Samples, Freebies, Coupons, oh my

I've been busy getting kids ready for school to start and haven't been as faithful in getting coupons cut, sorted and organized, but my last two shopping trips for groceries have show that the effort pays off.

I started buying two Sunday papers every week. Yeah, it's $5 but in my past three shopping trips, I've saved over $65 due specifically to the coupons I've taken with me. It's great. I love being the lady who puts all that stuff on the belt to be scanned and then hands the cashier a fist full of coupons to watch with great anticipation while the discounts come off the grand total.

And I'm eager to get home and get the mail every day now because instead of just receiving bills and credit card offers, which I have NO interest in, I now usually get at least a coupon in the mail every day, if not a free sample or something along with it. My kids love to get the mail because they never know if there's gonna be some new brightly colored little box to help mom open when we get inside.

So, yeah, it's a good thing. I am really working to get a system down. I am also really working to find other ways to trim the spending. I thought I'd have time for email surveys, but I find I don't have as much time as I hoped to do them. I don't even manage to keep up with paid to read emails these days. So, I may step out of those. But coupons, those keep me challenged and I just love free money and things. I consider them to be free money because I just don't pay as much for things as I used to.

I do have to tell you that my husband is getting used to trying new varieties of things, but he's still hankering for his usual brands on some things. It all evens out though. If I can find a balance between the brands he's loyal to and some new and exciting brands that cost less and work better, it's a good thing. Every little bit helps!

So, there ya go. That's my update. It's late in coming and I hope to find a way to be more consistent. I need to do like so many of my online mentors do... take pictures of the free stuff, keep track of what I save, and detail out my shopping trips. I think I'll find more motivation to do what it takes to keep every penny that comes in to our accounts in our accounts instead of just blindly spending them.

Until next time...

Long time no talk

Not sure how my life got to spinning out of control, but I'm working to reign it all back in.

Lately, I've been busy just doing family things. We've been on vacation and we've been working on finding a balance at home. My daughter is ready to start 6th grade and is now a part of the Youth program at church. My son is ready to start Kindergarten. Oh my... Work has been way busy, and Hubby's work has been busy too. So, it all kind of adds up and when I get a free minute, it seems like I am either catching up on things I should have already done, or passed out because I don't sleep as much as I should.

Well enough complaining. Really, my life isn't all that bad. I do have a job. Hubby has a job. We have two wonderful children and we're still managing to make ends meet. So many are not doing that very well these days.

I do find that I have been spending more time on Facebook lately. I didn't really think I wanted to jump into that because I'm already not good at keeping up with my blog here (evidenced by the long periods of time between posts). But it has sucked me in. And those darned Farm games!!! OOOoooo!!!

Recently, I've been working on ways to trim back our spending. So, I attended a great brown bag lunch and learn from a lady who blogs and saves with coupons, participates in online surveys, etc. I had forgotten what a fun "game" it is to be that person in line with $150 worth of groceries and a fist full of coupons! It's fun. And I also forgot how much fun it is to sign up for free samples of stuff. Years ago, a friend of mine and I spent a great deal of time scouring around for free samples on the internet and we'd compare how many we could find and actually receive. Again, a fun game. I've begun to do that again and the samples, free coupons and everything are starting to roll in.

Here's an example of the fun I have had with coupons, free deals, etc. Recently, our team at work had an outing to Dave & Busters. Well, I happened upon a coupon for a free $10 play with a purchase of $10. So, already, I had saved $10. Then, I ended up signing up for their rewards program (free program) and getting a coupon for a free $10 play. So, for $12 (had to buy the refillable card), I got $30 worth of play time. Not a bad deal.

Well, I'm on the lookout for more fun, more coupons, more ways to save and just having a great time with it. I'll try to be better about posting here, so that I can share my finds and fun with you all.

Happy reading!