This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Valpak. All thoughts, words, and opinions and have not been written or edited by the sponsor.

Living in New York makes saving money incredibly difficult. It's like I'm in college again – which bars have the best happy hour specials? What time does my local bodega put their produce on sale? Is it Mike's Deli or Michael's Deli with the Monday meatball special? But I can always count on setting my watch to a giant Valpak envelope arriving in my mailbox each month. How can I not love spotting a bundle of coupons surrounded by freebies?

When I first started HIF in 2006, Valpak was one of the first companies I wrote about. They mainly only sent out coupons for household services and local restaurants. That helped mold most of us into thinking we could only find grocery savings via printables on the Internet, but that's not 100% true any longer. Valpak envelopes now come stocked with all sorts of grocery coupons, which helps this New Yorker stay fed without breaking the bank.

Sidenote, actually breaking a bank is harder than it sounds. You need all sorts of wrecking balls and jackhammers, it's honestly a lot more work than I'd ever be willing to do. That's why I try and save money with coupons so I don't have to break the bank. What were we talking about again?

Among this month's Valpak envelope, some of the high-value coupons included:

• $10/1 Dr. Scholl's Custom Fit Orthotic Inserts at Walmart
• Free $20 gift card with purchase of $45 Sam's Club membership
• $1/1 Vermont Creamery Fresh Goat Cheese Log at Mambo Sprouts
• $1/1 Perfect Bar at Mambo Sprouts

While I might not need all of those items, they're great savings! The Vermont Creamery Fresh Goat Cheese Log has me most intrigued. I'm the kind of guy whose favorite cheese can best be described as “…uh, the yellow one?” So I'm not too accustomed to cheese of the goat nor log forms and I've only been to Vermont for about an hour, I think. I was sleeping in the backseat. Great road trip! Now let's try some of that cheese.

The Dr. Scholl's insert deal is definitely a nice offer to boot (… 😄) since any New Yorker will tell you wherever you're going isn't too far to walk. Anywhere, doesn't matter, it's the cold, hard truth that walking might be faster than a subway, cab, or bus. Turns out moving 8 million people all at once gets things a little clogged up. Who would have guessed? Thus I've used inserts for almost a decade and my feet, legs, and back have thanked me ever since.

If you think back to HIF's earliest days, there aren't many of the same money saving methods still in existence. However one of the longtime stalwarts has been Valpak. As the price of living inches ever up and more and more coupon sites drop to the wayside, it's nice knowing a #ValpakNY of great coupons could still arrive any day in my mailbox.

Also if anybody at Valpak HQ is reading this, might I be so bold as to propose selling Katsaks. As early 1990's Mike Rowe showed us on QVC, Katsaks are loads of fun for our feline companions. And who wouldn't buy a Valpak Katsak? The name is a billion dollar brand, easy. Thank you for your time and you're welcome for the genius idea.

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Valpak. All thoughts, words, and opinions and have not been written or edited by the sponsor.