Couponing to the Extreme-Is the savings worth it?

I was hooked on couponing long before the popular TLC show "Extreme Couponing" made its debut. I will be the first to admit that you get a rush seeing your total amount decrease before your eyes at the register. Now in my personal experience on this couponing journey, I have never bought mulitple Sunday newspapers for coupon inserts, never needed a binder to store coupons in, or have I had to call a store ahead of my shopping trip to ask for pre orders of items I need/want. The savings from couponing in extreme conditions can be wonderful but the time used takes away from a person's family and is the stockpile those collect rational.

The people portrayed on the show spend, at the very least, 40 hours per week clipping coupons and planning the next grocery shopping trip. On top of that, these people ususally have full time jobs with young children at home. Therefore, that is the equivalant of two full time jobs plus other household duties. The time they could be spending with their families is spent calculating savings. I agree that the money saved will benefit long term financially, but in the long term what negative effects will it have on children in the home.

Items purchased through couponing are mostly processed foods. None of these types of foods is nourishing for our bodies and if you are feeding a family, the foods bought through couponing are fueling our families with the right nutrients. All of the items bought with coupons have a shelf life that last for years which means the preseverities are not healthy for anyone.

The stockpile of goods that are collected and stored in the home after these shopping extravaganzas are ususally quite large and may not be utilized in the best possible way. The space used to store these items is usually a space that would normally be used as a family area or bedroom/office space area. It is really a type of organized hoarding. They may be neatly stacked and organized on shelves but there is so much that it may never be used and eventually thrown away. So why should you hoard these items that someone may have been able to use? Why would anyone want to sacrifice living space that your family can use to stockpile so much stuff that may never be utilized by your family?

As I stated earlier, I like coupons. I think they are a wonderful way to save money and in past trips, I have saved quite a bit of money. I also have two small children at home who uses up quite a bit of the money saved. However, I also would not want to compromise their living space for the thrill of saving with coupons and having a stockpile of stuff that we may never use all of it. The little couponing I do fills a big enough void in my budget to continue without compromising my time or living space.

Why Gay Marriage is Essentially a Non-Issue

For a considerable amount of time, gay marriage has been a hot-button issue.  This debate mainly manifests itself between what are perceived to be liberals and conservatives.  It's not that at all.  What it is, or at least has become, is a battle between religion and equality.  The debate hinges on the perception of the morality of homosexuality.  Morality as defined by religion versus morality defined by equality.  For the most part, religion has prevailed, when it has no business in this matter.  

To combat communism in the 1950's, President Eisenhower introduced the phrase "under God" into the Pledge of Allegiance.  "Under God" was added to give the perception that America was the antithesis of the so-called godless communists.  This bolstered the perception, and ultimately power of religion in America.  By allowing religion to hold sway over this argument, the various religious groups are gaining tremendous power.  Power, which can cloud an individuals ideas and thoughts.  Power, which makes it nearly impossible to think rationally.  Power to control lives.

This is a matter of a lack of separation of church and state. In fact, by not allowing homosexuals to be married, the states are performing an unconstitutional act because there is no separation of church and state in this instance. This is discrimination at its highest, but since there is no specific racial factor involved, the national government won't step in. When slavery was ended, it took a number of Amendments to the constitution and ultimately the Civil Rights act, to end discrimination.

Ultimately this is a non-issue because the religions who are opposed to homosexuality will not allow homosexuals to be married in their places of worship.  The only concern, then, is only of equal rights.   For something that seems so simple to say "OK" and move on with our lives, it continues to be a constant battle.  We, as a nation, need to get over legislating our views of morality and get down to dealing with real issues that matter.  There are some issues that America needs to be united on to protect personal freedoms.  This is one of them.



All Photos From:
"The most hilariously effective signs supporting gay marriage." Happy Place. July 26, 2011. Web. Accessed July 27, 2011.

Nicki Minaj vs Lil Kim

Multiple rappers and singers all over the world appear that they are all friends, but actually, most of them dislike each other. For instance, the Trinidad decent female rapper Nicki Minaj is tearing up the charts with numerous number 1 hits. Nicki Minaj is known a the playboy Barbe doll who can concur wateva she puts her mind to. Nicki is the only female rapper apart of Cash Money & Young Money Records which is why she is compared so much to Lil Kim. Lil Kim is also a female rapper from Brooklyn,NY who tore up the hip-hop charts in the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s. Lil Kim is an old school rapper who was the only female rapper apart of a group called Junior M.A.F.I.A. sponsored by Biggie Smalls. These two female entertainers have many fans which are torn by this horrible beef. According to the Wendy Williams show:



The beef between both entertainers has reach a huge boiling point. Overall, I believe Nicki Minaj is the better rapper. She has a drive about her that makes men and women go wild. Nicki is more popular than Lil Kim has ever seen. I feel that she is just jealous because Nicki Minaj is prettier, more successful, and has a huger fan base. If Nicki Minaj and Lil Kim were to ever have a battle, I believe that Nicki would win because she can write her own rhymes. Though Minaj does not battle, I do believe she will battle Kim to get her mind write. Nicki Minaj is sexier and potentially the best female rapper today. Lil Kim may be the Queen Bee, Nicki Minaj will beat her any and every time.