Do you have any practical suggestions for paying off debt
How about a personal testimony or word of encouragement
Maybe a handy dandy tip towards frugality
I'd love to hear you thoughts!
Showing posts with label Frugality. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Frugality. Show all posts
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
How Do You Pay It Off?!?
We Owe How Much?!?
Not just a catchy title
Not just a silly phrase
It's really us
We've been raised in a culture of desire
a culture of want
a culture of easy money
But we're grown ups now... Paying for years of college we never should have been able to pay for... Paying for too many dinners purchased on credit... Paying for a car much nicer than we planned on buying...
Where does this stuff come from? This desire for more? This need for the best? This get it now, don't worry about paying for it later mentality?
We are on a quest here in our house. A quest to get out of debt. A quest to end our dependence on a bi-weekly paycheck. A quest towards freedom.
We're working our way out of the "American Dream" hole we find ourselves in
And it's G R E A T!!!
Thanks to our tax refund this year we have reached the $1000 savings mark and are ready to start paying off those debts faster
Thanks to our tax refund this year, we will be $1000 CLOSER to paying off our smallest debt, a private loan Mike had for college
Thanks to really working at sticking to our budget and our cash envelope system we haven't put any purchases on our credit card in over a month - none - zip - nada - no excuses - nothing
Starting in May we're going to take Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University Course at church to learn more ways to work our way up and out
We can do it
We're ready
Not just a catchy title
Not just a silly phrase
It's really us
We've been raised in a culture of desire
a culture of want
a culture of easy money
But we're grown ups now... Paying for years of college we never should have been able to pay for... Paying for too many dinners purchased on credit... Paying for a car much nicer than we planned on buying...
Where does this stuff come from? This desire for more? This need for the best? This get it now, don't worry about paying for it later mentality?
We are on a quest here in our house. A quest to get out of debt. A quest to end our dependence on a bi-weekly paycheck. A quest towards freedom.
We're working our way out of the "American Dream" hole we find ourselves in
And it's G R E A T!!!
Thanks to our tax refund this year we have reached the $1000 savings mark and are ready to start paying off those debts faster
Thanks to our tax refund this year, we will be $1000 CLOSER to paying off our smallest debt, a private loan Mike had for college
Thanks to really working at sticking to our budget and our cash envelope system we haven't put any purchases on our credit card in over a month - none - zip - nada - no excuses - nothing
Starting in May we're going to take Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University Course at church to learn more ways to work our way up and out
We can do it
We're ready
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
What's Your Favorite Way to Save Money?!?
Alright
I'll admit it
I'm a coupon addict
I'm a sales addict
I'm a stack coupons with sales addict
I'm a stack coupons with sales with store coupons addict
And, I love Target!
And they didn't pay me to say that. They don't know I said that. However, if they did and WANTED to pay me, I won't complain :)
Saturday, March 6, 2010
The morning was as regular as a Saturday morning gets around here. Mike went to work out. Mike cut his hair. Mike went to church to set up for the talent show. Bekah took a morning nap (okay, NOT normal...). Bekah played. I showered. I cleaned. You get the picture.
Anyway... back to the point... We ran out to get some errands done early in the afternoon before getting Bekah down for a good afternoon nap before heading to church for the talent show which Mike emceed and I played in.
We started at Target. And we scored. Big time.
I'll just let my receipt speak for itself (yes, I saved it just for you!)
Pedialyte (if you buy the powder it doesn't expire for a long time!
$5.24
Pedialyte
$5.24
2 Pedialyte Coupons
-$3.00
1 BOGO Free Pedialyte Coupon
-$5.24
Total Pedialyte Cost
$2.24
Regular Cost of 1 Pedialyte Box
$5.24
Kraft Dressing (for Mike) on Sale
$1.99
Kraft Dressing (for Amy) on Sale
$1.99
1 Kraft Dressing Coupon
-$1.00
Total Kraft Dressing Cost
$2.98
Regular Cost of 1 Kraft Dressing
$2.74
5 Pounds Clementine Oranges on Sale
$4.99
1 Clementine Coupon
-$1.00
Total Clementine Oranges Cost
$3.99
Regular Cost of 5 Pounds of Clementine Oranges
$6.99
Yoplait Kids Yogurt Drinks 6 Pack on Sale
$2.30
1 Yoplait Kids Coupon
-$.80
Total Yoplait Kids Cost
$1.50
Regular Cost of Yoplait Kids
$2.50
Yoplait Simply GoGurt 6 Pack
$2.19
Yoplait Simply GoGurt 6 Pack
$2.19
2 Yoplait GoGurt Coupons (one was $.40 off of 1 and the other was $.80 off of 2)
-$1.20
Total Cost of YoPlait GoGurt
$3.18
Regular Cost of YoPlait GoGurt
$4.38
Kraft Cheese Block on Sale
$2.79
Kraft Cheese Block on Sale
$2.79
Target Coupon
-$1.00
Total Cost of 2 Kraft Cheese Blocks
$4.58
Regular Cost of 2 Kraft Cheese Blocks
$7.87
Nothing I purchased was taxed here in our fair state. Yay!
I handed over a $20 and received $1.53 in change.
I saved $16.68.
So, yes, I love coupons
I love sales
I love stacking
And I REALLY love how Target takes my LEGALLY and PROPERLY printed online coupons and accepts them.
All in a day's work
:)
How about you - any fun trips or tips to share?!?
I'll admit it
I'm a coupon addict
I'm a sales addict
I'm a stack coupons with sales addict
I'm a stack coupons with sales with store coupons addict
And, I love Target!
And they didn't pay me to say that. They don't know I said that. However, if they did and WANTED to pay me, I won't complain :)
If you don't feel like reading my gloating... feel free to pass the rest of this post by!
Saturday, March 6, 2010
The morning was as regular as a Saturday morning gets around here. Mike went to work out. Mike cut his hair. Mike went to church to set up for the talent show. Bekah took a morning nap (okay, NOT normal...). Bekah played. I showered. I cleaned. You get the picture.
Anyway... back to the point... We ran out to get some errands done early in the afternoon before getting Bekah down for a good afternoon nap before heading to church for the talent show which Mike emceed and I played in.
We started at Target. And we scored. Big time.
I'll just let my receipt speak for itself (yes, I saved it just for you!)
Pedialyte (if you buy the powder it doesn't expire for a long time!
$5.24
Pedialyte
$5.24
2 Pedialyte Coupons
-$3.00
1 BOGO Free Pedialyte Coupon
-$5.24
Total Pedialyte Cost
$2.24
Regular Cost of 1 Pedialyte Box
$5.24
Kraft Dressing (for Mike) on Sale
$1.99
Kraft Dressing (for Amy) on Sale
$1.99
1 Kraft Dressing Coupon
-$1.00
Total Kraft Dressing Cost
$2.98
Regular Cost of 1 Kraft Dressing
$2.74
5 Pounds Clementine Oranges on Sale
$4.99
1 Clementine Coupon
-$1.00
Total Clementine Oranges Cost
$3.99
Regular Cost of 5 Pounds of Clementine Oranges
$6.99
Yoplait Kids Yogurt Drinks 6 Pack on Sale
$2.30
1 Yoplait Kids Coupon
-$.80
Total Yoplait Kids Cost
$1.50
Regular Cost of Yoplait Kids
$2.50
Yoplait Simply GoGurt 6 Pack
$2.19
Yoplait Simply GoGurt 6 Pack
$2.19
2 Yoplait GoGurt Coupons (one was $.40 off of 1 and the other was $.80 off of 2)
-$1.20
Total Cost of YoPlait GoGurt
$3.18
Regular Cost of YoPlait GoGurt
$4.38
Kraft Cheese Block on Sale
$2.79
Kraft Cheese Block on Sale
$2.79
Target Coupon
-$1.00
Total Cost of 2 Kraft Cheese Blocks
$4.58
Regular Cost of 2 Kraft Cheese Blocks
$7.87
Nothing I purchased was taxed here in our fair state. Yay!
I handed over a $20 and received $1.53 in change.
I saved $16.68.
(Don't recheck my math... I probably typed something wrong, but I can read the end results via my receipt!)
So, yes, I love coupons
I love sales
I love stacking
And I REALLY love how Target takes my LEGALLY and PROPERLY printed online coupons and accepts them.
All in a day's work
:)
How about you - any fun trips or tips to share?!?
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Wow! What a Deal!
If you're anything like me
...perhaps you save up your digital pictures until one of the major companies has a major sale
...you tend to use one site regularly, but are willing to switch for a rockin' awesome deal
Even if you're usually loyal to one company, regardless of the deals, I have to share this one!
Shutterfly (my second "usual" choice btw) is offering a $15 credit.
That's a whole lot of pictures!
Simply sign in to your account (or create one and then sign in)
Go to "My Account"
Go to "Enter Special Code"
Enter this code FIFTEENOFF
Presto!
You have a $15 credit to your account valid for the next 100 years.
Well, presto if you go fast enough and snag this before it's gone.
No presto if you're too late...
...perhaps you save up your digital pictures until one of the major companies has a major sale
...you tend to use one site regularly, but are willing to switch for a rockin' awesome deal
Even if you're usually loyal to one company, regardless of the deals, I have to share this one!
Shutterfly (my second "usual" choice btw) is offering a $15 credit.
That's a whole lot of pictures!
Simply sign in to your account (or create one and then sign in)
Go to "My Account"
Go to "Enter Special Code"
Enter this code FIFTEENOFF
Presto!
You have a $15 credit to your account valid for the next 100 years.
Well, presto if you go fast enough and snag this before it's gone.
No presto if you're too late...
Monday, December 7, 2009
A New Favorite Bulk Recipe - Poppy Seed Pound Cake Muffins
I have always enjoyed cooking. I love the benefits it give both to my pocket book and my waist line. What I haven't enjoyed lately, though, is my lack of TIME to cook... Between Bekah, Piano Teaching, and other life activities, I just don't have the time to prepare meals that I once did.
So, the beginning of October I've been working on preparing meals in bulk and freezing them so we can enjoy home cooked, wallet friendly meals quickly and easily. I spent one day with friends in October preparing a ridiculous amount of meals. Since then I've made many batches of soups that I've frozen in individual containers for our lunches (sandwiches don't cut it when it's below 50 degrees...) and put together a few meals where I cooked 1/2 or 1/3 of it and froze the rest for later use.
Well, today I'm on my second batch of Poppy Seed Pound Cake Muffins (making a triple batch each time!). This recipe is rather easy, incredibly tasty, and not too terrible ingredient wise!
2 c Flour
1 T Poppy Seeds
1/2 t Salt
1/4 t Baking Soda
1 c Sugar
1/2 c Butter
2 Eggs
1 c Plain Yogurt (or vanilla, or lemon, or raspberry...)
1 t Vanilla
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a small bowl, combine flour, poppy seeds, salt, and baking soda.
In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in yogurt and vanilla until well blended.
Stir in flour mixture until evenly moistened.
Spoon into greased muffin tins and bake 15-20 minutes.
You can eat these fresh from the oven or freeze them (I prefer using gallon sized ziplock type bags for freezing these over other methods). I like the better from the freezer - they get a little more dense. Mike likes them better fresh. Bekah eats them like crazy no matter if they were frozen or fresh!
So, the beginning of October I've been working on preparing meals in bulk and freezing them so we can enjoy home cooked, wallet friendly meals quickly and easily. I spent one day with friends in October preparing a ridiculous amount of meals. Since then I've made many batches of soups that I've frozen in individual containers for our lunches (sandwiches don't cut it when it's below 50 degrees...) and put together a few meals where I cooked 1/2 or 1/3 of it and froze the rest for later use.
Well, today I'm on my second batch of Poppy Seed Pound Cake Muffins (making a triple batch each time!). This recipe is rather easy, incredibly tasty, and not too terrible ingredient wise!
2 c Flour
1 T Poppy Seeds
1/2 t Salt
1/4 t Baking Soda
1 c Sugar
1/2 c Butter
2 Eggs
1 c Plain Yogurt (or vanilla, or lemon, or raspberry...)
1 t Vanilla
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a small bowl, combine flour, poppy seeds, salt, and baking soda.
In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Beat in yogurt and vanilla until well blended.
Stir in flour mixture until evenly moistened.
Spoon into greased muffin tins and bake 15-20 minutes.
You can eat these fresh from the oven or freeze them (I prefer using gallon sized ziplock type bags for freezing these over other methods). I like the better from the freezer - they get a little more dense. Mike likes them better fresh. Bekah eats them like crazy no matter if they were frozen or fresh!
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