Merry Christmas

Already?

Not quite, but did you know that yesterday (June 25th) is exactly half way to Christmas? Yep, only 6 months (well I guess today it's 5 months and 29 days) until the big day.

Are you ready? Do you have a game plan? It's time to get one.

I post this because I don't have one. I know I should, I mean it's not like Christmas is a surprise! You can bet it'll be here every December 25th, the good Lord willin' and the creek don't rise! I should do more to get ready for it. So far I've earned a whopping $50 with the points on my debit card. But since we are switching to Dave Ramsey's cash only envelope system in July, my point will go down drastically. I've also thought about saving up all the points I earn from surveys and http://www.swagbucks.com/ to buy gifts. And that will help, but it may not be enough, and it's not predictable.

I've been researching online, and found a few ideas:

• http://www.ehow.com/ suggests setting aside a weekly amount to contribute to your CS (that's what we'll call "Christmas Savings". And also suggest using you spare change to add to that. This plan might work for me, since we'll be using cash for almost everything, we're sure to have lots of coin change.

Other ideas I gathered from various sources on the net include:

• Using your banks "Christmas Club" account.
• Buying bargain gifts throughout the year. While I think this is a wonderful idea, you want to keep in mind that sizes, preferences, and fads can change quickly. If you buy a gift too early before Christmas, you may not be able to return or exchange it.
• Working an extra job, such as retail, babysitting, or pizza delivery.
• Selling items you aren't using on eBay, and use the profit for gifts.
• Drawing names-great for larger families, and you'll only to buy a few gifts.

I'm sure you can find many more ideas, and I know you have great ones of your own. Let me know what you are doing to get ready for Christmas this year.

And don't forget what Dave Ramsey says-"Christmas is NOT an emergency!"

Meaning DO NOT touch those emergency funds in order to buy gifts.

Merry Christmas in June!

6/24/09 Deals

I haven't done much shopping in the last few days. It's been well over 100 degrees every afternoon, and frankly, that's just too hot the leave the house unless you need to! On top of that, my very energetic bulldog has to stay outside when we aren't home and there is no way I could leave him in this heat. So he and I just hang out in the air conditioned house and read blogs all day, and LOVE it. I have run a few errands after David gets home in the evenings (so he can stay with Bear). On Tuesday I ran to Walgreens to drop off my ink to get refilled. It cost me $12.99 to get a full ink cartridge, compared to $25-$30 to buy a new one. It was the first time I'd ever tried it, and I am very pleased. I've heard that Walgreens sometimes has coupons in their flyers for ink refills, so I'll be on the lookout for those. Total savings from that was anywhere from $12-$17, but I won't had it to my weekly savings since it's an ongoing price with them. While there I did the Coke deal, and got 4-12 packs for $13, plus $3 Register Rewards, plus those 4 packs will earn me 40 http://www.mycokerewards.com/ points! I also cashed in my rain check for a free Walgreens cloth bag. I LOVE those bags, they hold so much more then a plastic bag!
We also used a free code at Redbox to rent "New In Town", it was cute. I just love Renee Z. and Harry Connick Jr.
Yesterday I received 2 coupons for free Velveeta microwaveable cups, and one BOGOF coupon. David LOVES these cups, and so do I. They are quick, store well in the pantry, are great to take to work, taste just like the real thing...and you toss the bowl when you're done! NO dirty dishes!! Try them out, they are fantastic.
I have been tweaking our plan for the Envelope System we'll be starting on July 1st, but I think I'll make a new post about that.
Take care, and have a great day!!

Total Weekly Savings using coupons and codes: $31.56

Happy Anniversay

Yep, that's me! Yesterday was our 5th Anniversary!! It's gone by so fast. We met when we were in middle school, and that seems like last year. Gosh, we were 18 and 19 in that picture! Time does fly. I love you, David!!!!

June 21-27 Budget

After last week, this week will be boring. Which is not altogether a bad thing. I am ready for some down time! We don't have much planned for this week, and this weekend will be the first one in a long time that we don't have plans and can enjoy the summer. It's supposed to storm, and I am ready. It's so dry here, and we haven't had rain in quite a few weeks. The high today is 102, with an index of 115+. That's GREAT for the budget. Why? Because I'm not leaving my air conditioned house to go out in that heat, therefor I won't spend a dime!

And speaking of dimes, here they are!

Groceries: $20, just picking up a couple of good deals.
Gas: $30
Cash $40
Misc: $50

Total: $140

June 14-20 Summary

This was an expensive week. We had family in the entire time, and while I LOVE every minute of it, the spending got out of control and stayed there. There really isn't anything else I can say, so here are the numbers:

Budget/Actual

Groceries/Household: $40/$178
Gas:$30/$60
Cash:$40/$40
Misc:$50/$239, including $30 for a gift.

We spent $137 eating out this week. That is awful, and HAS to stop. But I'm not beating myself up too hard because as bad as it was, we didn't spend anything we didn't have, and I was honest about every penny. It just makes me want to try harder this week!

6-21-09 Deals

I decided that this week I want to keep track of every penny I save on deals and coupons. I normally don't track how much I save, so I want to start small with just a week. I'd eventually love to track an entire year, but I'd definitely have to build up to that. So for the week of 6/21-6/27 I will take pictures and post all of my shopping.



Here's todays:



Super WalMart:


First off, DH got $30 in gas in his truck on a WM gift card, saving $0.03 a gal, or $0.36 on the entire purchase. It doesn't sound like much, but when you buy as much gas as we do, it's saves a lot in the course of a year.

And I bought:
2 Blue Bunny IceCream snacks $1 each -$1IP=FREE
1 pkg Oscar Meyer Beef Frank$2.50-Free Q from Oscar Meyer
1 pkg Playtex Wipes $1.97-$1=$0.97
2 Huggies Wipes $1 each-$1mc=FREE
1 Snuggle 40ct. dryer sheets $1.87-$1IP=$0.87
1 Jar Pace Specialty Salsa $2.84-$2mc=$0.84
1 can Mighty Dog $0.57-Free mc, but the cashier ran the Q through as $1, so Money Maker!!

Total Before Q's: $13.75
Total After Q's: $2.25 (+ $0.91 tax)

Total Savings: $11.50 + $0.36 (gas)



CVS:



2 Glade Scented Oil Holders clearanced to $4.79 -$2mc=$2.79 each
1 Johnson & Johnson First Aid kit $0.99-$1mc=Free
4 Soy Joy Bars $4
1 20oz. Coke $1.49 -Free Q I got from http://www.mycokerewards.com/
2 Therma Care 1ct. Neck Wraps $2.49-$1mc=$1.49 each



Used a $4/$20 CVS Q, and $6 ECB's



Total before Q's $21.28
Total after Q's $2.58 (+$1.10 tax)


Total Savings: $18.70


Received $4ECB's for Soy Joy Bars and $2.49 for each Therma Care Wrap= $8.98 ECB's

Total Daily Savings: $30.56

Week-to-Date Savings: $30.56

Refilling Ink

First off, Happy Friday! Let the weekend begin.

I must be way behind because I'd never given much thought to having my ink cartridge refilled. I always just shelled out the $25 for a new one. But my ink is out and I have more coupons I want to print before I go grocery shopping on Sunday. The old Jodie would swipe her card for $25 and be glad she had more ink. But lately, that just won't do. It's not enough to be glad you have something new. It's important to me know to get a good deal out of that something new. So I called Walgreens and guess what? That $25 ink can be mine for $13!!!! That's a savings of $12, almost half.

So definitely check out getting the ink cartridge refilled before forking over money for a new one.


Have a great weekend!