Let me start out by stating that I love my life. It isn't perfect and that is okay. Perfect is kind of boring. Jon and I work hard to make our life the way we want it to be. We choose for me to be a stay at home mom. And that choice involves making choices about where and how we spend our money a little more carefully. And I am okay with that.
Most of the time.
Now and again I get bit by that green eyed monster. I get the "gimmees" as I call them when my kids ask for things. I want more than I have. I don't like that part of myself, but it is there.
I have been hearing about the upcoming vacations of friends. This past summer I was emailed about going on a Disney Cruise with some friends next September,a family trip. We had to say no. Last week when I was reading Facebook an acquaintance posted about planning her upcoming trip to Disney. Than this week a good friend wrote about planning her spring trip to Disney World.
I started to get jealous. I want to go to Disney World. I want my kids to have fun there and meet Mickey Mouse and the other characters. I want Jon and I to have a fun vacation with the kids. But we can't afford it. And right now that is bothering me.
But at the same time how can I complain? We CHOOSE for me to stay at home. We CHOOSE to live on one income. We CHOOSE to save rather than spend so we can stay out of debt. And we CHOOSE not to go on vacations so we can save money.
Jon and I could make different choices. I could go back to work full time. We could spend money and use credit cards and go into debt. We could decide not to move or buy a minivan and use that money to go on a vacation with the kids.
I don't like those choices. We want to move to a bigger house in a nicer town. We want to continue to manage our money well and stay out of debt. We want me to be at home with our kids. If forgoing a Disney (or other large) vacation is the choice we need to make for that to happen, then that is the way it will be. Yes I wish I could have both. But I also want a happy husband, and he is happy teaching his eighth graders about science. And we are both happy with me being at home with the kids. So we live on a teacher's salary. And we make choices that allow us to continue to do that.
I just remember that saying, you can't have your cake and eat it too.
Showing posts with label saving money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label saving money. Show all posts
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Friday, September 16, 2011
Why I don't Extreme Coupon
Have you watched the show Extreme Couponing on TLC? I have, several times. Jon and I watched it and we were both amazed at the amount of money someone could save on groceries. But I still won't extreme coupon.
The first reason is the space issue- we don't have the room for the type of stockpiles some of theses families have. Seriously, their stockpiles take up space equal to half (or more) of the square footage of my house (I have no basement, a crawl space attic and my garage is now our playroom/office). So if I got rid of my furniture and confined us all to two bedrooms and the bathroom, maybe I could stockpile...not worth it.
Another reason I don't extreme coupon is because of overages. Have you noticed that on this show often the coupons' worth will total more than the actual cost of the item? And that extra money is then applied to the other groceries in the cart. Well, not all grocery stores offer that bonus. The two I use won't give overages. If your coupon's value is more than the cost of the item then the item is free, nothing more. I am not complaining about free, I love free. But the idea of buying things I may not need (or have space for) simply to have extra money towards other groceries isn't realistic for me.
A third reason is time. Yup, time. I don't have a lot of it. What little extra I have I try to put into this blog (and you can see how well that is going lately.) So if I were to put 30+ hours a week into couponing I would need to give up sleep. It doesn't make sense for me. The only way it would make sense for me to put 30+ hours a week into couponing is if I could quit my job. But I can't, plus my current job requires 10 hours a week of my time.
For some extreme couponing works. I use a simpler approach. I buy the weekly Sunday paper and clip my coupons. I use couponbug.com and swagbucks to print off other coupons. I stack my coupons against sale items. Doing just that I am able to save at least 30% off of my bill each week, often I save more. If I go to a store that offers their own coupons (like Target and BJ's) I am able to stack the manufacturers coupon with theirs and save even more.
Yes I could possibly save more if I put more time into the process. But for now this works for me.
The first reason is the space issue- we don't have the room for the type of stockpiles some of theses families have. Seriously, their stockpiles take up space equal to half (or more) of the square footage of my house (I have no basement, a crawl space attic and my garage is now our playroom/office). So if I got rid of my furniture and confined us all to two bedrooms and the bathroom, maybe I could stockpile...not worth it.
Another reason I don't extreme coupon is because of overages. Have you noticed that on this show often the coupons' worth will total more than the actual cost of the item? And that extra money is then applied to the other groceries in the cart. Well, not all grocery stores offer that bonus. The two I use won't give overages. If your coupon's value is more than the cost of the item then the item is free, nothing more. I am not complaining about free, I love free. But the idea of buying things I may not need (or have space for) simply to have extra money towards other groceries isn't realistic for me.
A third reason is time. Yup, time. I don't have a lot of it. What little extra I have I try to put into this blog (and you can see how well that is going lately.) So if I were to put 30+ hours a week into couponing I would need to give up sleep. It doesn't make sense for me. The only way it would make sense for me to put 30+ hours a week into couponing is if I could quit my job. But I can't, plus my current job requires 10 hours a week of my time.
For some extreme couponing works. I use a simpler approach. I buy the weekly Sunday paper and clip my coupons. I use couponbug.com and swagbucks to print off other coupons. I stack my coupons against sale items. Doing just that I am able to save at least 30% off of my bill each week, often I save more. If I go to a store that offers their own coupons (like Target and BJ's) I am able to stack the manufacturers coupon with theirs and save even more.
Yes I could possibly save more if I put more time into the process. But for now this works for me.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Saving Money
I am always looking for EASY ways to save money. I love to get a deal that is useful. And I love when I can cut bills down in easy ways. I don't want to spend hours just to save a few dollars, but I will spend some time on the phone talking to companies to save money.
Last week I had the option to earn money easily and I also had the chance to save money on a bill. We have been chosen to be a Nielsen family. This means I need to write down everything we watch on television for the next week, which is tedious. But as a thank you they sent me $30. Not a gift card or a coupon but $30 in cash. I am willing to spend a few minutes each day writing down what we watch for $30.
Then last week I looked at my electric bill. I hate my electric bill and I am always fighting with it. I want the bill to be as low as possible and I struggle with it. I turn lights off all of the time. I wait until I am wearing two sweaters, fleece socks and slippers before I turn on the heat. I line dry my diapers and towels when I can. I wash clothes in cold water. I don't use the a/c unless I can't sit still without sweating in the summer. I try hard to do what I can, but the bill doesn't go as low as I would like. Then last week I noticed the rates my local electric company was offering are lower than what I am paying. I switched companies a couple of years ago to get a lower rate (in my area I can choose who provides the electricity, I just pay the local company to transfer it to me). It cut my bill at the time. But I looked and the rates have lowered with the local company. I called my local company and was told I could switch to them at any time, but they don't know what the rates will be after June 30. They also pointed out I may pay a fee for leaving the other company.
I ahte paying fees so I called my company and asked. They said I was not under contract and could leave at any time. I said I was considering switching to get a lower rate. Turns out I can get the lower rate with the company I am currently paying PLUS they will keep that rate until December. I asked why I hadn't heard about the lower rate and was told they don't notify their customers when rates drop but I can call every few months and ask. A few minutes on the phone is going to save me about $15 a month on average. I am VERY happy! I learned it is worth calling companies to see if there is a lower rate to pay. I will keep this in mind in the future.
I am looking into swagbucks as another way to save money and earn free things. I have read about it a few places but I have not jumped in yet. Do any of you use swagbucks? Is it worth my time? I have also thought about surveys, but them often ask for more information that I am comfortable providing. I don't think swagbucks does this, but I am not sure.
Last week I had the option to earn money easily and I also had the chance to save money on a bill. We have been chosen to be a Nielsen family. This means I need to write down everything we watch on television for the next week, which is tedious. But as a thank you they sent me $30. Not a gift card or a coupon but $30 in cash. I am willing to spend a few minutes each day writing down what we watch for $30.
Then last week I looked at my electric bill. I hate my electric bill and I am always fighting with it. I want the bill to be as low as possible and I struggle with it. I turn lights off all of the time. I wait until I am wearing two sweaters, fleece socks and slippers before I turn on the heat. I line dry my diapers and towels when I can. I wash clothes in cold water. I don't use the a/c unless I can't sit still without sweating in the summer. I try hard to do what I can, but the bill doesn't go as low as I would like. Then last week I noticed the rates my local electric company was offering are lower than what I am paying. I switched companies a couple of years ago to get a lower rate (in my area I can choose who provides the electricity, I just pay the local company to transfer it to me). It cut my bill at the time. But I looked and the rates have lowered with the local company. I called my local company and was told I could switch to them at any time, but they don't know what the rates will be after June 30. They also pointed out I may pay a fee for leaving the other company.
I ahte paying fees so I called my company and asked. They said I was not under contract and could leave at any time. I said I was considering switching to get a lower rate. Turns out I can get the lower rate with the company I am currently paying PLUS they will keep that rate until December. I asked why I hadn't heard about the lower rate and was told they don't notify their customers when rates drop but I can call every few months and ask. A few minutes on the phone is going to save me about $15 a month on average. I am VERY happy! I learned it is worth calling companies to see if there is a lower rate to pay. I will keep this in mind in the future.
I am looking into swagbucks as another way to save money and earn free things. I have read about it a few places but I have not jumped in yet. Do any of you use swagbucks? Is it worth my time? I have also thought about surveys, but them often ask for more information that I am comfortable providing. I don't think swagbucks does this, but I am not sure.
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