At the beginning of the New Year, I posted that we are learning (and failing) and almost succeeding at actually saving money. And it's become fun. And no, I'm not crazy.
Now that I'm working so hard to save money, it made us both realize how much we were spending unnecessarily. DVDs? That cute top from Kohls? The even cuter shoes from Target? Thousands of bones for fat dog?
Now, before I purchase anything at all, I do a little math.
And math is not my strong point, so I'll break it down real simple.
Example:
Let's say that you are paid $15 an hour. You find the cutest pair of shoes and they are only $45!
Deal, right? Think about it like this. Those shoes are going to cost you 3 hours of work. Are they really worth it?
It's not an exact science, but its definitely helped my need to shop. Normally, I would hit Target when boredom set in. So far this year (January and February), I have gone to Target twice. Once because my makeup was on sale and I had a coupon and another time to buy a birthday card. Nothing else.
Why yes, I am proud of myself. Baby steps.
For the month of January, I saved every single $5 bill I came into contact with. As I stated in an earlier post, I saved $35 that month. So far, for the month of February, I've encountered a few more $5 bills and have saved $65. Do that math real quick. Here, I'll save you the trouble, it's $100.
I easily saved $100 in TWO MONTHS just by NOT spending any $5 bills. Not bad, eh.
For January, our electric bill $106. This month, it's $103. I know it's not a massive savings, but it's a little and it's counts.
I'm also trying to desperately cut out my vices. My Red Bull habit is expensive. Instead of one a day, I'm trying to allow myself only 2 a week. So far so good! Aside from my mood, of course!
On average, Red Bull cost about $2. So, 5 days a week and 5 Red Bulls a week = $10.
Unnecessary spending!
As far as saving water and washing clothes, I've noticed a pattern. Tay and I both wash clothes the same way. Throw everything into a huge a$$ load and put it on super. Have you ever actually watched to see how much water is wasted when you use the super setting? Try it. Set your washer to super and watch how far the water goes up. I can almost guarantee that regardless, you are wasting water.
Now that we are only washing our necessities, we do one medium load a week. Super load be gone!
We are also starting to try our hand at selling things online via Craigslist and other similar sites. Sometimes you win, sometimes you think you are going to be raped and bludgeoned to death by a stranger who will NOT pay the full asking price for an item you are selling.
I've recently listed some things for a little higher than I know what most will pay, but the benefit of that is, when a prospective buyer inquires if you would be willing to go down by $5 or $10, you don't end up feeling cheated and you get money out of the deal and unwanted items leave your house. Winning!
So far, the only thing we've sold is an old Nikon point and shoot for $100.
Yeah, we paid over $500 6 years ago, but for us, it was extra money in the savings account.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Tuesday, February 4, 2014
The $5 Plan
Earlier this year, I posted Ways We Are Cutting Back.
I just listed some general tips and ticks that we were trying out in our house. So far, so good!
Within that post, I also mentioned the $5 savings plan; which is, every time you come across a $5 bill, you save it, rather than spend it.
And I did. I saved all my 5's from the month of January in a coffee tin - because I'm classy like that.
And the running total of the $5 bin for January? $35!
Yeah yeah, I know what you're thinking. $35? That's it. You have to start somewhere and I am proud of my accomplishment. Think of it like this, if I continued to save AT LEAST $35 a month for an entire year... I would end up saving $420 at the end of the year.
Budgeting and saving and couponing and living frugally won't save you tons of money overnight. You have to work at it and be committed, which I am. And I'm proud of my whopping $35!
If y'all have any budget ideas or savings tricks, feel free to share!
I just listed some general tips and ticks that we were trying out in our house. So far, so good!
Within that post, I also mentioned the $5 savings plan; which is, every time you come across a $5 bill, you save it, rather than spend it.
And I did. I saved all my 5's from the month of January in a coffee tin - because I'm classy like that.
And the running total of the $5 bin for January? $35!
Yeah yeah, I know what you're thinking. $35? That's it. You have to start somewhere and I am proud of my accomplishment. Think of it like this, if I continued to save AT LEAST $35 a month for an entire year... I would end up saving $420 at the end of the year.
Budgeting and saving and couponing and living frugally won't save you tons of money overnight. You have to work at it and be committed, which I am. And I'm proud of my whopping $35!
If y'all have any budget ideas or savings tricks, feel free to share!
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Ways we are cutting back
**Long Post**
At the beginning of the New Year, I mentioned that we were going to try and budget more and spend our money more wisely. Now that the month of January is coming to an end, I'd like to give y'all an update on some of the ways we are saving.
Our first thing to do on the money saving list was change our cable plan. I work from 7:30-4:30 Monday through Friday plus do photography work once I get home - so I'd say I definitely work over 12 hours every day. Tater is always locked in his office studying; and when he's not studying or in class, he's asleep. Since we don't have the time to watch TV much anymore, we cut our package.
Last months bill was $180. Crazy, I know! I finally told Tay that was enough. Spending $180 a month on something we barely use! So we contacted our cable provider, dropped our package down - we have to keep Showtime (Homeland, Masters of Sex, Nurse Jackie, Shameless) - but other than that, all movie channels are nixed. Our new cable bill total? $87.51. Do the math, we saved over $92 a month just by changing our cable plan. $92 a month!!!!!!!
Some other ways we are trying to save:
- We are also trying to change the bad habit that we both possess - having the TV on as background noise, even when no one is watching. New rule? TV is off unless you are actually engaged in it.
-I'm a lamp lover. I swear I have at least 2-3 lamps in every room of our 3 bedroom house. And all of them are always on. Why? Because I think it looks pretty. And because I obviously do not mind throwing money down the drain. No more! New rule - the only lamps on WHEN IT'S DARK are the one's we need. The one in Tater's office and a single lamp in the living room. All other lamps are unplugged.
-Which brings me to my next point. Unplugging unnecessary appliances/lamps/everything in between. If you do not use them often, just unplug! Appliances and lamps still use electricity even when they are not on. I even unplug my coffee pot every morning when I'm finished and then plug it back in when I need more coffee.
- Our electricity bill is not due yet, so I cannot see the changes, but I'm stoked for next month to hopefully see the change! Our last bill was $106. I think if it even went down by $5 would be a big difference!
- Our water bill isn't expensive - it runs about $25 a month. That's with washing clothes when I NEED to wear this or taking the extra 15 minutes in the shower or leaving the water running while brushing our teeth. New rules - always leave the lid on the toilet seat. A 150 pound pup constantly drinking out of two toilets = lots of wasted water. Another thing we are trying is the whole flushing less. When I drink coffee in the morning, I pee about 12 times - no lie! So why would I flush all 12 times. And yeah, I'm to the point of doing anything to save a buck. Judge if you must. We are also only washing clothes once a week. And only washing the necessities: undies, socks, scrubs for Tay, dress clothes for work, and towels. T-shirts and other 'wear around the house' things are being washed once a month. We both have so many t-shirts and only wear a handful because I'm always washing clothes - not anymore!! Also, if I wear jeans once and don't spill anything on them, they are still clean, right? I'm hoping to see at least a $3 difference on the next months bill.
-Cutting down the amount of paper/plastic products that we use. I've always had this weird desire to save Kroger sacs, Target, Walgreen's, anything. Normally, I save them, they begin to reproduce in the cabinet under the kitchen sink and then BAM - full blown plastic bag takeover. Not anymore. Instead of buying overpriced name brand trash bags from Kroger, we are using the little plastic bags that are free! That should easily save us about $5 a month. We are also on the no paper plate rule. We both get lazy. Paper plates are so easy and convenient. Yet they are expensive. Let's add that to our total; approximately $4 a month. Not to mention paper towels. A few weeks I had an awesome Dollar General coupon - save $5 when you spend $25. So I bought a few necessities - all with coupons of course - and some paper towels. Those paper towels have yet to be opened. We have a slew of old 'Norm towels' - one's that he's ripped up etc...so I decided they would become our new daily use towels. So far so good!
- I use Ponds or the cheap Target/Walgreens/Walmart brand face wipes. And I don't wear that much makeup. I noticed that I really only using about half of each face wipe. So, I put my Masters degree (more on that later) to good use. I cut each face wipe in half. Now a 30 day supply has been turned into a 60 day supply. Genius I tell you!
- Since I am the breadwinner (and that freaks me out to no end!!) Tater and I just couldn't see spending $300 a month on our student loan payments. Since, he's in school and I'm not wealthy, we decided to defer our loans while he's in school. Yes, I know that the interest is steadily accruing, but once he gets done with school, paying $300 a month on loans won't seem so tedious.
- I am also a couponer. Not an avid couponer. Not a crazy couponer. I just don't understand paying full price for Dawn or Charmin when I get it on sale with a coupon and save a buck or two. I realized that my newspaper subscription has gone from $4 a month to $8 a month. I can get coupons for free online and even load them to my Kroger card. So, bye bye newspaper subscription. Hello $8 savings a month! That's almost $100 a year!
- I have also realized recently that I have a penchant for buying unnecessary items. Insert Goodwill. And Kohls sales. Just because it's on sale doesn't mean I need it. Yeah, I spent $75 at Kohls, but it was all discounted. But that is $75 we could have saved. And put towards groceries. Or gas.
A lot of these unnecessary items that I buy on whim are just taking up space. So, I've listed some items on Craigslist. I know that I cannot get full price for them, but an extra $10 bucks here and there will make a difference.
- We have also instituted the $5 savings plan. Since I'm working on a cash only basis, I'm coming across more and more five dollar bills. But I refuse to spend them. I put them in a coffee tin and hide them from myself.
Let's do some math:
$92 savings from cable bill
$5 on electricity
$3 on water bill
$9 cutting out paper/plastic products
$8 a month cancelling newspaper
For a total of: $117. For one month. Not to mention just changing our attitudes about spending money. If we were to save $117 on our bills every month, we could save $1400 a year! And I haven't even calculated in the money from our $5 bin.
You have to start somewhere. And we have. Here's hoping it all goes well.
At the beginning of the New Year, I mentioned that we were going to try and budget more and spend our money more wisely. Now that the month of January is coming to an end, I'd like to give y'all an update on some of the ways we are saving.
Our first thing to do on the money saving list was change our cable plan. I work from 7:30-4:30 Monday through Friday plus do photography work once I get home - so I'd say I definitely work over 12 hours every day. Tater is always locked in his office studying; and when he's not studying or in class, he's asleep. Since we don't have the time to watch TV much anymore, we cut our package.
Last months bill was $180. Crazy, I know! I finally told Tay that was enough. Spending $180 a month on something we barely use! So we contacted our cable provider, dropped our package down - we have to keep Showtime (Homeland, Masters of Sex, Nurse Jackie, Shameless) - but other than that, all movie channels are nixed. Our new cable bill total? $87.51. Do the math, we saved over $92 a month just by changing our cable plan. $92 a month!!!!!!!
Some other ways we are trying to save:
- We are also trying to change the bad habit that we both possess - having the TV on as background noise, even when no one is watching. New rule? TV is off unless you are actually engaged in it.
-I'm a lamp lover. I swear I have at least 2-3 lamps in every room of our 3 bedroom house. And all of them are always on. Why? Because I think it looks pretty. And because I obviously do not mind throwing money down the drain. No more! New rule - the only lamps on WHEN IT'S DARK are the one's we need. The one in Tater's office and a single lamp in the living room. All other lamps are unplugged.
-Which brings me to my next point. Unplugging unnecessary appliances/lamps/everything in between. If you do not use them often, just unplug! Appliances and lamps still use electricity even when they are not on. I even unplug my coffee pot every morning when I'm finished and then plug it back in when I need more coffee.
- Our electricity bill is not due yet, so I cannot see the changes, but I'm stoked for next month to hopefully see the change! Our last bill was $106. I think if it even went down by $5 would be a big difference!
- Our water bill isn't expensive - it runs about $25 a month. That's with washing clothes when I NEED to wear this or taking the extra 15 minutes in the shower or leaving the water running while brushing our teeth. New rules - always leave the lid on the toilet seat. A 150 pound pup constantly drinking out of two toilets = lots of wasted water. Another thing we are trying is the whole flushing less. When I drink coffee in the morning, I pee about 12 times - no lie! So why would I flush all 12 times. And yeah, I'm to the point of doing anything to save a buck. Judge if you must. We are also only washing clothes once a week. And only washing the necessities: undies, socks, scrubs for Tay, dress clothes for work, and towels. T-shirts and other 'wear around the house' things are being washed once a month. We both have so many t-shirts and only wear a handful because I'm always washing clothes - not anymore!! Also, if I wear jeans once and don't spill anything on them, they are still clean, right? I'm hoping to see at least a $3 difference on the next months bill.
-Cutting down the amount of paper/plastic products that we use. I've always had this weird desire to save Kroger sacs, Target, Walgreen's, anything. Normally, I save them, they begin to reproduce in the cabinet under the kitchen sink and then BAM - full blown plastic bag takeover. Not anymore. Instead of buying overpriced name brand trash bags from Kroger, we are using the little plastic bags that are free! That should easily save us about $5 a month. We are also on the no paper plate rule. We both get lazy. Paper plates are so easy and convenient. Yet they are expensive. Let's add that to our total; approximately $4 a month. Not to mention paper towels. A few weeks I had an awesome Dollar General coupon - save $5 when you spend $25. So I bought a few necessities - all with coupons of course - and some paper towels. Those paper towels have yet to be opened. We have a slew of old 'Norm towels' - one's that he's ripped up etc...so I decided they would become our new daily use towels. So far so good!
- I use Ponds or the cheap Target/Walgreens/Walmart brand face wipes. And I don't wear that much makeup. I noticed that I really only using about half of each face wipe. So, I put my Masters degree (more on that later) to good use. I cut each face wipe in half. Now a 30 day supply has been turned into a 60 day supply. Genius I tell you!
- Since I am the breadwinner (and that freaks me out to no end!!) Tater and I just couldn't see spending $300 a month on our student loan payments. Since, he's in school and I'm not wealthy, we decided to defer our loans while he's in school. Yes, I know that the interest is steadily accruing, but once he gets done with school, paying $300 a month on loans won't seem so tedious.
- I am also a couponer. Not an avid couponer. Not a crazy couponer. I just don't understand paying full price for Dawn or Charmin when I get it on sale with a coupon and save a buck or two. I realized that my newspaper subscription has gone from $4 a month to $8 a month. I can get coupons for free online and even load them to my Kroger card. So, bye bye newspaper subscription. Hello $8 savings a month! That's almost $100 a year!
- I have also realized recently that I have a penchant for buying unnecessary items. Insert Goodwill. And Kohls sales. Just because it's on sale doesn't mean I need it. Yeah, I spent $75 at Kohls, but it was all discounted. But that is $75 we could have saved. And put towards groceries. Or gas.
A lot of these unnecessary items that I buy on whim are just taking up space. So, I've listed some items on Craigslist. I know that I cannot get full price for them, but an extra $10 bucks here and there will make a difference.
- We have also instituted the $5 savings plan. Since I'm working on a cash only basis, I'm coming across more and more five dollar bills. But I refuse to spend them. I put them in a coffee tin and hide them from myself.
Let's do some math:
$92 savings from cable bill
$5 on electricity
$3 on water bill
$9 cutting out paper/plastic products
$8 a month cancelling newspaper
For a total of: $117. For one month. Not to mention just changing our attitudes about spending money. If we were to save $117 on our bills every month, we could save $1400 a year! And I haven't even calculated in the money from our $5 bin.
You have to start somewhere. And we have. Here's hoping it all goes well.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Goodwill is my friend, no seriously
Before the New Year and the NOT resolutions, I was hitting Goodwill like a crazy woman...I mean $20 goes a long way in Goodwill. A real long way. They were all things I did not need, but at the time I wanted - yeah yeah I know, I'm working on the whole want/need thing.
So here are some things from my previous hauls at Goodwill; and this is not including the clothes, shoes, and purses that I have purchased from them. \
So here are some things from my previous hauls at Goodwill; and this is not including the clothes, shoes, and purses that I have purchased from them. \
Spaghetti always needs a place, right?
She set me back about .50 cents.
An old dining chair, used as a photo prop.
Cost: approximately $2.50
See the pretty green-ish headboard hiding back there?
Yep, another Goodwill find. That cost $5.00
Red school desk.
She actually cost a pretty penny, but I think it was worth it.
$25.00
See the HUGE mirrors flanking the bed?
Both of them total: $15.00
I felt bad for this. Just sitting alone on a shelf in Goodwill.
So I bought her. For .50 cents.
And last but not least, this little gem. That sits in our kitchen window set us back about .50 cents.
If you don't have a Goodwill nearby (I know Delta - y'all are totally missing out!) come to the Memphis area. I have about 4 Goodwill Stores within a 20 mile radius that I hit when I'm in the mood to spend a little money or am looking for something particular. I've never had a bad experience at a Goodwill store.
Oh, did I mention the grand total for all items above??
Just under $50.
Happy shopping!!
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Don't Call it a Resolution
In an earlier post, I decided to once again NOT have a New Years resolution. And I'm standing firm on that. But, I plan on making subtle changes in my life throughout the entire year...and just see how well things go.
Don't Call it a resolution 1: BUDGET
I used to believe that budgets and coupons were reserved for grandmother's and poor people. I am neither of those. Well borderline poor. For a family of three (hey, the dog eats and has needs too!) the money that I make just isn't cutting it. And if there is any extra money at the end of the month, I spend it. On sale items, but spend it nonetheless. I have already purchased some items to help me in my quest to save more money. How stupid does that sound? I just spent money in order to save money. Oh well. Let's just say this, I'm trying damn it.
You see this clear beauty? Yep, it's my new wallet. Fancy, right? I've never really been too fashioney anyway! So this is just an expandable folder that fits into my purse and it has separate sections. Some of my sections are: grocery, gas, sins (anything from a convenient store), coupons, and eating and a hidden one in the back: savings! I get paid twice a month. One paycheck goes directly to rent. The other paycheck will be cashed and divided into this handy folder.
Example: I'm only allowing $300 a month for groceries, so in the grocery tab, there should be $300. When that money is gone, it's gone. No more groceries for the month. The same goes for all the other tabs as well. If (by any lucky chance) there is money left over in a section at the end of the month, I will move it to the savings tab within this folder and eventually deposit it into my actual savings account. This all sounds so easy in theory. I'm only on day two, and it's hard to practice what you preach!
I really try to stay away from frivolous spending: lattes from Starbucks, manicures, cute new pillows...sometimes it's hard. Remember before the days of glorious online banking, you had to write down where your money went? Well I'm bringing that trend back. Instead of checking my account and the end of the month and wondering where my money is going, I'm going to try and do it on a daily basis. Fingers crossed folks!
Don't Call it a resolution 2: NO MORE TARGET
I have no intentions of going to Target - 2 miles away - unless it is a planned trip for things like make-up, household necessities, school supplies or birthday cards. And I will not be taking any debit/credit cards. Only the list and just enough money to purchase what is needed. No more "oh that's a cute top!" or "cute shoes!" NO MORE!!
Don't Call it a resolution 3: GOODWILL, GOODWILL, GOODWILL!
Ever since I've moved up here, Goodwill has been my buddy, but really now more than ever. I can get Banana Republic dress pants for work for $5.00; as opposed to driving the hour to Wolfchase Mall and then actually purchasing the pants full price. That folks, is considered a win. A huge win.
Don't call is a resolution 4: DISTINGUISH BETWEEN WANT AND NEED
Right now, Tay and I have a house over our heads, food in the pantry, electricity to keep us warm and yet, I'm still looking for something. Cute new pillows to spruce up the couch that Norman has desecrated... I need to start distinguishing between wants and needs. Coffee (for me) is an absolute need, but buying Starbucks Blond Roast for $8.00 is a want; especially when I can get the Kroger brand in a larger container for much cheaper.
Don't call is a resolution 6: BE BETTER AROUND THE HOUSE
Tay and I are notorious for being careless when it comes to paper products. We go through paper plates and paper towels like crazy. So I've decided to change that up a bit. Instead of going through 5-10 paper towels in a days span, I'm going to have something in the kitchen called the 's**t rag.' It will be my napkin when I eat, my sponge when I make a mess, and whatever else it needs to be.
I also used to be the type to wash clothes when I got bored (crazy I know!), but now I've decided to wash clothes only once a week. Less water + less washing time + less drying time = more money in my pocket.
I sorta debated on the whole let's save water by not showering thing - we have decided against that, showers are a necessity after all!
I'm (we) are hoping that these small changes will make our household run more smoothly and hopefully save us some money. University of Tennessee CRNA tuition is too damn high!
Don't Call it a resolution 1: BUDGET
I used to believe that budgets and coupons were reserved for grandmother's and poor people. I am neither of those. Well borderline poor. For a family of three (hey, the dog eats and has needs too!) the money that I make just isn't cutting it. And if there is any extra money at the end of the month, I spend it. On sale items, but spend it nonetheless. I have already purchased some items to help me in my quest to save more money. How stupid does that sound? I just spent money in order to save money. Oh well. Let's just say this, I'm trying damn it.
You see this clear beauty? Yep, it's my new wallet. Fancy, right? I've never really been too fashioney anyway! So this is just an expandable folder that fits into my purse and it has separate sections. Some of my sections are: grocery, gas, sins (anything from a convenient store), coupons, and eating and a hidden one in the back: savings! I get paid twice a month. One paycheck goes directly to rent. The other paycheck will be cashed and divided into this handy folder.
Example: I'm only allowing $300 a month for groceries, so in the grocery tab, there should be $300. When that money is gone, it's gone. No more groceries for the month. The same goes for all the other tabs as well. If (by any lucky chance) there is money left over in a section at the end of the month, I will move it to the savings tab within this folder and eventually deposit it into my actual savings account. This all sounds so easy in theory. I'm only on day two, and it's hard to practice what you preach!
I really try to stay away from frivolous spending: lattes from Starbucks, manicures, cute new pillows...sometimes it's hard. Remember before the days of glorious online banking, you had to write down where your money went? Well I'm bringing that trend back. Instead of checking my account and the end of the month and wondering where my money is going, I'm going to try and do it on a daily basis. Fingers crossed folks!
Don't Call it a resolution 2: NO MORE TARGET
I have no intentions of going to Target - 2 miles away - unless it is a planned trip for things like make-up, household necessities, school supplies or birthday cards. And I will not be taking any debit/credit cards. Only the list and just enough money to purchase what is needed. No more "oh that's a cute top!" or "cute shoes!" NO MORE!!
Don't Call it a resolution 3: GOODWILL, GOODWILL, GOODWILL!
Ever since I've moved up here, Goodwill has been my buddy, but really now more than ever. I can get Banana Republic dress pants for work for $5.00; as opposed to driving the hour to Wolfchase Mall and then actually purchasing the pants full price. That folks, is considered a win. A huge win.
Don't call is a resolution 4: DISTINGUISH BETWEEN WANT AND NEED
Right now, Tay and I have a house over our heads, food in the pantry, electricity to keep us warm and yet, I'm still looking for something. Cute new pillows to spruce up the couch that Norman has desecrated... I need to start distinguishing between wants and needs. Coffee (for me) is an absolute need, but buying Starbucks Blond Roast for $8.00 is a want; especially when I can get the Kroger brand in a larger container for much cheaper.
Don't call is a resolution 6: BE BETTER AROUND THE HOUSE
Tay and I are notorious for being careless when it comes to paper products. We go through paper plates and paper towels like crazy. So I've decided to change that up a bit. Instead of going through 5-10 paper towels in a days span, I'm going to have something in the kitchen called the 's**t rag.' It will be my napkin when I eat, my sponge when I make a mess, and whatever else it needs to be.
I also used to be the type to wash clothes when I got bored (crazy I know!), but now I've decided to wash clothes only once a week. Less water + less washing time + less drying time = more money in my pocket.
I sorta debated on the whole let's save water by not showering thing - we have decided against that, showers are a necessity after all!
I'm (we) are hoping that these small changes will make our household run more smoothly and hopefully save us some money. University of Tennessee CRNA tuition is too damn high!
Friday, August 9, 2013
Meal Planning 101
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I was on a mission when I went to Target. Cute binder for meal planning.
They, of course, had all the bland ugly 'boy' binders. You know, the plain Five Star ones?
I'm a girl. I like frills and cutesy.
This was as good as it got at Target. So I settled.
Tay and I have been talking for a long time about getting organized and spending less.
When your husband is an unemployed student and you work two jobs just to pay rent and buy food; little things become big things when you can't afford them. Like tires.
A few months back, on my way home from work, I had a massive blowout. Well, the railroad tie in the road caused it, but nonetheless! We arrived at Gateway (the best tire place ever) and we were told that we needed new tires. Immediately. Obviously, NOT having an extra $700 laying around, we were up a creek. In that moment, not having the money, we signed up for the Gateway credit card, put the tires on the card, and paid them off before interest kicked in.
BUT, I don't like living like that.
I like to pay for things, not put things on credit.
So, this is mine and Tay's attempt at a meal planner.
Our idea is to make a plan for the month, one BIG grocery shopping trip - with coupons of course, and on sale meat. Buy what we can to last a month and make small trips sporadically to grab more milk or bread; things that are a bit more perishable.
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I'm kind of an organizational freak, as referenced above by the first page of the binder.
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I go to Kroger.com constantly and add their digital coupons to my account. I may or may not use them, but I'd rather have them just in case. I print off my list of digital coupons and store them in my binder. I have an entirely separate binder dedicated to just coupons. I'm not a crazy coupon lady, but I think coupons are a good way to save a buck or two.
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Tab 2 in the meal planner is the list of meals we actually cook/eat.
They are not recipes, just an easy reference guide. If I know we want to have chicken spaghetti twice in one month, I can easily flip to this page, see exactly what is needed and then add it to the grocery list.
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The print out of meals!
Just google meal planner and you'll get a ton of results that are printable.
The dry erase board with our monthly menu.
Since Tay isn't as organized or as OCD as I am, I put a calendar in the kitchen to let him know what would be for dinner everyday. Most days, he arrives home from school before I get home from work and will start cooking. Our plan also is to assign certain nights to certain people. I know that Tay won't get home to at least 6:00 on Thursdays, so that will obviously be my day.
Eventually, we are going to make a household budget.
Eventually.
We are going to see how this works first, see if we can cut corners costs.
Wish us luck...we may end of starving! :)
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Thrifting
If all goes well this afternoon: traffic, the Goodwill shopping gods, etc...
I should have my home office up and running by later tonight.
This excites me.
I made a run yesterday after the real job to the Goodwill about a mile from my house.
Let's just say, it doesn't even compare to the Goodwill in Hernando.
They had nothing that I needed...or even wanted!
I did snag a few lamps and lampshades. That's nothing compared to my usual haul!
So, what's a girl to do?
Drive the extra miles to Hernando's Goodwill of course!
I am in desperate need of an office chair, but I don't like office chairs.
I have one at the real job, and want something that's more me!
So, everyone say a prayer that the Goodwill WILL HAVE a chair that screams me!
And possibly some more lamps, and curtains, and Abercrombie jeans and everything else that I'm too lazy to pay full price for.
Friday, June 29, 2012
Cheap Dog Food...Yes!
This is Norman's dog food. It's not super expensive, but a little pricey, but ole Norm needs the right nutrition. And he has to be one this for his first year, so says the vet. Our checkbooks are hurting!
Well God bless Hill's Science Diet, they ran a promotion last week, save $3 on any one of their products, I, of course, printed off two coupons, one from each of my email accounts. Then, I get an email from PetCo, two seperate $5 coupons!
Total before coupons = $23.98
That extra dollar is a donation that Tay and I make every time we go buy dog food.
So, are you good at math? Two $5 coupons plus two $3 coupons = $16.00.
Yep, that is what I saved on Norm's food.
I paid $8.96 for two packages of dog food that would have cost me $23.98.
Am I exctied?
Yes.
Is Norm?
No, him and daddy are napping right now and don't know about my killer savings!
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