October Budget

This is the first month in which my husband and I both have decent paying, full time jobs, and I am ecstatic!!!! 

Why? Because now we can actuall have a budget, know what kind of money we are going to make, and more importantly, know how much money we are able to SPEND!

 I have been using Dave Ramsey’s Monthly Cash Flow worksheet for the most part, but all of the eraser marks get in the way, so I have created an easier to use Excel spreadsheet.  I love it, but I’m biased.  It’s the first true month we have been able to complete, and attempt to follow through on a budget, so we’ll see how it goes.  So far, so good!  We have little tweaks to make here and there – but overall, it’s been fantastic! 

Let’s see how I feel on the 15th with a mid-month review!

Back on the Wagon!

I am in week three of a new job, and my husband will soon be joining me – doubling our income from zero to YEAY!

I will be spending all day on Saturday going over our finances and seeing where we stand, and then creating a budget to begin in October when the dust settles and we are on a steady pay cycle.

I am so excited! Maybe I’ll be able to get the internet again so I can post more often! WOOT WOOT!

CVS Trip – Success!

I fianally got my husband to come with me to the grand opening of a local CVS.  I was really quite excited.  It’s a bit of a rush when I get to ‘show off’ by saving money.  Weird, I know.  I was thrilled to see that it had finally opened!  It’s a very nice looking  store, by the way.

I had my list printed out, coupons ready, and binder in hand – in case I saw a good deal.  However, being a new store, there weren’t any clearance items that I could find.  I am kicking myself, though. I forgot to have my bag tag scanned. It’s like giving away free money!  It makes my tummy knot up…

Anyway, after all was said and done, we spent about $30.00 (if I had to guess, since my receipts are at home), but only $9.20 out of pocket - in three transactions, and I have $4 in ECBs left.  I’m pretty sure that if I had planned better, we would have spent even less.  I just felt a little rushed during checkout.  There were also a few things that we wanted that weren’t in stock.  I will probably go to anothet store tomorrow or Saturday to see if I have better luck. 

NOTE:  Since initally writing this post, I have gone back to the new CVS, and to my ‘usual’ CVS – TWICE! – and the items still have yet to be re-stocked.  I guess I’m feeling the frustration of the being the victim of a ‘shelf-clearer.’  I hate missing such a good sale, but I guess I will have to suck it up.  **grumble**

Budgeting 101

This is not a class.  It’s a request for one!    

I finished my May Budget about a week ago.  Maybe a little more.  I felt like I had achieved something.  Every dollar had a name, and every name had a goal.  I was thrilled.  I had my husband look it over, which he said he did, and he was also impressed.

And then time passed.  Tweaks and tweaks galore!  Pull $10 out of here to put over there….  $15 needs to go here, so where to we get it from?  Etcetera, etcetera…

I have mentioned that I am a big fan of Dave Ramsey in the past, I know – but the one thing he doesn’t do is really explain the Budget.  Sure, he says to assign every dollar a purpose, but he doesn’t really tell you where to begin!

No, Dave – I am not blaming you for my Budget edits!  Far from it!  I just would feel better if I knew I was doing it correctly.  I made another adjustment last night, but have not had a chance to go over it with the hubs – since I’m going to have to do another one shortly – to accommodate for some other spending that I don’t think one of us can do without – but until then – a bit of reassurance would be wonderfully comforting.

I have been Challenged by Mary Kay

Simply Cotton Mother's Day Set

With Mother’s Day around the corner, ( Sunday, May 8th) I thought that now would be a great time to hold a virtual Business Debut.  To kick it off, I have set a goal of selling ten of the Simply Cotton gift sets by next Friday.  In itself, it sounds like a goal that may be reached – but the planning is a bit fuzzy.

I believe that I need to speak with some of my male friends, as they are usually somewhat clueless about what to get their wives, moms, grand-moms, etcetera for Mother’s Day.  I think that this would be a fantastic way for them to get in good with their Female counterparts, and the Mom’s get a cute bag, scarf and sweet smelling perfume!  Win-Win in my book!

I also think it could be a cute idea for Dad’s to get them as gifts ‘From the Kids.’  What kid doesn’t want to give their mom a Mother’s Day gift?  Right?  (Really – Right?  I don’t have kids,  so I don’t know! hehe)  Anyway, since this is my first attempt at achieving I am going to go Full Force.  No holds barred!  (I still don’t understand that saying…) Balls to the Wall!  (I got caught up in the moment….)  I think you get the picture.  So, that being said, if it looks like something you would like more information on – feel free to go to my Mary Kay site, Follow me on Twitter, or send me an email/leave a comment!  You would be helping out a fellow blogger as well as giving a great gift to a loved one!  What could be bad about that?

Shopping trip #2

I gathered my binder, my reusable bags (Earth Day is around the corner, people!), my list and my confidence, and headed to Winn Dixie.

I always have the feeling that people are staring at me when I first roll my cart in – bags tucked into the baby seat with my binder propped up on them. But as I make my way down the aisles, I feel a lot better about the money I’m saving.

I took advantage of a couple of their ‘Buy this, get these X number of items for free.’ I can always use Cereal and Laundry detergent!

There were a lot of B1G1 sales, and 10 for $10 that I just love. I think we’re stocked up on veggies for quite some time! Meats, I’m not too familiar with, so I just got the bare minimum to get us a couple dinners.

This time, I was quicker because I knew what I wanted, what I had coupons for, and had something of a list to go by. However, I was still a bit disorganized for my liking. Though my efficiency was better than last time, improvements can, and will, be made.

After a bit over an hour of shopping, and maybe 10 minutes or so in checkout, my first total came to approximately $284! Again, my heart skipped a little.

After the reward card and coupons – I saved $121!!!! I paid (approximately) $160!!! Squee!

Now, I was a bit disappointed that I didn’t dip under $100 – since I was fairly close. But I am quite happy that my savings increased from last time.

I had no idea that you could use coupons on already free items! Knowing that gave me a few more weapons in my arsenal!

One day, I will learn percentages and see where I’m ranging, but for now, the numbers are just fine with me. (Anyone out there have a good program, or equation to figure this out? I was never great with percentages….)

Mary Kay – Worth My Time & Money?

As I know I have mentioned before, I want out of the day to day crap that is my job.  Sure, the people are fantastic, but the job is boring and I need to make more money.

 

A few years ago, when I worked for the local office of a national real estate company, I met a lady who sold Mary Kay.  She saw how much lip balm I used on a daily basis and told me about the Satin Lips kit that Mary Kay offers.  I tried the sample she gave me, and it worked.  I didn’t buy it, but it was a really nice change.  I did get a couple of things from her, but that was it.  Later, at another job, I found a catalog from a local Independent Beauty Consultant and ordered from her.  I only did this once, because of money constraints, but again, I liked the stuff that was offered.

 

So, when I began at my current job, I found out that not one, but two of my co-workers were IBCs.  One invited me to her parties and whatnot, and the other seemed to keep to herself.  I did order from both of them, however  Only because one kept an inventory of things that I used.  The other girl would place orders as needed.  I saw how different the business could be.

 

Eventually, both ladies left the firm and I thought I was done.  I didn’t think it was all that big a deal, because I hadn’t always used Mary Kay, so I knew I could find things that I enjoyed as much.  However, about a year ago, another co-worker decided to start her own Mary Kay Biz.  She is not the most social or approachable person, but she has done okay for herself.  From what I can tell, anyway…  I have gone to a couple of her training sessions, where we get to try new products and get mini makeovers.  They are a lot of fun and there are a variety of people there!  I get the feeling that if she can do it, so could it.

 

But then I wonder, “How?”  I am not very social.  I love computers, so I could get the word out via the typical social networks and whatnot, but will that be enough to justify the initial investment?  The reason I am thinking about it now is because there is a huge price break on the start up kit – which could NOT have come at a better time!  I have been watching and reading the testimonials on the MK site, which have been an inspiration.  I am talking a lot with my co-worker – who is really excited for me!  That is a surprise in itself!  In what kind of business is someone happy for someone else??? Girls are supposed to be catty and annoyed when other girls want to succeed…  But I don’t get that from Mary Kay.  Everyone I have spoken with is supportive, excited and overall happy.  I want to be happy!  I am still going to give it some more thought, but it’s really leaning toward a ‘Yes, I want to be an IBC for MK!’

Still Going!

I have been slacking on the database, I know. But yesterday, I spent a good couple of hours cutting two weeks worth of coupons, pulling out expired coupons, and just going through all of the store fliers I had collected recently. Tonight, my husband and our roommate will both be working, so I plan to put out a good chunk of work between the time I get home and when my new favorite Monday night show comes on (Being Human on SyFy – I love it!)

Oh!  And I also joined a Coupon Swap!!!  I have recently found a blog called $aving Toward a Better Life ….One coupon at a time… I have already enjoyed reading a lot of what the blog has to offer, and I’m learning new things, as well!  Anyway, they have set up this swap, where people can exchange coupons by mail.  The group is a little small right now, but I’m happy with it.  I’ll be able to learn about how it works and what I can and can’t send out.  I’ll keep up to date on stuff I get with the swapped coupons – and what I gave away.

I am also still looking for good ways to create a budget. Microsoft Office 2007 has a couple of good templates, but I would rather something more personalized. I have the Dave Ramsey software, so I’ll start off with that – but it’s tough to do when I don’t know what my husband is going to make from week to week. I have an idea, but his paystubs are somewhat vague, so I don’t know what he makes per hour in order to estimate his part of the income.  I am also not sure that he will be working from week to week.  Currently, his schedule has been steady – but that could change at just about any moment.

We still have a few items we need to list on CraigsList – two outdoor space heaters, some extra computer stuff that I have laying around, and some knick-knacks here and there.  We also just had a litter of puppies, which is nifty!  8 Basset Hounds – all male!  Can you believe that?  Anyway, when they are of age, we will be selling them, as well.  They are pure bred, so that’s a huge help!  Unfortunately, animals cannot be sold on CraigsList – which is actually okay by me.  I would rather sell them through word of mouth – and not some weirdo hunting for animals they can torment.  Although, I think that would happen more if they were free…

Anyway, I wanted to give myself an update to keep myself accountable for my work – or slack job…  =)   More to come, I’m sure!

I did it! I couponed – and lived to tell!

Okay, so it’s not all that exciting for most people, but I was soooo happy to get my foot one step forward.

As I may have mentioned, I have my binder all neat (term used loosely) and pretty.  I have my little pouch of doo-dads I may need (calculator, note pad, pencil, pens, sticky stuff for my fingers, etc…), and, of course, my scissors.  I printed out lists from the Southern Savers and KCL (Krazy Coupon Lady) websites, I sat with them for two nights after I got home from work, and finally sucked it all up and went to my local Winn Dixie.

I almost turned back when I found out they no longer had their ‘Spring into Savings’ store magazine.  It had a bunch of coupons I would have loved to have been able to use on some things on my list  Since I had manufacturer coupons, I told myself that I may as well try it out.  What’s the worst that could happen?  (And I’m a shy person, so that question was a HUGE one for me!)

I strolled inside – binder in hand.  I selected a cart, placed my environmentally friendly bags in the child seat and placed my open binder on top, set my list next to it (which kept falling, so I ended up tucking it in the back of the binder), and walked into my first grocery store aisle.   Okay, it wasn’t my first, but it was definitely my first time walking in with such a set-up!

I was prepared to spend as long as it took to get my shopping done.  After about 90 minutes, my feet got tired (I was still wearing my work heels – not a good idea), and I realized that I was definitely NOT as prepared or as organized as I should have been.  I did not find this to be discouraging, but more of an obstacle to overcome for next time.  A learning experience, if you will.

I loaded up my cart and headed to the check-out line.  I did a brief amount of ‘profiling’ and found my lane.  He was probably 16 or 17 – as he was talking about having to work on the first day of Spring Break.  And since I knew the public schools had a Teacher Work Day, I put 2 and 2 together.  He was quick, courteous and really pretty friendly.  I appreciated that, because I am sure he sees a lot of grumpy shoppers at that time of night.

I watched the total climb and the eco-bags fill up.  I saw the cart empty slowly and the fabric bags give way to plastic.

At approximately $237.00, the scanning stopped.  My heart skipped a small beat, and I gulped, but I felt a little better when I handed over the stack of coupons.  He kept talking to me and the bagger while small bits of change were scanned off my total.  When the beeping stopped, I looked again.

It was still just about $200.  This was NOT what I had envisioned when I began…  I felt my face get just a bit warm, which makes me really quite red.  (My cheeks are pretty pink to begin with – when I’m angry or embarrassed, FORGET IT!  I’m about as red as Julia Roberts’ dress in Pretty Woman.  Too young for that?  How about Sandra Bullock’s at the Oscars?)

Alas, I realized something.  The item in my hand that I was wringing and fidgeting with?? My keychain!  What does a crazy person like me have on her keychain?  Lots and lots of the little tags from the stores at which I shop!  (BLONDE MOMENT!!!)

I handed over my Winn Dixie card, and viola!  The printer went crazy!  Well, as crazy as *I* have ever heard one go.

Overall, I saved…   Drum Roll….   $86.00!!!!!!  And some change, but since I don’t have the receipt here with me, I don’t know all of the exact amounts.  I just know that I went from $237 to about $150!  To me, that’s a LOT of money saved!

My heart was a flutter and the cashier seemed pretty impressed.  I smiled, thanked the boys for helping me, and left the building – phone to my ear, calling my husband to tell him how happy I was!

I did cringe a little when I thought about what I could have saved if they had the in-store magazine with the store coupons, but I was still proud of myself.

A few bits I took away from the experience:

• Be sure to have a pretty specific  list.  It doesn’t have to be exact, or all that long.  Corrections can be made, and more than likely, you can go back the next day if need be.
• The binder is large.  Get to know the categories, and get to know how they correlate to the store you are going to be shopping.  They aren’t all set up the same.  And some are downright confusing!  I did a lot of flipping around in my binder to see if I *might* have a coupon for something but couldn’t find the category quickly.
• Know your coupons!  Again, the binder is large.  I’m actually trying to set up a coupon database on my home computer so that I will have an idea of what coupons I have, and when they expire.  It’s a tedious task right now, but I am hoping it will pay off.
• Do your best to find store coupons.  I didn’t know about the “Spring Into Savings” magazine until the day I went shopping.  Had I known earlier, I probably would have saved a lot more.
• Patience is a virtue.  A KEY virtue at that.  Just because a price looksgood, it may not be the best price out there.

I’m sure there are more, but those were the main points for now.  And I don’t really think I got them across as I would have liked.  I am sure this will be a process, and that there will be a learning curve.  I’m fine with that.  However, I look forward to the day where I can make my list, gather my coupons, and bring home a great haul of stuff.  Maybe even enough stuff to be able to take a pic and brag!  Who knows!

 

Someday….  I’ll get there…

 

Couponing is Crazy!

I didn’t think that cutting a few coupons, reading a few fliers, browsing a few websites and coordinating a shopping list with sales could be so fricking confusing!

I don’t remember where I even began, but one fateful day, I was browsing the internet, (a.k.a. killing time at work) and I came across the Krazy Koupon Lady.  I was pretty much hooked.  An entire website about how to coupon!

At first, I will admit that I was a little curious.

I kind of associated coupons with being on a tight budget and on the brink of being poor.  I don’t know why this was – as our family wasn’t poor.   Don’t get me wrong though, we weren’t close to rich, either!  I just remember Sunday Mornings at home.  After my dad cooked breakfast, we would clear the table and out came the Sunday Telegram & Gazette.  Or, more so, the coupon inserts, shopping list and couponizer.

We would be in our rooms doing homework, or maybe watching some television and we would hear Dad call from the kitchen, “Do you eat ‘so-n-so?  We have a coupon!”

I never thought much of it until I found the KCL website and realized that couponing is not a bad thing – it can become an addiction!  I was surprised do find that couponers form almost an  entire culture!

So after reading the site, and looking at some others, I have jumped on the bandwagon!  I have my coupons and my supplies – my pretty binder is stuffed to the gills with sheet protectors and notes and coupons.

And I am now frozen.

I have no idea where to go from here!  I seem to find good deals, but I don’t have the coupons they require, or I have great coupons and the deals are mediocre or non-existent!

I am going to go home tonight to review some sheets I printed out, regroup my coupons, and hopefully come out with two or three things I can buy at a pretty decent price before the new sales go into effect on Wednesday.

I will to my best to keep up to date with this stuff – but I never would have guessed just how crazy this coupon thing could be!