So I have a few goals for my couponing/thrifty endeavor...
The most obvious goal is to save money on things my family already buys. In case you don't know it, expenses for a family of 5 can add up!
Another goal is to create a stockpile. I have a vision of our garage shelves lined with toilet paper, paper towels, diaper wipes, toothpaste, easy mac, and enough cereal in stock for my kiddos (among other things, of course) to last for 3-6 months. I'm learning, so I have no illusions that I'll get there next week, or even next month, but I'm trying, which is really what counts. (In case you're wondering, I don't find this goal in conflict with my declutter goal....I want to stock up on things we as a family love and use....so there are fewer stressful moments when we realize that there is no more toilet paper in the house. Not that I have experience with that or anything...)
Another goal is to {once again} cook in bulk and store meals in my freezer. I had been doing this for a while - and had even been organizing meal swap parties for the Sunday school class - and it makes dinners and meal planning so easy. {Quick realization is that I didn't host a single solitary one of those meal swaps during the fall semester...and I don't think I had one in the summer either. Shame on me!} So if I combine the freezer cooking with buying some of the ingredients in bulk and on sale, I'll be one happy mamma.
Of course, a lofty goal that I have is to hit the deals so that I ultimately get various toiletries for free (because apparently that is possible), but I know that's lofty and it will probably take a while before I'm ever at that point, so whatever.....any savings is good!
My final goal is to use the money we're saving from being thrifty and couponing and put it to good use. Whatever that good use might need to be at the moment. What I don't want to do is save money in this area and have this effort and those savings amount to nothing in our grand scheme of finances. What a waste that would be.
It's the start of a new month, which means most of the online coupons just reset. Who is on the couponing bandwagon with me??
Showing posts with label coupons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label coupons. Show all posts
Friday, February 03, 2012
Thursday, January 05, 2012
A Years Worth of Date Nights
As I reveal more and more of the Christmas gifts...the one to Matt is especially fun. I gave him a years worth of Date Nights. Our 'default' is dinner and/or a movie, so I wanted to branch out and try to pick things for us to do during the year that we enjoyed and that we would look forward to.
I planned out date nights once a month for a year. Once a month because I'm being realistic...I know there are experts out there that recommend date nights once a week and I'm all for that, but we're lucky if we get to see each other once a week sometimes...a whole date night once a week just seems a little unrealistic right now. We'll get there, but we'll start with something a bit more manageable.
The gist is, he got 12 envelopes, each labeled with a month on it. He got another envelope that explained what the overall idea was and that he was to open the corresponding envelope on the first of the month and we were - at that time - to coordinate schedules and pick a date night for that month. And stick to it.
I also gave him some extra envelopes....one with gift certificates to places in town and another with places to a town where his parents are (and subsequently we are quite a bit), so we have additional date night options that we can add in if time permits. An added bonus, many of the gift certificates utilized for this don't have expiration dates, so I'm in the clear if we end up not using them. Note: not all of the months include gift certificates, but restaurants.com has great deals and you can use coupon codes to get gift certificates at an incredibly low rate (ex. $1 for a $10 gift certificate or $2 for a $25 gift certificate, or even less...)
I'll try to update this particular post with the date night themes or topics as the months progress.
January - Gift certificate to Potato Shack & Trip to Toys R Us to buy birthday cards for our kids and niece for the year (starting the year off right with organizing!)
February - Registration for a Love & Respect Marriage Conference, complete with child care arrangements
March - Gift certificate to Italian restaurant, Gift certificate (for family) to a family-fun restaurant for us all to go to over spring break, Gift certificate for another restaurant for he and I to go to lunch
April -
May -
June -
July -
August -
September -
October -
November -
December -
I tried to vary things...keeping most of these local and inexpensive. So what are your ideas for fun date nights?
I planned out date nights once a month for a year. Once a month because I'm being realistic...I know there are experts out there that recommend date nights once a week and I'm all for that, but we're lucky if we get to see each other once a week sometimes...a whole date night once a week just seems a little unrealistic right now. We'll get there, but we'll start with something a bit more manageable.
The gist is, he got 12 envelopes, each labeled with a month on it. He got another envelope that explained what the overall idea was and that he was to open the corresponding envelope on the first of the month and we were - at that time - to coordinate schedules and pick a date night for that month. And stick to it.
I also gave him some extra envelopes....one with gift certificates to places in town and another with places to a town where his parents are (and subsequently we are quite a bit), so we have additional date night options that we can add in if time permits. An added bonus, many of the gift certificates utilized for this don't have expiration dates, so I'm in the clear if we end up not using them. Note: not all of the months include gift certificates, but restaurants.com has great deals and you can use coupon codes to get gift certificates at an incredibly low rate (ex. $1 for a $10 gift certificate or $2 for a $25 gift certificate, or even less...)
I'll try to update this particular post with the date night themes or topics as the months progress.
January - Gift certificate to Potato Shack & Trip to Toys R Us to buy birthday cards for our kids and niece for the year (starting the year off right with organizing!)
February - Registration for a Love & Respect Marriage Conference, complete with child care arrangements
March - Gift certificate to Italian restaurant, Gift certificate (for family) to a family-fun restaurant for us all to go to over spring break, Gift certificate for another restaurant for he and I to go to lunch
April -
May -
June -
July -
August -
September -
October -
November -
December -
I tried to vary things...keeping most of these local and inexpensive. So what are your ideas for fun date nights?
Tuesday, January 03, 2012
Back on the coupon bandwagon
I have fallen off...and now I'm getting back on.
And my first step is to get my coupon circulars organized. (I have them, they are simply in no discernible order).
Something I've learned in this process.....coupon circulars have dates on them...on the outer covers - the covers are like spines in a book and the date is on there (I'm specifically talking about the Sunday paper circulars here). Kudos to you if you already knew that, but it was certainly my revelation for the day!!
And my first step is to get my coupon circulars organized. (I have them, they are simply in no discernible order).
Something I've learned in this process.....coupon circulars have dates on them...on the outer covers - the covers are like spines in a book and the date is on there (I'm specifically talking about the Sunday paper circulars here). Kudos to you if you already knew that, but it was certainly my revelation for the day!!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
What a day!
Yesterday was an all-around good day.
It began with a bit more of a jolt than I had anticipated when I realized that the Old Navy $2 tank top sale began at 7 AM. This realization came shortly after 6:30 AM....and the girls and I were at the store at about 5 minutes after 7 to start in on our sale day.
Whew!
We managed to get a few tanks, and then took advantage of the other sales they were having....and ended up with matching 4th of July tanks, swim suits for both girls, and two very well-behaved girls.
So we headed to Sweet Eugene's for breakfast...a special treat of cinnamon rolls and chocolate milk (courtesy of our coupon book). We sat in the 'library' section of Sweet E's and enjoyed our breakfast.
We were having so much fun, that Tatum even asked if we could do more 'fun stuff.'
We headed to the library to check out some books, and made it there about 5 minutes before it actually opened. Tatum picked out a few books and so did I, and we left not too terribly long after arriving, due to a wee one needing a nap. And making sure everyone in the library knew it.
She fell asleep by the time we got back to the house, so I put her down for her nap and Tatum and I read a few of her books. I took a short nap, Tatum played, and then daddy and Kellen got back from their fishing trip. Lunch and 'real' naps later, I went to the next phase of my day.
The spa!
I was able to use a Christmas present a bit before it expired....so enjoyed a relaxing facial and relaxing massage.....They were both wonderful!
Back to the house and we decided to use some of Kellen's coupons for dinner and we all enjoyed Golden Corral. After dinner (and yummy Golden Corral desserts!) we headed back home for a few games of I Spy (aka - Investigate). Then it was bedtime for the kiddos and Matt and I caught up on some DVR'ed shows.
Such.a.great.day.
It began with a bit more of a jolt than I had anticipated when I realized that the Old Navy $2 tank top sale began at 7 AM. This realization came shortly after 6:30 AM....and the girls and I were at the store at about 5 minutes after 7 to start in on our sale day.
Whew!
We managed to get a few tanks, and then took advantage of the other sales they were having....and ended up with matching 4th of July tanks, swim suits for both girls, and two very well-behaved girls.
So we headed to Sweet Eugene's for breakfast...a special treat of cinnamon rolls and chocolate milk (courtesy of our coupon book). We sat in the 'library' section of Sweet E's and enjoyed our breakfast.
We were having so much fun, that Tatum even asked if we could do more 'fun stuff.'
We headed to the library to check out some books, and made it there about 5 minutes before it actually opened. Tatum picked out a few books and so did I, and we left not too terribly long after arriving, due to a wee one needing a nap. And making sure everyone in the library knew it.
She fell asleep by the time we got back to the house, so I put her down for her nap and Tatum and I read a few of her books. I took a short nap, Tatum played, and then daddy and Kellen got back from their fishing trip. Lunch and 'real' naps later, I went to the next phase of my day.
The spa!
I was able to use a Christmas present a bit before it expired....so enjoyed a relaxing facial and relaxing massage.....They were both wonderful!
Back to the house and we decided to use some of Kellen's coupons for dinner and we all enjoyed Golden Corral. After dinner (and yummy Golden Corral desserts!) we headed back home for a few games of I Spy (aka - Investigate). Then it was bedtime for the kiddos and Matt and I caught up on some DVR'ed shows.
Such.a.great.day.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
My foray into couponing
Well, I mentioned earlier that I was going to try my hand at couponing.
So I tried to 'coupon' this week. I'm using coupon as a verb and that's intentional.
I'm determined to get this figured out.
But I''m also trying to start small. Taking manageable bites.
We'll see how I do....
Attempt #1:
Target
Rimmel Mascara - $2.99
--Manufacturer coupon for $2.00 off 1
--Target coupon for $2.00 off 1
Rimmel Eyeshadow - $3.99
--Manufacturer coupon for $2.00 off 1
--Target coupon for $2.00 off 1
Up and Up lotion - $3.84
--Target coupon for $1.00 off 1
Now, I had thought that I would accumulate 'overage' with the stacking of the coupons for items that I could use toward the purchase of the lotion. This did not happen. I'm not sure if it was supposed to happen and the guy simply messed up, but it didn't. He manually adjusted the 'store' coupon to be sure that it was exactly the remaining amount of each of the Rimmel products. I guess I could have stopped there and walked out with two eye products for nothing, but I was already at the counter with people behind me and just decided to go with it.
Some things that might work in my favor with this are that I'm enough of a girly-girl to know that I need eyeshadow and mascara, but not enough of the girly-girl that I care about the brand. I hold this opinion in many areas, so perhaps this will serve me well in this coupon adventure.
The total of the items without coupons = $10.82
Amount paid = $3.07
Total saved = $7.98
So to you coupon people 'in the know', did the guy mess up when he adjusted the coupon amount or was I supposed to get some overage in this transaction? Just wondering for future reference.
How do you think I did?
So I tried to 'coupon' this week. I'm using coupon as a verb and that's intentional.
I'm determined to get this figured out.
But I''m also trying to start small. Taking manageable bites.
We'll see how I do....
Attempt #1:
Target
Rimmel Mascara - $2.99
--Manufacturer coupon for $2.00 off 1
--Target coupon for $2.00 off 1
Rimmel Eyeshadow - $3.99
--Manufacturer coupon for $2.00 off 1
--Target coupon for $2.00 off 1
Up and Up lotion - $3.84
--Target coupon for $1.00 off 1
Now, I had thought that I would accumulate 'overage' with the stacking of the coupons for items that I could use toward the purchase of the lotion. This did not happen. I'm not sure if it was supposed to happen and the guy simply messed up, but it didn't. He manually adjusted the 'store' coupon to be sure that it was exactly the remaining amount of each of the Rimmel products. I guess I could have stopped there and walked out with two eye products for nothing, but I was already at the counter with people behind me and just decided to go with it.
Some things that might work in my favor with this are that I'm enough of a girly-girl to know that I need eyeshadow and mascara, but not enough of the girly-girl that I care about the brand. I hold this opinion in many areas, so perhaps this will serve me well in this coupon adventure.
The total of the items without coupons = $10.82
Amount paid = $3.07
Total saved = $7.98
So to you coupon people 'in the know', did the guy mess up when he adjusted the coupon amount or was I supposed to get some overage in this transaction? Just wondering for future reference.
How do you think I did?
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Couponing
I'm trying to venture into the world of couponing. I have 'liked' a number of sites on Facebook that I'm hoping will give me some guidance to the secrets of this trade.
I want to be able to get my groceries, or toiletries, or whatever, and say I bought some absurd amount of stuff for pennies. Or a few dollars. Or saved half.
Or something like that.
If you have any tips, or favorite websites, or groups on Facebook that will bestow upon me this knowledge, please pass them along.
Really. Please.
Certainly I can figure this out, right?
I want to be able to get my groceries, or toiletries, or whatever, and say I bought some absurd amount of stuff for pennies. Or a few dollars. Or saved half.
Or something like that.
If you have any tips, or favorite websites, or groups on Facebook that will bestow upon me this knowledge, please pass them along.
Really. Please.
Certainly I can figure this out, right?
Monday, June 14, 2010
What a weekend!
You know the weekends you have that are thoroughly enjoyable? The ones when, at the end of it, you look back and think, "I just had a GREAT weekend!"
Well, I had one of those weekends this past weekend. And I was so blessed by it!
Kellen had been gone for almost two weeks (home the weekend prior), so it was wonderful to spend some time with him. Tatum had missed him terribly, so it was great to see them playing together (and sweetly 95% of the time, too).
Saturday was an incredibly busy day. We started out with me going crazy trying to get EVERYTHING together for the maternity photo shoot that was slated to begin at 9 AM. It was one of those times when I thought I knew what I was going to wear, what I was going to accessorize with, and then when I put it on, I didn't like it. And if I didn't like it on, I certainly wasn't going to feel good enough in it to get pictures made.
So after grabbing clothes for the kids in colors that coordinated, deciding then changing my mind about what Matt was going to wear, and grabbing almost a half dozen shirts for me, we set out. Late. Our poor photographer called 2 or 3 times just to make sure she didn't miss us at our set location, but it was just one of those mornings! Luckily, she's really easy-going and completely understood my neurotic-ness.
Long story short, after getting her opinion on clothing choice (which luckily coincided with what my leanings were), we were ready to go. We took lots of candid shots with all of us as a family at the George Bush Library by the pond and gardens. There was a nice breeze, so it wasn't completely miserable, either! Quick change of clothes for me, and Matt and I took some shots together. Then back to the car for clothing changes for me and the kids and we took some pictures fully belly style....with the kids painting my belly. Kellen even wrote 'family' (misspelled, but how adorable!) on my tummy.
I cannot wait to see how they turn out!
As we were on our way to the photo shoot, I realized why I was wanting it to turn out perfectly. --This would be my last chance to do this.
Ever.
NOTE: I know the drill about never say never. But if there is a 4th baby Hapes, God will be truly demonstrating his sense of humor. Big time.
I had wanted to take maternity pictures with both of the other kids, but I never followed through with it for one reason or another. I have in my head the types of images that I wanted to see...but never made it happen.
And this was my last shot.
No wonder I was so stressed out! Once I realized that, I relayed my epiphany to Matt, took a deep breath, and thought...but Maleigh will make sure we get good shots.
We finished up with the photo shoot right around 11 AM, then headed to the house for a quick change of clothes, grabbed some coupons and went to eat at a pizza place we hadn't tried yet, but had coupons for (that expire at the end of the month!). In case you're wondering, Hungry Howie's Pizza is FABULOUS! I thought it was a little pricey, even with the coupons, but then realized that I was full on only two pieces of pizza, which is rare for me (pregnant or non-pregnant, I can put down some pizza!). Oddly enough, the same thing happened for Matt, so we ended up with lunch AND dinner out of the deal.
Then I headed out to my spa day, and had a facial, massage, and pedicure. SO NICE! I finally made use of the Christmas (yes, I know...Christmas) present that Matt gave me. As I finished my spa session, I set out to use yet another coupon at Bath Junkie for some salt scrub. Things went a little awry when I was rear-ended en route (no injuries, thank God!) and then realized that my attempt was in vain anyway, since Bath Junkie has apparently closed here in town.
Back to the house I went, and then we hung out for the remainder of the night.
Sunday I apparently needed lots of sleep, because I mumbled something to the effect of, 'Just a few more minutes' to Matt when he attempted to wake me up to get ready for church. I have no recollection of that conversation. At any rate, the kids lounged, I lounged, Matt tried desperately to get rid of his headache, and I mustered the energy to clean up a little around the house in the meantime.
Matt and Kellen went to mow grass while Tatum was finishing her nap and snuggling with me, then when they got back to the house we headed out for our Sunday School dinner group playdate/picnic at one of the splash pads here in town. We were there between 2 1/2 and 3 hours and the kids had a BLAST! You would have thought that there were holes in their stomachs with as much as they continued to eat, but they played HARD!
Afterwards, we went to Ben and Jerry's to use yet another coupon (catching my theme yet?) for a buy one, get one free ice cream. We all had yummy flavors and it was a great ending to a fun filled family weekend!
We got back home, Matt bathed the kids and we got them settled down for the night, he went to the store (gotta love my man who will shop for me!) and then he and I stayed up waaaayyy too late watching Wolverine. I had forgotten how much I liked that movie!
Here's hoping your weekend was as enjoyable as mine!
Well, I had one of those weekends this past weekend. And I was so blessed by it!
Kellen had been gone for almost two weeks (home the weekend prior), so it was wonderful to spend some time with him. Tatum had missed him terribly, so it was great to see them playing together (and sweetly 95% of the time, too).
Saturday was an incredibly busy day. We started out with me going crazy trying to get EVERYTHING together for the maternity photo shoot that was slated to begin at 9 AM. It was one of those times when I thought I knew what I was going to wear, what I was going to accessorize with, and then when I put it on, I didn't like it. And if I didn't like it on, I certainly wasn't going to feel good enough in it to get pictures made.
So after grabbing clothes for the kids in colors that coordinated, deciding then changing my mind about what Matt was going to wear, and grabbing almost a half dozen shirts for me, we set out. Late. Our poor photographer called 2 or 3 times just to make sure she didn't miss us at our set location, but it was just one of those mornings! Luckily, she's really easy-going and completely understood my neurotic-ness.
Long story short, after getting her opinion on clothing choice (which luckily coincided with what my leanings were), we were ready to go. We took lots of candid shots with all of us as a family at the George Bush Library by the pond and gardens. There was a nice breeze, so it wasn't completely miserable, either! Quick change of clothes for me, and Matt and I took some shots together. Then back to the car for clothing changes for me and the kids and we took some pictures fully belly style....with the kids painting my belly. Kellen even wrote 'family' (misspelled, but how adorable!) on my tummy.
I cannot wait to see how they turn out!
As we were on our way to the photo shoot, I realized why I was wanting it to turn out perfectly. --This would be my last chance to do this.
Ever.
NOTE: I know the drill about never say never. But if there is a 4th baby Hapes, God will be truly demonstrating his sense of humor. Big time.
I had wanted to take maternity pictures with both of the other kids, but I never followed through with it for one reason or another. I have in my head the types of images that I wanted to see...but never made it happen.
And this was my last shot.
No wonder I was so stressed out! Once I realized that, I relayed my epiphany to Matt, took a deep breath, and thought...but Maleigh will make sure we get good shots.
We finished up with the photo shoot right around 11 AM, then headed to the house for a quick change of clothes, grabbed some coupons and went to eat at a pizza place we hadn't tried yet, but had coupons for (that expire at the end of the month!). In case you're wondering, Hungry Howie's Pizza is FABULOUS! I thought it was a little pricey, even with the coupons, but then realized that I was full on only two pieces of pizza, which is rare for me (pregnant or non-pregnant, I can put down some pizza!). Oddly enough, the same thing happened for Matt, so we ended up with lunch AND dinner out of the deal.
Then I headed out to my spa day, and had a facial, massage, and pedicure. SO NICE! I finally made use of the Christmas (yes, I know...Christmas) present that Matt gave me. As I finished my spa session, I set out to use yet another coupon at Bath Junkie for some salt scrub. Things went a little awry when I was rear-ended en route (no injuries, thank God!) and then realized that my attempt was in vain anyway, since Bath Junkie has apparently closed here in town.
Back to the house I went, and then we hung out for the remainder of the night.
Sunday I apparently needed lots of sleep, because I mumbled something to the effect of, 'Just a few more minutes' to Matt when he attempted to wake me up to get ready for church. I have no recollection of that conversation. At any rate, the kids lounged, I lounged, Matt tried desperately to get rid of his headache, and I mustered the energy to clean up a little around the house in the meantime.
Matt and Kellen went to mow grass while Tatum was finishing her nap and snuggling with me, then when they got back to the house we headed out for our Sunday School dinner group playdate/picnic at one of the splash pads here in town. We were there between 2 1/2 and 3 hours and the kids had a BLAST! You would have thought that there were holes in their stomachs with as much as they continued to eat, but they played HARD!
Afterwards, we went to Ben and Jerry's to use yet another coupon (catching my theme yet?) for a buy one, get one free ice cream. We all had yummy flavors and it was a great ending to a fun filled family weekend!
We got back home, Matt bathed the kids and we got them settled down for the night, he went to the store (gotta love my man who will shop for me!) and then he and I stayed up waaaayyy too late watching Wolverine. I had forgotten how much I liked that movie!
Here's hoping your weekend was as enjoyable as mine!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)