Thoughts and Such

Random List of Little Things That Make a Big Difference.

1. Real pie crust. That refrigerated store bought stuff don’t cut it. (ummm … lol)

2. For the girls … actually using lotion/body wash in your shower and under your sink instead of letting in languish and go bad. Try going on a challenge and using a different scent every day.

3. Speaking of which … girls, those Mary Kay Satin Hands Sets that are probably gathering dust in your bathroom sinks because you never have time to use them … USE THEM—on your legs. I cannot tell you enough how awesome this feels. Lather with the gel and shave. Rinse. Scrub with the blue scrub. Finish with either lotion for legs that are awesomely silky.

4. For the guys … start saving for an engagement ring, down payment, car, whatever as soon as you can start earning money. This is a little thing that makes a HUGE difference.

5. Get enough fiber. (LOL.)

6. Listen to lyrics … and think about whether or not you believe them.

7. Use polite language. What have you got to prove by swearing, anyway?

8. Every once in a while, give in and do what the weather dictates. Read magazines on a rainy day. Turn cartwheels on a brisk fall one. You know what I mean.

9. Keep your accounts register updated.

10. Eat real cheese.

An Introduction to Serious Couponing, Part 2 (a.k.a The Massive Coupon Binder Revealed)

In my last post, I described how to gather coupons, how to find out how to use them, and what your potential savings could look like. I know for me, every time I go to the grocery store, I walk away with at least a few free items (legally! :) and many items under a dollar or close to a dollar. This is the way to grocery shop! The more I save on essentials, the more I can spend on outings and vacation, or the quicker I can save for big-ticket items.

My first step in preparing to grocery shop with coupons is to make a list. These lists are prepared by coupon bloggers’ sites and come from the weekly ads the grocery store release. These lists feature all the items that a grocery store has on sale that week, as well as coupon match-ups that show which coupons to use on what items, as well as your potential savings.

I keep track of my favorite coupon blogs using Google Reader. If you are interested in having the news come to you, instead of you chasing after it, you will definitely want Google Reader. Like other Google stuff, it’s free to use and easy to set up. Just Google it (pardon the pun).

The coupon blogs I heart are:
Coupon Cravings (www.couponcravings.com)
Deal Seeking Mom (www.dealseekingmom.com)
Econobusters (www.econobusters.com)
I Heart Publix (www.iheartpublix.com)
Mom Saving Mom (www.moneysavingmom.com)
Southern Savers (www.southernsavers.com)
The Thrifty Mama (www.thethrifymama.com)

Using a Google Reader to look at these sites’ contents helps me a lot, because the reader filters out all of the side ads, blinkies, headers, and other (possibly ugly) site features. And of the best thing about using a reader is that the news comes to you, instead of you going to it!

Once I have my grocery list (printed from an orderly ad match-up list provided for free by Southern Savers’ site), I take the list to my large coupon binder and select my coupons. These I put in an envelope and I am now ready to shop!

Here are some pictures of my coupon binder:

Getting a binder that zips is essential, because if you turn your binder upside down by accident, piles of sorted coupons will flutter away and you will be left wishing for a zipper.

The Binder opened. Every month I go through and clean out the expired coupons and set them aside to donate to an overseas military wife who is allowed to use expired coupons at her commissary. The coupons are organized by catagory, in a way that makes the most sense to me.

Close-up of my label.

I use different kinds of inserts and page protectors. If I can remember what coupons are in a certain coupon booklet, than I won’t clip all of them. I’ll just file them in these large page protector sheets.

Sorry this one is not rotated. For some reason the rotate didn’t translate onto my blog. I also use small baseball card page protectors to sort coupons.

Here is a picture of my Southern Savers list and coupons that I’m planning on using. I take this and my binder to the store. My binder is in case I find sale items or clearance items that I have coupons for. It’s always fun to find a clearanced item you can gain an even bigger discount on with a coupon from your binder!

And one last picture of my massive binder. Yes, it is a lot of work, but it is so worth it!

Sometimes I need to take a break from couponing, because I feel that it is taking too much time. So I cut back on the deals I pick up, how often I shop, won’t check the blogs, won’t buy a paper to get the coupons, etc. It’s easy for me to go overboard on stuff like this. However, I’m hoping to learning to enjoy a good thing and not get obsessive.

Hopefully this post will answer  the questions that a lot of you have asked about coupons. I hope your own coupon journey will be as fun as mine is!

Introduction to Serious Couponing, Part One

During the last year, my shopping style has been dramatically changed. Every week I save as much or much more than I spend at the grocery store and drug store. Every week I walk away from these places loaded with free stuff and even having made money. How? The answer is couponing! In this blog post and more to come, I will try to summarize what I do, what blogs I follow, what resources I use, etc. I hope it will be helpful to you. Happy couponing!

Your first step is to rethink the way you spend grocery money. In order to save the most money, you will have to change the way you shop. Instead of making a grocery list and buying those items, I now do the following:
- Buy fruits and vegetables that are in season (i.e., what’s on sale)
- Match coupons with items that are on sale, on clearance, or that have store coupons for them as well
- Stock up on sale items (buy at least two of each)
- Make meals from what I have purchased

The second step is to collect coupons. At first, just collect all you can. After a while, you will get a feel for what is a good coupon and what isn’t.

Now let me explain where I find coupons:
- Sunday paper (these inserts are called SmartSource and Red Plum, as well as the P&G Brand Savor insert)
- The Internet (printables from major sites like coupons.com, smartsource.com, target.com, plus manufactures’ sites)
- Trade with friends who coupon (we have a MemberHub account set up and pass around information and coupons to each other)
- Sites like couponclippers.com and ebay.com (note many coupons state that you may not buy them; these sites will offer coupons for free and just charge shipping and handling. The fees you pay should be roughly the cost of a paper and stamp.)
- Others who do not use coupons (my mom is from a major city that has higher-value coupons available in the paper; she mails me the ones she doesn’t want).
- Peelies (sticker coupons on packages you buy)
- Blinkies (the little machines in store that spit out a few coupons at you)
- Magazines (All You is the best, but usually others have coupons in them too)
- Store coupons (many stores issue their own coupons and many store allow using a manufacturer’s coupon plus on of theirs on one item. This is called stacking).
- Kiosks in front of the supermarket (many have free booklets loaded with coupons)
- Junk mail (or send away for coupons along with free samples)

The third step is to organize your coupons. I put mine in a big binder. I will post some pictures so you can see what it looks like. If you use one of those little accordian bookets or something else, just make sure you have your coupons at your fingertips and know what is where. Every month, you will have to go through and clean out the expired ones.

The fourth step is to know store coupon policies. Many times you can just google this and find the answer quickly. Every store is different. For example, Target releases their own coupons and allow you to stack them; however, you can only do this one per transaction. Walmart does price matching, under certain conditions. CVS has their own program called Extra Care Bucks that seriously maximizes your savings (and is not for the faint-hearted). Walgreens just recently changed their corporate policy to only accept one coupon for a BOGO (buy one, get one free) sale instead of two (bummer). But by far, Publix is the best. They accept competitor’s coupons, allow two coupons for BOGO sales, allow stacking, and are in general amazing and awesome.

This is how couponing works: A coupon is like cash from the manufacturer. They reimburse the store the face value of the coupon plus some. Coupons are good for stores because they actually make more money from them than they do from your pocket. So don’t feel bad to use coupons. Just obey the coupon rules and be happy that in this situation, everybody wins (especially if you get hooked on a product—then the manufacturer will be happy too).

In addition to clipping coupons, I apply for rebates. These rebate forms can be found in magazines or on the web. All the time, products are being advertised as “try me free” … so why not do it? It just costs a stamp and a little time. Also, there are many “earn a $ gift card when you spend $ on [Kraft, Con-Agra, fill in the blank] products.” These rebates are especially good; they give you the chance to maybe try new products and usually you can do so by spending very little OOP (out off pocket).

In my next post, I will explain I make a grocery lists and what online sources are the best for finding incredible deals.

My Sensible Wife

rees:

Me: “If you were a band, what would you be called?”

Sarah: “Something really sensible. Maybe ‘Sensible.’”

Ok, fine :)

If you could live anywhere in any house, where and what would it be? I love my house! I’d probably wish for a wraparound front porch, though, with more space inbetween the houses on our street … maybe that the airport would be closer too.

What are you wearing now? old shorts, old shirt (was painting and crafting today).

What is on your desk? Coupons, D40, computer, pile of fireworks announcement and two wedding invitations to respond to

What would you like to learn to do? Create decals to fire onto my china. Make hanging lights for the backyard. Grill.

What was the last thing you bought? Um, groceries. And binder pages from staples.

What one item do you currently want? A card reader for my camera, a paper cutter for my scrapbooking, oh, I guess that’s two.

What languages can you speak? Some English. :)

What is the last book you read? Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung

What do you want to be when you grow up? A good hostess and a mother.

What are your favorite websites? Google Reader … my one-stop shop for all my favs. My favorite coupon blogs. Facebook.

If you were to pick up a pen right now, what would be the first thing you’d write? Reminders to myself.

If you could be anywhere in the world at any point in time, where would you be? That’s too hard! I would have met C. S. Lewis. I would like to stay overnight in an old castle in England. And I would like to be back with David in the cabin in Pine Mountain, GA, where we honeymooned. Or maybe replay the day I knew that I loved David with all my heart, or the day I got engaged.

If you could be an animal, what would you be? No desire to be an animal at all.

What are you looking forward to in the near future? Becky coming in 6 days and hiking in Oregon in August.

If you could open up your own store or business, what would it be? I already do! I think it’d be cool to have a tearoom.

What are you doing right now, besides typing out the answers to these questions? Talking to David.

Just Do Something

rees:

Sarah and I just read Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung. We loved it.

A few years ago, as a result of various influences, I began to give up my search for God’s mysterious plan for my life. I began to see, as it was pointed out to me, that doing God’s will is mostly about doing the things that are plainly revealed in Scripture—not agonizing over trying to figure out the future. What a relief.

Planning is good. Seeking God’s guidance is good. Agonizing over every decision and expecting God to reveal the future is miserable, unnecessary, and unbiblical.

The book is awesome. Check it out.

Just Do Something

“I know this may sound crass … but guys, if you like a girl and you’re both Christians and your friends and family aren’t alarmed and she actually likes you back, you should probably get married. Let me be quick to add that singleness is not a disease in need of a cure. God can lead you into a time (or lifetime) of fruitful ministry as a single person. And if you at times feel frustration over an earnest longing to be married, remember this time of being single is part of God’s good plan too… . So, I want to be clear: There’s nothing wrong with being single. But gentlemen, there’s something wrong with waiting around for God to pluck a woman from your side. He did it for Adam, but He’s not going to do it for you. No matter who you marry, it will be hard work. So find someone to marry and work at it. You may get cold feet before walking down the aisle—that’s normal. But don’t overthink yourself into a lifelong celibacy.” —Kevin DeYoung

David and I just finished this excellent book! Kevin DeYoung gives us plain words, plainly (and concisely and interestingly) expressed. No paragraphs-that-should-have-been-sentences for him. Thank you, Kevin!

He counsels fellow Christians to put aside the agony and indecision that marks much of our decision making and to simply make a decision, stick to it, and find fulfillment in the will that God has already revealed (you know, the do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with God stuff). The Just Do Something “formula” looks something like this:

Step One: Search the Scriptures. Do what God has already obviously revealed in His Word.

Step Two: Get wise counsel. That is, be teachable. Talk to trustworthy Christians and get their take on the matter.

Step Three: Pray … but don’t ask God to specifically tell you this or that, as if he was a magic 8-ball. Instead, ask for pure motives. Seek a humble heart. Pray for love, courage, and wisdom to make a decision that honors God.

Step Four: Make a decision—and don’t over-spiritualize.

He applys this to marriage, career choices, and all the rest. I say, go Kevin! This message so, so needs to be proclaimed to the church: Don’t worry. Trust God. And do the next thing.

Proper Introduction to CVS

Ok, this was my first successful deal using the CVS Extra Care Bucks system. The first time I tried, it kinda was a dud. But this time, I was pretty excited. Some of the deals I was hoping for didn’t come through, and some that I wasn’t looking for suddenly showed up. I’m learning that that is how grocery store and drug store deals go. You win some, you lose some. So be happy for both … don’t hang on to the disappointment if a deal just isn’t working out.

Ok, for today …

Started out with 2 extra care bucks from a previous transaction.

Spent $8.64 out of pocket.

Saved $59.66 with in-store deals and coupons.

Earned: $12.49 in extra care bucks (which is CVS store cash).

I got: 20 Soy Joy Bars, 2 Always Infinity 28-count box, 2 Kraft BBQ sauces, 2 Theracare heat wraps, 2 24-count Tylenol, 2 St. Ives apricot facial scrub travel-sized bottles.

Nice. I think I can keep doing this CVS thing.

My Favorite Decorating Resources

Here is a review of some of the books that have provided inspiration in my quest to create budget-friendly, attractively decorated rooms using what I have, what’s been given to me, and stuff I find in thrift stores or on the roadside. Hopefully you’ll find some inspiration here!

Flea Market Decorating by Better Homes and Gardens is a book I got from the library. I really enjoy the Better Homes and Gardens books in general; the newer and more updated, the better.

This was another book I got early on, while staring at my empty walls and wondering about if I should paint and what my home could look like.

This is one of my favorites! I picked this up at Salvation Army for $1 and it has been one of my best finds! This book contains great ideas and also project instructions.

I picked this book up second-hand from Borders.com. It’s a bit dated, but I read it cover-to-cover, trying to get a feel for how to decorate. Again, Better Homes and Gardens is a big source of my inspiration

I bought this used from Borders.com as well. I believe it is out of print. I first got it from the library, and had to have it! I provided a lot of direction for creating decorations using my favorite medium—paper.

Another BHG find that I picked up for a few bucks at a library sale. I poured over this book! While I will never (in the foreseeable future) have the sort of lawn that fits with awesome garden rooms, I can do what I can with what I have. For very practical step-by-step instructions for actually working in the yard (instead of just dreaming), check out Lowes’ “Complete Landscaping.” I got it for my birthday and have plenty of pages marked for my backyard project.

I got this one from the library as well, and while most of these projects didn’t really appeal to me, it did give me a handle on decoupaging furniture, etc.

While this isn’t strictly about decorating, it is one of of my absolute favorites! I traded for it on swaptree.com and have been the happy owner ever since. :) There are some wonderful ideas here.

Other resources that I love to peruse are magazines. I was able find some super deals this year, getting Better Homes and Gardens for $5 and Martha Stewart Living and Metropolitan Home for free. Other favs include Real Simple and Southern Living. SL put out a suppliment called Southern Living Decoration: Step-By-Step that I picked up at Salvation Army. I really liked that one. If you can’t find good magazines second-hand, try the local library.

I google whatever idea I have to see if other people have done it. Etsy.com is a great place to find handmade stuff that you could try to do yourself, to beautify your home. I find inspiration on blogs, especially how-to blogs. Alyssa Welch has done an outstanding job making do and fixing up her family’s Texas home. You can check out her photos at her Xanga blog: http://resolved2worship.xanga.com/

Hope this helps! Enjoy your own forays into recycling, upcycling, and remaking your way to a beautiful home. Now that thriftiness has seen a huge surge in popularity, help isn’t far away as you find your own eclectic style.

Get Used to Disappointment

Yesterday was our two-year wedding anniversary. We had a blast celebrating the whole weekend. Medieval dinners, counting the stars at the beach, watching the sunset together, old movies from the library, roses, lemon donuts, candlelight, “old” love letters, biking riding around little beach towns, ice cream cones, kissing on the deserted beach just as a storm rolled in.

It sounds idyllic, and it was—but that’s not because everything went right. David got a headache. We forgot the silverware for our beach picnic and had to trudge a long way back to get it. I brought the wrong sized batteries for the paper lanterns, so they had to stay quietly folded in the basket on our evening outing. And then, after unstrapping the bikes at the beach town of Seaside, David realized he forgot the bike pump.

Yes, there were opportunities to be upset at little things, at circumstances and other people and each other. Amidst all the celebrations, I was tempted to be disappointed and to think that now our fun was ruined. Bad batteries or forgotten tire pumps loomed inordinately large. Until David laughed. And I laughed.  After all, we weren’t celebrating two people who have it all together who got married and do it all right. We were celebrating sinners saved by grace, sinners who said “I do,” who revel and glory in the merciful love and abundant grace of God, who is the best maker of all marriages.

Slowly, I am learning to let go of perfect plans and get used to disappointment. Whenever I make a stupid mistake, I am called to thank God for what he has allowed, trust that he knew I would “mess up” and he ordained this in his providence.  Because then, suddenly “disappointment” becomes real life—the real friends, the real husband, the real church, the real life God has given me.

C. S. Lewis said, “He [God] is trying to make you humble in order to make this moment possible: trying to take off a lot of silly, ugly, fancy-dress in which we have all got ourselves up and are strutting about like the little idiots we are. I wish I had got a bit further with humility myself: if I had, I could probably tell you more about the relief, the comfort, of taking the fancy-dress off—getting rid of the false self, with all its ‘Look at me’ and ‘Aren’t I a good boy?’ and all its posing and posturing. To get even near it, even for a moment, is like a drink of cold water to a man in a desert.”

God is far from the proud and draws near to the humble. It’s no wonder what so much of what he orchestrates seems designed to pry my fingers off Plan A and teach me to cheerfully, gratefully, eagerly accept Plan B, with all the wonders that accompany that moment. And having a husband who laughs greatly helps.