The land of Practice-What-You-Preach

I've been gone for a few months and I'm finally back to give you a little update.

I took a little trip to the mystical land of Practice-What-You-Preach. Not enough people have been there but I was determined to make sure I know what I'm talking about!

I have always been big on preaching how to make your budget for your family and how to climb out of debt. After creating a budget and striving to make it work for my family- things are slowly improving. It also made me realize what a low paying job I have. After looking at my paycheck I realized that I'd worked at this place all year long, and i would make decent money if I actually worked the 42.5hr work week I SHOULD get. However, the constant fluctuation in hours means I've been pulling in about $1000 per month after taxes... ouch!

So it was time for me to implement stage two of my plan to debt free living- make money off my hobbies. I love to read and I've always thought I was a good writer if only I could sit down long enough and FINISH a whole story.

Well, I finally did the impossible. I wrote a book. I wrote a book, established a business name, contacted sellers, designed a cover, came up with a marketing plan and self published my first book!

It is the first weekend after the release. I offered free copies early in the week but any/all sales ended on Friday. So, I'm excited to see what happens. This book was not intended to make much money, rather I expected my NEXT book to be the story that helps boost my income.

My opinion has changed somewhat since I've been watching the sells.
My book was available for sale on Sept 2 and stats as of yesteday...

Smashwords 0 paid sold
Kindle 64 copies sold
ARe 16 copies sold.

Total Revenue for my short story is $239.20
Which means I've made roughly $170 this week.

It won't make me rich but an extra $500- $700 a month would go a LONG way toward helping me become debt free! If the next book is just as profitable for me then I'll have a hobby that makes more money than my day job!

Cut your Grocery Bill in HALF!

My grocery receipt from last Saturday. 
The goal is to always SAVE more than we SPEND!

Last Saturday was Double Double Daze at the Rainbow Foods store 25minutes from my home. I always shop on that Saturday because the store will double 10 manufacture's coupons up to $1. Last Saturday I left with a cart piled high with beef, chicken, cereal, soda, milk, juice, frozen dinners and even some boxed dinners.

Retail price for the food I bought was $189.47 but I paid $91.78. That is a savings of 51.56% on my groceries.

Honestly, I've done better and I generally aim to save between 60%-70% on these shopping trips but I was clearly a bit rusty! I was so disappointed when I got home that I refused to write this blog because I just wasn't impressed! Yet, my goal was to save 50% on my groceries and I certainly did that.

Chances are you are wondering how can you do the same. Well, I'm going to give you a few tips so that you can start saving some money at home too. I coupon but I'm by no means an "extreme couponer". I do not have a stockpile. I live in a small apartment and have just enough space for a deep freezer. I do not have 20-30hrs a week to clip coupons. I'm just a mother that works full time and needs to save a couple dollars.Here is how.

1. Learn the stores in your area.
Rainbow Foods is NOT the only store in my area. Since I drive 25minutes to the nearest one, I actually pass about 10 places where I COULD buy groceries. But as you can see from the receipts it is well worth the $10 in gas money if I save $100. Some of the store nearby have higher prices on food. Rainbow is the only store that has a regular double coupon day and the occasional double double coupon day.

2. Asess your eating habits.
Are you a name brand shopper? If so couponing is PERFECT for you! If your family isn't very picky than you might be better off saving money by shopping at an Aldi, or heading to Wal-Mart and using the occasional coupon to suite your needs. My family is VERY picky. So I use a combination of stores couponing at Rainbow to stock up on items that they like best. Then I head to Aldi or Wal-Mart to fill in the gaps.

3. Pick up the Paper.
You can print great coupons online and you can even order coupons from a variety of coupon clipping services. But for the average family just looking to save some $$ I suggest buying a paper from your gas station or grocery store. Buying 1-2 newspapers each week is a great way to get coupons AND local ads!

4. Sale + Coupon = Double Savings
Pull out your coupon organizer and grab your weekly grocery store ad and start matching up your savings. The best way to achieve 50% savings is to catch items that are already on sale and then use a coupon to earn additional savings. If you are lucky enough to have a store that doubles coupons then you are well on your way to saving $100's of dollars each month on groceries.

5. Make a List and STICK WITH IT!
The store knows what coupons are going to come out each week. They are going to do their best to lure you in with cheap soda, cut price chips and bargain beef sales with the hope that once you come in for those items they can lure you into spending an extra $50-$100 on stuff throughout the store. This can be especially tempting when you have a handful of coupons each yelling save $1 off two. Do not be fooled and do not get side tracked.

I like to create a spreadsheet with my exact shopping list and any coupons and figure out my total savings. Then I look back through the items and ask myself if I can find it CHEAPER someplace else? Is this a favorite food or am I just buying because I want to use the coupon? Am I saving 40% or more on this item? After I finish trimming down my list I place the coupons I plan to use into a pile of store coupons and manufactures coupons along with a sticky note of my expected price and savings.

6. Catalina VS Store and Manufactures Coupons

Finally using my deep freezer again!

Catalina's are the coupons that print from the register after your purchase. Sometimes they are store specific and sometimes they are manufactures coupons. Make sure you are reading these. Many times when I buy specific cereals I will get a free gallon of milk on my 'next visit'. Since i usually have two orders I will buy the cereals in my first transaction and then use the expected printout on my second transaction- automatic four dollar savings! Store coupons can usually be stacked with a manufacture's coupon so if you see that butter is on sale for 2 for $5 and you are holding a $1 off store coupon and  $1 off manufactures coupon you will be walking out with butter for $0.50

7. Read your coupon and your product sizes.

 When you just begin using coupons it is easy to look at the picture and ASSUME rather than reading. The coupon with the box of frosted Cheerios on the front may work for any Cheerio's brand so you could buy the smaller, cheaper box of original Cheerios and save more money. It is also important to be aware of the product sizes listed on the coupon. If you need to buy 12oz or larger in order to use the coupon but notice that only the 8oz sizes are on sale you might be better off waiting on a different sale. Some coupons will state that you may only use 4 of the same coupon in a shopping trip. Be aware of this when you are planning your trip.

8. Smaller Size + Coupon= Best Deals
 The smaller sized package your coupon allows is generally the best deal. Some coupons will exclude trial sizes but the ones without those restrictions are your best chances of finding FREE products. These happen on occasion but I have only gotten free items when browsing the clearance racks at stores. Most memorably was a $1 off coupon for each Finish Quantum  brand dishwasher detergent. I happen to see a box of detergents marked down for $1 each. I didn't buy dish washing detergent for nearly a year after that lucky find!

9. Plan your meals in advance.
Before you leave the house take a look at what food you already have in your home and plan meals to use the food you already have with whatever foods are on sale. This will help you make the best choices when you leave the house and start shopping. Otherwise you might make the mistake of having a house full of food that doesn't really make anything. Now you end up making an extra shopping trip because you have ground beef and spaghetti sauce but no noodles.
                                                                            
10. Set a REASONABLE Goal
You wont have instant success or be great at couponing on your first trip. So don't expect outrageous numbers like the people on TLC. You are not likely to take home $1000 worth of food for $50. But if you shop according to the sales and use your coupons wisely it is easy to go home saving 40-50% on your groceries. That can translate into saving $150-$200 a month for most households!

Get your family involved in the effort. Make saving money fun. Make a cookie jar and put the "Savings" away. Create mini list for your kids to find in the store. My daughter helps me load the cart with groceries and chooses which cookies to buy. Mostly because she knows I keep special coupons in my pocket. When we get to the register I pull out the candy coupons and she can use one if she has been a good girl.

I hope this post is the start to savings in another household somewhere. :-D
Good Luck! #LiveLifeDifferent!Don't spend another year in debt!      
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Creating a Plan

It's all well and good to SAY I want to be debt free. Yet, it is another thing to cash your paycheck and hold the money in your hand. Determination must be my middle name because I bought a granola bar and sparkling water fr breakfast and went to work.

I'm not using any set plan or reading a book that is currently helping me plan my journey into financial health. Honestly, I don't want to spend $30 to read a book to teach me how to save. However, the first two steps seem obvious to even this novice.

• Create a personal budget.

My standard work week is 42.5hours. However the general pattern has been two weeks with very few hours and then two weeks of working 50hrs. So I planned my monthly budget at 32hrs a week. I overestimated my personal bills to account to give myself a little extra wiggle room. After adding the cost of daycare, student loans, cell phone, gas, Netflix and the other assortment of bills that I pay each month, I found I was able to save a whooping $-50 a month.

• Decrease expenses

Since there is no way I can climb the ladder to financial security with a negative $50 a month saving habit I thought it would be a good time to decrease my personal expenses.

1. Turn off my Netflix account [$20]
2. Reduced gym membership and pay from my "fun money" [$65]
3. Couponing for groceries [$200]
4. Lower Energy Consumption [$40]
5. End magazine and online subscriptions [$15]
6. File a new W4 and claim the CORRECT # of exemptions [$100]

Saving $440 a month is like getting an extra weekly paycheck which is a great start to getting all of my bills current and paying off all of my debts. This plan relies on me cooking dinner since there would be no fast food. I have learned to coupon successfully in order to save money during times when I was unemployed. So I have a great confidence in my ability to cut my grocery bill in half each month.

I look forward to updating you on my shopping trip since I'm planning to go and fill my stockpile tomorrow morning. Generally I need 70-75% savings when couponing in order to maintain a full 50% by the end of the month. Spontaneous trips for taco seasoning, milk, eggs and bread add up by the end of the month.

Steps toward a better future!! Each small goal feels like I moved a mountain.   

 

Tired of Waking up BROKE!

Last week I hit the snooze button (as usual) and rolled over (as usual) and even though I couldn't go back to sleep I just laid there in bed (as usual). I'm sure many of you have done the same thing. I laid there in bed thinking about all the things that needed to be done. Thinking about all the bills that were late and which bills should be paid this week since I didn't have the money for all of them. That is when I was spontaneously hit by a freight train. Well, thats what it felt like. Why is this so hard? Why am I constantly BROKE?

Partially a stupid question. I'm 24 years old and I have a 5 year old daughter. The rent needs to paid, the electric bill is ridiculously high. Child care is expensive and the cost of groceries makes me want to weep pathetic tears all over the cashier when I pay $70 for 3 bags of food. None of that is different from households all over the country. Gas isn't just expensive for me. I'm not paying the special Nayia rate that is $2/gal higher than everyone else.

As I hit the snooze button again and roll over, I realize I'm laying on my debt.

I'm young and occasionally Dumb. One of those dumb choices was to go to one of those high interest furniture buying places in order to buy a new bedroom set and mattress. My old bed was broken and barely better than sleeping on the floor. Even the frame was broken. The bed cost roughly $1200 after financing. The headboard, frame, dresser and night stands total about $2200 after financing. This bedroom set could never be sold for that amount by me! I could probably go to a Slumberland and walk out with this bedroom set during a sale and pay $850. Why didn't I? No credit or Bad credit. I only had $250 and a broken bed.

It would've been a much smarter choice to buy a thrift store frame and have a used bed steam cleaned with my $250.

I'm not struggling financially because I purchased a far overpriced bedroom set. It's the entire culture of buying things we don't need. It's the 2yr contract on my smartphone that cost $100/mo that I fear terminating because of the hefty fees involved. It's owning 3 flatscreen TVs and having them all on at different points during the night which constantly results in $200 electric bills. It's playing Call of Duty Black Ops II on my 52in TV with surround sound with my clan on Saturday's. How would I live without the multiplayer online gaming community? I certainly don't know what I would do if I had to do push ups at home, rather than at the gym in front of mirrors.

I like to think that I'm a smart girl. Smart enough to realize that 5 yrs from now I will roll over in bed and realize I'm still broke and that the cable bill is past due- again.

I don't want to work full time each week, only to receive my paycheck and still be broke.
So it's time for a change.
Maybe some of you will decide to change with me.