I can remember my grandfather grousing about the price of cigarettes. He swore he would quit when it went up past 35 cents a pack.

It did, and he did.

Now I know how he felt, although my particular vice is brown and fizzy and gives me reward points. At an Anchorage supermarket I was shocked to find Diet Coke selling for $8.19 per 12-pack. Thank goodness there’s no sales tax here.

That works out to 68 cents a can. It won’t break the bank. But really? More than eight dollars for a 12-pack? For something that I can’t even get drunk off of?

I’m on my way to the airport, dragging two suitcases on and off the bus and then on and off the train. Wish me luck on my house-sitting/visiting trip to Anchorage, Alaska.

In the meantime, here are a couple of ways to catch up with me:

A lot of people have strong feelings about the TLC reality series “Extreme Couponing.” My own impression of the show is secondhand, since I don’t own a television.

Technically I could see the next two episodes because the TLC publicist kindly gave me online access. Ultimately I decided not to watch. Based on what I’ve read and also on what my daughter told me and wrote about the show, I would just wind up depressed.

The random number generator loved Sheryl the best this week. Sheryl: Please respond to my e-mail with your address and the book will wing its way to you.

In other news:

“Time to plan an egg-based meal,” my weekly post at MSN Money’s Smart Spending blog, was chosen for the Festival of Frugality at Stupid Cents.

“Emergency preparedness on a budget,” my latest work at Get Rich Slowly, is an Editor’s Pick in the Carnival of Personal Finance at Funny About Money (even though the post contains the word “poop”).

The article is about meeting basic needs in an emergency. Such as:

This week’s giveaway will help you do it.