if you live in a cold-weather climate.
• Complete change of clothing including a long sleeved shirt, long pants and sturdy shoes. Consider additional clothing if you live in a cold-weather climate.
• Household chlorine bleach and medicine dropper – When diluted nine parts water to one part bleach, bleach can be used as a disinfectant. Or in an emergency, you can use it to treat water by using 16 drops of regular household liquid bleach per gallon of water. Do not use scented, color safe or bleaches with added cleaners.
• Fire Extinguisher
• Matches in a waterproof container
• Feminine supplies and personal hygiene items
• Mess kits, paper cups, plates and plastic utensils, paper towels
• Paper and pencil
• Books, games, puzzles or other activities for children

Of course, this list will differ from household to household, based on the people that live there's needs and the area of the country that you live in.

As I look over this list, these are things that most of us are currently stockpiling or have in our homes already.  In Julie and her hubby's case, they have plenty of non-perishable goods.  They are using their gas grill to cook the perishable goods that they have, hopefully before they spoil.

Seeing as this is affecting our friend Julie and countless other people across the Southern US, I thought that this was the right time to remind everyone to just be prepared.  You never know when this might happen in your neighborhood.  Mother Nature can be so fickle.  My thoughts and prayers are with all of the people affected by this.