Saving on soap!

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/02/24/savings-experiment-dish-soap/?ncid=webmail20

Okay, I highly reccomend that you read this article above! I watched the video and it TOTALLY makes sense... most of it.

The part I disagree with is that this lady paid $5.29 on a large bottle of soap. Are you kidding me? Where are her coupons? You could EASILY pay less than $2.00 for that if not cheaper but adding in coupons and looking for sales.

Now, i'm off to find me a foam pump bottle. :)

Savings tip for the day!

When it makes sense...

Sometimes you spend more up FRONT to save more money later.

Let me explain...

Yesterday we went to the Little Rock Zoo. This is our 2nd trip this year. It costs exactly $30.00 each time we go. (10 for each adult, 8 for kids, and 2 dollars to park). I did my research and found out that the family pass is $85 dollars for a YEAR! Already I had spent $30 for the year, but it made more sense for me to buy the family pass yesterday so that NOW, if we go one more time it's paid for itself. Make sense?

No, I wasn't super pumped about plopping down $85 bucks yesterday. $30 dollars sounded MUCH better to spend... but it made more SENSE!

Sometimes you HAVE to spend more upfront to save more.

SAM's--I am NOT a fan. My husband loves that place. It just gets on my nerves. BUT, there are things that he can save money on at Sam's and a few that I can. BUT there is that up front cost of buying the membership. Do your research. If the pass will not "pay for itself" in savings within that year, then DON'T get it!

Be smart. :)

that's my tip for the day!

You know how and me and bargains go...

I am ALL about some bargains! saving money is my FAVORITE game ever :) Just this morning I told a friend that I liked his shoes. He said "thanks. They were 80 marked down to 20!" And I said "NOW you are speaking my language.!" It's no secret that I love bargains and good deals... within reason. I gave up trying to be an extreme couponer. It was too hard. I still coupon, for SURE, but I do it more sensibly. I have decided that there are very few items that I need 30 of. :)

I'm also a big planner. I plan for upcoming holidays and birthdays ALL year round. I try to have my budget set and stick to it! One thing that kinda makes me sad, but it's nice at the same time, is the fact that gift cards have become such a common gift. It is nice though... you can buy what you want and not be stuck with something that you don't like. So it does make it nice, it's just not as much fun to shop for. :) and even though I am all about saving money, I STILL love my shopping time! It's my cardio. :)

Shopping online is another super amazing convenience that more and more people are taking advantage of. That's why I want to tell YOU about an awesome deal where you can get Target gift cards . Not only do you get a gift card, BUT you can also use it to shop online which makes people DOUBLY happy!

Check out giftrocket.com and see about getting YOUR target gift card today! You order online, it's delivered online with any kind of message you want to include and then whoever you send it too can use it however they see fit!

Pretty coo, huh? check it out!! It's a BARGAIN for sure!

How it ALL came about...

I feel like I have written this before, but I have gotten several emails in the past few weeks from people that I have known for a while. There question was "How in the WORLD did you go from little miss diva ALWAYS shopping and buying up everything in sight to being this frugal, coupon clipping lady?"

Fair question. :)

Honestly, it was gradual. I didn't have one of those pivotal, life changing moments, when I just woke up and thought "I've HAD ENOUGH!!" That didn't happen over night, but eventually i got there.

One day my husband made a comment about how he didn't see me as the "shopper" he had always assumed I was. (REMEMBER--I worked for my husband for 4 and a half years a long time ago... so he knew me pretty well). I told him that I felt the same way. That I just found myself being less and less interested in shopping. Which is WEIRD for a girl, and for me. It took some soul searching before I realized that I had always used shopping and buying stuff to fill a void in my life. I had always used shopping to turn my bad days around. i had always used shopping to numb pain. I had used shopping as my filler for anything that wasn't going well. So once I reached a better place in my life, shopping took a backseat to living life. :)

After realizing that i had gone a LONG time without shopping I was of course proud of myself, but turned it into a challenge. Like if i can go THIS long without shopping and not even realize it, then what if I really put my mind to it and try super hard not to go splurge on anything. I passed that test....but the amazing thing was that i realized that I didn't miss buying things. I didn't miss the countless hours I used to spend in the mall. I was a happier, more joyful person, who wasn't trying to stuff my closet to help stuff my feelings down deeper.

It just happened. And then I made it a challenge. and then I saw how much money I was saving so I took it even FURTHER... I had enjoyed the money I was saving by not shopping so I was more cautious about what I spent my money on. So that's when "thrifting" became a way of life for me. I had been in consignment shops before and didn't spend more than 2 seconds in there and I was out the door. But when I made my challenge that I was going to purchase all previously owned items I didn't have a choice but to spend more time. :) And then I fell in love...

So at this point I had gone from being a shopaholic to not shopping at all, to then adding in consignment shops, and from HERE decided that I needed to take it ONE step further.

Purging. Getting rid of it. Decluttering my life. Making my closet easier to find things. Making MONEY off of selling things. Being proud of my bargains. Being super frugal.

I figured if I could save lots of money at consignment shops then SURELY there was something else I could do to save MORE money.

Enter stage right.... COUPONS!

That was my next big step. I hit it pretty hard, backed off, and now I am at the PERFECT couponing place. i don't go over board, but I get some terrific deals. I have a nice stock pile that I am proud of, and that I have very little actual cash invested in.

THEN... why not get completely out of debt by selling my car? So I did. And i paid cash for the car I bought. I added the money I made to my Babystep #3 and now i am moving right along to investing 15% of my income into my IRA account.

What used to be a part of my life, is now the complete opposite. What used to help me numb pain and feel special, is now opposite. Now I feel so good when I save a dollar. I feel so good when I find bargains. I feel so good when i can help others to save money!!

Over time I began to pray very hard about finances, shopping, money, my financial future, etc... and God began to work in me. The latter steps I took came with convictions but I had prayed specifically for them. I prayed that God would show me where i was being selfish and prideful... and as He promises... He showed me alright!

So there ya have it... my story. My story once again with all its messiness is still MY story. I'd love to hear yours!

No coupons this Sunday! 4/8/12

Don't forget--it's EASTER weekend which means lots of food, family, friends, and festivities, but it also means NO COUPONS IN SUNDAYS PAPER!

Just your friendly reminder.... :)

Even when you plan, PLan, PLAN...

Your budget can STILL get blown. :(

I try so hard to NEVER get in this predicament, but sometimes-it just happens. Things come up, semi-annual bills get due ALL at the same time, and sometimes, well, crap just happens.

It's frustrating. I am writing this post MAINLY for me because right now I am feeling so discouraged. i try so hard, do SO good to save every single dime I can get my hands on, yet occasionally it happens... that thought that you scream out "WHERE DID THE MONEY GO!!!"

Very frustrating. This would be such an easy time when I would love to pull out my plastic, and say forget it. When I get down about money, I want to shop. I'd love nothing more right now then some new shoes. And it's funny, because I don't need any but it's the thought that right now I simply CANNOT buy any.

Depressing.

hang in there. You AND me. Don't give up.

Now is the time to be strong, and brave, and to eat ramen noodles.

The end.