It’s hard to believe now, since I can’t imagine skipping my morning cup of coffee, but I only recently became a coffee drinker.

Yes, somehow I willed my way through architecture school and its all-nighters, a demanding job, and the first few years of motherhood without relying on caffeine.

But one day, tired and sitting on my couch puzzling over what separated me from other moms who actually accomplished a lot during the day, I concluded “coffee!” I’m not quite certain that was the correct answer, but it didn’t take long to learn to love my morning cup.

I bought an adorable little coffee maker that lasted a whole week before the decanter shattered while I was washing it. Turned out it was a known design flaw, but there were no replacement decanters available, and I would need to replace the whole unit.

My sister, hearing of my plight, gifted me her unused french press. It was fun to use, but I had a remarkable ability to produce The Worst Coffee Ever. Even after I figured out how to make a decent cup, the fuss of cleaning the various parts every day was not very convenient.

Finally, I found my “just right”. Or almost. A relative gave me a used Keurig Mini, and I soon grew accustomed to super simple, delicious coffee with hardly any effort. Yes, the k-cups were more expensive than the canisters I used to buy, but they were pretty much my sole indulgence in life, and I was willing to spend the money. I really loved my Keurig Mini, but it was old and beginning to behave erratically. I was also limited as to which mugs I could use–the bigger cups I favored wouldn’t fit beneath the dispenser. I had been thinking about an upgrade for a while when I was contacted to review a better Keurig machine.

The Keurig Office Pro

Until I was asked to review the Keurig Office Pro, I had no idea that there were so many different Keurig brewers available. I was very intrigued by the idea of a commercial-grade machine that didn’t look too industrial, and would fit just fine in my kitchen. I like commercial-grade products for their staying power–I use heavy duty white restaurant dishes for all our meals at home, for example.

The Keurig arrived very nicely packaged along with a manual, registration forms, and a sampler box of k-cups. I also received a package of decaf coffee k-cups (which I have been using during pregnancy), and some green tea k-cups.

I was anxious to rev up my new machine, but I assumed there would be a lengthy “priming” process before I could use it. Wrong! It came with a quick start guide with easy instructions that had me up and running in minutes.

For the past few weeks I have been enjoying my decaf coffee and cups of tea without experiencing any problems. While the Keurig Office Pro is larger than my Keurig Mini was, it serves more than one purpose, so I was able to put away the electric kettle that took up counter space, and now just use my Keurig (without a k-cup) if I need hot water to brew a tea bag. The coffee has been consistently great, and the tea k-cups, which I had never used before, brew perfectly as well. My husband, who drinks tea but won’t touch coffee, has been using the Keurig quite a bit.

Features

The Keurig Office Pro is a definite upgrade from my Keurig Mini. It has a 48-ounce water reservoir, meaning I don’t need to pour water in every time I want to make a cup. Its height accommodates my largest coffee mugs just fine. I also like the fact that the handle and the overflow grate are both made of real metal, not painted plastic.

The Office Pro version lacks the digital screen that other large Keurig machines have, and instead uses a dial to select the cup size. It looks a little different, but I like the functionality just fine. I imagine the dial might last better than a digital screen, anyway.

Various lights indicate the machine’s status–whether it needs more water, if it’s heating, and if it’s ready to brew. The dial blinks its blue light when it’s time to press the button and brew a cup.

The Office Pro can be kept on all day, meaning the water is always heated and ready to brew (within 1 minute). Or, if you prefer, there is an auto-off function, meaning the unit switches off after inactivity. Since I typically only drink one cup in the morning, I keep my unit turned off.

Minor Quibbles

Overall the Keurig Office Pro is a very nice machine, and I am perfectly happy with it. There are a couple minor drawbacks that may cause some people to opt for a fancier Keurig, but they don’t bother me:

- The water pump is a bit noisy. It’s not extremely loud, but it is noticeable. You’ll hear a buzzing sound when the Keurig is pumping water to heat up. I’m used to it, now.

- It takes a while to heat up. If you keep the machine turned off, it will take a minute or two for the heater to reach brew temperature. I’ve gotten in the habit of turning the brewer on as soon as I go to the kitchen, let it heat while I make breakfast, and then it’s ready to go by the time I want to make my coffee. Of course this is due to my preference–you can leave the Keurig on and avoid the extra wait.

- 48 ounces is not a lot, really. A larger reservoir would be nice. It’s definitely more convenient than filling up the unit every time, like I had to with the Mini, but if you drink a lot of coffee or have more than one person using the Keurig, that reservoir empties quickly. Of course, that could be a good thing–at least the water will always be fresh.

So, there are some compromises to be made if you opt for the Office Pro instead of a more elite Keurig, but for the price, I am more than happy to deal with those minor quibbles. I was very surprised that the Office Pro retails for only $129.99 at Staples (by comparison, the very basic Keurig Mini is $99.99). It packs a lot of features and convenience for the price, and I think it’s an excellent option if you’re in the market for a Keurig machine.

I’m optimistic that my commercial-grade Keurig Office Pro will have me enjoying perfect coffee for a long time to come.

On the back of each card there was a website where I could check the balance. After looking up my three cards, I found that I had a total of $8.45 in unused cash! Not a tremendous amount, but certainly not to be thrown away, either.

Many brick-and-mortar stores will allow “split transactions”, allowing you to charge a certain amount to one card and then pay the balance with another method. If you know the exact balance on your prepaid gift card, you can certainly use it that way. Unless the gift card is associated with that particular store, though, they cannot look up the balance for you–you need to know the amount you have left. It’s much harder to find websites that allow split transactions.

Since I’m doing a lot of my shopping online these days, I decided to hunt around for websites that would allow me to purchase gift cards in any amount. I discovered that Amazon.com was one of the few places where I could enter any gift card amount I chose. So, I used my prepaid debit cards to purchase Amazon.com gift cards worth $0.76, $1.69 and $6.00, which I emailed to myself. The best part: I can combine all of those gift cards to use on a single purchase on Amazon if I want to.

It took me a matter of minutes to look up the balances on my cards and convert them to Amazon gift cards to make the most of this found money. It’s definitely a worthwhile exercise if you have small balances left on some prepaid gift cards–time to look through your wallet and junk drawer!

The deal

Right now Amazon is offering $100 in baby, mom and home-related online coupons with the purchase of select parenting books. Prices start around $8 (unfortunately the Kindle versions do not qualify for this deal). I highly recommend Secrets of the Baby Whisperer, but there are many other great books on the list. Once you have ordered a qualifying book, you will automatically receive a separate email with a link to the coupons a little while later. At first I was worried that I had been scammed because the link looked like something anyone could type into a browser to access, but I logged out of Amazon and verified that the special coupons are only accessible if you have purchased a qualifying book.

The coupons

At first I was underwhelmed by the coupon selection, especially for baby products, but eventually found some great deals (more in a minute). Here is a listing* of all of the coupons I received. I assume they’re the same for everyone.

Home Care

• Save $3.50 on BabyGanics All Purpose Cleaner 3-pack of 32 fl oz bottles
• $4 Off Bounce Free & Sensitive Dryer Sheets 3-pack of 120-sheet boxes
• $2 Off Glad 13-gallon Trash Bags 45 count
• $5 Off Quilted Northern Ultra Plush 48-count double rolls (stack with $1 coupon available on product page!)
• $2.50 Off Dreft High Efficiency 50 oz.
• $2 Off Glass Plus 32 oz.
• Save $3.00 on select Scott, Kleenex and Cottonelle products
• $5 Off Brawny 20-count Giant paper towel rolls (stack with $1 coupon on product page!)
• $3 off Seventh Generation Multi-Surface Wipes 6-Pack 70 count tubs
• $2.50 off select Lysol Disinfecting Wipes
• $5.00 off Angel Soft 48-count double rolls (stack with $1 off coupon on product page!)

Mom Care

• 20% off Select Body Butter
• 25% off Fekkai Technician Color Care Kit
• 25% off Fekkai Glossing Starter Kit
• 25% off Select Nature’s Bounty vitamins
• 20% off Neutrogena Healthy Skin Anti-Wrinkle Night Cream 1.4 oz
• 20% Select New Chapter Vitamins
• 20% off Neutrogena Ageless Essentials Continuous Hydration Night Cream 1.7 oz
• $6 off Mederma Stretch Marks Therapy
• 20% off select Always Radiant product

Diaper Care

• $5 off select gDiapers products
• Save $2.00 Pampers Kandoo Flushable Wipes Value Pack Sensitive 4-pack 250 count refills
• 20% off Earth Mama Angel Baby Bottom Balm 2 oz
• $3 off Super Jumbo Seventh Generation Diapers
• Save $2.00 Pampers Kandoo Flushable Wipes Sensitive 6-pack 100 count refills
• Save $5 on Triple Paste Medicated Ointment 16 oz.
• Save $2 Pampers Kandoo Flushable Wipes 250 count refill
• Save $2 select Pampers diapers and wipes
• Save $1.25 on Aveeno Baby Diaper Rash
• Save $2.00 Pampers Kandoo Flushable Wipes Sensitive 12 pack 42-count tubs
• $3.50 off Earth’s Best Diapers
• Save $2.00 Pampers Kandoo Flushable Wipes Sensitive 6 pack 50-count tub
• $2.50 Off Weleda Diaper Care

Baby Care

• Save $2.00 on BabyGanics Foaming Hand Soap
• $2.00 off Enfamil Newborn Infant Formula
• Save $2.00 on BabyGanics Hand Sanitzer
• 20% off Aquaphor Baby Healing Ointment…
• 10% off Crane Adorable 1 Gallon Panda Humidifier
• $5.00 off Enfamil Formula 5-packs of 22.2 – 23.4 oz containers
• 20% off Burt’s Bees Baby Bee Shampoo & Wash 3-pack of 12 oz. bottles
• 10% off Crane Adorables Frog Humidifier
• Save 20% Mommy’s Bliss Gripe Water
• $5.00 off Similac Formula 6-packs of 22 oz. – 23.2 oz containers

*If you want to repost this list on your blog, please link back!

I tried to be as specific as possible, but for some of the coupons the assortment of eligible products is rather large. As noted, a few of the items have additional coupons available on the product page (look for a button to click), and these will stack with the above coupons! The coupon discounts will apply once you add the item to your cart, and you can verify before the order is placed.

The fine print

The coupons can be used one time each, and are valid through April 30, 2013 (11:59 p.m. PDT). You can find detailed terms and conditions here.

Maximizing the savings

Most of the products that work with these coupons have a Subscribe & Save option. When you choose Subscribe & Save, you will save at least an extra 5%. If you order a minimum of five Subscribe & Save items scheduled to arrive in the same month, you will save an extra 15%, except on diapers and wipes. Sign up for Amazon Mom and you will save an extra 20 % off certain baby product subscriptions. The great thing about Subscribe & Save is that you can take advantage of the low prices, but you are under no obligation to continue the subscription beyond the first shipment–it’s very easy to cancel a subscription online. All Subscribe & Save orders ship free! You can see how combining Subscribe & Save discounts with these coupons can save a lot of money.

What I’ve Purchased

To get the coupons, I purchased a book that cost about $10. There were less expensive options, but I decided to pay a little more for a book I thought I’d really use.

It will be a while before I buy toilet paper again–I stocked up on 48 double rolls of Angel Soft. Subscribe & Save price $22.63 – $5.00 coupon – $1 additional coupon found on product page – 15% Subscribe & Save discount because I have 5 subscriptions arriving in April ($1.13) + $1.24 tax (boo!) = $16.74 shipped (about $0.35 per roll)

I was a little disappointed that the Baby and Diaper coupons didn’t match up well with products I buy, but I did use the $2.00 off Pampers coupon to purchase a huge box (768 count) of sensitive wipes. Subscribe & Save price $24.69 – $2.00 coupon – 20% Amazon Mom discount ($4.94) = $17.75 shipped (2 cents per wipe)

Next I bought a 3-pack of 80 count Lysol Disinfecting Wipes containers. Subscribe & Save price $9.97 – $2.50 coupon – 15% Subscribe & Save discount ($0.50) + $0.56 tax = $7.53 shipped (3 cents per wipe)

We use “Free & Clear” products instead of specialized (and pricey) baby laundry detergent and softener, so I grabbed the Bounce Free & Sensitive dryer sheets deal. Subscribe & Save price $19.86 – $4.00 coupon – 15% Subscribe & Save discount ($2.98) + $1.03 tax = $13.91 shipped (4 cents per sheet)

My grand total was $65.80 (including the cost of the book). I saved a total of $24.05 (about 27% off my whole order) based on Amazon’s prices, but the savings would be even greater based on prices in local stores. I used $13.50 in coupons from the promotional coupon “book” deal, so the parenting book I purchased to get the coupons more than paid for itself.

Worth the effort

It was a bit of work deciding which deals could beat the prices I can get locally with coupons, but with the Amazon coupons and Subscribe & Save discounts combined, I beat all of the prices I can usually expect to find in my area. Best of all, I was able to make life a lot easier by stocking up on items we will need in the coming months without leaving home! It will be nice not to worry about getting to the store during these last few months of (a rather difficult) pregnancy and the first few months after our next baby’s arrival.

I took a gamble by trying this deal before I knew which coupons I would receive, but I’m happy that it worked out well for me. I hope sharing the specifics will help you determine whether you can snag some good deals before you spend money on a book.

Amazon Warehouse Deals are items that have been returned, have damaged packaging, or otherwise do not fit Amazon’s criteria to sell as brand new under their regular listings. The condition of each item is described on the website so you can decide whether you’re comfortable making the purchase.

An item I was looking for recently (a model of a hot air balloon for the nursery I’m designing) is regularly priced around $20, but I noticed there was an option that cost about $7 under “More Buying Choices”. I’m generally not a fan of purchasing through third-party vendors via Amazon unless Amazon fulfills and ships the order, but in this case I noticed that the cheaper option shipped from the Amazon Warehouse. It was listed in “Like New” condition, but was an open box item. I could deal with that.

I quickly snapped up the deal, and it arrived completely undamaged but in a different box than it would normally be packaged in. I saved 65 percent! I also realized that, although I like it, I would never pay full price because of its diminutive size–I’m hoping another one winds up in the Amazon warehouse, because I really want another in a different color.

Ink for my printer usually sets me back $70 each time I need to buy it. Ugh. When I ran out recently (always when the best printable coupons are online, it seems), I headed to the Amazon Warehouse Deals page to see if they happened to have the kind I needed. I didn’t have any luck finding a black cartridge, but they had the XL tri-color cartridge I needed for just $16.53 (less than half price)! I decided to grab the color cartridge and pay full price for a black cartridge, which saved me around 24 percent total for both cartridges. The color cartridge arrived in a beat up box, but it is genuine from the manufacturer and had never been opened.

I also found a bargain on photo paper that I need for a project–60 heavyweight 4×6 sheets for just $5.77!

Like other items purchased from Amazon, most Warehouse Deals can qualify for free Super Saver shipping, or Prime shipping if you’re a member. I was also pleasantly surprised to learn that Warehouse Deals are not “final sale”, and you can return your purchase if it doesn’t work out for some reason (Amazon will even pay for shipping if it turns out to be a mistake on their end).

I am definitely not picky about packaging for items I’m going to use myself, so I will continue to check Amazon Warehouse Deals first when I need something. It’s kind of like a treasure hunt, and I’ve found some incredible deals on very good name brand products as I’ve been browsing through.

I didn’t know at the time that we would place our house on the market in the summer and buy a different, slightly more expensive home. Our finances became interesting fast as we readied our house for the market and paid for moving-related expenses. But somehow everything worked out and we never had to depart from our debt repayment plan.

I am so thrilled to be able to shout that

WE ARE OUT OF DEBT EXCEPT FOR OUR MORTGAGE!

Both my car and my student loans were paid off more than a year ahead of schedule, and now we can move on to our other financial goals earlier than expected. No more pining for 2014 when we would finally be able to live without debt.

I counted down the days until I would login to my student loan account and see this.

How did we do it?

The debt snowball set things rolling, but our frugal lifestyle enabled us to keep things on track, even when the going got tough.

Cutting out luxuries

My husband and I agreed that we could do without extras like digital cable and expensive cell phone plans. I switched to basic cable (a very minor expense on top of the high speed internet that we decided we can’t do without), and we haven’t missed the hundreds of channels we used to have. For the past several years we have spent no more than $200 annually on our prepaid cell phones.

Careful planning

Meal planning in particular has really helped keep the grocery budget in check even when I was too busy and frazzled to think about using coupons. By heading into the grocery store with a list, I avoid wasting money on expensive items I don’t need. But couponing and stocking up when I had the time and energy greatly helped, too–when things got really hectic, I saved time and money by dipping into my stockpile of household goods and canned foods.

Extra income

I earn a very small amount from blogging, but the extra income helped offset the cost of birthday gifts and other expenses, like a new vacuum cleaner. I also sold unneeded items through eBay, Craigslist and garage sales. My husband is fortunate to receive paid overtime, and that greatly helped as well. Sometimes we just needed a little extra boost to make sure we could get by without using savings or halting our debt payoff plan.

What’s next?

We are working through Dave Ramsey’s Seven Baby Steps to build wealth and ensure a secure financial future. We have checked off steps one and two, and now it’s time to tackle step three: saving up a full emergency fund. We are aiming to save six months of living expenses, including the cost of COBRA (yikes!), so that we will be prepared for the worst-case scenario, a job loss.

I have set up an automatic savings plan so that each month the money that would have been spent on debt will now go straight to our emergency account. I’m happy we will have the money to save, but right now this goal seems almost insurmountable–I’ve estimated that it will take nearly three years! Still, every time we tuck money away into savings, we will be better off than we were before, and that’s something to feel good about. We are paying ourselves now, not some bank. I hope that once we get the ball rolling we will find ways to streamline our budget further and bring in some extra income to help achieve this steep goal more quickly.

Financial Peace

Dave Ramsey’s Total Money Makeover was just what I needed to help me change my attitude about money and think outside the box to accomplish goals. I was fortunate to be able to review his Financial Peace University Course for a guest post on Frugal Mama. I think the added detail and structure provided by the classes will give me even more confidence and motivation, and help my husband and I work together as a team. Learn more about my experience with Financial Peace University here.

I was recently reading one of my favorite blogs, 1912 Bungalow, and was dismayed to hear about all of the problems Heather was having with her kitchen renovation project. It would be a nightmare for anyone, but she happens to be nearing the end of a high risk pregnancy to boot. Among the many crazy things that have gone wrong, a contractor had taped plastic to her beautiful hand-painted Farrow & Ball Lotus wallpaper in the dining room. When it was time for the plastic to come down, the tape ripped off patches of wallpaper.

The wallpaper couldn’t be repaired, and the only solution would be to take it down and replace it. The thing was, Heather only needed one roll, and everyone she contacted cited the Farrow & Ball three-roll minimum order policy. Having worked with many companies through my blog, I knew there had to be a way that Farrow & Ball could make it happen, if only the right person knew her story. So, I sent a tweet out into the twitterverse:

I don’t have a huge amount of so-called “influence”, so I wasn’t expecting much, but it was worth a try. I was thrilled to learn that Rob from Farrow & Ball promptly contacted Heather and she later received the single roll of wallpaper she needed! In addition, Farrow & Ball will be ending their three-roll minimum order policy. It’s a smart move because design trends have changed and now a lot of consumers like to do smaller projects, like wallpaper on one wall only, or luxurious but small bathrooms and laundry rooms. Hopefully the change means they will reach customers who couldn’t have afforded (and didn’t need) the minimum order before.

I am by no means a proponent of publicly shaming companies via social media–I have seen some of the most ridiculous complaints and demands from customers on Twitter and Facebook. But every once in a while you might have a problem that you know could be resolved if only you could reach the right person who would cut through the red tape instead of rattling off some one-size-fits-all quote from the customer service manual. Often that person is the one behind a company’s Facebook or Twitter account.

I am very impressed that Farrow & Ball paid attention to my tweet and took the time to help Heather out. They are a well-established company with products used in some of the poshest interiors, and they don’t need to care about the “little guy”. I’ve been following their Facebook page for a while, though, and I’ve noticed that they celebrate projects large and small, including front doors and even chicken coops sporting their paint.

Thank you to Rob at Farrow & Ball for helping this pregnant mama play a small role in helping another pregnant mama–it really made my day!

My husband and I found out a week or two before we made our big house move, which of course made things even more interesting. I was fighting through exhaustion as we packed and moved boxes and furniture, and all the “old house smells” that came with our new abode sent me reeling.

I spent the first few months counting down to the end of the first trimester when I hoped the nausea, exhaustion, lack of motivation, and general all around “blah” feeling would finally take a hike. Now at 18 weeks I’m feeling significantly better, but still not at the top of my game, which is frustrating. A lot of the discomforts I thought would come later have started much earlier than last time.

In any case, I don’t want to sound like I’m only complaining. Our family is very excited to be welcoming a new member, after we had just about resigned ourselves to the idea that Mr. Boy might be an only child. I’m looking forward to the challenge of finding bargains on a few things that we will need for the baby, and of course decorating another nursery! As much as I loved the Beatrix Potter theme we did at our old house, I’m itching to try a new idea here.

Our home continues to keep us busy as well. I finally realized my dream of having a first floor laundry area (in our kitchen). We purchased a front loading washer and dryer set and my dad painstakingly did the wiring and plumbing for us.

We also recently conquered an unexpected wiring project after discovering that our double wall oven was installed by an imbecile who apparently ignored the instructions, resulting in a tripped breaker, junction boxes with melted electrical tape, one charred wall, and interior oven parts that had welded themselves where they shouldn’t have. We’re grateful that the circuit breaker did its job better than both the person who installed the oven, and the home inspector we spent $400 on.

I still love the house, though. Little by little I’m unpacking the few boxes that were left in corners, and decorating rooms more to my liking. We’re all ready and excited for our first Christmas in our new home!

I’m not sure what all this will mean for my website. I am definitely not giving it up because I’m proud of my work, and I really enjoy writing and sharing ideas. However, my energy is at a minimum right now, and if I have a spare moment I like to use it to rest. I will probably write new posts in the coming months, but I’m not sure how much or how often that will be. I’m sure you all understand, and I appreciate your support through the years.

If I don’t post again before then, have a wonderful Christmas and New Year!