Thought of the Day - 55

Save the Payment

Once you finish paying off your car loan start saving that amount and putting it in a "car" account.  Lets face it, that car isn't going to last forever.  As a matter of Murphy's Law when we paid off our van we had to spend the first month of no car payment on repairs.  The next month was the same.  We ended having to purchase another vehicle and will soon have it paid off.  Once we do we will be saving for the next one so we can pay cash and never have another "car payment".

Thought of the Day - 54

Bank the Raise

Well it's the new year and many people get a yearly increase.  Instead of putting it into you budget have that raise deposited directly into a savings.  Do this every year.  After a couple of years you'll have a nice little savings.  That is if you keep you little fingers out of it.

Thought of the Day - 53

Learn to groom your own pet.

Buy some cheap clippers and use Petgroomer.com and save yourself some cash!

Yes It's Been A Long Time

Yes it has been a long time since my last post.  2011 was crazy!  I really hope that 2012 is slower and that I can post more.  Obviously I didn't make my goal of posting everyday but that's ok. I decided to do a quick post today because I was cleaning out a drawer and found some notes that I had written for this blog.  I wanted to just throw some thoughts out there for 2012.

My Rite Aid Trip to Pay for Piano Lessons and More

I had so much fun at Rite Aid today.  Let me just say that I love the new coupon policy.  I know a lot of people don't but for me I love going in there and finding everything on my list.  I know I have said this in the past but I am going to say it again.  Please do not clear shelves.  So anyway, today I did 4 separate transactions.  I will break them down at the end but I just wanted to show you the diapers I used to pay for 4 piano lessons.  If you take into account that the lessons cost $10 each and the diapers cost $9.99 then you can see that I have 4 lessons.  I am writing this really late so I hope your understanding me.  Remember that I did not pay full price for these.  Now I will do the break down and how I look at what I really paid.  On another note I just want everyone to know that the ladies at my Rite Aid are awesome.

Transaction #1 

(1) Infusium Shampoo or Conditioner $5.99

(2) Sensodyne Toothpaste $4.99

Coupons used

(1) -$1 off Infusium 23 product printable or SS 9/18

(1) -$2.50/2 Sensodyne product, excl 0.8 oz, RP 8/14
(1) -$4/2 Sensodyne Iso-Active Reg or Iso-Active ProNamel toothpaste, 4.3 oz, (Rite Aid coupon) printable

Total OOP $8.47

got back in UPS ($1, $1, $4, $5)

The $5 was a surprise.  I guess I met the Oral care reward!

Transaction #2

(3) Huggies Jumbo Pack Diapers or Pullups $9.99

(2) Kleenex Facial Tissue Pocket Pack 8 ct., $2

Coupons used

(3) -$3 off Huggies Little Movers slip on diapers, SS 9/11

(1) -$1/2 Kleenex wallet 6 pk, car 2 pk or pocket pack 8 pk + printable

(1) -$1/2 Kleenex facial tissues, (Rite Aid coupon) printable

$1/1 coupon from the September Video Values

$11 UPS from transaction #1

Total OOP $10.97 

got back $10 UPS for Kimberly Clark

Transaction #3

(1) Scott Choose-a-Size Paper Towels, 8 pk., $7.99

(4) Kotex Maxi Pads, Light Days Liners, Security Tampons, U by Kotex Ultra Thin Pads, Click Tampons, Pantiliners $3.50

Coupons Used

(1) -$1 off Scott paper towels, 4 rolls +, SS 9/11, SS 8/14 or SS 8/28

(1) -$1 off Scott paper towels, (Rite Aid coupon) printable

(4) -$1 off Kotex U printable

$10 UP from transaction #2

  

Total OOP $5.99

got back $10 UPS for Kimberly Clark

Transaction #4

(1) Scott Bathroom Tissue, 12 pk., $7.99

(1) Huggies Jumbo Pack Diapers or Pullups $9.99 

(2) Cottonelle Wipes, 42 ct, $2

Coupons Used

(1) -$3 off Huggies Little Movers slip on diapers, SS 9/11

(1) -$1 off Scott bath tissue, 8 rolls +, SS 9/11, SS 8/14 or August All You

(2) -$1 off Cottonelle Fresh Flushable moist wipes printable

$10 UP from transaction #3

Total OOP $5.98 

got back $20 UPS for Kimberly Clark 

Total OOP before tax was $31.41 for $93.91 worth of stuff 

Plus $20 UPS 

If you include the UPS I paid $11.41 for everything and 4 piano lessons.  I am upset with myself a little because I should have done this yesterday.  I had $4 in UPS that expired because I thought yesterday was the 17th!  Plus I had some rebate checks that I forgot about.

Another thing I want to add is that the awesome people at my RA gave me Bounty paper towels in exchange for Scott (they still scanned the Scott tag from the shelf) because they were out. The also accepted my diaper coupon because they don't carry the new slip-on ones yet!  They are the best!

 

  

How I Pay for Piano Lessons

I am so excited to tell you how I get free piano lessons for 2 of my children and guitar lessons for another.  I use a very old term that isn't used very much these days.  I barter. The definition of bartering is a type of trade, either between individuals or organizations, using goods and services rather than money. In these trying times where money is tight people are still finding ways to provide those "extras" in life without breaking the bank.  Today I am going to show you how I barter and how you can get started. 

I have always wanted my children to learn to play an instrument and learn music. I have some very talented friends.  One of those friends plays piano at church and I asked her if she was interested in teaching piano to 2 of my girls. She is great but it took a little convincing that she could teach.  When she said yes I asked her if she would take "stuff" as payment.  I told her that she could shop in my stockpile for anything she need.  We agreed that she would accept $10 worth of my stockpile for each lesson. You see she has 2 small boys and at the time both were in diapers.  She knows that I am a couponer and I have been able to get cheap diaper for her before.  I have paid with diaper, razors for her and her hubby, shampoo and a few other things.  Another one of my girls get guitar lessons.  My family has "adopted" a young bachelor from our church.  He has truly become part of the family.  He comes over for family night where we watch movies or play games.  He brings his laundry and before dinner as someone in the house is starting the washer he is giving my oldest daughter a guitar lesson.  He plays beautifully and love to teach as well.  What a blessing he is.

This is just 2 ways that I barter.  You can do it to.  The hardest part is asking but don't let that stop you. You could use your talents to barter but remember that it isn't just talent.  You could use coupons to add to your stockpile and let people "shop" at your house.  If you don't mind cleaning toilets and floors I know someone who would barter with you. ME!

Summer Break

Awesome playground in Solvang, CA

Well if you have been wondering what happened to me or where I've been well this post will explain it.  Life happened.  Summer was in full swing, kids where home and vacations came and went.  School started last Tuesday and I don't know how much I will be able to blog this school year.  I have decided after much prayer to help out at my children's school.  I guess it's more than helping out I basically will be running the ACE learning center.  I am super excited but that is another post. 

The next couple of post I want to talk about how we had a fun filled summer with very little money.  Practically the whole month of August we were on vacation and we did it all with cash.  There aren't any credit cards waiting to be paid off for months to come.  I drove over 4000 miles and stayed in some really nice hotels.  We've gone bowling, went to a water park, the beach and traveled to almost middle America.  I know there is more but I can't even remember all that we have done.

I'll start with the bowling.  If you remember when the summer started I told you all about the "Kid's Bowl Free" deal all across the country.  Well we went several times but it still cost us money in shoe rentals.  I am pretty sure that this great summer activity will come back again!  I won't be renting shoes next year though.  I have decided to start looking for bowling shoes throughout the year.  I remember at the beginning of this great deal I couldn't find any "deals" on shoes.  I searched Ebay and Craigslist and found that everyone was looking for the same purpose.  So skip ahead 2 months and what do you know, I found 2 pair of shoes for under $20 total!  I figured 2 things, the rush was over and parents were selling this years shoes before they out grow them.  I have 5 children and therefore I must continue to search for a few more deals.  I plan on giving them as Christmas presents (boy I hope my oldest daughter doesn't read this post). 

So there you have it the first update in awhile.  My next post will be about some other fun things we did this summer and how to prepare for next summer.