Domestically Dana
It's not easy being domestic…
Mega Swagbucks Day!
Aug 27th
Don’t forget that Friday’s are Mega Swagbuck’s Day and you have a greater chance of winning some BIG bills making your freebies happen quicker! If you aren’t already signed up for Swagbucks, you can sign up and start earning your bucks today.
If you don’t know what Swagbuck’s is, check out my previous post explaining how Swagbuck’s works!
Coupon Database Update
Aug 26th
The coupon database will be receiving a face lift!! In order for these changes to be, I am sorry to say the database will be down from Monday, August 30 from 8pm-12am. Fortunately, it is only for a short time!!
Have a great weekend!!
Walgreens Coupon Policy
Aug 26th
YAY! Walgreen’s FINALLY has published a coupon policy. If you frequent Walgreen’s, I am sure you have had some of the same problems I have had in the past, but they are no longer issues I need to face for the future! Please head on over to Walgreens to print the coupon policy in its entirety. The most notable aspects of this new policy is:
- If a coupon is priced more than the cost of the item, they will reduce the cost of the coupon manually!!
- If you are purchasing a BOGO item, you are able to use 2 coupons towards the purchase of the items
- Walgreens will accept a manufacture’s coupon along with a Walgreens coupon
Thanks Walgreens!
Free Meal Planner & Nutrition Tracker
Aug 22nd
Spark People is an awesome resource if you are trying to watch your caloric intake in order to shed a few pounds and best of all….it’s FREE!
All you have to do is head over to the Spark People website and sign up for an account. You will be asked a series of questions, and based upon your responses, Spark People will create a plan for you. They will provide you a menu for the week, including a shopping list OR you can enter your own items, but the Spark People program automatically calculates the nutritional information for what you enter!
The menu’s don’t seem to be very complicated and do not require a bunch of odd ingredients. You are also able to substitute items from each meal with something else if you wish. This is awesome for those of us who stockpile because I may not have 1 item, but chances are I have something comparable.
I would love to hear your experiences with Spark People!! I hope they are great!
You are also able to track your weight and exercise each day.
Ebates
Aug 22nd
I know I have referred to Ebates before, but I felt the need to elaborate just how awesome Ebates really is!!!
If you are anything like me, you like to shop, and you like to shop online. Ebates is a program that offers CASH BACK on most of the online stores you would at. They often offer promotions when you receive double the cash back and so forth.
You receive your rebates once a quarter via check or paypal. I don’t know about you, but a check every quarter would be awesome, especially since it’s on stuff I would be getting anyway!!
Head on over here and sign up for an Ebates account today! You don’t want to be missing out on FREE money!!!!
Budgeting: The Envelope System Part 1
Aug 18th
For some time I have been using a spreadsheet for my budget that my dear friend Ginger created. It ha probably been the saving grace of our families finances. I have realized though, the spreadsheet isn’t really a budget, but more a ledger of our monthly bills and expenditures.
In the past, we have just had a lump of money that was supposed to be used for food, groceries, household items, clothing, gas, and everything else. I think you get the picture.
After hours of searching the web, reading blogs and articles written by the thriftiest ladies out there, I decided to try a new method of budgeting my spending money. This method is what is called “The Envelope System.”
How does this work you ask??? Well, it is a pretty simple concept. Determine how many categories you want to have, determine a budget for each category, and each time you get paid, put the amount of cash in the envelope. Seems pretty easy doesn’t it? At first I wondered how this was going to help me save money and stick to my budget. Well, its a pretty basic idea I suppose. If there isn’t money in the envelope, then I can’t spend the money.
This system makes me more conscious of the choices I make while shopping. The categories are completely up to you, but the categories I have chosen are:
- Groceries (this is the biggest part of my budget)
- Household
- Clothing
- Haircuts
- Entertainment (this includes movies, eating out, etc)
Have you tried to use this system of budgeting? What other kinds of budgeting methods have you used? I would love to hear your input!
Stay tuned for more discussion on the envelope system!
Simple is better
Aug 14th
Over the past few years I found myself becoming one of those people that was super caught up into having things. My husband and I both made decent salaries. We were by no means rich, but we weren’t in the poor house either. We enjoyed our lifestyle and had pretty much whatever we wanted when we wanted it.
In the midst of enjoying our life, we let our finances get out of control and before we knew it, we were in debt up to our eye balls! I often think back to those days and compare them to our life now.
Are we less happy now that we don’t go out and buy whatever we want when we want it? Has our quality of life changed? I can honestly answer each of those questions with a NO!
Our lives are less hectic and more simple and I honestly believe we both appreciate things much more than we ever have. Going out to dinner used to be an every other night occurrence, but now it is a special treat. I am so thankful we found that simpler things in life so we can teach our daughter what the most important things in life are…our family.
This leads me to the latest book I ordered from Amazon, using some gift cards I earned from Swagbucks, The Total Money Makeover, by Dave Ramsey. I would love to hear if you have read it and what you thought about it. I am going to be reading it over the next few days and I will report back my thoughts.
In the meantime, enjoy one other…:)
Swagbucks
Aug 14th
Swagbucks has quickly become one of my favorite things! It is a pretty simple concept really. What is easier than searching on the web and getting FREE gift cards in return? I can’t think of anything easier than that to be honest. Here’s what you do:
- Go to Swagbucks and sign up for an account
- Every time you are going to search for something on the internet, you use swagbucks search engine (I go through swagbucks before I go to any website)
- Every few search’s you will earn “Swagbucks”
- Once you earn 450, you can redeem for a $5 Amazon gift card (or you can save up to redeem a $25 Amazon gift card or MUCH more)
- Refer your friends and family to Swagbucks…and you earn what they earn!
I can’t stress enough how easy this is and how fun it is to redeem the gift cards once you get them!!!
Got computer problems?
Aug 5th
I don’t know if you are like me, but I have very little computer skills beyond the basic skills it takes to post on my blog and use the internet. In the past, if my computer started working slow, or stopped working at all, I just got a new computer. We all know how expensive that can be!!
I want to introduce a new type of service that is now available! OCD Computer Services is a business that offers remote computer diagnostics! They can clean every thing up, get rid of viruses & Spyware, help with email, printer, virus protection, and much more! Check out the OCD Computer Services website for a list of prices and all the services they offer.
I can honestly recommend this business to you because I have used their services and although it took some time (7 hours to be exact), my computer was running like it was brand new all over again! Had I not used the service I would have needed to buy a new computer!!
