Okay, I've been home for a few days. I've gotten mostly unpacked, got the house mostly cleaned (I still need to tackle my room and clean and finish unpacking my own stuff), ordered the last of the homeschool curriculum, and now it's time to start planning the chore charts and to make use of my birthday present--remember? The $40 planner? I don't know what my problem is but I feel so intimidated. I hate organizing stuff like that and really don't know where to start. Once I get started I get going and I dare say even have a little fun but getting started...I've already decided that tomorrow is the day. I'm going to sit the kids in front of the tv all day and I'm going to tackle that beautiful planner, really. That's the plan.
Another thing I'm totally intimidated by is the latest couponing craze that has taken my homeschool group by storm. It seems crazy how much money these ladies are saving. I'm hearing stories of spending like $10 and getting $400 worth of stuff. There have been a couple of classes recently where these ladies are learning how to do this but I've been out of town for all of them. Right now I can't even get my brain around starting this but at the same time I sort of feel like I should. I'm not working, we are living on one income, it would definitely help out with the finances, yet...do I want to take it on? It seems like a lot to think through and organize. I don't know that I would be that good at it either. I totally bombed on saving money the other day. The kids got coupons at VBS for a free 4 pack kid's meal at Chick-fil-a with the purchase of a chargrilled chicken sandwich. I also had the calendar coupon for free large waffle fries with the purchase of a medium drink. So, we go to Chick-fil-a, order 3 chicken sandwiches (two are still in my fridge), the three kid's meals, the drink, and fries. My total? $15. The same amount I would have paid had I gotten what we usually get--3 kids meals and a #1. I did come out of it with 2 extra chicken sandwiches but I'll be honest with you--I really don't care for their chargrilled sandwich. I'm not crazy about the bun or the sauce. I will eat them though because I paid for them by golly!
Well, it's time to go do something completely unimportant and not on my to do list. I've had enough of accomplishing things for one day.
11 comments:
I am right there with you. I had a coupon for a free fry and drink at Mc Donalds if I bought the new Angus burger. Well 3 coupons later I was at 12.00 for the 4 of us. I could have dollar menued it cheaper.
As for the coupon craze, I hope it dies down soon or we will be scrapping out in the aisles of Kmart to see who gets the free pantiliners.
Hey...but you did get free Chick-fil-a for the cow costumes. I was very impressed with that by the way, I hear they are giving away free chicken sandwiches on Labor Day if you wear something with a sports team logo on it...I am not too creative, so I should be able to handle that one.
and Leisa...you got "free" panitliners???? mine were 29 cents :)
I felt the same. "I don't have time." "I don't buy that stuff anyway." Well, it turns out that I can make time - even if it's only a little bit of time - and I do buy some of that stuff. Leisa gave good advice - just coupon when you can. I'll probably look at Publix and CVS most weeks and Kmart when they are doubling. Even paying more attention to the BOGO's makes a big difference. I do like Coupon Queeny's site. http://www.couponqueeny.com
Hahaha...well I no longer need free pantiliners so, I'll give mine to ya'll. WAIT!!!! come to think of it I can't really run or jump up and down like I used to {if you know what I mean} so, Lesia lloks like you and I might me scrapping after all...LOL!!!
I actually might get the Coupon Queen to come do a "show' at the Preschool Tiffany if you're interested!
I'm intimidated to but feel I should try. Hear I sit and haved only done it once. LOL. I don't know what to think anymore but I think people do need to be careful about hoarding and becoming obsessed or addicted to it. I speak to myself and that is why I've not done more with it.
I bugged Leisa ALOT (sorry Leisa) and am still getting the hang of it. I am no where near as good as some of the others, not even close and am too embarrassed to say how much I am still spending. Start small, just do one catagory this week, say health and beauty and once you see how much you save you will want to do more. I went to Kmart tonight and there are some hoarders out there! WOW! I have never seen such empty shelves. I do hope the coupon emails on the board die down though.
Good luck with the planner...If you are like me, just getting started might be the biggest issue...I don't want to write something "wrong" in it, or what if I change my mind, etc. I'm anal that way! :) Heck, I'm just trying to get our school room organized before Monday and it took me three days on MY desk alone.
As for the coupons, I am horrible b/c most of the stuff I buy in the grocery store doesn't have a coupon...produce, organic, etc. I'll have to watch the other items though - half the time I just do it at Sam's Club and trust I'm saving SOMETHING! :)
Ann had the opportunity while she was in your neck of FL (with Steph) to glean, came home excited about the whole coupon thing, and now we're doing it too, lol! It took some time at first to "organize" things (made me shudder at first and then you spend money to do it!), and it does take time to do the weekly clipping and peruse the ads for the best deals... but it is nice walking out of there paying less for name brand shampoos than the cheap brands we usually buy (that by itself was incentive for Ann). And razors! oh my, does it help with the toiletries! (3 men and 2 ladies shaving and such) Maybe your girls can help too? I know that's a balance of teaching and time though... been there! I've always clipped coupons and used them saving $1 or $2 but this really has kicked it up a few notches. I don't have the time to plan an all out counter assault on the stores but going in with a game plan has been very beneficial! And it's great watching Ann pay careful attention to where she can help save money too.
Good luck (you know what I mean) with all the organizing and such... I'm facing it too and it makes me want to just crawl in a corner and sleep.
I am totally overwhelmed and I can imagine how picked over K-Mart is right now. =)
I have lost the thrill of couponing, but I still make myself do it about once a week.
Thanks for all the comments on my blog.
I have couponed for years. I even did it when I was single and didn't really worry about money that much. I enjoy it. I like the coupons in the paper because nobody else reads those. I don't have to share them like the comics or sports or the front page. I also try not to stock up too much. I still have to put it all somewhere. And really, I can only use one deodorant at a time, and I don't like pantiliners. ;-)
As for the organizer, start with one block at a time. Make sure your pencil is sharp. And always have a big pink eraser. I never write on mine in pen. Life changes too quickly.
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