Hi everybody. I hope you are all having a great day and staying warm. Hope my friends in the mid-atlantic states are enjoying the snow. I am actually envious of them since all the snow this year has actually missed us.
I will keep this short since i am posting this through ping.fm. It is a convenient website that lets you post to all your social media at the same time. We will see how it looks. I am now off to work on homework for my classes. Enjoy the rest of your weekend and the superbowl.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Organizing Your Coupons
If you want to start couponing, you will need some sort of filing system. Couponing without organization just does not work. If you dont' know where your coupons are, you won't be able to use them to save your hard-earned money.
Envelopes
Envelopes are great for those couponers who don't use a lot of coupons. You can label several envelopes with different labels. For example, you could have separate ones for cleaning, HBA products, dairy and frozen, boxed goods, etc. I have also seen people use Ziploc bags and this might actually be better than using envelopes because your coupons won't fall out. The downside to using envelopes, or Ziploc bags, is that if you get really into couponing, it won't work anymore. It's just not that efficient of an organizational system for mass couponing.
Coupon holder
I originally started out with a small coupon holder that I bought at Target. I soon found out that this wasn't big enough for my needs so I invested in a bigger sized one at Target. These were both $1, by the way. There are several pockets to divide your coupons up by category. They came with stickers so that I could write whatever I wanted on the tabs. Coupon holders are nice for the person starting out, but when you get several copies of one insert or start really printing those Internet coupons, they just don't work as well.
Don't cut, put in folders
Now, there may be a different name for it, but for the life of me, I don't know it. This method of coupon organization is touted by many of the coupon websites such as couponmom.com and the grocerygame.com. How does it work? Well, each week when you get the inserts from the Sunday paper, you simply label a folder with the date and stick the inserts in there. Each week, you can check out one of those sites that will tell you which sales and coupons match up. The date of the insert will be listed and you just go to that folder and cut the coupon out. This is great if you are one of those people who make a grocery list and stick to it. The problem I have with this method is that I find unadvertised specials and clearance items all the time. If I didn't have my coupons with me, I would miss out on really great deals. Plus, where do you put those extra coupons, like the ones you get in the mail or in products?
Binder method
Some people use large binders with plastic insert pages that can hold baseball or business cards. I recently found that my old way of
coupon organization was not working and that I needed something new. I decided to try this method. I had a binder that I figured would work until I could get a better one when school supplies went on sale. I bought one package of plastic sheets, but soon discovered that this was not enough and sent hubby out to get another pack. This seems to be enough, at least for now. I have it organized in the same order that my coupon holder was organized in. Which is good, because I only have 2 dividers right now. I am waiting on some good back-to-school sales to stock up on some. This method lets me quickly go to the coupon I want and I can easily see if I have more than one. Yes, there is an initial investment of at least the plastic pages, but I see it as an investment in my sanity. LOL. Especially with three kids, plus hubby, often tagging along to the store, being able to find coupons quickly is priceless. You may also find it a little embarrassing to walk into the store with it. Well don't be embarrassed. Look at how much money you will be saving. If it makes you feel better, find a cart outside near your and put your binder in there. No one will even notice it's there.
I hope this helps with any organizational problems you may have with your coupons. I am sure there are many more ways to organize your coupons. These are just the most popular ones. If you know of any other ways, please share by leaving a comment.
Envelopes
Envelopes are great for those couponers who don't use a lot of coupons. You can label several envelopes with different labels. For example, you could have separate ones for cleaning, HBA products, dairy and frozen, boxed goods, etc. I have also seen people use Ziploc bags and this might actually be better than using envelopes because your coupons won't fall out. The downside to using envelopes, or Ziploc bags, is that if you get really into couponing, it won't work anymore. It's just not that efficient of an organizational system for mass couponing.
Coupon holder
I originally started out with a small coupon holder that I bought at Target. I soon found out that this wasn't big enough for my needs so I invested in a bigger sized one at Target. These were both $1, by the way. There are several pockets to divide your coupons up by category. They came with stickers so that I could write whatever I wanted on the tabs. Coupon holders are nice for the person starting out, but when you get several copies of one insert or start really printing those Internet coupons, they just don't work as well.
Don't cut, put in folders
Now, there may be a different name for it, but for the life of me, I don't know it. This method of coupon organization is touted by many of the coupon websites such as couponmom.com and the grocerygame.com. How does it work? Well, each week when you get the inserts from the Sunday paper, you simply label a folder with the date and stick the inserts in there. Each week, you can check out one of those sites that will tell you which sales and coupons match up. The date of the insert will be listed and you just go to that folder and cut the coupon out. This is great if you are one of those people who make a grocery list and stick to it. The problem I have with this method is that I find unadvertised specials and clearance items all the time. If I didn't have my coupons with me, I would miss out on really great deals. Plus, where do you put those extra coupons, like the ones you get in the mail or in products?
Binder method
Some people use large binders with plastic insert pages that can hold baseball or business cards. I recently found that my old way of
coupon organization was not working and that I needed something new. I decided to try this method. I had a binder that I figured would work until I could get a better one when school supplies went on sale. I bought one package of plastic sheets, but soon discovered that this was not enough and sent hubby out to get another pack. This seems to be enough, at least for now. I have it organized in the same order that my coupon holder was organized in. Which is good, because I only have 2 dividers right now. I am waiting on some good back-to-school sales to stock up on some. This method lets me quickly go to the coupon I want and I can easily see if I have more than one. Yes, there is an initial investment of at least the plastic pages, but I see it as an investment in my sanity. LOL. Especially with three kids, plus hubby, often tagging along to the store, being able to find coupons quickly is priceless. You may also find it a little embarrassing to walk into the store with it. Well don't be embarrassed. Look at how much money you will be saving. If it makes you feel better, find a cart outside near your and put your binder in there. No one will even notice it's there.I hope this helps with any organizational problems you may have with your coupons. I am sure there are many more ways to organize your coupons. These are just the most popular ones. If you know of any other ways, please share by leaving a comment.
Monday, January 11, 2010
free milk coupon and giveaway
Enter to win a years' supply of milk (52 coupons). The first 125,000 people to enter will also receive a coupon for a free gallon of milk. Just remember to print your coupon a second time, you can click on the back button a few times. The limits on most of these type coupons are 2. You can enter at The Great Gallon Give.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Menu Plan Monday
On Saturday I finally got my $5 Dinner Mom cookbook by Erin Chase. The first third of the book talks about how to save money and feed your family healthy, yet frugal dinners. Although I knew most of the things Erin wrote about, I did learn a few new things. Then I went on to look at the recipes. WOW!! They are easy to make recipes that sound so yummy! Many times when I am looking for frugal recipes they tend to take a while to make or are complicated. Since I now work full time, I need to get it done quick. Erin's cookbook is a great resource for someone who is trying to save time and money.
Now on to my meal plan for the week:
MONDAY - leftovers
TUESDAY - ham steaks, scalloped potatoes, vegetable
WEDNESDAY - spaghetti with homemade meatballs, vegetables
THURSDAY - leftovers
FRIDAY -pork roast in crock pot, baked potatoes, vegetable
SATURDAY - homemade macaroni and cheese with chicken and broccoli
SUNDAY - leftovers
Meal planning not only saves you money but also time and frustration. There is no more "What's for dinner?" moments. What's your meal plan for the week?
Now on to my meal plan for the week:
MONDAY - leftovers
TUESDAY - ham steaks, scalloped potatoes, vegetable
WEDNESDAY - spaghetti with homemade meatballs, vegetables
THURSDAY - leftovers
FRIDAY -pork roast in crock pot, baked potatoes, vegetable
SATURDAY - homemade macaroni and cheese with chicken and broccoli
SUNDAY - leftovers
Meal planning not only saves you money but also time and frustration. There is no more "What's for dinner?" moments. What's your meal plan for the week?
Snapfish photo deal
Do you have a bunch of digital pictures that you want printed? Now is the time to do it.
Snapfish has a great offer - 50 prints for 1 penny each! The code is NEWYEAR50 and it expires January 11.
Snapfish has a great offer - 50 prints for 1 penny each! The code is NEWYEAR50 and it expires January 11.
Working on first financial resolution
Last week, I posted my New Year's resolutions on here. My first financial resolution was to get $1500 into our savings account. We are working hard on getting to this point so that we can begin to pay off our credit cards. My husband really wanted m
e to start paying off the credit cards right away, but I explained to him that I didn't think that was a great idea. Even financial gurus like Dave Ramsey tell you to save $1000 emergency fund before paying off credit. If something happens (for instance we need to buy a new tire, etc) and we don't have the emergency fund we would end up using a credit card. I finally convinced him that this was the way we should go.
It is my goal this year to post the amount I transfer to savings each week. I will also be posting my weekly meal plans (on Mondays) and how much I spend on groceries each week. Once I have my emergency fund fully funded I will post how much I send to credit cards and how much is left.
e to start paying off the credit cards right away, but I explained to him that I didn't think that was a great idea. Even financial gurus like Dave Ramsey tell you to save $1000 emergency fund before paying off credit. If something happens (for instance we need to buy a new tire, etc) and we don't have the emergency fund we would end up using a credit card. I finally convinced him that this was the way we should go.It is my goal this year to post the amount I transfer to savings each week. I will also be posting my weekly meal plans (on Mondays) and how much I spend on groceries each week. Once I have my emergency fund fully funded I will post how much I send to credit cards and how much is left.
This Week's Totals (1/7 to 1/13)
Weekly Amount sent to savings: $550.00
Total Amount in Savings: $558.51
Weekly Amount spent for groceries: $19.73 / $75.00
Weekly Amount spent for groceries: $19.73 / $75.00
(hubby went to Wegmans this a.m. - bought a newspaper, 3 gallons milk, pound of deli turkey, 3 loaves of white bread and 3 loaves of wheat)
Total for Groceries this Month: $59.48/$300.00
Meal Plan expected to be done by tomorrow.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
New Year's Resolutions
I know it has been a while since I have posted, but I actually have a little time so I thought I would write something up. I hope you have all had a wonderful holiday season, and didn't overspend too much.
During this time of the year, many people make New Year's resolutions. Some decide to get healthier and lose weight while others decide that they want to makeover their financial situation. This year I have resolutions to do both.
I need to get my butt in gear and get this weight off. I want to do this not only so I can lose the weight and wear smaller clothes, but also so that I can feel healthier and have more energy. Both my husband and I have gym memberships, it is just a matter of getting there. It is relatively cheap and it is open twenty four hours a day. So, this should make it easier to get there, but getting the inspiration to leave and go has proved difficult. I am going to start trying to go in the morning before work. If this doesn't work, then I will start doing 30 Day Shred several times during the work week and just go to the gym on the weekends.
Financially, I have some really big goals for the coming year. Fortunately, we found out yesterday that my husband's unemployment will be extended until at least April. So that is good news. If it hadn't been extended, it would have run out in the middle of February. That would have meant a month and a half of saving every last penny we could get our hands on. This would have given us about $1500 (or more) in our savings to help pay bills with. I figured that with this amount and our current bills we would have to use a little less than $400 of it each month.
I still want to get that $1500 in the savings account and get some of our credit cards paid off. So, here are my financial goals for 2010 and how we will achieve them:
During this time of the year, many people make New Year's resolutions. Some decide to get healthier and lose weight while others decide that they want to makeover their financial situation. This year I have resolutions to do both.
I need to get my butt in gear and get this weight off. I want to do this not only so I can lose the weight and wear smaller clothes, but also so that I can feel healthier and have more energy. Both my husband and I have gym memberships, it is just a matter of getting there. It is relatively cheap and it is open twenty four hours a day. So, this should make it easier to get there, but getting the inspiration to leave and go has proved difficult. I am going to start trying to go in the morning before work. If this doesn't work, then I will start doing 30 Day Shred several times during the work week and just go to the gym on the weekends.
Financially, I have some really big goals for the coming year. Fortunately, we found out yesterday that my husband's unemployment will be extended until at least April. So that is good news. If it hadn't been extended, it would have run out in the middle of February. That would have meant a month and a half of saving every last penny we could get our hands on. This would have given us about $1500 (or more) in our savings to help pay bills with. I figured that with this amount and our current bills we would have to use a little less than $400 of it each month.
I still want to get that $1500 in the savings account and get some of our credit cards paid off. So, here are my financial goals for 2010 and how we will achieve them:
- Save $1500 in our emergency fund. This is also what Dave Ramsey suggests you do before you start paying off the bills. I have already devised our budget for the next 6 months and figured out that by the middle of February we will be at this amount. Although we will have reached our goal at that time, we will continue taking out $25 a week and having it automatically placed in our online savings account.
- Build up our food stockpile. I would like to have enough food for 4-6 months (with only having to buy perishables). This would help in case of lower income or any other reason we couldn't get to the store. I will be taking a weekly inventory of what we have so I know what we need more of in order to have a 4 month supply. I will then stock up when I get a deal of those foods.
- After our EF is fully funded, we will start snowballing our credit cards. Although I think it might be a little bit smarter to pay the highest interest debts off first, I think it gives you more motivation if you pay off the smallest balances first. As previously stated, I have done up a budget for the next 6 months and have already figured out how much I will be using to pay off debt each week. After getting the first debt paid off, I will take the payment I normally paid on that debt, plus the extra and put it on the next smallest debt.
- After our credit cards are paid off I will be concentrating on paying off our van early. We own our explorer so we don't have to worry about paying that off. I will then concentrate on getting my school loans paid off.
So what are your New Year's resolutions? I would love to hear. Leave them in the comments.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
It's Been Rough Around Here
Since starting work a few months ago, I have really been slacking in the coupon clipping category. I'm lucky if I get the coupons even clipped each week, never mind getting them organized in my binder. I also haven't made getting all the best deals a priority. I just don't seem to have enough time. Why couldn't there be more hours in a day? I just haven't been interested in running to Rite Aid or Walgreens to get the good deals. I still cut out the ones I think I will need, but mostly I am using them at Tops, Target and Walmart.
We have been really bad when it comes to eating out lately. My husband is still laid off so he's the one who cooks dinner during the week. Unfortunately he has not been doing this like he should. Not only are we spending a lot by eating out but we are not eating the best foods for us. My plan for this weekend is to do up a meal plan for the week for him, because obviously he needs one and won't do one for himself. I would also like to cook up some foods to stick in the freezer. I am thinking some macaroni and cheese with broccoli and chicken, pizza crust, homemade bread, and maybe some chili.
We have also been slacking in the cleaning area. On the weekends it just seems like I am cleaning all the time. Lots of laundry and dishes, and I never seem to get caught back up. I need to somehow make the essential cleaning a priority for my husband. I don't know exactly how to do that. I am thinking that maybe if I start saying I'm not going anywhere until certain things get done, that might work. Any ideas?
I really need to get things under control, before the holidays and before my classes start in spring. I have an independent study and an online class, and the one is going to be quite a challenge and take up a lot of my free time. Of course, after that I will be graduating and will not have to do this whole working and going to school thing. I can't wait. If you have any ideas on how I can get things in order, please live it in the comments.
We have been really bad when it comes to eating out lately. My husband is still laid off so he's the one who cooks dinner during the week. Unfortunately he has not been doing this like he should. Not only are we spending a lot by eating out but we are not eating the best foods for us. My plan for this weekend is to do up a meal plan for the week for him, because obviously he needs one and won't do one for himself. I would also like to cook up some foods to stick in the freezer. I am thinking some macaroni and cheese with broccoli and chicken, pizza crust, homemade bread, and maybe some chili.
We have also been slacking in the cleaning area. On the weekends it just seems like I am cleaning all the time. Lots of laundry and dishes, and I never seem to get caught back up. I need to somehow make the essential cleaning a priority for my husband. I don't know exactly how to do that. I am thinking that maybe if I start saying I'm not going anywhere until certain things get done, that might work. Any ideas?
I really need to get things under control, before the holidays and before my classes start in spring. I have an independent study and an online class, and the one is going to be quite a challenge and take up a lot of my free time. Of course, after that I will be graduating and will not have to do this whole working and going to school thing. I can't wait. If you have any ideas on how I can get things in order, please live it in the comments.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
AND THE WINNER IS......
Tanya. I will be emailing Tanya tonight to get her address so that I can send her the envelope of coupons. Congratulations Tanya.
As many of you may have noticed, I have not been posting on here much. Between work, my classes and family, I just don't have the time. I get home from class on Mondays and Wednesdays and just crash. The rest of the weekdays I spend a little time with the kiddos and then crash as soon as they are in bed. I am really exhausted.
As much as I love writing in my blog, I just can't keep up with it. So, I will post when I can, but I make no promises. I have been having trouble even getting my Tops deals and shopping trips posted (I went last weekend, even took pictures, but never found the time to post them). So, I will leave everything up and active, and just post when I have the opportunity.
As many of you may have noticed, I have not been posting on here much. Between work, my classes and family, I just don't have the time. I get home from class on Mondays and Wednesdays and just crash. The rest of the weekdays I spend a little time with the kiddos and then crash as soon as they are in bed. I am really exhausted.
As much as I love writing in my blog, I just can't keep up with it. So, I will post when I can, but I make no promises. I have been having trouble even getting my Tops deals and shopping trips posted (I went last weekend, even took pictures, but never found the time to post them). So, I will leave everything up and active, and just post when I have the opportunity.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
It Pays to Eat Pasta Sweepstakes!
This contest is pretty cool, so I just had to share it with you all. Go to It Pays to Eat Pasta, and enter their sweepstakes today. They are giving 8 lucky people free groceries for a year ($5200) and 42 people $200 in groceries. Pretty awesome huh? I know we could certainly use either of those, and with 50 chances, that ups the odd of winning. So, go over to site and enter.
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