Money-and-Time-Saving Tips for My Family of Five

I never thought I'd see the day where I'd be clipping coupons and scouring ads. But alas, it has come. I enjoy every second of it! I almost get a little too excited when I go to a store and save 65% or more. I brag about paying $1 for a 9-roll pack of toilet paper! I feel utterly giddy when I walk out of a store feeling like I practically stole the merchandise but knowing it was all perfectly legal. And the manufacturers are okay with this! In fact, I'm buying their product over another so they're happy, too! Do I dumpster dive to save a buck? No, I'm not THAT extreme. Do I spend hours and hours printing and clipping? No, I don't have time for that. Here is a little assistance and ideas from my house to yours on how to save a  buck or 2 with little time and effort.

Sunday: Purchase 2 newspapers. The coupons alone will be worth the buy. If you have a mother-in-law or brother who get the paper and toss the coupons on Sunday, ask them to put them aside for you. That's what I do! I very rarely actually purchase a paper.

Monday: Go through the weekly ads for stores such as CVS, Target, Walgreens, Food Lion, Kroger, etc. Write down needs/wants and their ad prices. This should take no longer than an hour unless you have 3 babes running around. Then it could take 2!

Tuesday: I use 2 websites specifically for couponing and pricing comparisons. On Tuesday, I search these sites and write down anything I may have missed from the ads. These sites also allow you to create an account, log in and save a shopping list if you want to skip Monday altogether! These sites also allow you to print the printable coupons directly from their site. It's super-easy, convenient and time-saving. Here are the 2 sites I use: krazycouponlady.com and southernsavers.com. If you get on either of these and feel lost, you can either take a look at the tutorials on each site or feel free to shoot me any questions. This should also only take about an hour.

Wednesday: Plan your evening meal for each day of the following week. I love using Pinterest.com, Pillsbury.com, Tasteofhome.com, etc. for meal ideas! I am signed up for several sites like Kraftfoods.com for recipes sent to my email daily as well. I find them helpful and if I like their recipe idea, I "pin" them. There are a few recipes and dinners we like to have weekly or every other week like tacos, spaghetti night, etc. but I like to try at least 2 new recipes a week. This should take about a half hour.

Thursday: Today is when you go through the coupons you got on Sunday. You pull and clip all the coupons you will be using for your trip. I do not clip all the coupons on Sunday and organize them in any binder. This is way too time-consuming. I keep them all in one accordion case and when I see them expire, I toss them. I clip only the ones I am going to use that week.

Tip: Many "extreme couponers" will purchase things they don't need or even use because it's a great deal. I find that when I enter that dangerous territory, not only do I find myself with a garage/basement full of "stuff", I also spend more than I would have on things I just needed. Think about it- if you don't NEED razors, don't buy them for $1.25 when they're normally $5 just because they're on sale. You'll find that razors and deodorant and other items are ALWAYS on sale and you can always find a good deal on them. Don't waste money on items you don't need at that time. Makes sense, right?

Friday: I go through my list one more time before I go to the store Friday afternoon/evening. Is there anything on this list I don't really need? (I'd rather spend my money on clothes for the kids or toys for Easter or their savings accounts).

Tip: I only go to 2 stores on Friday and/or Saturday. Maybe 3. Haha. Walmart price-matches newspaper ads so if you can buy it and use the coupon at Walmart, do it! Save yourself the extra trip. Kroger gives you a reason to shop there. Not only do they double coupons under $.50, but they give you points towards gas when you shop there. (See store for details, but ours gives you $.10 savings/gallon for every $100 you spend in the store!) The other store you may have to enter into is CVS if you are buying something with expectation of their Extra Bucks in return for your transaction. Luckily, I have a CVS and Walgreens right next door to me so it's not costly to take the trip.

You get Saturday off! Haha. See? This wasn't so bad. I saved money, I have a yummy weekly meal-plan and I only spent about 4 hours max during the entire week in preparation! You can have a large family, save money and spend less on groceries in little time.

I want to hear how you save. Do you like what you see? Is there anything you would change? Do you have any questions? Hit me up! Have a blessed and frugal night, beloved!

My Intro to Motherhood

A common denominator in many of my friend's infertility is PCOS. Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. You can read all about it here: http://women.webmd.com/pcos-directory. (WebMD.com) This factored in with my fertility as well. My husband and I tried for several months to get pregnant and finally went for a serious visit to my OB/GYN. He informed me of the details of my disease and gave me a low dose of a fertility pill. We tried for several more months to no avail. Finally, we all mutually decided on visiting a specialist. Dr. Christopher Williams (http://www.marthajefferson.org/clinicalfront/website_fall_07/profiles.php), started me on a path of literally counting days, taking pills and drawing blood. I did  this for several months before going to see him on a cold winter day and finding out all of our hard work had paid off! We were expecting our first bundle of joy. Our first blessing. Our very first life-changing, unbelievably desired and longed-for child from God. 

I had NO idea what was in store for us. Boy! The pregnancy alone should have been ample warning that we were in over our heads! Isn't every parent? The pregnancy road was a rough one. With major anxiety attacks, extreme swelling, major weight-gain, pregnancy insomnia and then a premature inducing made me wonder what in the world was going to happen. Were we meant to be parents or was this a sign that we should have just stopped trying? After 24 hours of hard labor, our "bundle of joy" still had not arrived. Again, this wasn't going as I had planned. Are you sensing any frustration? If so, you've guessed correctly. The doctor said it was time to get him out. It was time to cut me open and pull him out. 

Just before going in, it dawned on me: I was about to become a mother. I'm not sure why it was just hitting me at that point, but it did. I looked at my mom and she was hit by it, too. She practically whispered, "You're about to become a mommy." I cried the whole way to the Operating Room. 

Only a few minutes later, my Noah was born. He had FINALLY arrived! He was FINALLY here! My life was never the same. His presence was not only an amazingly overwhelming pure joy but his sweet and kind spirit started showing when he was only a few months old! He started smiling the day he was born! Praise God for answered prayer! Praise Him for His gift of life! 

You will get to know my babies soon. I will be sharing a-plenty! I wanted to share the beginning of my wonderful introduction to motherhood. 

Do you know all of the pain, suffering and anxiety was SO worth it?! I wonder if that is even an inkling of how Christ felt about coming to earth as a man and dying for us? The pain so well worth the reason. Now, I'm not saying I am remotely at all like Christ or that I can understand what He was thinking or going through or that I even felt a percentage of the physical and emotional pain He endured. It just makes me wonder if that's even remotely at all what He felt like when it was all over? He knew what it was all for and what the outcome would be and he endured through it anyway. He knew the end would be worth the pain. As Easter approaches, I am so eternally grateful for Him enduring such pain for me. For you. For my family. For ALL. (John 3:16) 

My Intro To Blogging

If you read my profile, you will see I am a full-time mommy and wife. I aim to appease all of my loved ones as well as capture their every precious moment in my memory. I have even gone as far as keeping a Daily Planner each year for each child. I do not get the opportunity to write in them daily, but I make notes to myself and fill them in as I can. My children are still young but are growing so quickly! It's heart-breaking and exciting at the same time! I used to post daily happenings on Facebook and occasionally on Twitter. Then, I heard a wise woman explain something profoundly eye-opening. She was posting a status on Facebook and her daughter asked what she was doing. She told her daughter she was posting on Facebook. Her daughter then asked who was going to read it. She said she wasn't sure. Her daughter then asked why she posted if she didn't know who was going to read it. She replied, "I have no idea!" (Beth Moore)

This opened my eyes a bit to how others may view me and how I view others. I used to post things about my children that no one needs to know. I'm sure they don't care. It surely didn't change their life in any way. I do not want to overwhelm my Facebook and Twitter audience with the hourly goings on of my babies. As much as I cherish these times and moments, I'm sure the daily events in my life have no affect on yours.

So, I am creating a blog. I may share recipe ideas, holiday ideas, children's statuses, date-night planning and ideas, etc. I am not really creating this for you but for myself so that I can have accurate records of how my children and husband and dear ones affected my life. There may be nothing profound each day and I may have nothing to say so I just share what the Lord is doing in my life, but this will be my public diary of sorts.

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy! I hope to entertain you, to be funny, heart-warming and helpful. But most of all, I just want to be able to keep records of how the Lord is working in mine and my family's lives.  

My world is full of white snow at the present! I'm loving the winter wonderland! Most people are tired of snow, but I just think of it's beauty. I am grateful for the reminder of Jesus and how He lived a pure life for me. He washed away my sins and made me white as snow! Have a blessed week!