kmmmom's musings

Free Lunch

2009-09-03T17:29:00.000-07:00

Who say's there is no such thing as a free lunch. In my email today, there was a notice from Chick-Fil-A that if you go into their store wearing your favorite team jersey on Labor Day, you will get a free Chick-Fil-A sandwich. Yummy!

I have been getting a response from all my emailing the other day to companies. So, I thought I would share the successes so far:

Glad: Coupon for a free product up to $10. (this was in response to a complaint about some bags I had that ripped on the side straight out of the box)
Amy's Natural and Organic Meals: two $1/1 and two .50/1 coupons and a catalog of their products
DelMonte: Four .50/1 any delmonte canned food, snack cup or ketchup product
Bush's Baked Beans: Two .55/1 coupons

Several other companies have said they are sending me coupons, I will report when I receive them. I love the .50/1 coupons since two of my stores double, and surely I can find some canned veggies or fruits that are only $1. Can you say more free food?

A few of my friends have recently sent me a stack of coupons. I can't wait to sift through them all and go saving at the stores!

I have been looking for some rebates to send in, not much luck so far, but I will keep my eyes peeled, I love getting money back on things I was going to buy anyway.

I hope you all enjoy your free lunch on Monday!

How to get coupons and freebies

2009-08-31T11:38:00.001-07:00

In the interest of stretching my money, I spent the better part of an hour writing to twenty different companies with inquires and/or compliments about their various products. I am anxious to see how many of them reward me with coupons good for $/off or even free items. I made a spreadsheet on excel to track the responses. Those that respond favorable will get a mention on here so any readers may try for freebies too. I have many more on my list to write too, it's just a question of making the time to sit down and do it.

Another thing I did, well, I've been doing for sometime, is collect Coke Rewards points. I'm going to have them anyway, might as well let them earn me some prizes. It's really quite easy, you just set up your account on mycokerewards.com and you can enter I think 100-120 points worth a week. So far I have gotten umpteen free 12 packs of diet coke and a rice cooker (which I love) and just today, I turned in my points for some new non-stick skillets.

I sign up for lots of freebies, but I am very wary of the sites that ask for too much information. I like vocalpoint. They recently sent me coupons for a free box of kashi cereal and high dollar coupons for 5 more boxes. They have sent many things over the past year. No effort is needed on my part other than to go to the store and use the coupons!

You know those rewards cards at stores like Kroger and CVS? My husband hates them, he says he feels like big brother is watching everything he wants to buy. I say bring 'em on. Because, 5 or 6 times a year, I get a huge bunch of coupons from Kroger, that are picked due to my spending on certain products, which means, I am getting coupons for the things they know that I buy. I am always on the lookout for more savings.

Well, off to the mailbox to see if I have any special goodies in there today or just boring old bills.

Best Laid Plans

2009-08-29T08:12:00.000-07:00

Isn't it amazing how you start out each new year with plans and hopes for the upcoming year, but suddenly life gets in the way, and those plans get lost in the everyday time crunch that we live in. I began this year thinking I would blog everyday! I would record my life so I could sit back at years end and easily reflect on the things that have shaped my time. Well, obviously that didn't happen. So, I have two choices. First choice: Berate myself for falling short of my goal and moan about my lack of follow thru, or second choice: Realize that life has been busy and full and go from where I am now. It's okay to fail sometimes, as long as you pick yourself up and start again. That being said, this is where I am.

I have reworked my budget for the coming month to include things that really happen, not this fictional month that I could never realistically live. The first step is admitting to myself that I really will go out to lunch more than 1.3 times, that I will go shopping occasionally for fun stuff and that the vet bills are going to always be more than I planned. I am facing the future with my eyes wide open. This ostrich thing doesn't work for me anymore. So, how do I make the things I want to achieve on my budget come to life? By planning, of course.

I have revisited some of my favorite sites, like Hotcouponworld and LLNOE (live like no one else, a site devoted to Dave Ramsey followers) Just reading and absorbing the questions and answers and the feeling of belonging from like minded people. I am dusting off my coupon binder and starting to make lists of what steps I need to take to get myself organized again. I am looking forward to finding the deals and reading money saving blogs for ideas.

One entertainment idea was brought to my attention. Did you know that if you go to http://www.redbox.com/ there is a tab that says get a free movie rental. Give them your email, they will send you a code to rent a movie for free? Combine that with some homemade popcorn and you have a cheap night at the movies for your family.

I am looking forward to the fall and all the possiblities that are there. If I manage to blog each day, there will be a record of my progress. But, if I miss sometimes, that's okay, the plans are there, but living life is far more important than worrying about whether I missed writing that day. Now, off to plan some deals and look for bargains and perhaps play a little on the side.

Road Trip

2009-01-20T04:42:00.000-08:00

I am approaching today with guarded optimism. My youngest son is a senior in high school. Today we are headed to Alabama to check out a school that has offered him a full scholarship. I know that i's a fantastic opportunity for him to go to college for free, but, it's 8 hours from our home. This is the child who would not stay overnight at summer camp even though his older siblings were there with him. He is a homebody. He is beginning to get excited about the possiblities of college. We honestly just didn't expect him to not live at home. There are several decent schools that are within driving range or at least within weekend visits home. I'm not really sure where this visit will leave us.

However, there is one thing that could be good or bad. My son and I will be in a car together for 8 hours both ways. He and I don't always see eye to eye. He is headstrong. (I have no idea where he gets that from) He is very techy, I am to say the least not. He is "into" Guitar Hero and Gaia online and World of Warcraft and The Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy. I am not. He is 16, enough said there. But, he is witty and intelligent and knowledgable about many, many things. He loves art and music. He loves reading and learning. I think it's going to be a very, very interesting trip.

So, for now, I am off. We will learn a lot in the next couple of days. There is nothing like a road trip.

Sunday Mornings

2009-01-18T05:24:00.001-08:00

There is just something relaxing about Sunday mornings. It's quiet. I'm usually up before the sun. It's peaceful. No kids yet, the dogs are usually sleeping. (I can hear the gentle snoring of my pug who is curled up on the back of the sofa)

I get up in the morning. I slip on my tennis shoes (they look fantastic with my fluffy light blue robe) and trek out to locate where the paperboy might have hidden my paper for the day. I only have so many trees and bushes he can hide it under, but he does make it a challenge. Days such as today, while my dogs run to the door and stand there watching me, and I was making my way through the snow, I enjoy the game a little less than on warm sunny mornings. But, there it is, hiding under the pine tree! I get my paper, stomp the snow off of my feet and head inside.

Before I sit down to check out the sales and coupons (the only real reason I have for getting the paper) I stick something scrumptious in the crock pot for the afternoon's dinner. Today it's a pork roast. Yummy. I can't wait until it starts filling the house with it's wonderful aroma. Then I fix a glass of ice cold diet coke (my substitute for coffee) and sit down at my computer and pull out all the ads and coupons. I've read what is supposed to be in the ads and what coupons are supposed to be in the paper (although my paper seems to miss some of the good coupons for some reason) but until I hold them in my hand and can touch and feel them and devour them, I can't wrap my head around the sales.

The websites I visit do a great job of pointing out the sales and the coupons that make the sales even better. But I want to see the ads with my own eyes. Kind of like, that sale sounds like it's too good to be true.

While I am perusing the ads and relaxing, my dear sweet husband generally goes out to the bakery and gets us fresh doughnuts. I know, this is an extravagance, but, it's cost is accounted for and everyone loves it and he enjoys doing it. So, it's yummy doughnuts for breakfast.

Once I have eaten my doughnuts and read my paper, I clip my coupons and file them. Then I go to hotcouponworld and compare lists for the sales and the coupons I have. Then I start my day with laundry or whatever household chore I really need to attend to. But the time relaxing and reading just gets me that jump start on the week.

hotSacks and lounge socks

2009-01-17T05:44:00.000-08:00

jane4girls is having another great giveaway. She is giving away a set of hotSacks to one lucky reader. These are like the bags you buy at Kroger or Meijers to use instead of those wasteful plastic bags. But, they are free from adverstisements. This is a really great prize. I hope everyone enters.

http://jane4girls800dollarannualbudget.blogspot.com/

Another giveaway that I found (through erin's site) is for some fabulous soft lounge socks on Lindsey's site:

http://coupon-queen.blogspot.com/2009/01/giveaway-kn-chenille-lounge-socks.html

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spending: $0

Warmth

2009-01-16T03:54:00.000-08:00

No matter how much I want to complain about the high cost of heating, nights like tonight put everything into perspective. It is -2 here right now. That's before the wind chill factor is added in. Schools in the area are canceled. The news keeps going over again and again on how to protect yourself if you absolutely must go out. Then, they keep showing a piece about how the homeless shelters are filled to capacity. These people who are crammed in there would have no chance of survival if they were left on their own out in the bitter cold.

Wow, I can complain that I'm cold as I run to my car to start it up and get it warm before I drive off. I can remind my son to put on socks or an extra shirt when he goes out. I can complain about the towel that's blocking the draft under my backdoor that keeps getting pulled away by my pug because she likes to play with it. I can complain that it seems like my furnace is running constantly. But, you know what? None of that is important. We are safe and we are warm. We have a solid roof over our heads. We have heat and water that is not frozen in the pipes. We have plenty of sweaters and blankets and warm socks. Life is good.

I feel for those unfortunate souls who are not as blessed as we are. I hope everyone takes a moment today to realize the good fortunes in their own lives. It's wonderful that we sometimes can donate to food banks because of our couponing efforts. But is that enough? It really makes me wonder what more I personally can do as I sit here in my comfy chair wrapped in my robe pecking away at my computer while the rest of my family sleeps all snug and warm in their beds.

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I received an email today from little crow foods giving me a link for a free coupon for their product. Normally, I make my own breading for my fried chicken, but if they want to give it to me for free, who am I to complain. Here is the link and under comments, just write "free coupon"

http://www.littlecrowfoods.com/coupons/index.cfm

I did contact the 5 companies I posted about yesterday through email. Bumble bee is the only one that wanted a upc code, so I just entered 0000000 because I didn't happen to have any on hand.

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Spending: $0

Making contact

2009-01-14T22:31:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wondered how people score those fantastic coupons for frees or high value $$$ off items? One of the best ways I have found is to contact the companies. People think to complain when things are bad, but what about letting a company know when they are doing good. You may be surprised at the results. I have gotten free coupons for seapak shrimp, country bob bbq sauce, pledge, toothpaste, dog food and a plethora of other things. All I did was email and compliment the company on their product.

So, here is a challenge to you and me. Tomorrow, I'm going to contact no less than 5 companies with a compliment and see what happens. I used to do it all the time, writing to a few companies everyday. Now my mailbox is sad. It's missing all those great freebies and coupons. So, just to give my mailman a little more job security, I'm going to start writing again.

My list for tomorrow:

Baber foods:

http://www.barberfoods.com/contact.asp

Bird's Eye:

http://www.birdseyefoods.com/consumerrelations/contact.aspx

Boca Burgers

http://www.bocaburger.com/template.aspx?m=contactus/cu_form1

Bumble Bee

http://www.bumblebee.com/Contact/?pg=intro

Del Monte

http://www.delmonte.com/contactus/Contact.asp

These links were compiled from http://www.hotcouponworld.com/index.php , my favorite source for news on sales and coupons.

I'll start with those, and move on from there. Hopefully, I will score some freebies to get me moving in that direction again. In today's economy, I'll take all the deals I can find.

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Spending today: $14.52 (Meijer, Walmart)
Savings today: $85.48
Spending YTD: $113.05
Savings YTD: $431.51

Start Planning Early!

2009-01-13T20:32:00.000-08:00

I am not a planner. My youngest is going to college in the fall. He is very bright and we are searching for the right fit for him to continue his education. I've always heard that you need to start planning in their Junior year. I figured we had plenty of time. Now all the sudden, we are running up against deadlines and we really have no clue where he wants to go. I hate for him to apply at tons of colleges (and have to pay the application fees to each one) if they are not the right ones for him. We are going on our first college visit next week.

Then, after we find the perfect school, we have to find a way to pay for it. I could have started a college fund, but it's too late for that one. He took his ACT and got a 32 on it, which is a fantastic score and it has already gotten him some offers for scholarships. But, they aren't going to pay for everything, and since I think a kid needs to live on more than peanut butter and probably needs somewhere to sleep every night, I spent the entire night searching for scholarship options.

With the internet, it is so much easier to search than when I was a kid, but because we have waited so long to start, many of the really good scholarship's deadlines have passed. And the National Merit Scholarships, that was just dumb of me not to make him take the test to qualify for that. (You have to test for it by your Junior Year) He excels at that kind of test and we wouldn't be running around at the last minute trying to come up with the funds.

I found a really cool site during my searching last night that is a cross between monster.com and facebook. It is specifically geared towards getting the information out to colleges about the student so the college comes looking for the child. It's called Zinch

http://www.zinch.com/default.aspx

It allows the student to truly personalize their page to get the attention they need. I'm going to have him fill out his page this week. I looked at the colleges that use this site as a reference tool and was quite impressed with the list.

So, now I have my list of about 30 scholarships for him to apply for. I know he is really excited about the ones he gets to write an essay for. (note the sarcasm there) We will systematically work through them one by one. I will encourage him to apply for whichever colleges he thinks he might want to go to. The application fees aren't terrible really, and I do have some money put away for the "college search" fund.

I just wish I had begun this earlier. Now I am stressed about it instead of enjoying the process of helping him choose. Deep breath. ***sigh***

If I had it to do over, I think I would have started planning when he was in the third grade. Hmmm...that sounds about right. Nice and early.

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Spending: $0

One is the Lonliest Number

2009-01-12T22:24:00.000-08:00

We have a busy house. My kids are always running in and out. The school teams have given way to jobs and dating and college courses. I only have one left in high school and it's his last year. He is also taking a college course this semester. Tonight was the first night of classes. Since my son doesn't drive yet, my husband had to take him to his 3 hour class. My daughter's classes started tonight. My other son had left for work. So here I was. Sitting here all by myself.

I don't know why it bothered me tonight. During the day when everyone is out, I don't even notice the absence of there presence. But, for some reason, this evening, I was just plain lonely. My sister-in-law called and we chatted for awhile, which was really nice. I worked out on my Wii Fit for awhile. I made myself a sandwich for dinner. And as I sat at the computer eating and reading, I realized that it won't be long before this is how it is every night. I must say, that empty nest is not sounding so good right now.

How many times when they were little did I wish for just 5 minutes to myself? A moment to refocus and relax without any responsiblities or any attention seeking tugging on my shirt sleeve. Then as they got older, I just needed a minute to breathe between carting them from school to the game to the dance and don't even think about the homework I needed to supervise. Now, I have my 5 minutes. I have even longer. It's not nearly as fun being alone as I thought it would be. I miss my kids. I miss my husband. I am lonely.

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spending: $0

How to Clean Your House

2009-01-11T23:35:00.000-08:00

I have a wonderful home with a husband and three great kids. I have 2 playful dogs. I have what I consider normal "clutter" all over the house. I clean up some, we mess up some. It's a never ending cycle. The thing is, over the years, I have come to embrace our "lifestyle" of a messy house. After all, I reason that my kids will remember the fun we had and the games we played far more than they will remember that my linens were ironed and my kitchen was always spotless. There is a level of comfort given from my surroundings. It reminds me of the security and peace that we have in our family. It makes me think of the bonding of a family.

But then, the words that I fear above all others. "Mom, my teacher is coming over on Sunday."

Quick!!!!! Everyone to their battlestations!!!! They all know the drill. Everything must be put away. All the surfaces must be dusted. The floor has to be vacuumed. The decorations need to be spruced up. I want this place to shine!!!! I want this place to look like Better Homes and Gardens. Okay, maybe the bohemian version of Better Homes & Gardens, but you get the idea.

And after our family pulls together once again and washes all the mirrors and puts away all reminders that someone actually lives here, I can finally relax and sit and wait for the "company". My house is spotless clean.

The only problem is, after the guest has "left the building", everyone relaxes and the house goes back to normal. Not dirty, just cluttered and busy with signs of our bustling life in all the nooks and crannies. We are just that kind of laid back people. Until the next time.

So, if you want to clean your house......invite company over. It works for me everytime.

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Spending: $0

I'll Stop Procrastinating.......Tomorrow

2009-01-10T23:58:00.000-08:00

I lost money today. Again. It's my own fault. I didn't loose it out of my purse or pocket. I didn't misplace it. I lost it because I am a major league procrastinator. I lost it by missing a great sale with great coupons.

I had several coupons that would have garnered me free or close to free items today. I could have gotten enough Reynolds Wrap to last me the rest of the year. I had the coupons, but because it was the last day of the sale, they were out of stock at Walgreens. I know, I know, I could have gotten a raincheck. But, my coupons that would make it free expired today. I missed the sale on the South Beach bars, they were out of stock. I missed several things at Meijers because by the time I got there today, they were out of stock.

This is not the first time it's happened. And this is not the only area in my life where procrastination reaches out and bites me. I have missed deadlines for mailing things in, I have missed appointments because I was going to write the date down on my calender later, I have jumbled up my bank balance because I was going to write that entry in later, I have missed sales before. My kids have been late getting somewhere because I put off getting their uniform together for baseball or soccer. I have been late to family get togethers because I put off making my dish to take along. Over and over, it's the same thing. I'm going to get to it.

So what is the solution? I thought I had it. This is the year that I am working on lots of things in my life. Finances, Health, Home, Self-Improvement. One of my goals was to absolutely under no circumstances, procrastinate. I know that if I just jump in and do things immediately, they are generally much less stressful. That way I would know I wasn't (or my kids weren't) missing an important event. I would never be searching for bills because I forgot to pay them when they showed up in the mail. I would not have the counter that is the hot spot where everything goes that should just be put away. I would not have to worry that the shirt I wanted is at the bottom of a pile with my kids dirty socks on top of it, on the day I want to wear it. I would not miss great sales because my coupons were not organized or I just didn't make it to the store in time.

So, it is with renewed vigor, that I will undertake this task. I have been doing well on a lot of things. But, I have been procrastinating about not procrastinating. So, without any further ado..... I am going to quit procrastinating.

Tomorrow

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Spending: $0

Wii Want to Play

2009-01-09T18:28:00.001-08:00

Let me preface this by saying, I am not a big video game player. I love to play boardgames like Life and Clue and Scrabble. I have spent many Saturday afternoons playing Risk or Yahtzee or Monopoly with my children. I love the time my family has spent bonding over the cards or dice or pencil and paper in Pictionary. But then, the children got older. The days of sitting with Mom and putting together a puzzle became further and further apart. I was loosing my appeal. There was a new game in town. It was electronic.

Why was this new game so appealing? Naturally, it is wonderful for the kids to just be able to play whenever they want, not when we can all find the time. There is the fast action on the screen. There is Mario and Luigi, Donkey Kong and Pikachu, and that guy on Halo. Lots of new friends, available at anytime to jump in and play all hours of the day or night. There were flashing lights and fast growing scores. There was a whole new language to learn, that of a gamer. Try as I might, I just couldn't get into the games. I like the Zelda games from Nintendo, they are slow enough that I can keep up, but the Mario Party, I totally don't understand it. Maybe that's part of the appeal. The kids have this world all their own.

Only problem is, the games were all downstairs and I never got to see my kids (unless they were hungry). Then, the best game system I have ever seen or heard of hit the stores. We bought a Wii! I told my kids from the start, this game stays upstairs where we can all play together. The games are not over my head (for the most part). It is worth it to give up my space in my den in order to get to play with my kids again.

If you aren't familiar with a Wii, It is an interactive video game that requires the players to actually move. No more couch potato video games! We bowl, we play tennis, we box, we ski, we have a ball! This game system is a homerun! The children have risen from the basement. They have come out of their rooms. We are back to laughing and playing together. We are making a point of setting aside time to play as a family. It has been so much fun.

Yesterday, I received the Wii Fit program that my family had been coveting. I was so excited, I could hardly wait for everyone to get home so we could set it up. Who would have thought that I could have been that excited about a video game, for Pete's sake? My family didn't disappoint me. As soon as everyone got home, they all wanted to put their characters onto the game and play. Let the fun and laughter begin! We all want to play Wii together.

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Spending: $43.22 (Kroger $42.71, CVS .51 cents, Walgreens $0 oop)

Savings today: $ 125.92

Spending YTD $98.53

Savings YTD $346.03

Freezing for a Cause

2009-01-08T18:56:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, I got my electric bill in the mail. I'm on the budget plan and our settle up month is in March. Our bill is high. It's always high. I have switched to the new light bulbs. I follow people around turning things off. But this month, our already high bill had risen another $27 a month to cover the projected shortfall on the account.

We have gas heat on the main floor of our home, but the downstairs has baseboard heaters. My husband also keeps a little space heater in the garage. (his man cave) I know I have said it over and over to everyone here. I have tried to explain that every little bit helps, and please turn off the tv or the computer or unplug the phone charger or take shorter showers (electric water heater) or turn down the thermostat on the heaters during the day. So, of course, it's time for another family conference.

Since my 16 year old son was the only one home when I opened the bill, he became my first "victim" of the budget talks. Since we had talked about the bills being high before and that didn't seem to be getting through, I decided on a different approach. I told him, in order to pay this bill, you would have to work 40 hours at a job making $8.25 an hour. That is an entire week of work, just to pay the electric bill. That doesn't even touch any of the other bills, like the mortgage or water or food.

For some reason, this analogy hit home. It made sense to him. He started turning out lights. He started turning off the tv and reading a book instead. He wasn't playing his video games so much. I was so impressed.

But then, last night, as I was sitting on the computer at 2:00 am, playing around, he comes upstairs. He is wrapped up in a blanket and is shivering. I touch his hands and they are ice cold. The poor boy had been trying to sleep without any heat on downstairs. It is really cold here right now. I made him some hot tea and tried to explain the difference between frugal and fanatic. I told him how much I appreciated what he had done, but it was never my intention to cause him physcial discomfort. With the wind blowing against the house and the ice already formed on his windows, I told him to bundle up and sleep on the couch. I gave him some more tea and he finally got comfortable and fell asleep.

I stood there looking at my dear sleeping son who had gone that far just to help us out. I am so proud of him for trying so hard. I really hope that we see a difference in the bill in the next couple of months so I can show him how all his hardwork paid off. But even if it doesn't go down, one thing did happen. My son grew up a little more. Now I just have to convince the rest of the family to be as diligent as my son. Well, maybe not quite that diligent.

I really don't want anyone to freeze.

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Today's Spending: $0

My Life as a Short Order Cook

2009-01-07T19:31:00.000-08:00

I marvel at these women who say they serve dinner at 6:00, clean the kitchen, turn out the light and the kitchen is closed.

It seems from the time my son gets home from school until I finally get to bed, I am fixing something to eat for someone.

My son is hungry when he gets home from school. That's fine, a snack is great. Then my other son gets up. He works third shift and I like him to have a hot meal before he leaves for work at 5:00 pm. But, that's just a little too early for the family to have dinner. So, I cook again around 7:00. But wait, my daughter just got home from work and is hungry, but she has a headache. I have to feed her, I don't want her going to bed without eating just because she doesn't feel up to cooking for herself. Whew, everyone has finally eaten dinner.

And then, it starts again. "Mom, I'm hungry", says my 16 year old. Then my husband is scrounging for a snack. Then, well, the allure of the kitchen beckons me back into it's midst. I am helpless but to obey. (I know, I'm working on that one)

Lest you think I have a family full of overweight kids, or my husband is heavy, let me assure you, the only one of us with a tendency towards over fluffiness here, is me. In fact, my youngest son's Doctor told us a few years ago, that no matter how often he wanted to eat, we should let him. He can use the calories.

Thanks to the knowledge of coupons that I got on http://hotcouponworld.com we always have plenty of food in the house, no matter how low I cut my food budget. Which, considering everyone's love of eating, is a good thing.

I know, next month when my 2 oldest move into their own apartment together, (which will have a freezer full of microwaveable food, I'm sure) that I will miss the constant stream in and out of the kitchen. But as it is now, I find myself sitting up all night sometimes, just so I can still be up when my son gets home from work so I can make him breakfast and talk about his night before he heads to bed for the day. I guess feeding my family allows me to nurture in a way that kids that age will still accept.

I am not that far off from having all the kids out of the house. Then I can go to the kitchen, prepare dinner for my husband, clean up and close the kitchen for the night. I am not looking forward to retiring my apron, and turning out the lights.

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Spending today: $0

Bob's got my number!

2009-01-06T20:26:00.000-08:00

I sat down tonight with my icey Diet Coke and my big bowl of popcorn to watch the Biggest Loser, season 7. I love to watch these people succeed. Every season I think, "that could be me". But I am much better at watching than I am doing. I have been known to eat dinner during the show, popcorn, chips and salsa and my all time fav...... Ice Cream. Tonight was different though.

In the opening sequence, Bob and Jillian were addressing the home viewing audience with their uplifting messages and then it happened. Bob looked right at that camera and said, "You aren't going to have any success sitting there watching us while you are eating a bowl of ice cream." Busted!!!! I wonder how many more of us armchair dieters there are?

Well, he got my attention, but then as if that weren't bad enough, one of the contestants, a sweet 63 year old grandfather collapses on the floor of the gym. It was very scary and a very moving site. There, but for the grace of God, go I. I have been dodging the weight loss portion of my New Years plan. This show really put it all in perspective for me.

I had been sitting here all afternoon, feeling blue because of the cold and the rain. Feeling sorry for the things that are not the way I would choose in my life. ( I get this way sometimes) But then, this brave man and his wife and the other 20 contestantants are so thrilled with the prospect of having to bust their tails and be publicly exposed in all their weakest moments all in the sake of their health. What am I whining about? Geez.

Life is good. I'll keep watching and letting Bob push me. I'll keep talking to myself in this blog. Life is too short.

*********

Spending today. $.00

Budgets and Growing up

2009-01-05T20:30:00.000-08:00

I was sitting at my desk today, paying my monthly bills when it occured to me how much easier life is since I began to live on a budget. I was never very good at balancing my checkbook. Between my husband and I and our trips to the ATM, we never really knew quite where we were. I spent years wandering around in an economical quandry. What could I afford, what couldn't I afford?

Now, I have a plan. Quarterly and yearly bills don't sneak up on me anymore. (homeowners taxes, car insurance and tags, Christmas presents, etc.) I'm more cautious with what I buy and I really think about whether it will be something that will enhance my life or is it just the spoiled little brat in me saying, "I want it, I want it, I want it." I love going to the store and whippping out my handful of coupons and watching that total go down and down and down. It's really fun when the cashiers and the other customers comment on the great deals I made.

Instead of just spending tons of money and not knowing where it goes, my husband and I each have a blow budget. At the beginning of the month, we get our "allowance". And that's it. Once it's gone, it's gone. Just like my son's allowance. When you know you only have a set amount and you can not go over it, suddenly it's easier to become pickier about how you spend it. Darn if I'm not growing up a little here.

Dave Ramsey would be proud. (A financial advisor)

http://www.daveramsey.com/

It seems that no matter what you think up, there is someone out there that has already thought of that and come up with a plan. The internet has made every answer available to everyone. You only have to keep looking.

While surfing the web today, I came across a site that was offering a great way to keep up with your yearly numbers from your grocery savings on an excel sheet. The site is called grocery geek:

http://www.freewebs.com/grocerygeek/filedownloads.htm

Do you ever wonder when you are stockpiling items, how much is too much? She has a sheet to help you figure out that one too.

With all my new found accountability, it's amazing that I would rather run numbers and scenarios about paying down debts and savings plans when I used to avoid it like the plague. A budget is truly an empowering tool.

*************

Spending today: $9.75

Spending ytd: $55.31

Savings ytd: 220.44

A Melancholy Day

2009-01-04T21:12:00.000-08:00

Today I am a little melancholy. I finished taking down and putting away all of the Christmas decorations. I love all the sparkle and the lights of the holidays, but I'm generally ready to be done with it early in the New Year. But as I looked around at my bare mantle, and the spot where the Christmas tree used to stand and it feels kind of empty. Why did it affect me this way this year?

Earlier in the day, my two oldest children, my daughter (23) and my son (20) were talking and they decided that they want to move out into a duplex together. Are they old enough? Certainly. Are the responsible enough? Of course. Do they make enough money to survive? Yes. Will I still see them? They will have to come use my washing machine. But still, it's hard to let go. I'm already thinking of how empty the house will be without them. And to make matters worse, my youngest son (nearly 17) will be graduating from high school this spring and wants to go away to college. In the course of a few short months, I will go from a house of five to just my husband and myself.

Economically speaking, I suppose it's a good thing. My food budget should go way down. We will use way less electric, gas and water. But I don't even know how to cook for just 2. It's been a long time since it was just the two of us.

I'm sure as I adjust to the idea and help them pack up, I'll get excited about this for them. It's a grand adventure to start your adult life. But, just for today, I'm a little sad.

*************
Spending today:
$12.23 (bought 5 newspapers today for all the fabulous coupons)
Spending to date:
$45.56
Savings to date:
$188.09

I learned something about myself today

2009-01-03T18:28:00.000-08:00

I was shopping today, with coupons and gift cards in hand. I had 3 stops to make. Walmart, CVS and Walgreens.

At my first stop (Walmart), I whip out a gift card that had been in my purse forever. I am not sure how much is on it, but my total purchase was only $6.13. Even if there is only $5 left on it, well, that's my $5 that I can save today. I always check out at the garden center at my store because the ladies are so nice and never have a problem with my coupons. But today, for some reason, they can't get the scanner to read my card. (Actually, she had trouble with the transaction in front of me when she was trying to activate a phone card.) She tried several times. Then she tried the spot where you slide the card yourself instead of having the cashier do it. It comes up on the screen that the card can not be read. I know that if she enters the numbers on the bottom of the card that it can look it up that way. She knows it to and says she could do that, but then we would have to wait on a CSM to come all the way back there to okay it.

By now, there is a line forming and I am getting embarassed because it looks like I am causing trouble and holding everyone up. So, what do I do? I told her I would call when I got home and see what the balance was, and then went ahead and paid her. I sheepishly picked up my bags and quickly shuffled out the door, trying not to draw any attention to myself.

So, I get out to the car and call the number on the back of the card to get the balance. (this is, of course, after getting my daughter to read it to me, since I can't see the little numbers on the back. Why do they have to write so small?) Ah, but that's another issue all together. Come to find out, there is a $17.13 balance on my card. I could have gotten out of the store with nothing out of pocket.

Okay, next stop. I went to CVS. Anyone who shops at CVS knows that it's a game where you balance the sales and coupons and the Extra Care Bucks the store gives you, and try to come out of the store with loads of stuff while spending under $1. I had my plan of attack. I had my coupons pulled. This was going to be a super trip. The first thing I went to look for....out of stock. The second thing I went to look for....out of stock. The third thing I went to look for....out of stock. I guess you can see where this is leading. I do however find some things that were on my list. I wrote on my pad of paper what the cost of everything was. Then I wrote down the value of each coupon I had. Then I got out the Extra Care Bucks to make up the difference. I go to the register and I am checking out, all is well. It's only one transaction tonight (which is unusual for me) But, the cashier gets to the bottom of my pile of coupons and I still owe over $10! According to my thinking, it should have been about .40 cents. What happened? I did ask her to see her screen and see where I messed up, but I couldn't see anything wrong. I did buy some things that were luxury items (okay, maybe not luxury, but should have been free with the Extra Care Bucks) I gave her my last two Extra Care Bucks and got my total down to $7.56.

Now I had 2 options here.
1. Pay her the $7.56 or
2. Have her take the milk and a 12 pack of coke off.
This would put me at .40 oop. Those were not necessary items. I still had milk and well, do you really need cokes? It still would have left me with 2 12 packs in my cart. What did I do? I paid for it all $7.56 cash. I did get $25.50 back in ECB for my next trip.

But why didn't I just have her take the extra stuff off? It didn't net me any ECB's for next time and it would have been cheaper at another store.

Third and final stop was at Walgreens. They are always so friendly in there. I got the things on my list. They had everything I wanted. They had extra things on sale that I knew to look for thanks to my friends at hotcouponworld. I decided to check out in the cosmetics area because those cashier get commission or bonus or something based on their sales. Everything rings up fine. She even commented that the popcorn was a great price. I told her I got as many as I could according to the coupon (8). She said, "it's the last night of the sale. I don't care how many you get. Go ahead, I'll be glad to wait." So, I ran back across the store and grabbed another handful. She rings me up and the total is $19.61. I paid her and thanked her and ran out to my car. Ummm...did I mention that I have a Walgreens gift card? Did I remember to use it? Duh.

So, in conclusion, the thing I learned about myself is I am so non-confrontational, that I am willing to loose money just to avoid potentially embarassing moments. Now I have something else to work on for the New Year. It's easy to say, "stand up for yourself, you have rights, folks are getting paid to help you, and they are there to help you take care of your purchases." I know these things. I can advise people all day long on how to deal with others, but when it comes to me, I am a big fat chicken. *sigh*

Spending: $33.30
Savings: $188.09

Great Finds

2009-01-02T19:51:00.000-08:00

One of the things I'm going to do is share great finds with whoever happens to be reading this. One thing I found today as I was checking out a blog that I follow is a giveaway that I wanted to tell you about.

Jane4girls is a regular poster on a site that I frequent. She has been very inspiring as she has shared her journey of living on an $800 food budget for her family of four for an entire year. When the year started, I didn't think there was anyway she could achieve this. Through coupons and rebates, she has actually done it! I am in awe. There is so much to learn from her. She is celebrating her fantastic year by giving away a $99 Smart Shopper. It's a device that you can record your shopping list as you go along through the week and then print out the list when you are ready to go to the store, complete with which items have coupons. So, I am going to put a link to her website to share, so anyone who reads this can try to win. The contest is open until Jan. 5th CT. http://jane4girls800dollarannualbudget.blogspot.com/

Now, about my day, I had a great day. I went all over town with my daughter who was clothes shopping. (I get to go and hold her purchases, a job I relish. ) She treated me to lunch. So sweet! So, I spent the day with my daughter and didn't have to pay anything.

I did have to get gas which is somewhat aggravating because I knew I needed gas on New Year's eve, but decided it was too cold and just went home. While we were out today, I stopped to fill up and low and behold, the gas stations must have gotten a raise for the New Year, because gas had gone up .24 cents a gallon. *sigh*

The only other purchase today was for some stamps which are in the budget and a necessary evil.

But, to counter that, when I came home I decided to clean out my purse and in the bottom of my purse (as I'm sure in many women's purses) was a pile of change. I emptied it out and started rolling. I was carrying around enough change for 3 rolls of quarters, 2 rolls of dimes, 1 roll of nickels and 5 rolls of pennies. $44.50 in change. Who says I don't workout? Just for laughs, I weighed them. That's over 3 pounds of change.

I cooked dinner at home. It was taco night. That's always a hit here with no leftovers. On to another day.

Day 2

2009-01-02T01:46:00.000-08:00

So, the first day of the year is done. How did it go?

Well, on the home organization front, I washed, dryed and put away 3 loads of clothes and shined my sink. (flylady would be proud)

I cooked dinner at home, even though it was a holiday and my dh's birthday. We had a ham that I had bought in order to send in for a rebate. So, big savings there since basically we were eating free ham.

The only exercise I got was playing Guitar Hero with the kids. Tomorrow, I will work more on that. I am posting on another site and we are doing a virtual walk to Washington D.C. We go on each day and log our miles. From our starting point it is over 600 miles. But, we have a year to do it in. It's quite a goal for me since walking down the block has been foreign to me. One day at a time, one step at a time.

As far as the budgeting goes: I spent $0 today. I love these days.

I finished pulling out all of my expired coupons from my coupon box.

My menu is planned for tomorrow. It's taco night. The kid's favorite. All in all, today has been a success.

Day 1

2009-01-01T21:32:00.000-08:00

Have you heard the saying, "if you do what you've always done, you will get what you've always gotten." ? Think about that. Am I satisfied with what I have gotten? I have a fantastic family. I have a wonderful husband, three terrific kids, 2 sweet dogs, a happy home. We have food on the table, clothes on our back and all the material things we truly need. So, what is it that I could possibly want.

I spent the last few weeks in reflection about the good and the bad, the wants and the needs and where I want to be next year at this time. I identified some major things (to me) that I want to see changes in during the next year.

Finances and living on a budget
Coupons and rebates.....make that money stretch
Sustainable organization and cleaning in my home
Exercise (and not just my fingers on the keyboard)
Menu planning and eliminating or at least severely restricting dining out

So, folks are welcome to come along with me on my journey. It may be boring, it may be enlightening. Only time will tell.