When The Going Gets Tough

When you are a one income parent you have to make choices when it comes to paying for debts.  In my case my daughter is madly in love with dance.  She added dance competition to her routine.  Well competition means more money.  Oh my was I not prepared at how much this was going to cost me.  Question is, Do you give up and tell her she can't go? or Do you do all you can?  Well for me giving up is not an option.  So what do I do? Anything and everything that's what I will do.  I started my first plan to sell some of my high price items on For Sale sites online.  I didn't sell for what I was asking.  Now I'm going to my next plan.  Clean out my garage and have a garage sale.  I need to enlist in the help of my friends though.  Most of the items in my garage will not produce much of an income.  I made a promise to not borrow from my friends but I will ask for a donation of their garage sale goods.  Thanks to several of them they are being generous in their donations.  Thanks a bunch you guys!  Lyla will be dancing her heart out.  Dance Competition will be soon in Baton Rouge and New Orleans.  And I'm not giving up she will fulfill her dream to dance!

Love Unconditionally

Have you ever wondered how you can have unconditional love.  When you have a child that is the feelings you have.  There is nothing in the world that can make you not do what you can for them.  You want them to be the best they can be. But, things can not alway go as you plan. You get frustrated trying to show them the right way.  Somethimes it just makes you cringe and want to grab them by the hand and show them how it is done.  But, uncondtionaly you let them learn and make their mistakes.  Mistakes are tools for learning. Either they get up and walk or they will crawl for the rest of their lives.  Unconditionally we love our children no matter what they have done. LOVE!

How I Coupon at Kroger's in Alexandria La

Many of my friends want to know how I use my coupons when I shop at Krogers in Alexandria Louisiana.  Here is a synopsis on how I do it.  A little note about this particular Kroger's Store they double coupons with a face value of $.40 to $.50 and triple coupons from $.00 to $.39.  Not all Kroger stores triple coupons.  They accept printed coupons also.  All other coupons are accepted at face value.

First of all, I collect coupons from the local newspapers, online websites, mailing lists, email lists and magazines. 

Second, get a rewards card at your local Kroger store.  

Third, Create an online account at http://www.kroger.com/Pages/Default034.aspx. Link your rewards card to your account.

Fourth, after you have created an account you can view the list of online coupons that Kroger is offering to add to your rewards card at http://kroger.softcoin.com/programs/kroger/digital_coupons/?campaign=DigitalCoupons&banner=Kroger#browsecpns.  They offer free items here too. You just click load to your card.  But, IMPORTANT!!! note don't add the coupons to the card just yet.  This is the last thing you will do. I will explain, they do not double nor triple the loadable rewards coupons. Rewards loadable coupons are taken at face value.

Fifth, there are online coupon websites that print valid printable coupons.  Here are my 2 most visited websites for those. http://coupons2.smartsource.com/smartsource/index.jsp?Link=5S2ZUA6PWPEPO
and http://print.coupons.com/couponweb/Offers.aspx?pid=13927&zid=ym31&nid=10. 

Now after you have done all of that this is how you do it!  Go to http://krogersouthwest.mywebgrocer.com/CircularMain.aspx?st=003811322&uc=B93C020006 and view the weekly add or collect the sales paper from the newspaper.  Then look at the items that are listed in the sales paper 10 for $10 and what is on sale that you normally buy.  Look through your coupons first.  Gather those coupons and set to the side.  Then go and view your Kroger account for coupons to load to your card.  PLEASE REMEMBER, the loadable rewards coupons are accepted at face value and will not accept the paper coupons for that item at checkout.  So if you have a paper coupon for ketchup that is for $.25 it will triple to a total value of $.75.  If you load the $.25 ketchup coupon from the rewards coupons they will only give you $.25 per item and you will lose out on $.50 of free money. So use the paper coupons first. After you finish with your paper coupons then load the rewards coupons for items you don't have paper coupons for.  That is how you do it.

Here is a scenario from my latest shopping trip. Here are just three items I used my coupons on.
1. Progresso Soup was 10 for $10.  My coupon was for $.25 and tripled to a face value of $.75.  My final cost for a can of soup was $.25.
2. Mustard was 10 for $10.  My coupon was for $.30 and tripled to a face value of $.90.  So the final cost for my bottle of mustard was only $.10.
3. Starkist Tuna was 10 for $10.  My coupon was for $.50 and doubled to $1.00.  Final cost for the tuna FREE!!!!

Oh and my free rewards loadable item this week was one container of Egg Beaters. lol

And that's how you save money on your groceries at Krogers in Alexandria La!

10 Ways To Live On A Budget

If you would like to know how to live on a budget, here it goes.  If you are struggling to make ends meet, there are a few things you can do to get a little cash in your hand.  You can de-clutter your home and garage.  With the discarded items, trash becomes treasure, post them for sale on a local craigs list, Facebook for sale site that is local to you or on EBay. Sell, sell, sell for about 2 weeks.  If the item doesn't get a reasonable offer set it aside. Once you have finished your auction's and sales set up a date for a good old fashioned garage sale.  That's one way to get some cash in your hand.  Same goes for you, if you need an item go to garage sales, look on craigs list and FB pages for items at a real discount and in some cases it may even be free.  Ask your friends if they subscribe to major newspapers.  There are valuable coupons that are in them.  You would be surprised to find out that they never use their coupons.  Most are glad to pass them on to you.  There are also sites on the Internet where you can print digital coupons. But, not all stores accept those printed coupons.  Also, look in magazines for hidden coupons.  You would also be amazed at what deals some stores are offering with their store rewards coupons.  When you use coupons, only use them on items you would normally buy.  Wait to use those coupons till the very last day.  A store might put that item on sale and you can get an even bigger discount.  Sign up for store rewards cards. With some stores offering double and triple coupons and combine them with your rewards cards you can get your items for next to nothing or free.  But, for the average person who uses coupons you can literally cut your grocery bill in half. Which equals to more money in your pocket.  Schedule your meal plan around what you have in stock. Buy items only when they go on sale and stock up.   I use my email account for special offers and discounts at local and national stores.  Like, Bed Bath and Beyond sends 20% off coupons for a single item.  If you need new sheets and they are on sale use that 20% off coupon for a bigger discount.  That how easy it is!  Living on a budget you just have to learn what patience is.  Never make impulse purchases.  If you like to eat out you can literally save up to $3 just by ordering water with your meal.  If you travel a lot there are 2 options for budget travel. First, pack some snacks from the local dollar store and bring a little ice chest for drinks.  The second option, I travel for work and I just need something to drink.  I keep an empty glass in my vehicle.  Most stores will allow you to get some water and ice from the soda machine for as little as $.25. Last budget tip, trade services or barter.   This is where you can exchange goods and services without exchanges of money.   It really does work, try it!  These are some of my ideas for living on a budget.  There are other ways too.  So here is the run down to living on a budget.

1.  Sell unwanted items on EBay or Facebook trade and sell sites
2.  Buy items you need off of Facebook trade, sell sites and craigs list.
3.  Have a garage sale.
4.  Collect coupons from the newspaper, magazines, online coupon printing sites.
5.  Buy items only when they are on sale. Maximize your savings with coupons, double and triple coupon offers and combine with your rewards card.
6.  Subscribe to email lists for coupons and discounts.
7.  Get store rewards coupons.
8.  Pack snacks and ice chest with drinks for long trips.
9.   Always travel with a large empty glass.  Fill it up with water at the convenience store for $.25.
10.  Trade or barter your services or goods.

Good luck with your budget!

Monkey Wrench and Errand Service

Everyone tells you that if you go to college you will make lots of money.  Yes you do make more money than the average job. But, you have to pay back all of those student loans.  Not to mention the credit cards that all the companies approve you for while your in college.  Yes, when I started college I was young and immature. If someone gave me a credit card with a spending limit of 3k to spend on whatever I like and not have your parent say "NO YOU CAN'T BUY THAT". I was all up for spending it all.   I've grown up a lot since those days.  My credit card debt has been long paid off and I will never go down the credit debt road again.  Thank goodness!  Especially since I am now a single parent for about 3 years now.  My only debt is my home and my school loans.  Thank goodness! But being a single parent it takes all of your earnings and time to enjoy your life.  It's real easy to keep yourself financially straight being single.  You don't have to share your earnings and learn that your mate just bought a $300 stereo an hour before you purchase your monthly groceries.  I don't have that problem.  My budget is all laid out and I am treading water up to my chin.  As the saying goes, I'm floating.  Until someone throws in that monkey wrench.  This January I was all proud at how well I was doing.  I am currently working for the state of Louisiana as an Environmental Scientist, part time I am selling a diet product called Plexus Slim and a few little odd jobs to do here and there.  Well this winter was a little cold. My electric bill went up $100 from last month. Mom! My daughter says "my school pants are getting to tight." I had an accident in the dark. I backed up into a friends vehicle in October. Well insurance renewal time guess what? It went up $72.  I said Ok I can handle that! Oh crap my daughter just gave me a note from dance class. WHAT! $75 for toe shoes! and due when? February 1st.  Oh great I just noticed I am 1,000 miles past my oil change. Oh my gosh, the heater won't work right in the house. Oh yea, I could just ask my husband or boyfriend to pitch in. NO, wait, silly your single there is no one to help. What do I do? What to do? Hell what am I going to do.  Another job? Damn no time.  Wait....... I like to shop.......... Hum.....Margie, Beth..... Humm........ they always need someone to run errands for them in Alexandria.  Hum.... Yea I got it.  I can try and do errand service.  Yea that is my new idea.  Lets see how this works out.  In the meantime I'm going to have to do something.  Damn I really hate those monkey wrenches.

The beginning starting in our new home!

Well here is my story.  My name is Angell and I am a single mom. I have one girl named Lyla and also have my mom Martha living with me. We moved into a home my father had built, after he had passed away.  Prior to moving in the home it was not completely built.  It had sheet rock walls that were not finished, concrete floors unfinished and the stairs and upstairs was never done.  I wanted to move out of our declining neighborhood.  In that neighborhood right before we moved out there was a drug transaction done right in front of me and my daughter.  Then later that week there was a shooting. So I took a loan to finish the house so we could all move into the country water front home.  The loan put such a strain on me that we had no fun money and my daughter wanted to be in some extra curricular activities. No money for that!  Its been 3 years now that we are in our new home. I have paid off several student loans.  My boss was helping me to do a budget to decide where my new found money should go.  In the process we found out that my current house mortgage was a simple interest loan.  I had been paying on this loan for 2 years and my boss figured out I had a balloon payment at the end.  I had borrowed 52k, was paying $525 a month, was paying for home insurance and property taxes.  Which added up to $650 a month. This loan was for 7 years.  When I asked the bank about the loan they agreed that there was a balloon payment.  I said "OK what's the amount". Loan representative said "$49,500".  I said WTF and some other words that were not so nice.  So luckily I only paid on this loan for 2 years.  What if my boss wouldn't have helped me? Let's see $650 a month for 7 years = $54,600 and I would of had a balloon payment of $49,500 which equals to $106,600.  So I advise everyone to do a financial check of all their loans.  I have refinanced my loan recently.  The loan includes the house note, insurance and property taxes.  New amount is $515 a month and will be paid off in 15 years and no balloon payment.  So with the money saved my daughter has several extra curricular activities.  She goes to dance classes, art classes, 4H and is an American Heritage Girl.  Luckily art and 4H are done at her school. This is where I am at the moment, single, home still needs a little work to make some aspects outside safe for use, and with the extra curricular activities I am stretched thin again financially.  UGH...............