Friday, August 24, 2012

The Magic of Coupons

I have asked some friends to do guest posts here and there, sharing their tips to help you save money.  I think it is important to get info from different people because they may have some ideas that you hadn't even thought about.  

For the first guest post, I have asked Karen Harris to share her expertise in couponing with us.  Enjoy!



The Magic of Coupons…

Coupons can be  magical little things.  

To some they’re just a little piece of paper that says, “save 50 cents off a box of Cheerios”.   Some say, it’s just $.50 that I’m going to lose between home and the checkout…  and some will say, YEAH BABY, that’s a $1 off a box of Cheerios.   What people don’t realize is that 50 cent coupon can add up to a lot of money saved – and quickly! 

There are many things one can do to save money at the grocery store.  Price matching is one very big thing.  Meal planning based on what’s on sale can also make a really big difference.  But when you add the magic of coupons – that’s where the fun begins. 

I recommend people buy a paper every Sunday, consistency will make a difference in the big money- saving picture.  Then once you have your coupons, don’t run to the store today to use it, wait for that item to go on sale, that is when you want to use it.  And with Wal-mart allowing us to price match, that really makes it easy vs. driving to other stores in another town.

Say that box of Cheerios is normally priced at Wal-mart $2.98, but HyVee has them on sale for $1.89, and you put your $.50 coupon with it, that box only cost you $1.39.  That is a savings of $1.59 or 54%!!!  Now you have two options…  cut your grocery bill by over half, or buy 2 boxes for less than the price of one box.  By stocking up at that price, you will save money in the long run, because you’re going to be buying Cheerios, so buy them when they’re on sale. 

Now that same box of Cheerios is also on sale at Country Mart for $2.00, and you say to yourself, I’ll just price match them at Wal-mart, but what you aren’t taking into consideration is that Country Mart will double coupons up to $.50, which means that coupon is actually worth $1.00!  (Please know that Country Mart will take manufacture coupons in print, newspaper inserts, magazines, peelies, and  internet coupons only from www.coupons.com.)  So at Country Mart the cereal will cost $2.00, but that 50 cent coupon will double, so you will only pay $1.00 or a savings 67%!!!  


Tell me couponing isn’t Magical!

Thank you, Karen!

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Excitement

About 21 months ago, my husband, my son and I moved into my parents' house.  We had just completed a short sale on our house and didn't really have any place to go (especially where we could focus on our mounting debt).  A couple weeks later, I had my daughter.

Since then, we have all been sharing 1 (ONE!!!) bedroom.  This was much easier when Kinsley was a newborn (yes, I am a fan of co-sleeping when my children are newborns) and Carter was 2.  Now, Kinsley is terrible 2 and Carter just had his 4th birthday.

Needless to say, things have been a little cramped.  We absolutely LOVE living out on the farm, but there is obviously no where for rent out here and we cannot buy for another year and a half (again, thanks to the short sale).  And we need some space!

So we decided to move back to town.  We started looking for apartments and luckily on Friday we found this gem while driving around.  It was empty, for rent, and in our price range.  It is 2 bedrooms- we decided that would be better than 3 for right now since the kids are so used to sharing a room with us anyway. I doubt they would like their own rooms!  It also has 2 bathrooms and a large kitchen.

We are very nervous about making ends meet with a new expense but it is a necessity (if we want to keep our sanity, that is).  Wish us luck!

I also wanted to share a few photos from our recent photo shoot with a VERY talented photographer.  Her name is Aundrea Shafer, owner of A Shafer Photography.





{Want to have Aundrea take your pics? Call her: 620-757-1237.  Tell her I sent you!}