DH and I ate breakfast out, at decidedly unfrugal prices. We are both getting in the swing of asking for a box at a restaurant. No sense treating a gargantuan meal as a challenge (who wants to be known as being able to eat an 8 egg omelet?), but no sense in pitching out good food and good money either.
I've been asking for the box a lot lately and I've become expert at dividing meals in half. I think I'll get into the habit of asking for the box faster, maybe about the same time as when the food comes. Another advantage to following a routine - the restaurants and lunch places that know you by face usually let you get away with a lot. Several have even noticed my new look and are happy to help me out.
Next...
Tried out a new grocery store in a nearby shopping mall. Grapes and cottage cheese were as cheap as I've seen them. It's not that much further - matter of fact if I rode my bus 10 blocks further I'd hit that mall. The only thing that I don't like is that they have data cards, too. I'm trying a different tack. They gave me a card and an application for me to fill out later. I'll just substitute never for later and see what happens. I did that with Safeway - or did I just use a fake email and phone? I forgot, but I haven't been contacted and I haven't had my card taken away from me. 
Call it the Gandhi method. Non violent, but private.
At another grocery store (sans card) I found my energy bars for .89/ bar, or .10 cheaper anywhere else, or even better at 10-11% cheaper. Yippee!
Also found 2 for $1 tuna. Last time I it was that cheap was back in May of 2005. (See what a price book can do for you?) Unfortunately everybody else found it before I did. The second frugal thing I did was ask for a rain check. The store was happy to provide it - even had a little slip for the purpose. The rain check was even better - I really didn't have a need to buy tuna, but now I can create my own tuna sale whenever I want (well, within reason). What a concept - if you don't have coupons, make your own by hunting for things that you use, are on sale, but have been sold out. And its easier to store rain check slips than it is to store the food itself. And its easier on the diet.
The box and the rain check
September 10th, 2006 at 05:31 am
September 10th, 2006 at 05:43 am 1157867029
I've been known also to have bad handwriting and a sudden attack of dyslexia when I don't want to argue but don't want to share my personal information. Used to be you mixed up two digits of my phone number and you got the main line to a girls residence at a local community college.
For email I have a "special" gmail address that I use for websites and freebees that require one. I always include a phone number when they ask too. Strangely enough I've never had anyone call me to say that one I gave them wasn't correct.
Oh and great idea/reminder about the rainchecks. Just make sure they don't have an expiry date. I've lost out on some good deals because the raincheck had expired.
September 10th, 2006 at 03:29 pm 1157902177
September 11th, 2006 at 01:59 am 1157939969
luxliving - DH loves the box if it keeps DW from looking like a tank.
September 11th, 2006 at 04:41 am 1157949695
I guess the next step to frugality is to take a sale flyer to another store and see if they would match the price for the tuna?! Then use your rain check another time. I guess this only works if you have the time to run from store to store.