Happy Birthday to Me!

Today is my 50th birthday.

It started out pretty blah because my husband had to quickly leave town to tend to his elderly father.

I was feeling pretty down and alone until I saw an email from DaveRamsey.com....

It was announcing his Spring tour and one of the locations is a mere 4 hour away! When I clicked on the EntreLeadership class I noticed there were FREE tickets still available! So, I am now going to see Dave Ramsey live and in person in April! Our target date for becoming debt free is in the Spring, so the timing could not be more perfect!

Not such a blah day, after all!

Integrity

“The foundation stones for a balanced success are honesty, character, integrity, faith, love and loyalty.” — Zig Ziglar

Today I will work my hardest on moving forward and not worrying about what I cannot control. I believe in God and know he has great plans for me. I will be a faithful servant and steward.

Pass it on, don't take it all

This blog entry inspired me to post on my own blog after reading about a home economist who went shopping and scored a great deal on dishwashing soap. It was such a great deal, she felt compelled to wipe out the entire shelf. A little consideration for other shoppers goes a long, long way.

Here is what I wrote to her...

Hello,
I just saw your link from (name removed)'s blog page regarding the dishwashing soap you bought at Target at a 90% discount.

I am also a coupon clipper and home economist, and I would have loved to score a deal like that. I realize this was an unadvertised sale and you just happened to be in the right place at the right time, but I do think it's a bit selfish to buy all of the items off the shelf keeping others from scoring a great deal.

On a similar note, it is also discouraging to shop the sales with coupons only to find the shelf completely bare. True home economists should also be looking out for the welfare of others who want to save money for their families. Many times when I have been shopping if I see someone take an item off of the shelf and I know I have an extra coupon, I will offer it to them.

Pass it on, don't take it all, please.

Back from Shopping

Just back from a two hour shopping trip, but it was so worth it.

Here's what I got:
Pack of AAA Batteries
4 lbs. dry cat food
1/4 watermelon
10 (6-oz.) packs of Raspberries
5 (6-oz.) packs of Blackberries
Bunch of Cilantro
Bunch of Green Onions
3 Bartlett Pears
Bunch of Bananas

Total was $72.86
Subtract $43.80 in coupons, I only spent $29.26!

Cheap! Cheap!

Well, this week's grocery specials have been pretty sparse. After weeks of awesome deals, things have slowed down.

Here's the summary of my shopping specials this week...

8 bottles of Benevia (energy drink) for 17 cents, but after tasting one bottle, we decided to give them away. Yuck!

$5 coupon at CVS and will be able to get the AAA batteries free for my son's calculator for school.

Raincheck for two Lowe's Foods for blackberries and raspberries. $5 for 5 for 6 ounce packs.

Overall, I think I have done pretty well over the past few weeks. I wish I had kept track of the back to school supplies I scored. I figured I spent around $30 where in the past I have easily spent $150+ for supplies for two kids.

Shadow or Light

Which are you?

Who do you follow? Who do you want to be?

I find myself shadowing people I admire. I'm listening, reading and learning from them. It could be either their excellent business/financial management, wonderful personality or amazing faith. By following, I hope that I am in effect showing a light for others to see.

CVS Money Maker!

Here's my money-maker at CVS today:
(2) 4-pack Sharpie highlighters. I had a raincheck for 99 cents each plus had two coupons for $1 off each.
(2) packs of Carefree pantiliners at $3.79 each. I had two coupons for $1 off each. [Extra Bucks: $3.79 each]
(2) Composition Books at 99 cents. [Extra Bucks: 99 cents each]
Overall, I spent $8.40 and got $9.56 in Extra Bucks!
Thanks to Money Saving Mom! Please read her blog, she uncovers incredible savings for your family!