So Greg being very Excell savy and especially thanks to Cristie and her awesome budget layout for ideas, we compiled a pretty sweet system for tracking, categorizing, and of course frowning upon some implulse expenses.
Now after seeing that many of our categories were already maxed out for the month of June (I believe we are only halfway through??) I decided to pick up those lost frugal habits I totally said I would do as soon as I got married, do some more research on "extreme couponing", and definetly vent to my mom :-) I mean, how do families of 5 do it?
Yesterday, I decided to buy 2 newspapers at the dollar store, clip the coupons, and put together my first couponing book! Here is a pic... I'm pretty proud!
Now couponing has definitely come a long way. It is a lot more than saving 35 cents here and there. It has pretty much turned into a game in which when used correctly after much researching, thought, and (yuck) math, can turn into lots and lots of free household essentials and sometimes can even make you a few extra bucks!
I have been to an "extreme couponing" class and to be honest, I was very overwhelmed! These ladies were constantly adding to a huge stockpile of free toilet paper, toothpaste, and rice crackers they had stored in closets, under beds, and in their garage! That is why I have decided to take it step by step, week by week. And of course, I will be updating on my learning progress!
So tonight, I think I may get in some practice by going to my Walgreens and picking up some free deoderant, reusable shopping bags, and a new razor for Greg. :-)
But anyways, back to the "b" word... after distributing money to our various categories I realized that some things had to change! No more eating out (like Greg's lunch, and random weeknight fastfood or ice cream runs!) except for the occasional Sunday lunch out and maybe a date or two each month. Greg will have to cut back on the golf to once a week at a "cheaper" course, and no more fabric binges for me at Joanns. :-(
What really scares me is that Greg and I don't live lavishly at ALL (I don't get my nails or hair done, no new cars or furniture), and we don't even have a mortgage payment yet! (which may be sooner than we'd like!)
But I must say, I feel much better knowing exactly where all our money is going... I feel like I have control over it too! And Greg and I both even believe that budgeting and seeing how much we can save can be fun! (last night's date was homemade calzones and a $1 redbox rental!)
Alright... off to Walgreens!
UPDATE!! I just got back from Walgreens... Here is what I scored!
Three reusable walgreens bags (I love these things for storage bags)for .33 each and two of the new Titanium Schick Quatro men's razors (Originally priced at 9.99 each) for .75 each! No joke! So my total was 2.70 and I could tell the check out guy was astonished :D hehe! Here is how I did it: (didn't realize it was so easy!)
The razors were BOGO, and I has two coupons for 4.00 off each
The bags were 1.00 each and I had the walgreens in store coupon for 3/1.00
Now I started off small, but what a great 1st try at extreme couponing!
Tomorrow I am going to get some free deoderant! How exciting right???
Now couponing has definitely come a long way. It is a lot more than saving 35 cents here and there. It has pretty much turned into a game in which when used correctly after much researching, thought, and (yuck) math, can turn into lots and lots of free household essentials and sometimes can even make you a few extra bucks!
I have been to an "extreme couponing" class and to be honest, I was very overwhelmed! These ladies were constantly adding to a huge stockpile of free toilet paper, toothpaste, and rice crackers they had stored in closets, under beds, and in their garage! That is why I have decided to take it step by step, week by week. And of course, I will be updating on my learning progress!
So tonight, I think I may get in some practice by going to my Walgreens and picking up some free deoderant, reusable shopping bags, and a new razor for Greg. :-)
But anyways, back to the "b" word... after distributing money to our various categories I realized that some things had to change! No more eating out (like Greg's lunch, and random weeknight fastfood or ice cream runs!) except for the occasional Sunday lunch out and maybe a date or two each month. Greg will have to cut back on the golf to once a week at a "cheaper" course, and no more fabric binges for me at Joanns. :-(
What really scares me is that Greg and I don't live lavishly at ALL (I don't get my nails or hair done, no new cars or furniture), and we don't even have a mortgage payment yet! (which may be sooner than we'd like!)
But I must say, I feel much better knowing exactly where all our money is going... I feel like I have control over it too! And Greg and I both even believe that budgeting and seeing how much we can save can be fun! (last night's date was homemade calzones and a $1 redbox rental!)
Alright... off to Walgreens!
UPDATE!! I just got back from Walgreens... Here is what I scored!
Three reusable walgreens bags (I love these things for storage bags)for .33 each and two of the new Titanium Schick Quatro men's razors (Originally priced at 9.99 each) for .75 each! No joke! So my total was 2.70 and I could tell the check out guy was astonished :D hehe! Here is how I did it: (didn't realize it was so easy!)The razors were BOGO, and I has two coupons for 4.00 off each
The bags were 1.00 each and I had the walgreens in store coupon for 3/1.00
Now I started off small, but what a great 1st try at extreme couponing!
Tomorrow I am going to get some free deoderant! How exciting right???
4 comments:
Wow - I am SO impressed and proud of you!
I'm proud of you! You are doing something early in your marriage that some couples wait 10 years to do! Then they wonder how they got into so much financial trouble. Good job! Be sure to call your mama if you feel a Joann's binge coming on, I'll talk you out of it.
Good for you! I tried to hard to do that! I even signed up for the coupon cabin... and I never use it! All the money I could be saving! I'm pathetic! Well, good for you girl! Keep it going!
Way to go girl! I am glad you guys are doing this! You are on your way to a very comfy life!!
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