coupon (album) binder

Remember my last post full of long forgotten coupon inserts and me crying over all the money I could have saved?

Well, I have finally finally found a system that works for me.

I am so excited.

Yes, that's a photo album you see there. It has 25 pages, each page having 4 photo slots-2 on the front, 2 on the back. (bonus: the slots open along the binding and it has an elastic band to keep it closed so my coupons never fall out!) Here is how I organized it:

Each week I collate the inserts, then clip out any coupons I would use. This is a good time to forget brand loyalty ;)

Once I have my massive stack of coupons I sort them into 4 categories:

1. Non-perishable food (canned goods, baking supplies, cereal)
2. Perishable foods (anything found in the refrigerated or freezer section)
3. Health & Beauty (medicine, toothpaste, makeup)
4. Household items (laundry soap, toilet paper, cleansers)

{Here is where it gets tricky. Not because it's difficult, but because I'm not very good at explaining things.}

I skipped the first page in the album (I'll tell you why in a little bit) and then file the coupons by the first letter of the brand name, so it's a-w then x,y,z are combined on the last page since there are so few of them.

So, each page is assigned a letter, which then has the 4 sub-categories.

I'm more of a visual person:

Those little sub-categories make searching for coupons so much easier. I don't want to be flipping through my Glade air freshener coupons when I'm looking for General Mills.

The first page I save for store coupons (bottom slot) and

coupons I plan to use for my shopping trip (top slot).

(Scribbles courtesy of my two year old. I love him dearly, but it's so much easier to leave him at home with daddy while I shop! )

So I make my list in this little note book then bring it with a pen and my album coupon binder to the store. As I go through my list I pull out the coupons that I can use for the item and place them in the little slot next to my list. It makes it much easier at check out time, I have all the coupons that I can use in one place rather than a handful that I'm frantically matching up to the items in my basket while in the check out line. Trust me, I've been there. It's not fun.

I hope that doesn't seem too complicated, or too much work. I promise it's not. It's actually quite easy and I love having the coupons with me (clearance+coupons=super good deals). I'm saving more than I have in a long time.

What do you think? Have you found a system that works for you?

Please don't hesitate to leave a question or hello in the comments!

purging

I gathered up all my coupon inserts today

Wow oh wow...

No wonder I'm not saving any money!

First thing I did was a little favor for myself; I tossed all the inserts from last year, as in 2008.

And so I was left with this:

I started flipping through them, clipping those few unexpired coupons and tossing the rest.

I wanted to cry. It was like throwing away money.

I've got some ideas to get organized.

I'll let you know how it goes.

How's your coupon stash?

When needing to save money we might shop are for car insurance or hit the sales rack at our favorite store. It just makes sense to find the best deal, right?

I think the same should apply for everything we spend money on, especially food, hygiene and household items. It seems like there is always something we need whether it be diapers, trash bags or razors and all those little things sure add up. So to cut down on my out of pocket (oop) I do one of two things when I’m shopping:

Buy store brand or get the name brand cheaper with a coupon.

Sometimes I can actually get a better deal on a name brand, with a coupon, then if I just bought the store brand right out.

I know coupons can be really overwhelming and seem hardly worth the time or energy just to save a few dollars. So I thought over the next few days I’ll share some easy ways to getting started with coupons.

The first step is to build a stash.

1.) Buy at least 2 Sunday papers each week. Often times you can sign up through the paper for delivery and they’ll give you a discount on the extra papers. Sort through each one and pull out the coupon inserts (usually there are anywhere from 2-5 per paper). I grab each set of matching ones and collate them-don’t clip them yet! Then write the date up in the right hand corner with a fat black marker for easy reference (the dates can be found on the binding of the insert). I also pull out all the store adds and set aside, sometimes there are some great coupons in them!


2.) Take advantage of Internet Coupons. Websites such as Smart Source, Boodle and Coupon Surfer let you print coupons for free. All it takes is just a few minutes to register*. Company’s sites, such as Pillsbury and Colgate, are also a great place to find coupons.
*Before you register on any site be sure to set up an additional e-mail account to use specifically for coupon stuff. It’ll keep your personal account free of “junk e-mail”. One more thing: They usually expire 4-6 weeks after they are printed, so I usually wait until I am right about to use them before I print.

3.) Sign up for coupons in the mail. Right now if you go here you can also sign up to receive a FREE Betty Crocker booklet with $10 in coupons. You can sign up on sites such as Huggies, Gerber, Proctor & Gamble and Kroger(aka Fry’s) they’ll send you free coupons right to your mail box!

4.) Miscellaneous coupons are everywhere. In magazines, at the checkout in the grocery store, or even inside boxes or packages like cereal, diapers, crackers, ect.

Next time I’ll show you how I organize my coupons {so I can actually find them and use them!}

Thanks for reading!

my fav

I love Diet Dr. Pepper! If you click here you can register to recieve either a 20oz or 2ltr for free!

Paying off debt is like losing weight

This year I have two major resolutions {wait-what? It’s the middle of January?? Ok, so I’m a little late on my New Years post.} Ahem, as I was saying: I have 2 major resolutions this year.

1) Trim down our debt
2) Trim down…me :)

The more I think about these goals the more I see how similar they are. I’ll explain how they are similar in a minute, but first it’s important to take a look at the bad habits (of mine) that need fixin’.

Eating too much...spending too much.

Not exercising… not being actively involved in my budget.

Eating poorly (major sweet tooth here)…making poor choices with money.

So there you have it, easy steps to becoming out of shape and knee deep in debt. So, I’ve been thinking up ways to tackle my vices and here is what I’ve come up with:

Control Portions…Spend wisely: Just like food is necessary for us to survive, so is money. That doesn’t mean that every meal we eat needs to be indulgent. The same goes with shopping. If I need a new skirt for church, I should look for one that is nice and serves its purpose. That doesn’t mean I need to buy a matching top, new shoes or a bag to finish it off. Just like saying no to seconds, walking out of a store knowing you’ve kept to your budget can be very satisfying. {It helps to tell myself ‘It’s just food’ or ‘It’s just stuff’}

Exercise regularly…Be active in your budget: I don’t enjoy exercising. Building up the motivation to work out can take a long time for me. The longer I sit, the longer I’m letting my body control me. The same is true with money. The longer you ignore your pennies the longer you are letting your money control you.

Eating Healthy…Being frugal: If I am starving I’m likely to eat anything that is quick and easy, regardless of nutritional value. If I eat a handful of snickers minis rather than something that is healthy and would give me energy I am wasting calories because I didn’t plan ahead. It’s the same with spending money - on anything. If you wait until you are almost out of toothpaste you’ll end up paying whatever the stores are charging at that time. If you plan ahead and wait for the toothpaste to go on sale you can use a coupon and I guarantee you’ll end up with a free (or very very cheap) tube of toothpaste! Trust me, I have 36, not that I count my toothpaste:)

Living frugal requires focus and commitment. A different mind set. A lifestyle change. I've realized that becoming independent from my money is not a destination or a point a which I can relax, but something to always strive towards...a journey, might as well find the joy in it.

Thanks for reading!

P.S. This blog is so new that I would love to hear {positive, only nice stuff people:o} feedback, questions or suggestions on topics for future posts.

A Guide to Target Clearance

Target has such cute kids clothes that I always make a stop to check out what's new. Recently I saw a Rugby shirt that would look so cute on my boy. It was regular price at $8.99. At the risk of sounding stingy I'll admit there was no way I was spending that much on a shirt my 1 year old {he'd be wearing it as a belly shirt in a matter of months, they grow so fast}. I put it back, confident that when it hit the clearance rack and I would be able to snag it for less. Sooner than I expected, it was marked down 30%, there were still plenty in his size so I waited some more. It hit 50% then 75% off. At this point there was one left in his size so I picked it up for only $2.24!

Take advantage of summer/fall clearance by layering long sleeve onesie/bodysuits under short sleeve shirts. This works for all those cute little tanks and dresses for girls too!

Here is the schedule for marking down Target Clearance:
{as found on Blissfully Domestic}

Monday: Electronics, Kids clothing and Stationary
Tuesday: Domestics, Food Items, Pets, Women’s Clothing
Wednesday: Health and Beauty, Lawn & Garden, Men's Clothing, Toys
Thursday: Books, Decor, Housewares, Lingerie, Luggage, Music and Movies, Sporting Goods, Shoes
Friday: Auto, Cosmetics, Hardware and Jewelry

If the clearance price ends in a ‘4′ (i.e. $1.94) then it is at its lowest price!

Happy Shopping!

Ham & Pineapple Pizza

I found this super easy and yummy recipe for pizza crust (actually it's for bread sticks, so I just did it a little different)

2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp yeast
3 c all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 c warm water

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in water. Add flour and salt and knead for 5 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes (dough will be very sticky). Spray cookie sheet with non-stick spay and scoop dough onto it and try to spread as evenly as possible. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes. Top with desired toppings and bake for an additional 12-15 minutes.

We used the following toppings and it was SO good {and inexpensive}!

Great Value Pizza Sauce {.72c}
8oz Kroger (Fry's) monterrey jack cheese {$1.67}
(buy the block a shred it yourself, trust me it's worth it!}
Great Value pineapple "tidbits" {.52c}
2 slices Jean-o turkey ham {this is only $3.84 per pound at the Wal-mart deli counter!}

This is my new favorite recipe for crust! Plus it cost me less than $4.00 total and we have leftovers!