Positively Challenged by my Budget
Your what?
Yes, my BUDGET.
My husband put me on a budget, $250/week for groceries, food & entertainment. When he first asked me, I thought that was way too much money. I was thinking that my weekly groceries were about $100-$125. I was thinking that I was going to be able to save and buy things FOR ME.
It’s been about 4-5 weeks now and it’s going well but I don’t have a savings YET. The first week was a stretch, mostly because we have a couple dogs and they *both* needed food which was $100 for 2 big bags.
I’ve learned a lot in these past 4-5 weeks. You should really try it. You realize the other expenses that you have: school lunch money for the 2 boys, dry cleaning, EATING OUT, random purchases at Target, Walmart and all the other stores, dog food, birthday gifts for kids’ friend’s party, extra school party stuff, band tee shirt, science club tee shirt, yearbook, etc.
These expenses add up quickly!
Here are some random things I learned:
- Plan your meals. I wasn’t so quick to stop & eat somewhere. I was more planned with meals. Even Subway for 4 is a minimum of $20.
- Be mindful about purchases. (Can I wait until next week? Do we really NEED this NOW?) It was especially hard when items were on sale at the market but I thought about it again. (Yes, it’s a sale but do we NEED it NOW?…it’ll be on sale again)
- Find a coupon. (Coupon Cabin, Slick Deals) Sports Authority, Staples, Office Depot, Bed Bath & Beyond, stores like this, they always have coupons. Don’t buy things without a coupon at these stores!
- It really is ok to say no to your kids. How many times are you at the store and your kids want something (EVERY TIME!!) It discouraged me when I found these items on the floor, so guess what? Even though the kids look like they REALLY want it, it’s temporary. Believe me, they forget about it in a second!
You really should try this. You may (and may not) be surprised at its result. Let me know some of your lessons, websites with deals and *tricks*. Share!!!
Save to Browser Favorites
Ask
backflip
blinklist
BlogBookmark
Bloglines
BlogMarks
Blogsvine
BUMPzee!
CiteULike
co.mments
Connotea
del.icio.us
DotNetKicks
Digg
diigo
dropjack.com
dzone
Facebook
Fark
Faves
Feed Me Links
Friendsite
folkd.com
Furl
Google
Hugg
Jeqq
Kaboodle
linkaGoGo
LinksMarker
Ma.gnolia
Mister Wong
Mixx
MySpace
MyWeb
Netvouz
Newsvine
PlugIM
popcurrent
Propeller
Reddit
Rojo
Segnalo
Shoutwire
Simpy
sk*rt
Slashdot
Sphere
Sphinn
Spurl.net
Squidoo
StumbleUpon
Technorati
ThisNext
Webride
Windows Live
Yahoo!
Email This to a Friend
If you like this then please subscribe to the Free Google Savings!!!
Did you know that you can use Google alerts to notify you of any coupons or discount savings for just about anything you want? It’s a feature that many people are using so that they can save money on their necessities and their wants as well. It’s really simple to use. All you do is put in the name of the store, or the object you are looking for, along with your email address. You decide how often you want your alerts to reach you and just like that, you’re ready to go. It works for anything! Use it for groceries, electronics, even a nice bouquet of balloons. i just have one question….Is there ANYTHING Google Does NOT do?
Don’t forget your FREE FOOD today!
Did you remember from my last post? Meals are free today for Jack-in-the-Box, print your coupon for those tacos, and free short stack of pancakes at IHop. Don’t miss out.
We even called IHop, it’s the REAL DEAL! Enjoy!
FREEBIES, coupons, bargains, and much more.
I can’t believe I didn’t know of this website before. Google-owned, it’s called SPOOFEE.
It’s a forum where the community posts bargains, deals, coupons, FREEBIES and much more.
I browsed it today, and tomorrow is a BIG DAY! You can get a coupon on this website for 2 FREE TACOS at Jack-in-the-box and a free short stack of pancakes at IHOP, dine in only from 7am to 10pm. That’s lunch and dinner, or breakfast and lunch, or even lunch and dinner…but if you’re really daring, you can print out an extra coupon and ALL your meals will be free tomorrow.
Who says America’s starving?
Who doesn’t LOVE Costco??
I went to Costco yesterday. I know how I am there. I SPEND!!!! Always, always, always there are so many more items in my cart at checkout than what I intended to have.
I only wanted to get two things today, shaving cream and a big bottle of honey. I estimated it to cost $18. I guess I could have gone to another store, but I know for these two items, Costco has the best value, especially since I had a coupon for the shaving cream.
I once had a conversation with a person in front of me in line and asked, “Why don’t they offer an express line for people who have only 15 or less items?” Think about it. Does Costco want people to get in and get out. Heck no!!
Anyway, back to my story. 2 things I need to get at Costco. Well, the first two things in my cart was a CUTE blouse for $16.99 and some flannel pajama pants that were only $9. What a deal?!?!
I brought that darn coupon book and *wanted* a couple more things. Took a trip around the store and I’m heading towards the check out. I had about 10-12 items…one of which was a kite. (I just received a birthday invite for an 8 year old. $12.99 for a kite…what a deal, right?)
So I stopped the cart before I got to the line, looked over my potential purchases. I was thinking, “What can I do without until next time?” Hmmm….I quickly put away that CUTE blouse and pj’s. Darnit!
Looked over the cart items once again.
My total at the register was $77.07. I spent an extra $60 and that was being MINDFUL of my purchases.
Lessons I learned from this trip:
- Stick with the game plan. Don’t deviate from the list. The products will always be there.
- Don’t buy items if you can wait until the next visit.
- Don’t let coupons lure you into buying something you wouldn’t normally buy.
Small Change Makes a Huge Difference
Have you ever realized that pennies can go a long way? In fact, loose coins add up to large amounts when you put them all together. My brother and I started saving our coins in our little piggy banks. After they were filled up, we decided on rolling them into coin wrappers instead of taking them to the coin star. We noticed that coin star takes a percentage and in these times, we needed all the money we could get our hands on. He saved a little more than I did. I guess he just had more silver coins than I did. We put our money together and managed to have enough for a new game system. My brother summed it up when he said, “Imagine what we could do if we saved like this all the time!”
Hurry! While Supplies Last…
I found this on SlickDeals.net:
Restaurant.com is offering 70% off their already reduced restaurant certificates when you enter code PREZ at checkout through 2/19/09. $25 certificates which normally sell for $10, are now $3.
Pay $3 for $25 worth of FOOD!!! I’m there!..don’t forget to read the conditions. Some have it where you can only use Sunday through Thursdays, some you have to have a minimum $40 purchase, etc.)
FYI: I did purchase a few certificates last night. Upon further researching, there were some reviews that said that the website was bogus and there were some people that said it was totally fine, that they redeemed their certificates with no complications. What I would do before I purchase next time is call the specific restaurant and make sure they honor the certificate. (I don’t feel too bad, it was $3 for $25 gift cert and 60 CENTS for the $10 one…and there were people that said if you contact restaurant.com they would refund your money. For me, it’s worth the risk!)
Cut the Cost of College
For all of the college students who are pursuing their educational goals…Isn’t it expensive???? I know it is. So I wanted to share some money saving ideas that could benefit you. The first is, shop around before you buy your textbooks! Honestly, you have great chances of saving hundreds of dollars on your textbooks if you look on sites such as half.com and hamazon.com . I know some students in my area that have said they got most of their books from half.com and saved a ton of money on their books. Also, their books were in very good shape when they received them. To a college student, money matters. The more you save on books, the more money you can spend on food! So before you go out and buy your next textbook, search the web for better bargains. And by all means, share the info with your friends!
Grocery Club Cards..do they save you money really?
Yes, there are some people that just despise that we have to sign up for these club cards just to get the best price that the store can offer.
If you’ve done your homework and shopped at all different stores, you should know the answer.
I don’t know what stores are around you, but I know that the Ralph’s (called Safeway in some areas) gets my vote for deals. The Ralph’s in my area has a gas station that has the best gas prices around. They also offer you 10cents off per gallon if you attain a certain number of points. You get points when you buy groceries. They also give you coupons in the mail. The other day I received a coupon for $10 off my next visit at the store. Is that a deal or what?? With the other coupons, I spent half of what the groceries would have costed *regularly*. Who says the club cards don’t save you money???
Some people say that the stores just raise the prices then bring the prices down for their sale items. Well, if you are conscious of the prices you pay at other stores, you should know when a deal is a deal, or when you’re getting ripped off. Bottom line is you need to be aware. Know your weekly sale prices from store to store and know what to get where.
Shoot, even if you don’t like Ralph’s…sign up for their club card. Every now and then, you may just $10 off groceries. Do you dare to complain? (That’s 2 extra Starbuck’s trips….ugh!)
Get Cash Now
Subscribe and Share
