How I Saved For: My Husband's Epic Day

This year wasn't a big birthday for my husband... He just turned 28. But he has wanted this sword for a while now, even before it was released. Well, last year (in October) I started using coupons. I had never used them before and was excited to see how much I was saving, right from the get go. By the time Christmas came, I was really getting the hang of stock-piling and building a food storage while spending less than we had previously done. We hadn't cut our over-all monthly grocery bill by that much yet, but we really were saving quite a bit!

The day after Christmas, I had a small amount of cash from our Grandparents that I had really no idea what I wanted to spend it on. And I decided that day, that if I could show just a bit of self control for the next year, I could easily afford to get my husband the sword that I knew he wanted so badly. I figured by the next Christmas, I could easily stash away enough cash to get it for him.
For the next few weeks, I tried to research the sword... only I didn't know what it was called, where to find it or even what it looked like to know if I had stumbled across it. I needed help and couldn't get it from my husband without ruining a perfectly good surprise... Then I remembered that his friend at work (who happened to be my friend on Facebook) so I sent him a message asking about it. He told me that they had recently gotten their last shipment in and that the sword was no longer going to be made. So I knew I couldn't wait for Christmas. His birthday was coming up in April , and it had to be then or never. So I made a plan...

Every time I went shopping with coupons, I would get a portion of the total money saved from coupons and sales in cash back, and stash it where Justin wouldn't find it. If I saved$10-$15 I would get $10 cash back, if I saved $20 or more, I would get $20 cash back. $20 was my limit in cash back as we still wanted to save money. Also, we are on the same cell phone family plan as my Mother, so we pay the full phone bill every month and she gives us a check afterwords for her portion of the bill. Now that we were saving money using the coupons, I was also able to take that check she gave me, cash it, then add that to the pile for Justin's birthday. I tried not to let him know I was saving small wads of cash here and there, and was determined for him to at least not know how much I was spending. If he did, I know he would figure out what I was up to, and the element of surprise would be lost!

My husband was a little more perceptive than I thought... I had to change the plan.I had saved almost enough for the sword alone (about $500) but he was getting suspicious... So I had to think of something fast! I decided to throw a surprise party (an idea I had played around with a few months before) to help throw him off the scent. If I was hiding a large surprise party, I could strategically "let slip" a couple details here and there that would have him stop thinking about the gift. I contacted a bunch of his old friends from high school that I knew he still liked and got along with, but also they had never really contacted me, some of them I had never even met! I left my phone out once for him to see a text message from one of them, and that worked like a charm! (He won't even know I did that part on purpose until he reads this blog post)

So I kept saving, and my budget plan went from $500 for the gift up to $700 for the gift, the party, the food, and all the other trimmings and trappings for a party. THEN he made a comment and asked exactly how much I was spending for his birthday... I was in trouble... I knew he would notice I was saving a LOT each month sooner or later, I had just hoped it would have been later rather than that!!! I still had more than two months to go!

I told him it didn't matter... and that he really didn't want to know. But that I would tell him after his birthday had past if he really wanted know then. Fortunately he said "OK", so my plan was back on, but I had to come up with another way to get him away from thinking that I got him that dang sword!!! I didn't care if he found out about EVERYTHING else! I just wanted the sword to be a real surprise!
SO, I had to get some more gifts on top of it.

The day of the party finally arrived. I had planned for my brothers to take him bowling while I got the kids out of the house for the night, and set up for the party. (another thing I needed to pay for.) Once the guess started arriving, I felt like I could breathe a little bit.

Justin came in the front door and was so kind to act surprised about the party. There were streamers out all over, and even little party hats I made everyone wear. We all talked for a while, then opened the presents that everyone had brought him, we even played heavy heavy hangover. It was fun. I got him two games for the WII and a remote control helicopter, I made a big deal about this, and got all kinds of excited to see his face when he opened it. (The sword was all wrapped up and hidden in my daughters closet still.)
After the gifts were open, we ate dinner. A kid favorite, hot dogs and chips! We ate the food and talked about what everyone was doing now, and catching up. I slipped out of the room and grabbed the LARGE wrapped gift (it was so heavy, I was worried I was going tp tear the paper open just bringing it into the other room).
My plan had worked! After opening the games and the helicopter, he didn't even think for a second there was more!!!

He opened the gift, almost shaking out of excitement. When he saw that it really was what he had hoped it was... well... it was just AWESOME!



Then we played games (I even got a Pin the Tail on the Donkey game, though we didn't end up playing it) and ate the cake I made... It fell apart because it was so big, but it tasted amazing!!!
The kids we gone for the night, so we were able to sleep in a bit. Then next morning I had planned to take him breakfast and a movie as well, but he opted to go to the store and buy a movie, then get McDonald for breakfast and come home and eat in out pajamas while watching the movie (We got Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1)

It was by far, the most I have ever spent on him. And I won't be doing it again... at least for a few years! But I was glad I was able to give him a great day.

After all the gifts, bowling for him and my brothers, the party itself and the stuff the morning after, I ended up spending just under $1,000.00 in cold hard cash (yes, one-thousand) for his birthday. Definitely NOT the frugal way to go. I wouldn't recommend doing it more than once or twice in your WHOLE life... But I learned something from this...

If you tighten your belt and have a reasonable and worth-while goal in mind, you can save the money to do it! Whether it's that vacation you've been dying to go on, or simply pulling your family out of debt, you CAN do it! I CAN do it! I saved almost $1,000 in a little less than four months. My husband and I are so excited to see how realistic it is for us to save up for a house now. To be able to get a larger car for our three children to fit in.

I hope this inspires some of you to save for the things that matter to your family, if so, I'd love to hear what you are saving for!

Happy Savings!!!

My Trip to Wal-Mart this Week

I paid just .11 for all of this (before tax).

The Nivea Body Wash is $3.00 (regular price) I used the $3/1 coupons from the 4/17 Red Plum insert. There were two in there, one for the men's and one for the women's body wash. So they were both FREE!

The Air Wick warmers are regularly priced at .97! I used 2 of the $1/1 Printable Coupons and got them both for free as well, plus a .03 overage for each coupon.

The McKormick Taco Seasoning was .52, I used the .75/1 coupon from the 4/10 Red Plum and got .23 in overage from it!!!

Then the Yakisoba was priced at .58 each. I used 5 of the .50/1 coupons from the 3/13 Smart Source insert and only had to pay .08 each.

Take that .08 X 5 packages of Yakisoba, and that's a whopping .40 I would have had to pay... But as Wal-Marts new policy states, they always give you overage now, SO subtract that .23 from the Taco Seasoning and the .06 from the warmers, and I only had to pay .11 for all of this. Normally would have cost me $11.36. I saved $11.25, or 99%! Great day!

Smith's Sneak Peek - 4/13 - 4/19

Here is a brief list of some of the sale items paired with coupons. The sale starts tomorrow (April 13th).

ALSO, pay attention to the new Rewards policy! I think it is great! What an awesome way to save even more on fuel, which I think we all need right about now. Make sure you read the whole thing through so you can understand it, it will take effect starting tomorrow!

AND from April 13th through April 19th, you get a bonus 200 rewards points when you shop at Smiths with your rewards card. I'm not sure if that 200 bonus will only be counted once or if you can get it multiple times throughout the week. If you know, PLEASE leave a comment below.

Check here for the full preview list, if it is not up yet, it will be soon. Remember that it is only a preview today (the 12th of April) Starting tomorrow morning (April 13th) it will be the current list which you can find here.

Smith’s Sale Valid dates 4/13 - 4/19
Item Description	Sale Price	Use this Coupon	You Pay
Nestle Baking Morsels	2 for $4	Nestle Toll House Morsels, any varieties $1.50/2 (5-22-11) SS-4/10	$1.25 each
Reddi Wip 7 oz.	2 for $4	Reddi wip, any .35/1 (5-22-11) SS-4/10	$1.65 each
Mountain Dair Milk	TRIPLE REWARDS		$2.18 each
Kroger Cheese	TRIPLE REWARDS		$1.50
Kroger Singles (cheese)	TRIPLE REWARDS		$1.50 each
Coca-Cola, Dr. Pepper, Pepsi, or 7-Up 2 Liter	TRIPLE REWARDS .89		.89 each
Red Seedless Grapes	TRIPLE REWARDS		.99/lb.
Kroger Water	TRIPLE REWARDS		$2.50 each
Gatorade or G2 32oz.	TRIPLE REWARDS		.69 each
Apples	TRIPLE REWARDS		$1.00/lb.
Folgers Coffee 22.6-33.9 oz.	$7.49	Folgers Coffee, 3 oz. or larger excluding Folgers Gourmet Selections K-Cup portion packs $1/1 (5-14-11) RP-4/10	$6.49
Rice-A-Roni	10 for $10	Pasta Roni FREE up to $2.00 when you buy any 3 Rice-A-Roni (4-30-11) LOrealRP-1/2	.75 each
Pasta-Roni	10 for $10	Pasta Roni FREE up to $2.00 when you buy any 3 Rice-A-Roni (4-30-11) LOrealRP-1/2	.75 each
Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup	10 for $10	Campbells Condensed Great for Cooking Soups, any .40/4 (5-15-11) SS-3/6	.90 each
Campbell’s Cream of Chicken Soup	10 for $10	Campbells Condensed Great for Cooking Soups, any .40/4 (5-15-11) SS-3/6	.90 each
Nestle Toll House Ready to Bake Cookies 16-16.5 oz.	2 for $5	Nestle Toll House Refrigerated Cookie Dough, any .75/1 (5-22-11) SS-4/10	$1.75 each
Pilsburry Sweet Moments 5.6-6.1 oz	2 for $5	Pillsbury Sweet Moments Refrigerated Desserts, any .75/1 (5-7-11) GeneralMills-2/13	$1.75 each
Pillsbury Grands Biscuits	3 for $5	Pillsbury Grands Refrigerated Biscuits, any size/variety .30/2 (5-7-11) GeneralMills-2/13 and (6-4-11) SS-3/13	$1.52 each
Pillsbury Crescent Rolls	3 for $5	Pillsbury Crescent Dinner Rolls, any .40/2 (4-23-11) SS-1/30 AND (6-4-11) SS-3/13	$1.47 each
Tyson Chicken	6.99	Tyson bagged breaded chicken strips, any $1/1 (4-30-11) SS-1/23	$5.99 each
Tyson Any’tizers	6.99	Tyson Anytizers, any bag $1/1 (6-7-11) SS-3/6	$5.99 each
Red Baron Pizza	2 for $7	Red Baron Singles Product, any .75/1 (5-29-11) EyeMasterSS-3/27	$2.75 each
Schick Disposable Razors 3-12 ct. Select varieties	2 for $6	Schick Disposable Razor Package, any $1/1 (5-15-11) SS-4/3	$2.00 each

Saving Money on Easter

So, this year, especially since we are striving to become debt free and save up for a house and everything (not to mention stay within the cash only budget we've set,) I think are are going to try something different!

In past years, my husband and I would spend a nice chink of cash on our kids and each-other for Easter gifts. Especially the kids. We'd get them each a little basket, full of little toys and treats. I have also bought them a cute Easter outfit each. Then there are the plastic eggs we get for them to find and the candy to put into them. Sitting there, adding it all up went something like this...

1 basket - $3
Toys for basket - $10
Treats - $5
Easter grass - $1
Outfit - $12 (or more)
Eggs - $2
Egg candy - $2
Total = $35 (each) X 3 kids = $105.00

Now, when my youngest doesn't even crawl yet, I'm sure we could just spend money for an outfit for the youngest taking our total down to $82.00, but looking at the number that we used to want to spend, led me to think of this amazing idea!!! Cut out the fluff!

This year, we will be teaching our children about the real meaning and reason for Easter, not about the fictional bunny that leaves you eggs and treats to find. We will still spend Easter with family and have the traditional egg hunt with them, but in the morning, we are going to give them a present. A picture that we will hang in their rooms that will remind them what Easter is all about and why it is important to us. We are going to give them a picture of Jesus Christ, and that will be it.

Yay for us for cutting down our Easter spending form over $100 down to less than $20.00 (including our contribution to the egg hunt with the family).

Also, I think we will do more colored real eggs than plastic candy filled eggs. For one thing it is much cheaper, and another... a whole lot less sugar, which, lets face it, between hyper-active kids and a diabetic husband, who need the extra sugar anyway?

My main point... If we can remember the real reason for each and every holiday;Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, even Valentines Day... we not only instill in our children understanding and values, we are also teaching them to be frugal and how to be frugal in a way that makes sense to them, while at the same time helping our own budgets stay on track.

Smith's New Rewards Program!

This is awesome! The new rewards program has all the same benefits it did before, but now it is even better! Take a minute or two to read through it!

Also, pay attention to the part where it talks about the extra 200 points you can earn between the 13th and 19th of this month. I'm very excited about this. I can't wait to go shopping on Wednesday.

I'm Not Dead... Promise!

This week, from the 11th-17th, I will not be posting very frequently. I will still try to give you a heads up on sales for Smith's and Walgreens, and a few other posts here and there, but this weekend is my husband's birthday and we've got a huge weekend planned. I think I will post pictures and/info about it sometime next week :)

I will also be working on blog topics to try to better serve you all w ith things you want to read. So if you have any opinions or ideas, you can share them via comments at the bottom of this post, or go and take a quick peak at my poll/survey thing :)

So if you don't see any posts for a day or two this week, please don't worry. All is well, all is well :)

It's OK to be Lazy... Just Plan For It

I hear people all the time say that budgeting their money tightly, and building their savings by being frugal and thrifty is just not worth it because they either don't have time or they don't have the energy to make home-made meals all the time, be creative when it comes to family outings or any other thing that takes effort to be frugal.

I know where you are coming from!!!

My husband and I always wanted to be able to be self reliant, self sufficient and self sustaining people that didn't have to rely on others to help us out. We knew we wanted to build a nice comfortable savings and be able to afford our own house with a nice large down payment so we wouldn't have to pay a huge monthly mortgage. We also knew that we wanted to do all those things because it would teach our children to be confident independent members of society later on in their lives.
But then, burn out hit!
More often than not, people get so excited about pulling themselves out of debt or building that nice savings or even something as simple as eating better, that they jump in head first before they even look at how deep the water is! They take on too much to fast...
And you know what happened to the little girl who tried too much too fast... She died! (OK, I'm sorry about the FRIENDS quote/reference... but I had too)
But in all reality, they do end up taking on way too much to handle. Even if you keep it up for a month or two, they eventually reach a burn out. Their energies are spent, time is past, and it seems as if the rewards were not worth the effort.

At this point, the bad thing happens... People quit and go back to the way they did things before and the savings, or the weight loss, or whatever the goal was, end up going back to square one.

So what's to be done?
One thing I've found helpful is to always plan for that laziness. Give yourself permission to sway from the routine. If you are dieting, give yourself one day a week to eat whatever you want. If it is a budget and being frugal or just trying to build your savings, allow in your budget even a one day a month eat-out plan. Or frozen food plan for a couple of days. This has helped us tremendously to stay on top of things on not burn out.

We just changed our finances to a cash only system. (It's more of a hybrid system that works for us best, I think I'll post more about that down the road once we've done it for a while and ironed out all the kinks.) And in that very small budget, we have a section for "entertainment". For our family that is a big thing to have. Now that entertainment budget is for everything that is not a necessity: movie theater, eating out, candy from the store, DVD rentals and purchases, books, magazines, family outings etc.

The thing I've noticed that is AMAZING about having cash only for our entertainment is that it is not that much, but because it is cash, it's so much easier to know exactly how much we have left for the month. If there is something big we want to do, we know we won't be able to get a pizza Saturday. OR if there isn't anything at all we are planning on for the month, it makes us think twice before we decide on that pizza, and more often than not, we end up not getting after all because we know we only have X amount left and know how bad it would hurt if something came up that month later down the road that we would have to pass on because of that $5-$10 fast food.
But, we've planned for the lazy days (which I am a big fan of) so I know that if I need one, I can have one and that it won't be the end of the world. And, because we have allowed for it, it also means that when I have a lazy day, I'm not a failure as a mother and wife.

So whenever you are planning anything life-changing, be it a budget, a diet change or even having a baby, PLEASE remember to plan and accept the fact that you are human! Allow for that fact and you'll be much better off in the end.