I'm sure by now you've noticed that the coupons in last Sunday's paper rocked! I always snag two copies of the paper on the first Sunday of the month because that's when the P&G Brand Saver comes out!
There are many sites out there that tell you exactly what sale to pair with what coupon (even when the coupon came out) but I'm not going to do that. Why?
1. Why would I waste my time doing that when I could just give you their links and they've already done it?
2. I think you need to know how to snag these deals for yourself. What if money got so tight that you couldn't afford to have Internet anymore? You would need these deals more than ever, but if you'd never done it for yourself, would you be able to do it effectively?
So, I'm going to give you a few examples of what you're looking for and tell you how I go about it. Do I look at the "other" sites? Yes, every week, to make sure I didn't miss anything. Sometimes I've missed a deal or two and sometimes I've come up with one that they didn't have listed. The heart of the matter, however, is that I know I can pair the sales with the coupons all by myself, so if I didn't have Internet tomorrow, I would be just fine. I'm self-sufficient in this area, and that's the way I prefer it!
If you want to check out the deals that have already been compiled, my three all-time favorite sites are My Frugal Adventures, The Frugal Girls, and Money Saving Mom. All three of these sites have listings for major chain stores. You just pick the store you're going shopping at, click on it, and a list of deals (and steals) will pop up! I still recommend that you attempt to do this yourself, THEN look at the other sites. Think of it as doing your homework and then checking it in the back of the textbook to make sure you really know what you're doing -- in case there's ever a test!
There's also the chance that you'll come up with something that these ladies don't! For example, I am in love with the Olay Daily Facials, but boy are those suckers expensive! They're around $6 for a one-month supply at Wal-Mart. I hate giving that for them, and I rarely do as I almost always have a $1 off coupon from the P&G insert, but I don't like giving $5 either. Well, thanks to a CVS price slash and a coupon, we won't have to give anywhere near $5! CVS has slashed the price (I'm afraid I don't know how long for -- my guess would be just this week but it may be longer) down to $3.99! That in itself is a good deal, but it gets better. There was a coupon in the P&G insert this week for $2 off any Olay facial cleanser. The wording is the same as the $1 coupons I use every month, so I assume it's good on the cleansing cloths too! That brings your price down to $1.99 for a one-month supply!
That's a good example of what you're trying to do. You want to pair a sale with a coupon to bring the price as low as you possibly can! Most people are tempted to run straight to the grocery store with their coupons and use all the ones for items they normally use. While you'll still be saving money that way, if you wait a week or so until the item is on sale, you'll save way more! Just remember: most coupons don't expire for at least a month after they come out, so it won't hurt anything to wait a week or two to see if that item goes on sale!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Free Kraft Products - HURRY
I'm really excited about this one! Go to Kraft Food's FB page, "like" Kraft Foods, and then click on the "Savings" link. You'll be given the choice of four different freebie packages to request!!!
You might want to head on over to Nabisco Cookie's FB page from there (there's a link on Kraft Food's wall) to print a great coupon -- buy one package of cookies and a gallon of milk, get another package of cookies for free!
I love starting my morning with deals!!!
You might want to head on over to Nabisco Cookie's FB page from there (there's a link on Kraft Food's wall) to print a great coupon -- buy one package of cookies and a gallon of milk, get another package of cookies for free!
I love starting my morning with deals!!!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Price List
Sorry it's been so long since I've blogged. The weekend was crazy, but now I'm back and ready to put my nose to the grind stone!
I decided that I would go grocery shopping myself rather than letting Jason do it -- mainly because he was working and wouldn't have seen the baby that night if he'd gone after work. Besides, I'm a grown woman. I should be able to do this!!!
I didn't rock it out like I'd wanted to do, but I didn't do badly either. I did it in budget, so that's a plus. However, the whole point is to SAVE some money... preferably a lot of money! Truthfully, though, the sales just weren't there last week.
My grand total at Wal-Mart was $170 and some change. I spent $5 at CVS. That's $175 -- so, under our $180 budget, but not by much!
Now, I'm not beating myself up too much about the total that I spent. As long as we're under budget, I consider it a job well done. There is a part of this shopping trip that I am totally regretting, however. The end of it was very stressful -- very, very stressful. I wrote down all my prices as I put things into the cart, taking off coupons, of course. Near the end, I added everything up to see where I was. Well, as it turned out, I was startlingly close to budget mark and I still had things on my list. Important things.
So what happened? I panicked. I began trying to "think on my feet," which has never really been a strength of mine. I'm a planner. To make a long story shorter, I decided I could do without an essential. I was wrong.
I had ground chuck on my list. In my haste and panic, I couldn't remember all the meals ground chuck was supposed to be in. I thought I was just going to put it in spaghetti sauce and hot dog chili. I opted to go vegetarian on the spaghetti and substitute a can of pre-made chili for the ground chuck. That was a great plan -- had I not been planning on making swedish meatballs. It is extremely hard to make meatballs without meat. We won't starve, of course, but I was disappointed in myself. (I substituted deer meat for the meatballs and the meal was still awesome.)
Why was I disappointed? Because I could have saved myself the stress! I highly, HIGHLY recommend that you keep a price list of some sort. That is something that I have gotten away from in the past couple of years and it is something that I am going to definitely start doing again - immediately!
Why a price list? Is it really necessary? Yes, if you're on a budget (unless you have a photographic memory, I suppose) and yes, if you want to get the absolute best deals on your staples.
You don't need to make a special trip to the store to compile your list if you're one of those people that keep your receipts. Just go through your receipts and write down those things that you buy every - or almost every - time and the price of them. Your price list will come in handy two ways.
1. You can know what you're going to spend on your basics each week (or two weeks). Chances are good that you buy the same basics every time you go. Pretty much everyone has to have toilet paper, paper towels, milk, bread, cheese, etc. I'd say between 50-75% of what you buy at the store are staple ingredients. So, if you know how much these things cost, you know what most of your grocery list is going to cost. There's no surprise about that part of the shopping trip.
2. If you see a sale in the Sunday paper on something that you always buy -- like cheddar cheese slices, for instance, what are the odds that you're going to remember exactly what you pay for that item? If it's something you've been buying for years, chances are good that you don't even pay attention anymore. So how are you going to know if it's really a good sale? If you have the normal price written down, you'll know and you won't have to feel stupid going to the store the next time only to discover that the "sale" price you gave for the cheese was more than you normally paid for it.
So, making a price list is my next project and I hope you'll do it with me. I promise you, it will be worth it in the long run. It doesn't matter if you do it on paper, on the computer, or wherever else you can come up with. I prefer a spreadsheet on the computer because you can search for specific items later, but you do what makes you happy!
In the next few days, I'm going to be pouring over this week's sales papers and coupons and working up some deals! As soon as I get some worked up, I'll be posting them! If you work any up, comment away!
I decided that I would go grocery shopping myself rather than letting Jason do it -- mainly because he was working and wouldn't have seen the baby that night if he'd gone after work. Besides, I'm a grown woman. I should be able to do this!!!
I didn't rock it out like I'd wanted to do, but I didn't do badly either. I did it in budget, so that's a plus. However, the whole point is to SAVE some money... preferably a lot of money! Truthfully, though, the sales just weren't there last week.
My grand total at Wal-Mart was $170 and some change. I spent $5 at CVS. That's $175 -- so, under our $180 budget, but not by much!
Now, I'm not beating myself up too much about the total that I spent. As long as we're under budget, I consider it a job well done. There is a part of this shopping trip that I am totally regretting, however. The end of it was very stressful -- very, very stressful. I wrote down all my prices as I put things into the cart, taking off coupons, of course. Near the end, I added everything up to see where I was. Well, as it turned out, I was startlingly close to budget mark and I still had things on my list. Important things.
So what happened? I panicked. I began trying to "think on my feet," which has never really been a strength of mine. I'm a planner. To make a long story shorter, I decided I could do without an essential. I was wrong.
I had ground chuck on my list. In my haste and panic, I couldn't remember all the meals ground chuck was supposed to be in. I thought I was just going to put it in spaghetti sauce and hot dog chili. I opted to go vegetarian on the spaghetti and substitute a can of pre-made chili for the ground chuck. That was a great plan -- had I not been planning on making swedish meatballs. It is extremely hard to make meatballs without meat. We won't starve, of course, but I was disappointed in myself. (I substituted deer meat for the meatballs and the meal was still awesome.)
Why was I disappointed? Because I could have saved myself the stress! I highly, HIGHLY recommend that you keep a price list of some sort. That is something that I have gotten away from in the past couple of years and it is something that I am going to definitely start doing again - immediately!
Why a price list? Is it really necessary? Yes, if you're on a budget (unless you have a photographic memory, I suppose) and yes, if you want to get the absolute best deals on your staples.
You don't need to make a special trip to the store to compile your list if you're one of those people that keep your receipts. Just go through your receipts and write down those things that you buy every - or almost every - time and the price of them. Your price list will come in handy two ways.
1. You can know what you're going to spend on your basics each week (or two weeks). Chances are good that you buy the same basics every time you go. Pretty much everyone has to have toilet paper, paper towels, milk, bread, cheese, etc. I'd say between 50-75% of what you buy at the store are staple ingredients. So, if you know how much these things cost, you know what most of your grocery list is going to cost. There's no surprise about that part of the shopping trip.
2. If you see a sale in the Sunday paper on something that you always buy -- like cheddar cheese slices, for instance, what are the odds that you're going to remember exactly what you pay for that item? If it's something you've been buying for years, chances are good that you don't even pay attention anymore. So how are you going to know if it's really a good sale? If you have the normal price written down, you'll know and you won't have to feel stupid going to the store the next time only to discover that the "sale" price you gave for the cheese was more than you normally paid for it.
So, making a price list is my next project and I hope you'll do it with me. I promise you, it will be worth it in the long run. It doesn't matter if you do it on paper, on the computer, or wherever else you can come up with. I prefer a spreadsheet on the computer because you can search for specific items later, but you do what makes you happy!
In the next few days, I'm going to be pouring over this week's sales papers and coupons and working up some deals! As soon as I get some worked up, I'll be posting them! If you work any up, comment away!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Taking Inventory
Today is Wednesday -- only two days until grocery day! I'm a little nervous because now I feel like I'm accountable to all of you for how good/bad I do on our budget! I'm also very excited. (I could barely get to sleep last night because I was so busy thinking of things for my grocery list, menu planning, and ideas for the blog!)
So, step one to staying on budget is taking inventory. As it turns out, that wasn't very difficult this week. Our cupboards are beginning to look a little bare! Now, that might make me nervous except for the facts that we grow a big garden every summer and put up a lot of produce through canning and freezing. I already know that in the chest freezer that we share with my parents (who live next door and share their stand-alone garage and cellar with us) we have deer meat and more deer meat. There's also shredded summer squash. That's about it right now, but it's a start.
In the cellar, we have canned pumpkin, tomatoes, green beans, and a basket of potatoes. In the storage room above the cellar, I have Smart Taste pasta that I grabbed from Kroger's a few weeks ago for .49 a box! Score! I think there's a couple boxes of rotini, a box of spaghetti, and a package of whole wheat yolk-free egg noodles. Obviously some pasta dishes are going on the menu list!
Just from that little bit of inventory (we haven't even gotten to inside my house yet) I already have two family-favorite meals going through my head. I make a squash casserole with squash, stuffing mix, cream soups, and a bit of other stuff that escapes me. It ends up tasting kind of like a pot pie and it's wonderful. My husband loves it and it's very cheap to make. It can be a side dish or you can add some shredded chicken and it's a meal. (If anyone wants the recipe, I will post it when I look it up later today or tomorrow.)
The other meal going through my head is venison stroganoff. I already have the deer meat and egg noodles. The only things I'm lacking are a jar of beef gravy and a small tub of sour cream. That will be a cheap meal and we all love it -- Kylie included! Throw a jar of green beans on the table with it, some bread, and you're set!
Next, it's time to take inventory inside the house. As I said, this didn't take long. I even took pictures!
As you can see from the picture, I have several boxes of Hamburger Helper that I got on sale months ago. I think I got them for around .50 per box after I used coupons. When I catch stuff that cheap, I stock up. I try not to feed us convenience food too often, but on those days that Kylie is being a terror or we're on the run, you can't beat it! I also add so much stuff to my Hamburger Helper that it barely resembles the original product!
I have Potatoes Stroganoff, Ranch Burger, Philly Cheesesteak, Double Cheesy Quesadilla, and Four Cheese Lasagna. I also have two boxes of macaroni and cheese that I wasn't too crazy about, so we'll save those for making my mom's macaroni salad, which calls for a package of macaroni and cheese made according to directions. Hopefully we'll get a pretty day to fire up the grill in the next two weeks!
Next comes my freezer, which is also pretty bare.
It's a little bit of a mess, so you can't really tell what you're looking at, I know. We have one package of pork loin chops, several packages of deer meat, a few chicken breast tenders (for nights that we have meals Kylie can't eat -- such as super spicy mexican), my last two precious packages of our garden green peppers, and enough weiners for two meals at least (we buy in bulk and freeze batches). Other than Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches, which I bought at Sam's much cheaper than at grocery stores, and frozen chicken stock, that's about it. (I made the chicken stock a month or so ago from the bones and skin of chicken breasts which we got for .99/lb. My husband processed them into boneless skinless breasts for us, we froze them, and I threw all the "leftovers" into the crock pot with a little water and made chicken stock! I froze the stock in ice cube trays for a later use.
That pretty much takes care of my inventory. I usually have more on hand, but it's almost garden season again, so we're out of green peppers and almost out of potatoes. We usually have more meat, but my husband opted to spend most of his time last hunting season with our daughter, so we didn't get any turkey this year! (It was a wonderful trade, though, I think! I'll give up wild turkey any day to see Jas and Ky wrestling in the floor or having a tea party!)
My final inventory list looks like this:
Deer Meat (plenty)
Pork chops x 1
Green peppers x 2
Hamburger Helper (HH) Potatoes Stroganoff
HH Ranch Burger
HH Philly Cheesesteak
HH Double Cheesy Quesadilla
HH Four Cheese Lasagna
Mac n cheese x 2
Can corn x 1
Cans mushrooms x ? (at least 2 and possibly some more in the cellar)
Now that I've taken inventory of what we have, it's on to the sales papers to see what great deals they might have! I'll post more on that later!
Monday, April 26, 2010
My New Grocery Goal
Okay, I told you all that we spend $180 every two weeks on groceries, but in the past few weeks we've been having to stop for this or that a couple times. This is, undoubtedly, my fault. Why? I'm the one that makes the grocery list. If I go with a rockin' grocery list, we don't need to make trips back except for bread and milk -- which you pretty well have to buy weekly so they'll be fresh. If I go with an okay list, I'll be texting my husband every other day to tell him yet one more thing he needs to stop at the store and get.
My goal? I want to make one of those rockin' grocery store lists that I know I'm capable of making! Friday is payday, and therefore grocery day. I'm starting on my list tonight and will have it finished by Thursday night so I can send it with my husband Friday. (He'll stop at the store on his way home that night. Actually being in the grocery store is far too stressful for me. All the decisions overwhelm me and if it's crowded, I'm done for! When I get overly stressed, even the budget leaves my mind. It's way better for us if I make the list and do the couponing and he does the actual shopping! He's a lot quicker at it, as well!)
I found this blog while searching for a juicer online (don't ask me how) and this exactly expresses how I view grocery shopping and what you have to do if you're going to stick to your budget -- especially a tight budget. I couldn't have written it better myself!
Grocery Budgeting Decisions via The Simple Dollar
My goal? I want to make one of those rockin' grocery store lists that I know I'm capable of making! Friday is payday, and therefore grocery day. I'm starting on my list tonight and will have it finished by Thursday night so I can send it with my husband Friday. (He'll stop at the store on his way home that night. Actually being in the grocery store is far too stressful for me. All the decisions overwhelm me and if it's crowded, I'm done for! When I get overly stressed, even the budget leaves my mind. It's way better for us if I make the list and do the couponing and he does the actual shopping! He's a lot quicker at it, as well!)
I found this blog while searching for a juicer online (don't ask me how) and this exactly expresses how I view grocery shopping and what you have to do if you're going to stick to your budget -- especially a tight budget. I couldn't have written it better myself!
Grocery Budgeting Decisions via The Simple Dollar
Trading Luxuries
Welcome to my blog! My name is Cassie. I'm 29 (and holding) and have been married nearly eight years to my husband, Jason. We have an 18 month old daughter who is very strong-willed, independant, picky, and the light of our lives! Her name is Kylie although she pronounces it "Dy-ee." Our first baby was furry -- of course, he's also adopted! Rascal Lee is an almost-eight-year-old border collie/beagle mix. He's overweight, very loving, and kind of jealous of the baby. Members of our family call him "PeeWee" or "Puppy" -- except Kylie, who calls him "Oof oof."
I never really had any doubts that once I had a child I would be a stay at home mom. Despite that, I went to college and obtained a B.A. in Professional Writing & Editing and a B.A. in Literature. I've always written -- everything from poetry, fiction, nonfiction, children's literature, newspaper articles, to blogs. I hope to still be writing when I'm old and gray, although by then I probably won't have to pick up a pen or touch a keyboard to put my thoughts on paper. I know that's possible right now through software that translates your spoken words to type on the computer, but did you miss that I'm a stay at home mom?
Given the current economy, it's hard to live as a one-income family. It isn't always fun and it's never glamorous, but it's worth it to know that I'm the one caring for and teaching my daughter. Not everyone is cut out for it, as a working friend of mine will tell you, but not everyone is cut out to be a working mom. The mornings that one of us have a doctor's appointment of some sort and I have to get myself and a cranky toddler ready and out the door, I am reminded that I am certainly not working mom material. I would live with a perpetual migraine, I'm certain.
We make sacrifices to afford the luxury of me staying home. In other words, we trade one luxury for some others. That's what making a living is all about, isn't it? Trading luxuries you can do without for ones you can't? It comes down to things as simple as: What do I want more? The luxury of having my husband stay home on his scheduled days off or the luxury of a little extra money he'd bring in if he worked one day of overtime? It's all about trading.
So, I've told you what the luxury that I can not live without is: staying home. So, what luxuries have I traded for this? Plenty!
We're careful with our money. We don't run out and purchase anything on a whim and we probably never will. Our home is kind of old, but sturdy. It's not the latest and greatest, but it's comfortable and gives us what it's supposed to give: shelter.
We're still driving the same vehicles that we were the day we were married: a 2001 Kia Rio and a 2002 Toyota Tacoma. They don't have any bells and whistles unless you count my car having air-conditioning. We don't have CD players in them. Heck, we don't even have power windows or power locks, but they get us from point A to point B and that's really all we need.
Most of our clothes come from yard/garage sales, consignment shops, or sale racks. We don't buy new clothes often. Thank the Lord for family that loves my little girl and finds awesome clothes for her from sale racks, yard sales, and Craig's List. I literally don't know what we'd do without them. I guess we'd make it, but her clothes wouldn't be nearly as adorable as they are now! (They also got most of her toys for her!)
I've given up the luxury of going to the grocery store without a list and buying whatever struck my fancy for the next week's meals and knowing that if I needed something else, I could stop again later. Now, I shop every two weeks and we're on a budget: $180 for that one shopping trip, less if we can. That includes diapers, wipes, diaper creams, as well as food, cleaning supplies, etc. It's a tight budget, but it's workable. I purchase two Sunday papers every week and clip coupons. Even my couponing has gotten cheaper as of late!
I used to have a coupon file like you buy at the store with the little folders and an elastic band around it. Well, when you clip as many coupons as I do -- not to mention the ones I print and send off for -- those just aren't big enough. My current coupon file is an old diaper wipe box with envelopes to hold the different categories of coupons. It may not be beautiful, but I don't coupon to be beautiful. I do it to stay home with my daughter.
We have pre-paid cell phones because we know that, as tight as our budget is, if Jason couldn't work for some reason, we would have to cancel our phones. With a contract, that means paying a huge fee. Without a contract, that's one less stress in what would be a very stressful period of our lives.
We have used hand-me-down furniture for years. In eight years, we've bought a mattress and box spring because my 6'2" tall husband was having a bit of trouble sleeping comfortably with his feet hanging out over the mattress. He slept like that for about two years, though! We finally bought a couch and recliner last year with our tax refund. Trust me, it wasn't the luxury version, either. I think the salesman was a bit snippy because his commission wasn't going to be very big, but that's okay too! Our one big splurge was buying a flat screen TV a couple months ago, and it's a splurge that I think 90% of people out there would make considering we'd been watching a television that had a picture so dark that you couldn't see anything but movement in night scenes -- and that was with the brightness turned all the way up!
Now, I'm not writing this for anyone to feel sorry for me. Heck, no! I don't feel sorry for me. I am blessed beyond belief. I get to be here when my little girl gets up in the morning and yells for "mama!" I get to pick her up out of her crib, carry her in the living room, and snuggle her until she gets awake enough to want down. I get to fix her meals for her so I don't have to worry about what's being offered to her. I know what she's being given to eat because I'm the one giving it to her. (That doesn't necessarily mean she'll eat it, but at least I know what she's turning away!) I get to take her outside on pretty days and have her present me with flowers that she picks. They never have stems, but they're more precious than a dozen roses in a crystal vase! I get to read her books every day before her nap and before bedtime. I get to be home with my precious daughter, and that luxury far outweighs all the luxuries we've given up, combined.
My goal with this blog is to help anyone reading it who wants to do the same types of things -- be a stay at home parent, tighten their budget, coupon, or just get better deals at the grocery stores! I'll pass on deals, coupons, and freebies to you as I find out about them. I'll give you ideas that work for me and pray that they will work for you too. Maybe you can help me out with ideas, too!
I never really had any doubts that once I had a child I would be a stay at home mom. Despite that, I went to college and obtained a B.A. in Professional Writing & Editing and a B.A. in Literature. I've always written -- everything from poetry, fiction, nonfiction, children's literature, newspaper articles, to blogs. I hope to still be writing when I'm old and gray, although by then I probably won't have to pick up a pen or touch a keyboard to put my thoughts on paper. I know that's possible right now through software that translates your spoken words to type on the computer, but did you miss that I'm a stay at home mom?
Given the current economy, it's hard to live as a one-income family. It isn't always fun and it's never glamorous, but it's worth it to know that I'm the one caring for and teaching my daughter. Not everyone is cut out for it, as a working friend of mine will tell you, but not everyone is cut out to be a working mom. The mornings that one of us have a doctor's appointment of some sort and I have to get myself and a cranky toddler ready and out the door, I am reminded that I am certainly not working mom material. I would live with a perpetual migraine, I'm certain.
We make sacrifices to afford the luxury of me staying home. In other words, we trade one luxury for some others. That's what making a living is all about, isn't it? Trading luxuries you can do without for ones you can't? It comes down to things as simple as: What do I want more? The luxury of having my husband stay home on his scheduled days off or the luxury of a little extra money he'd bring in if he worked one day of overtime? It's all about trading.
So, I've told you what the luxury that I can not live without is: staying home. So, what luxuries have I traded for this? Plenty!
We're careful with our money. We don't run out and purchase anything on a whim and we probably never will. Our home is kind of old, but sturdy. It's not the latest and greatest, but it's comfortable and gives us what it's supposed to give: shelter.
We're still driving the same vehicles that we were the day we were married: a 2001 Kia Rio and a 2002 Toyota Tacoma. They don't have any bells and whistles unless you count my car having air-conditioning. We don't have CD players in them. Heck, we don't even have power windows or power locks, but they get us from point A to point B and that's really all we need.
Most of our clothes come from yard/garage sales, consignment shops, or sale racks. We don't buy new clothes often. Thank the Lord for family that loves my little girl and finds awesome clothes for her from sale racks, yard sales, and Craig's List. I literally don't know what we'd do without them. I guess we'd make it, but her clothes wouldn't be nearly as adorable as they are now! (They also got most of her toys for her!)
I've given up the luxury of going to the grocery store without a list and buying whatever struck my fancy for the next week's meals and knowing that if I needed something else, I could stop again later. Now, I shop every two weeks and we're on a budget: $180 for that one shopping trip, less if we can. That includes diapers, wipes, diaper creams, as well as food, cleaning supplies, etc. It's a tight budget, but it's workable. I purchase two Sunday papers every week and clip coupons. Even my couponing has gotten cheaper as of late!
I used to have a coupon file like you buy at the store with the little folders and an elastic band around it. Well, when you clip as many coupons as I do -- not to mention the ones I print and send off for -- those just aren't big enough. My current coupon file is an old diaper wipe box with envelopes to hold the different categories of coupons. It may not be beautiful, but I don't coupon to be beautiful. I do it to stay home with my daughter.
We have pre-paid cell phones because we know that, as tight as our budget is, if Jason couldn't work for some reason, we would have to cancel our phones. With a contract, that means paying a huge fee. Without a contract, that's one less stress in what would be a very stressful period of our lives.
We have used hand-me-down furniture for years. In eight years, we've bought a mattress and box spring because my 6'2" tall husband was having a bit of trouble sleeping comfortably with his feet hanging out over the mattress. He slept like that for about two years, though! We finally bought a couch and recliner last year with our tax refund. Trust me, it wasn't the luxury version, either. I think the salesman was a bit snippy because his commission wasn't going to be very big, but that's okay too! Our one big splurge was buying a flat screen TV a couple months ago, and it's a splurge that I think 90% of people out there would make considering we'd been watching a television that had a picture so dark that you couldn't see anything but movement in night scenes -- and that was with the brightness turned all the way up!
Now, I'm not writing this for anyone to feel sorry for me. Heck, no! I don't feel sorry for me. I am blessed beyond belief. I get to be here when my little girl gets up in the morning and yells for "mama!" I get to pick her up out of her crib, carry her in the living room, and snuggle her until she gets awake enough to want down. I get to fix her meals for her so I don't have to worry about what's being offered to her. I know what she's being given to eat because I'm the one giving it to her. (That doesn't necessarily mean she'll eat it, but at least I know what she's turning away!) I get to take her outside on pretty days and have her present me with flowers that she picks. They never have stems, but they're more precious than a dozen roses in a crystal vase! I get to read her books every day before her nap and before bedtime. I get to be home with my precious daughter, and that luxury far outweighs all the luxuries we've given up, combined.
My goal with this blog is to help anyone reading it who wants to do the same types of things -- be a stay at home parent, tighten their budget, coupon, or just get better deals at the grocery stores! I'll pass on deals, coupons, and freebies to you as I find out about them. I'll give you ideas that work for me and pray that they will work for you too. Maybe you can help me out with ideas, too!
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