Extreme Couponing???

Evening y'all!  So I have been wondering for a long time now if people are really saving money by "extreme" couponing.  I have been a couponer for quite a while, but never considered myself to be "extreme" about it.  Jeff and I have been talking about all these things we would like to do and buy, but you need to have money to do that.  So, I have gone on a mission to try to figure out how and where we can save the most money without going without.  We have a habit of spending and spending, not thinking about all the other things that precious dollar could go towards.  I want to change that...so I need to know....how many of you are "extreme" couponers?  How much money are you REALLY saving?  I have a really hard time believing that you can buy $150 worth of groceries for $10.  $10 wouldn't even be the tax on $150 of groceries here in Nashville (we have a 7.25% sales takes on food and food ingredients).  I want to believe these people that are saving all that money, but the skeptic in me says there is no way. Maybe I just don't know how to coupon right.  Maybe I am doing something wrong.  I have set out to figure it all out and today I am embarking on the wonderful world of learning how to extreme coupon. 

Here's the thing though - I am not going to purchase crap that we ware not going to use just because I can get a deal...it doesn't work that way.  And quite frankly I shouldn't have to buy something I am not going to use in order to save money on something that I will use.  I also don't have the ability to "stock up" on the stuff that I will use.  Does that make a huge difference?  Ore should I start thinking about cleaning out our storage shed and our laundry closet in an effort to store the over abundance of canned goods I will probably end up with.  

Okay, I digress.  So last night I began searching for tips and tricks on how to become an "extreme" couponer.  I stumbled across a website.  The writer of the site has a free 8-week "course" on how to successfully save lots of money by couponing.  So I am starting this week.  

You can find her first lesson here: http://www.livingwellspendingless.com/beginners-guide-to-coupons/thebeginners-guide-to-coupons-2/part-one-how-to-start/

In a nutshell, Ruth says that we can't be successful couponers if we don't get organized and if we don't do a litle bit of planning.  So this weeks assignment is to start clipping coupons and to start getting them organized.  Well, I have a coupon app on my phone call Coupons 2 - I can scan the barcode of each coupon I clip and it will store and the coupon in the app.  So when I go to the store, all I have to do is open my little app, search for the product and it will show me if I have a coupon for it.  Well, I realized that this will only work if I have the coupons organized in some kind of coupon organizer.  So I purchased a binder and coupon wall from couponmon.com (Here's the link to the one I purchased: http://www.couponmom.com/-910 - I actually found mind at Super Kmart in Mentor, OH but I still paid about the same price as this costs including the shipping)

I have also decided that since I have like 6 or 7 different email addresses, I am going to make sure that I have a coupon account for smartsource, red plum and all the other coupon sites you can go to get printable coupons.  Oh how fun this is going to be!!!

The IMPORTANCE of Scrapbooking & Album Making

I have been going through old pictures and newspapers clippings, old greeting cards, High School Football programs, ticket stubs and all these momentos that I have kept over the years and that I have "stolen" from my mom.  I have been seeing people post old family photos of themselves and their parents and grandparents.  And I have been thinking --- I wonder if everyone realizes how important this stuff is.  I have a friend show just lost a very close family member to them.  They are going through all of that family members belongings to clean out their home.  In the process they are finding all these things that they had no idea the family member had kept stuffed in boxes all these years.  Some of the stuff has been damaged.  Some still in perfect "like new" condition.  But all of it, stuffed away in boxes - forgotten about.  Had my friend not chosen to go through those boxes - those treasures would be in a landfill somewhere.  I like to consider myself the "family historian".  I enjoy learning about my ancestors and I enjoy uncovering the stories that go along with how my family lived.  I know in my heart of hearts though that ALOT of my family history is gone because there were people who did not care enough to preserve those memories when our loved ones were here with us in the physical earth.  I get so passionate about the family history that I can't understand why doesn't everyone do this?  Is it because they don't have time?  Is it because they think they have to be "crafty"?  Do they realize how important it is to cherish all those things?  I have just about every newspaper clipping from the 1995 Cleveland Indians championship/world series run - I mean afterall - who knew that they would make it back to the World Series just two years later? It had been 41 years since the last time they had made it and nearly 50 years since they won it all.  I have old newspaper clippings of my mother sharing her weight loss story with the Painesville Telegraph back in the 70's - I kept it though she wanted to throw it away - because my mother looked like a star in the photo the journalist took of her.  

There are so many people out there that have no idea how much they are missing by not preserving all this kind of stuff.  Even today in this digital age - you still should print out those pictures and get them in a high quality, photo safe album.  Somehow, someway.  

Perhaps I should start taking photos of the scrapbooks that I do and post them here - to show how important it is to keep all these treasures safe. 

Sunday, August 11, 2013

As another week begins, it's time for me to sit back and think about the last week.  Aside from my normal job, I have been trying to think of other ways to make money and to help my family get to where we want to be in our lives.  We are finally settling into live here in Tennessee and though we miss our family and friends back in Ohio, things are starting to feel a little bit like home here.  I don't know what next year is going to bring, or the next 5 years, but I do know that I love my family and I am blessed to be where I am today. 

There are so many people in this world that have some many trials and tribulations.  Some days it's hard for me to remember just how far I have come.  But there are other days that I realize that I am not as far as I would like to be.  The best gift that I have been given is the ability to just live my life one day at a time. 

I do still have dreams and aspirations and one day I will get to realize some of those dreams.  Right now, I am focused on my husband and my daughter and the relationships I have with them.  They are my life.  I have realized that more and more everyday. I pray everyday for Jeff & Karey's happiness and well-being over mine.  And everyday that I get up and go to work and do all the things that I do, it's to try to help my family. When did I turn into this person?  10-15 years ago I would have never pictured myself to be a wife & mother, to live 500 miles away from my friends and family to have all the things that I have today.  

I am not rich financially and in fact, I am nowhere closed to where I want to be financially, but in truth what does it really matter?  I just have to trust the Goddess that she will continue to bless us with positive things in our lives.  I will get to where I want to be and Jeff will get to be where he wants to be and we will get to do it together.  That is the best gift of all. 

So as we start a new week, I have to get busy - I have to get busy working towards my short-term and long-term goals.  And get busy getting all the projects I want to get done, done. 

More Ramblings.....

It sure has been a while since I posted anything in this blog.  Well, a lot has been happening in my little world.  I am trying to remember to take time for me so that I can be the best mom and wife that God meant for me to be. 

Karey started 6th grade today!  I can't believe that we are at the halfway point.....6 years until she is out of school and off to college.  I love my darling daughter and she makes me so happy.  She has been having struggles lately, but I pray that we can work them and things will return to normal. 

I have decided to start another blog for my family recipes.  You will have to make sure you follow it.  It's called "Homemade Hunky ~ Recipes from my Family Tree"  Right now I don't have a lot of recipes posted, only because I am still going through all of my recipe cards and books to pull out the ones I would like to post.  But I will be posting periodically and sooner or later I will have a pretty good blog going there. 

I can't believe it is already August 5th!  Where has the summer gone?  Before we know it, Christmas and New Year's will be here and we will be embarking on a whole new year, a whole new beginning.  Time is just flying by way too fast.

Speaking of time flying by ~ the Annual Holiday Open House & Craft show to raise money for Toys for Tots is Nov. 9th in Perry, OH.  I will be traveling to Ohio to be there for the show and can't wait to get to spend some time with some of my dearest friends while I am home.  Some days I feel really homesick and miss everyone so much, but I know that they are always there in my heart.

Until another day....