Coupon Update.

Since being a stay at home mom, we've had to cut our budget quite a bit, and in my New Year's resolution post I talk a little bit about being a better couponer, and trimming our grocery budget.  Since the New Year I have been keeping track of how much I'm saving with coupons and my store savings card (VIC card) at each grocery trip.  Here's a little update on what I have saved up to today! 

I will confess that I slacked off a little bit in February and early March with my couponing, we had Hayden, and were all sick for a while.... excuses, excuses. The few random grocery trips we had, it was easier to send Daniel on a quick errand.  Also, to be honest, we didn't do a whole lot of major grocery shopping during that time anyway because very friendly people were bringing us cooked meals every other night.  Gotta LOVE Food Tidings!!

To date, we have saved $147.57 with coupons alone!!!

And we have saved $308.13 with our VIC card!!!

$455.70 saved thus far!!!

Resolutions.

Hopefully you aren't sick of hearing about New Year's resolutions yet because I wanted to share mine with you today and also give a little update about how last year's resolution went. Last year's resolution involved "greening" our family and saving money.  They kind of went hand in hand.  I am happy to report that becoming a more green family has been a blast! There are some definite things that we can do to improve further but so far, we are learning a lot and enjoying the new lifestyle with a smaller footprint.  We of course cloth diapered Leeland all of last year and plan to cloth diaper Hayden this year as well.  I began using sea pearls last year for my monthly cycle, and this year hope to give the diva cup a try-- I have been limited in my greening of this area because, well, I've been pregnant the past 33 weeks. We gave up paper towels! And one more thing that I would like to invest in is some re-usable snack bags like these  and of course they make some that don't have prints and they even make nifty sandwich wraps. 

This year I again have 2 goals or resolutions-- I don't know why I can't just pick one, but I have two which is fine by me.  The 1st one is to take better care of myself which is to encompass several things.  First off, it's no secret that I struggled with post partum depression a few months after Leeland was born, which tragically ended in no milk supply and the end of breastfeeding for us.  I was trying to be super mom-- I was trying to clean the house, cook dinner, run the errands, take care of a newborn and take care of everyone else.  I had unrealistic expectations for myself and my body and all I did was wear myself down.  Going into this labor and the birth of Hayden, I refuse to allow that to happen again!  I need to take care of myself so that I am able to take care of our children.  It will no doubt take work lowering my expectations, and I have already enlisted the help of Daniel to hold me accountable to getting the rest and time I need.  I'm excited to give breastfeeding another shot and I don't want to go to that dark place again. 

I also intend to take better care of myself in a physical way as well, not that I'm necessarily trying to lose weight or jumping on that band wagon of millions who rushed out and joined a gym the 1st of the year, but just simply taking care of myself.  I find pleasure in running, I started running in 2008 and even ran my first half marathon back then.  I'd like to run another one eventually. I didn't run during either pregnancy because I was too afraid to so it will be a hard road getting back into it, but it will be some good Mommy time.  Daniel and I would also like to eat a little better as a family-- not that we eat terribly now, but just to include some fresher whole foods in our diet, and cut out some snacking (we have sweet teeth).  And lastly, it sounds silly, but I want to remember to wash my make-up off every night. Don't we all? 

So my second resolution is again to do better at saving money.  Not that we failed at saving money last year because with our greener lifestyle, we were definitely saving.  But this time it's a little different.  We knew that money would be tight during the schooling part of Daniel's new job-- 27 weeks of training is mandatory and it's pretty impossible to have a second income during that time.  With that being said, our savings is pretty shot, so we definitely need to build up our emergency fund again.  I'm doing what I can staying at home with couponing and managing the best I feel I know how-- so we hope to continue on that path and build our savings back up again.  Along with this just for curiosity sake I hope to keep track of how much money I save with coupons this year. I do most of our grocery shopping at Harris Teeter and they print on the receipt each time I shop how much money in coupons was tendered (including the doubles and triples) and also how much was saved with my VIC savings card.  They print at the bottom of the receipt how much you save that year in VIC savings but they don't do the same for coupons.  Last year I saved around $1200 with my VIC card! I think that's pretty awesome!  So this year after each shopping trip, I want to write in my coupon organizer what I saved in coupons that trip and I'll add it all up at the end of the year.

2012 is going to be exciting!  What are your resolutions?

30 Days of Thanksgiving Days 21-30 & Debrief

Day 21: Today I am thankful for girlfriends to hang out with this evening. And also thankful that the swelling in my hands and feet from yesterday has gone down this morning.

Day 22: Thankful to have Daniel and that he is such a wonderful father to Leeland. Nothing like waking up this morning to my boys talking football and touchdowns. 

Day 23: Thankful that we have made it to the 3rd trimester with our baby boy Hayden.

Day 24: Wishing everyone a very happy Thanksgiving! Here I am so thankful for Daniel, Leeland and Hayden (on the way.) So blessed to have a roof over our heads & food on the table. And most importantly, thankful for my God who is the provider of it all.

Day 25: Today I am thankful that we have everything that we NEED. It's no secret that when you drop to one income, it gets a little tighter, but I can honestly sit here and say that I am content with what we have. Feels weird to not be shopping on black Friday like I usually do, but there's nothing that I want or need. Happy at home.

Day 26: So thankful today and everyday for the men and women who serve our country in the military. But on this day, I'm especially thankful for my brother-in-law Nate! We love you buddy and miss you so much, look forward to having you back on this side of the pond. Happy birthday buddy- there will be a cake ready for you when you get back.

Day 27: I'm so thankful that I have such awesome in-laws. It's really great to have such selfless, loving, and supportive adults for Daniel and I to go to. Love you guys and I know that Leeland really loves his G-Ma and PaPa too.

Day 28: Today I am thankful for the ability to create. I love dabbling in crocheting, sewing and baking- I do not consider myself a pro at any of them and am always learning new techniques but I must say that I really enjoy my crafting hobbies. And it makes me feel even better when I can save us a little money by making things myself.

Day 29: Today I am thankful for MOPS (Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers)! Adult interaction and fellowship for Mommy, and lots of fun, cool toys and children for Leeland to play with for a couple hours.

Day 30: Thankful today for free guest passes to the Natural Science Center that were passed along to me. Looking forward to taking Leeland for the 1st time and also spending time with friends and their children. What a blessing that person gave us and they have no idea how much it means to me.


Just to say a little bit about this Thanksgiving project-- it has been incredibly fun, challenging and also eye opening.  All of us like to think that we are innately good and that as "good people" we are of course gracious, courteous and thankful.  But I'm not afraid to admit what this project truly was-- this was a CHALLENGE.  Coming up with something new each day to be thankful for aside from the hum drum food, clothes, shelter was kind of difficult.  What an eye opener to truly sit and reflect and open my eyes to the MANY blessings that we have as a family! And what a perfect time for my eyes to be opened: 1) During this season of mass consumerism, I am now so much more focused on what the season is truly about and 2) Money has never been more tight around here than it is now.  I can sit around and mope about it and be depressed about it, or I can think about all that we DO have.  


Hope you all have enjoyed your season of Thanksgiving-- Christmas is coming next.  I encourage each of you to focus on the reason for the season.  Don't get caught up in the "me, me, me" "buy, buy, buy" attitude of our society.  Blessings!

Family decisions.

This upcoming week will be my last week of work. It feels exciting and also extremely terrifying to say that.  I've always wanted to be at home full-time with Leeland, and now that there's another on the way, it's even more important to me. Daniel recently took on a new job.  Going into it, I think we both thought that with his new job we'd made it big. We'd be rich!  Not exactly.... At this point it looks like we'll be making about the same with his one job as we were making collectively.  We're not losing any, but it will still be tight, and we're adding another child to the mix. 
The big deciding factor was child care. With Daniel's previous job, we could flip-flop our schedules and take care of Leeland. Now, he has a set full-time schedule and so we needed help watching Leeland while I was at work. We have friends and family who are close by who have been willing to help us out, but they have their own jobs and lives-- they can't watch him everyday forever. Not to mention, when #2 comes along, who wants to be responsible for 2 children. Daycare is super expensive, and even paying someone to come to our house and stay with him would be more than what I make. I mean, I work in the ministry.... If we were only bringing home $100 or so dollars after childcare with me working, then was it worth it?  After all, the best, most capable person of taking care of a child is the child's mother.
We've made the decision, but know that it will come with sacrifices.  It's more important now then ever to really count our pennies and pinch where we can. I will continue my couponing, and we have gotten really good about defining our needs versus our wants. We've kept a lot of stuff from when Leeland was little so there won't be many things we'll need for the baby-- a crib, and maybe about 10 more cloth diapers.
I am sad about leaving my job because I have really enjoyed it-- I have told them though that I would LOVE to volunteer some. 

The Lord has always been good to us, and has always taken care of us. Now is a time when we're stepping out in faith, in full trust in Him as we embark on this new adventure as a family.  Yes, it does require good stewardship and sacrifice on our part, but we are so excited about the many blessings as well. We truly feel that this is where He has led us and have had several confirmations along the way.

TRIPLE coupons!!!

This week is an excellent week! Who could be down when it's triple coupon week!? I mean does it really get any better than saving tons of cash and even getting free stuff!  I have been looking forward to triple coupons for a few weeks now and was very prepared for the shopping excursion(s)-- plural because there's kind of a limit to how much you can save at one time.  Harris Teeter has a 20 coupon policy-- 20 coupons triple per day, per household. You can certainly use more than 20 coupons a day, but why would you do that if they aren't all tripling.  I am pretty proud to say that I made out quite well in my 3 shopping excursions, here's a little summary.

Wednesday

Wednesday was the first day of triple coupons and I think every couponer in the city went mad on Wednesday. I work on Wednesday mornings so I didn't make it to the store until the afternoon.  By that time the Harris Teeter was unfortunately out of much of the good deal products. The way that couponing works is that you match the coupon to the sale-- so everyone had pretty much bought out the sale items I was looking for. I had some regular "stock up" items to purchase on Wednesday anyways, so I picked up those regular items (meat, bread, pizza :D ) and got what deals I could. My cashier told me at check-out that they stock every night, so I could try back another day in the morning and they may have what I was looking for. Here's how I made out on Wednesday:

Grocery Total: 100.61

- Vic Savings: 19.17

-Coupon Savings: 31.05

______________________

Total Spent: 50.39

My grocery bill on Wednesday was cut in HALF!! AWESOME!

Thursday

Since my cashier on Wednesday let me in on the little secret that they stock at night, I decided to try to shop EARLY on Thursday. I had to be at work at 9am on Thursday so I got to the Harris Teeter at 7am on Thursday. (dedication!) And she was SO right, the store was pretty well empty,  and the items were stocked. I got in and out pretty quickly because I was prepared with my list and my coupon binder-- the coupons I was planning to use were already out and ready to go. On this shopping day, I pretty much stuck to my coupon list and bought only with coupons. 

Grocery Total: 79.80

- VIC Savings: 10.24

-Coupon Savings: 43.76

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Total Spent: 25.80

You thought half off was good.... that's almost a 70% savings!!! Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! :0)

Friday

Friday was my last day of shopping. I had nearly 60 coupons to use this week and with the 20 a day policy, I had to split it up amongst 3 days. I wanted to make it the earlier days in the week that way I didn't risk Harris Teeter running out of the product I was seeking. Plus, I must admit that I don't really want to spend my weekend at the grocery store. On this day I was wrapping up the last of the coupons, and picking up anything that they were out of the previous days-- plus I went to a different Harris Teeter on this day.  I must admit that on this particular day, I detoured off of my list just a teeny bit-- I picked up some more meat, plus we needed lunch meat, and they had buy one get one cookies that I couldn't resist. (I should know better than to go to the store hungry... ugh)

Grocery Total: 127.07

-VIC Savings: 29.59

-Coupon Savings: 57.58

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Total Spent: 39.90

Say what!! I went off of my list and I still saved nearly 70%!! Go Dana, it's your birthday!! :0)

Just have to say that this blog post makes me VERY happy. It makes me enjoy math again.... and many of you who know me well know that I am TERRIBLE at math... I mean, that's the reason I have a Bachelor's in Social Work-- you only have to take 1 math class! Hope you all have enjoyed this post as much as I have, even if that means just reading along and thinking how big of a dork I am. Love you all and hope you have a great weekend!

My One Word.

     So I heard on K-Love sometime at the beginning of the year this new idea about choosing one word to focus on throughout the year.  They call it the "Un-Resolution".  As you all know, I already had chosen to do a new year's resolution so I shrugged this one word thing off and decided it wasn't for me.  And then they continued to talk about it-- several of the hosts were talking about what their word was and lots of listeners called in sharing their words and stories.... I got to thinking and looked up the website for more information and the concept slowly grew on me. One Word
     Little did I know, that God was really working on teaching me something.  This past week I have been pretty stressed and down about our financial situation.  Sometimes, we women, let our emotions get the best of us and we don't think-- Or at least I feel like I'm this way sometimes.  The Lord took care of me and my family for 9 months while I wasn't working, I don't know why I would sell him short now.  He's got us covered, we always have exactly what we need..... but as the story goes, I ran out of make-up this weekend and we couldn't afford to buy some new until Daniel's payday.  I was going to go a week without my make-up, I was devastated and I threw myself a pity party.  Apparently I was the only one invited to the pity party, and enjoyed laying around the house crying and being emotional about how "poor" we are.  Ridiculous right?  (For the record, I regret ever using the word "poor" even if it was only in my mind, because we are not poor... we are BEYOND blessed)
     With that said, it caused a little heart to heart with my mother-in- law and also with my hubby about our current situation.  Daniel didn't go to an expensive private school and get a degree to work retail the rest of his life.  It works for some, but we need to pay the bills.... And if I may indulge and be selfish for a little moment, I want some more babies!  :0)  Daniel has a dream of becoming a football coach (preferably at the college level) but that is going to take some time to pursue, and hard work.  In the mean time, he is looking for something full-time with benefits for our family...... So now that you know a little bit of the financial stress, I've been under, back to the "one word" thing.....
     I've blogged previously about my love for Proverbs 3:5-6.  The part that I loved so much previously was the "lean not on your own understanding".  It was so fitting for 2010, and how the Lord blessed us and took care of us while I wasn't working.  I don't know how it worked out, but we always had food and always had a roof over our heads.  So when I initially started thinking about my word, I thought it should be "trust", but I was reading over the verse again last week and was slapped in the face by another word-- "SUBMIT".  The NIV version of the two verses reads like this, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  in all your ways submit to him,  and he will make your paths straight." I don't think the Lord could've hit me any harder with the word submit.  When you are a control freak, a planner, very much type A, it is SO difficult to submit to someone else... even if it is God. I find myself repeating the word over and over and reminding myself that I don't need to make our family's plans for the next 6 months, I need to follow the path the Lord has set out for us and see what's in store.  This past Sunday at church we talked about the book of Joshua and how Joshua and his people were headed to the promise land.  However a couple of the tribes stopped just shy of the promise land and settled saying that the land was perfect for crops and cattle. They literally settled but they also sold themselves short-- although that land was suitable, it wasn't the promise land and they missed out on something even better! I don't want our family to settle and miss out on a blessing just because I'm a control freak.  I'm trying to SUBMIT.....

Call me old-fashioned.

I have been called old-fashioned, out dated, and even a senior citizen over the use of my checkbook.  No, I'm not one of those crazy people that whips it out at the grocery store and holds up the entire check out line, but I DO pay all of my bills by check.  I can't explain why, but my brain doesn't do good with online banking and paying bills online.  There is something about writing that makes me feel much more organized.  I receive all of my bills in the mail, and mail them all with a check.  And unlike most, I still keep up my checkbook register with every deposit, debit, check written and ATM withdrawal.  I check my findings with what the bank has every few weeks.  

Lately I have been a little torn about my use of USPS.  My resolution this year was to be greener and yet I receive ALL paper statements monthly, and I mail EVERYTHING.  I just can't seem to talk myself into doing it any other way though.  One day checks and paper billing will become obsolete like the VCR, and when that day comes, I will be heart broken, but will be forced to make the transition.  Until then, in an effort to be somewhat green, the checks we ordered are printed on recycled paper and have a pretty tree on them. :0)