As I was making a purchase in Kohl’s last week, I had a coupon and was thrilled with my discounts. A lady came up to the cashier and asked how much the senior citizen’s discount was. The cashier said 15%.

The lady became indignant and said IS THAT ALL?

The cashier turned back to me and he said some people are never satisfied.

Getting deals for items or buying things that are sale is great especially when you can take advantage of discounts but have we become too accustomed to the discount and sales?

It would be nice to have lower prices for items and not have to worry about coupons to get “reasonable” prices but that isn’t happening so using a coupon to buy an item that you need frees up money to buy things that you want.

Be daring. Take a chance on rice.

Rice is very versatile and will work with many cuisines.

Preparing the foods that you really like from scratch can save you a lot of money but can be scary on your first attempt, especially if you are all thumbs in the kitchen. Don’t have a cookbook of your own that will give you directions? Look online until you find a recipe that you can make yourself.

Buying takeout may give you more sodium or fat than you want but by making your own favorite rice dishes at home you can control the amount of salt, make it healthier and as savory as you like it.

I made Mexican rice as a side dish for tacos last night. The greatest part about this is that now that I know how to make it I can make a smaller amount for a lot less than buying a prepacked mix with the seasonings and rice which will last for 4-5 servings. A three pound bag of rice cost less than one packaged of seasoned rice mix. Even if I experiment and make something that is a culinary dud have saved money by preparing one cup of rice. Another advantage is that I can make less than a cup of rice which is approximately the amount in a box of rice mix.

Experimenting with a cup of rice which costs less than a quarter with seasonings and spices you have at home is better than paying close to $2 for a boxed mix that you dislike.

If you are only spending a small amount and a coupon is burning a hole in your pocket then use it, but don’t just use a coupon when you are making a small purchase if you know you will return to the store before the coupon expires. If you have a coupon and are going to use it anyway… wait until there is a better sale so you can get more mileage out of your coupon. If you have a 20% off coupon and use it for one item that is not on sale that is less than $20 you won’t maximize your savings. Use the coupon when items you want are on sale and get an additional discount. Combine coupons with gift cards and rewards purchases and you can really save a bundle.

If you didn’t know already, people hide things thinking that no one will come looking for the items later. Look around for what you want and you might find it, mis-shelved. I found one of my favorite sweaters hanging on a rack in the mens’ section in Filene’s basement. Maybe someone decided they didn’t want it at the last minute or put it there so they could come back for it later. It happens. Many times when there are items that are in limited quantity or the last one on the shelf, salespeople might squirrel it away for themselves. Since people are at risk of losing their jobs if they do that, they resort to hiding items in the wrong place (where an interested party is less likely to look for the item) or walking around carrying it on the pretense of re-shelving the item.

Looking around in the wrong place for an item takes luck and a little skill when trying to find something. Generally mis-shelved items are not too far away from where they should be, either by chance (or your blind luck) you may find an item that a person has put aside for themselves.

People who hide things aren’t really too ingenious when they put things aside, because if they move things too far out of place, they will be noticed and snapped up by someone else.

If there are items that are on sale at a price that is too good to be true – some stores will have a special sale aisle. Check there first since the regular shelf may have a limited quantity. Featured items may be on display in a place where you would least expect to find item.

Yesterday, I received a notice from one of my banks letting me know that my once “highest interest rate around” which was why I decided to sign up with the bank in the first place was now offering 1.20% interest on my savings account. This is the second decrease in about 3 months.

The low interest rate should be of no surprise to anyone to see why people are shunning banks for saving. Since this is an online bank the only way to make a deposit I had to deposit money into an account and have it transferred since there is only one branch of this bank in Chicago.

Still 1.20% is better than nothing but not enough to make me transfer cash that I am saving for short term goals. When the interest rate was 3.55% about a year ago transferring cash that I received for my birthday or Christmas into the account until I decided what I wanted to buy made me feel as though my gift givers were giving me a little extra. Moving the money around for less than a dollar a month wouldn’t buy a coffee from 7-11.

The additional income which amounted to less than $12.00 for 2009 could be used for something else. Yet, moving the money around just to earn less than $12.00 or less than a dollar a month isn’t worth it. In a month, I find more in spare change (and will pick it up) and don’t have to report it as taxable income.