One Penny at a Time

I just received this kit in the mail yesterday. Starting Monday, Rusty and I are going to buckle down and go on a 90 day journey of gaining financial peace. We decided that there is no better time to get a handle on things and learn the proper way of spending than right now. I'm 28 and he is 30. Why wait?

So, along with my updates on weight/working out and my progress in my Bible reading, I will also keep an update on how this program works out for us.

As of now, I try my hardest to save where I can. One way that I do this is with my grocery shopping. I chose not to shop at a large Walmart but I do find that Walmart's Neighborhood Market is cheap and non-crowded. Plus, Walmart will price match and that saves gas.

For example, yesterday when I went shopping I made my menu and wrote out my list. I then flip through all of the adds to see where I can save. Here is what I found:

12 pk Pepsi products are normally $4.98 at Walmart and Reasor's is having their 12 hour sale Saturday where they are listing them fro $2.25 per 12 pk!
Kraft 8 oz chunk cheese is $2.60 at Walmart and Reasor's has it listed for $1.25.
Wolf brand chili is $2.00 and I snagged it for $1.33.
Lettuce was $1.49 and I got it for .99 cents.
Strawberries were $2.50 and I got them for $1.50.
Carrots were $1.79 and I got them for .99 cents!

So, when I added up my savings by just flipping through some adds, it does add up to quite a bit per shopping trip.

I'm taking a seminar with the 918 Coupon Queen tomorrow and I am hoping to learn to not only use my price matching to save but how to best utilize coupons on cleaning products, hygiene and paper products. I know that if I can save money in that area it will be the biggest bang for my buck!

I have looked through a few couponing websites and quite a few people use a binder to keep tabs on their coupons. I found a woman who makes a VERY stylish coupon holder that is super sturdy and it folds to be half the size of a binder. Check out Coupons With Style to see if her coupon organizer would be a better option for you!

Some of the websites I like to frequent are:

www.918couponqueen.com - local to the Tulsa area
www.totallytarget.com - lists all the GREAT deals you can get at Target
www.couponing101.com - great advice for starting off and she tells all the good deals with printable coupons
www.hip2save.com - great deals and printable coupons
www.freebies4mom.com - tells about "free" offers

I know that once I take the coupon seminar tomorrow I will be able to better utilize all of these websites. Right now I don't have a very good handle on my best way to use the coupons and so I am hoping to gain A LOT of knowledge tomorrow!

I am excited for the journey that I am beginning. I have this wonderful little boy that lights up my day every second. I am diving feet first in my journey with the Lord by learning his Word and letting Him show me His way. We are going to get our finances on track so we can live a prosperous life with less financial stress and I'm going to reign in my baby weight so I can feel great about myself.

I'm looking forward to getting to share my journey with all of you (that want to read about it!).