As posted earlier Matt and I went on vacation in August to North Carolina. This trip consisted of an eleven hour car ride (each way). While we couldn’t do much on the price of gas we did find other ways to save money. One of those ways was packing snacks and water for the drive. During the whole eleven hours we stopped one time for food at a Burger King where we only spent $4.99 on both of us. (A fast food feat for our household).
The rest of the trip we snacked on our Pringles, crackers, and water. These also come in handy at nigh rather than running for a snack.
In the future I may even take it a step further and pack sandwiches and larger snacking material. Because of my work schedule we were very rushed before this trip. I have no idea how much if any money we saved by doing this but it made me feel like we were so and that’s enough for me.
Has anyone out there done something similar and saved? I'd love to hear about what you do.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Coupon Giveaway Winner!
Gretchen at My Hour has won my coupon set.
Thanks to everyone who entered. I hope you keep stopping by, there are sure to be many more giveaways.
Thanks to everyone who entered. I hope you keep stopping by, there are sure to be many more giveaways.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Unnecessary Expenses & New Finances
I will not be doing a budget update for the month of August. Mainly because we spent so much money I don’t even want to see the figure. Once it got so bad I just stopped keeping track, horrible I know. Matt and I made some totally unnecessary purchases in August.
In celebration of paying off our credit debt and our 1 year wedding anniversary (September 1st) we purchased a WiiFit for me and a new computer for Matt. He built the computer for much cheaper than we could have purchased one, the perks of having an IT guy around the home. Over all we spent about $400 on both of us. More than I would have liked but it’s a one time deal.
On top of these fun purchases we also spent money on some practical things. Things like a small trash can for our bedroom, white undershirts, 2 pair of jeans (I ruined my last pair on vacation earlier), and a new shower curtain. I mentioned most of this in my earlier post. I was so focused on paying off our credit card debt we often didn’t buy other things we needed around the house.
Also after much discussion we decided to take our extra credit card money and save for four months in order to finish remodeling our home. We will still save for the car and emergency fund only our retirement will have to wait. I hate putting it off, but I’d like to have a kitchen I can actually use, maybe we’d eat at home more.
Matt and I have two options we will either sell our home in October or as its beginning to look we will be living here for another 5+ years. We never actually put our house on the market but had an offer made earlier this year. The buyers are having trouble securing a loan with the new regulations and with declining home prices I’m not sure we could even get the agreed price at this point.
If we stay here we will need to complete the kitchen and bath, a task I estimate to be around four thousand dollars. We plan to do most the work ourselves or with help from experienced family. Currently our mortgage payment is low and we have reasonable utility bills.
If we sell our home we’ll have more freedom to move out of state if required and even a little profit to put in the bank. We would also down size for cheaper/equal rent and lower utilities.
I’m really ok with either option. At this point I just want to know which option we’ll be going with. Also if we save the 4K and do end up selling in October we’ll take that money as a security deposit on an apartment and put the rest in savings.
Anyway, September starts a new month and a new budget. Finally a budget focused on saving not paying. I’m sure it will take some adjusting.
In celebration of paying off our credit debt and our 1 year wedding anniversary (September 1st) we purchased a WiiFit for me and a new computer for Matt. He built the computer for much cheaper than we could have purchased one, the perks of having an IT guy around the home. Over all we spent about $400 on both of us. More than I would have liked but it’s a one time deal.
On top of these fun purchases we also spent money on some practical things. Things like a small trash can for our bedroom, white undershirts, 2 pair of jeans (I ruined my last pair on vacation earlier), and a new shower curtain. I mentioned most of this in my earlier post. I was so focused on paying off our credit card debt we often didn’t buy other things we needed around the house.
Also after much discussion we decided to take our extra credit card money and save for four months in order to finish remodeling our home. We will still save for the car and emergency fund only our retirement will have to wait. I hate putting it off, but I’d like to have a kitchen I can actually use, maybe we’d eat at home more.
Matt and I have two options we will either sell our home in October or as its beginning to look we will be living here for another 5+ years. We never actually put our house on the market but had an offer made earlier this year. The buyers are having trouble securing a loan with the new regulations and with declining home prices I’m not sure we could even get the agreed price at this point.
If we stay here we will need to complete the kitchen and bath, a task I estimate to be around four thousand dollars. We plan to do most the work ourselves or with help from experienced family. Currently our mortgage payment is low and we have reasonable utility bills.
If we sell our home we’ll have more freedom to move out of state if required and even a little profit to put in the bank. We would also down size for cheaper/equal rent and lower utilities.
I’m really ok with either option. At this point I just want to know which option we’ll be going with. Also if we save the 4K and do end up selling in October we’ll take that money as a security deposit on an apartment and put the rest in savings.
Anyway, September starts a new month and a new budget. Finally a budget focused on saving not paying. I’m sure it will take some adjusting.
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Sweeps for the Week 9/2
Here are some of the sweeps for the week. Most of them can be entered daily so make sure to keep checking back for the chance to win more great prices.
Instant Wins
~ National Treasure 2 Sweepstakes You can enter once a day until September 30th.
~ Johnson’s is giving away $5,000 for an adventure of your choice. Enter once a day until September 30th.
~Enter the Subway Scrabble Game for your chance to win lots of prizes. Ends 9/29/08
Read More HERE
~ Scott Towels Leave Nothing Behind until September 30th
~ Herbal Essences Scents & Sensibility play until September 30th. More HERE
~ Oreo Double Stuff is giving away 2,000 instant win prizes until December 1st.
~ Colgate is giving away vacations and instant wins until September 30th.
~ Red Robin is giving away a thousand $10 gift cards in their instant win game. You can enter every day until October 14th.
~Enter the Back to school Back to savings sweepstakes for your chance to win a Laptop computer and printer or one of three $1000 shopping sprees. You can enter once a day until September 29th.
~ The Ban - How I chill instant win and sweepstakes is giving away 136 great prizes (below) until November 15th. More HERE
Just Plain Sweeps
~ Circuit City is giving away different prizes. Register once and each day after just reenter your email.
~ Pilgrim’s Pride is giving away great stuff. Register until October.
~ The Stain-Free Home Sweepstakes by Resolve is giving away cleaning services, appliances, and $100 gift cards. Enter until October 1st.
~Sweeps are happening at Woman’s Day Magazine. Most of them you can enter once a day and end at varying times.
~Enter at All You Giveaways you can enter until 8/28. More Details Here
~Enter lots of sweeps from Home Magazine Lots of different prizes, winners, and deadlines. Check back often.
~Enter the Get everything you want Sweepstakes from Redbook magazine You can enter once per day until January 15th, 2009. More Details here
One time Entry
~ MLB.com and One a Day Sweepstakes ends 10/1/2008
~Enter the Roomba Sweepstakes at Redplum. One entry per person until September 15th. More infor HERE
Instant Wins
~ National Treasure 2 Sweepstakes You can enter once a day until September 30th.
~ Johnson’s is giving away $5,000 for an adventure of your choice. Enter once a day until September 30th.
~Enter the Subway Scrabble Game for your chance to win lots of prizes. Ends 9/29/08
Read More HERE
~ Scott Towels Leave Nothing Behind until September 30th
~ Herbal Essences Scents & Sensibility play until September 30th. More HERE
~ Oreo Double Stuff is giving away 2,000 instant win prizes until December 1st.
~ Colgate is giving away vacations and instant wins until September 30th.
~ Red Robin is giving away a thousand $10 gift cards in their instant win game. You can enter every day until October 14th.
~Enter the Back to school Back to savings sweepstakes for your chance to win a Laptop computer and printer or one of three $1000 shopping sprees. You can enter once a day until September 29th.
~ The Ban - How I chill instant win and sweepstakes is giving away 136 great prizes (below) until November 15th. More HERE
Just Plain Sweeps
~ Circuit City is giving away different prizes. Register once and each day after just reenter your email.
~ Pilgrim’s Pride is giving away great stuff. Register until October.
~ The Stain-Free Home Sweepstakes by Resolve is giving away cleaning services, appliances, and $100 gift cards. Enter until October 1st.
~Sweeps are happening at Woman’s Day Magazine. Most of them you can enter once a day and end at varying times.
~Enter at All You Giveaways you can enter until 8/28. More Details Here
~Enter lots of sweeps from Home Magazine Lots of different prizes, winners, and deadlines. Check back often.
~Enter the Get everything you want Sweepstakes from Redbook magazine You can enter once per day until January 15th, 2009. More Details here
One time Entry
~ MLB.com and One a Day Sweepstakes ends 10/1/2008
~Enter the Roomba Sweepstakes at Redplum. One entry per person until September 15th. More infor HERE
Monday, September 1, 2008
Two giveaways at Mommies with cents
Mommies with Cents is giving away TWO great items this week.
The first a a craft box set called, Craft: The First Years. All you need to do is leave a comment HERE by Friday, September 5th.
They are also giving away back to school books from Candlewick Press. You can enter HERE but make sure to do so by Friday, September 5th in order to win.
And remember as with all blog giveaways don't forget to leave an email address when you visit their site to enter.
The first a a craft box set called, Craft: The First Years. All you need to do is leave a comment HERE by Friday, September 5th.
They are also giving away back to school books from Candlewick Press. You can enter HERE but make sure to do so by Friday, September 5th in order to win.
And remember as with all blog giveaways don't forget to leave an email address when you visit their site to enter.
Military Coupons
Just a reminder that now is the time to send off your expired coupons to a military base overseas. Our military families can use them for up to six months after the expiration date. You can read more about how in my previous post HERE. This month I’m sending mine to an Air force base in Spain.
Family Support Center
51st MSS PACAF
Unit 2097
APO AP 96278-2097
Rota, Spain
Last month it cost us eighty-two cents and less than five minutes to fill out the customs declaration to mail our expired coupons (All coupons are worth $0 until used). The process was so easy we’ve decided to do this every month. I hope you can join along.
If you’ve sent coupons to a US base this month let me know which one you selected in the comments section.
CVS 8/31
Here’s what I picked up yesterday at CVS
$98.34 in merchandise for 72 cents!
I did two transactions and used the coupons expiring the 31st. There was a product error and I had to return it, but I still ended up ahead for the day so its ok.
::Transaction One::
2 Colegate Toothpaste $5.98
~ $1 off Colegate
~ $1.50 off Colegate
1 Mitchum Deodorant $2.99
~ $.75 off
2 CoverGirl Foundations - B1G1 $7.99
2 CoverGirl Face products (1 power, 1 cover stick) – B1G1 $5.99
~ B1G1 Free Covergirl face product
1 Wet Slick $5.99
~ $1 off any CoverGirl product
1 Emerald Mist (3 pack) $1.99
~ $2 off CVS face product
$2/10 purchase
Paid: $7.28 in ECB (1.49, 5.79)
OOP: $4.61 - it was an extra high oop because they only took off $5.99 twice rather than one for $5.99 and one for $7.99 – Live and learn I guess.
Earned: $9.99 ($4 Colegate, $5.99 WetSlicks)
::Transaction Two::
1 Neutrogena mascara $5.99
~ $3/2 Neutrogena product – I was allowed to use this b/c I actually bought two but when the ECB’s didn’t print one was returned.
2 CoverGirl Foundations B1G1 $7.99
2 CoverGirl smoothers moisturizing tint B1G1 $7.99
~ B1G1 Free CoverGirl product
1 Emerald Soap (3 pack) $1.99
$2/10 purchase
Paid: $5.99 ecb (previous transaction)
OOP: $2.18 ($1.20 tax)
Earned: $3 ecb for Neutrogena & $6.35 on gift card (for return)
Overall Daily Totals
OOP: $6.79
ECB: -$.28 (Started with $7.28 & ended with $7)
Gift Card: $6.35
Difference of: - $.72
$98.34 in merchandise for 72 cents!
I did two transactions and used the coupons expiring the 31st. There was a product error and I had to return it, but I still ended up ahead for the day so its ok.
::Transaction One::
2 Colegate Toothpaste $5.98
~ $1 off Colegate
~ $1.50 off Colegate
1 Mitchum Deodorant $2.99
~ $.75 off
2 CoverGirl Foundations - B1G1 $7.99
2 CoverGirl Face products (1 power, 1 cover stick) – B1G1 $5.99
~ B1G1 Free Covergirl face product
1 Wet Slick $5.99
~ $1 off any CoverGirl product
1 Emerald Mist (3 pack) $1.99
~ $2 off CVS face product
$2/10 purchase
Paid: $7.28 in ECB (1.49, 5.79)
OOP: $4.61 - it was an extra high oop because they only took off $5.99 twice rather than one for $5.99 and one for $7.99 – Live and learn I guess.
Earned: $9.99 ($4 Colegate, $5.99 WetSlicks)
::Transaction Two::
1 Neutrogena mascara $5.99
~ $3/2 Neutrogena product – I was allowed to use this b/c I actually bought two but when the ECB’s didn’t print one was returned.
2 CoverGirl Foundations B1G1 $7.99
2 CoverGirl smoothers moisturizing tint B1G1 $7.99
~ B1G1 Free CoverGirl product
1 Emerald Soap (3 pack) $1.99
$2/10 purchase
Paid: $5.99 ecb (previous transaction)
OOP: $2.18 ($1.20 tax)
Earned: $3 ecb for Neutrogena & $6.35 on gift card (for return)
Overall Daily Totals
OOP: $6.79
ECB: -$.28 (Started with $7.28 & ended with $7)
Gift Card: $6.35
Difference of: - $.72
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