I Got Paid .36 to Take These Items Out of Walgreens Today

Well, this is pretty much like getting paid to shop! I used two coupons on this deal plus some rewards I had on my rewards card. I had a store coupon for the paper plates and they were .99 each. I had a store coupon for the soup and they were .89 each. I found the Dove chocolates ($2.00) and the Lindt bar ($1.49) on clearance and the Snickers were $3.00.

If you have a rewards card and use it at Walgreens, you rack up points. I had 10,000 points and that was worth $10.00. So, after everything was added up, taxes were added and the $10.00 in rewards was taken off, everything in this photo cost me a total of $2.64. And then I have this $3.00 off coupon for next time I am in the store (must be used within two weeks). So, I was ultimately paid .36 to take this out of the store! That's the way I like it!

Happy Savings!

Change Your Think Into a Thunk: Getting Rid of Credit Card Debt

According to an article on nerd wallet, the average American household has $15,762.00 in credit card debt.  https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/credit-card-data/average-credit-card-debt-household/

According to this article, the average APR on a credit card with a balance on it is 13.93% in Q3, 2015.
http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/credit-card-industry-facts-personal-debt-statistics-1276.php

That's a lot of debt and a lot of interest! There once was a day in time when debt was frowned upon and people paid for things as they went. There was a belief in thrift and frugality in America. Somehow, the American mindset was changed and debt has become normal. 

Getting rid of debt and changing your think into a thunk is not easy in this culture we live in. If people are asked out to dinner and a movie with friends and they don't have the money, they just use the credit card. If they then decide to cut back and be thrifty, it becomes somewhat of an embarrassment to say no and, it also feels somewhat isolating. I think these are some of the reasons that people live the way they do. People don't intend to rack up debt, it's just when you are at the mall with your friends, and they are all buying stuff, you don't want to feel left out. 

However, when you get that credit card bill, the pain is private. Changing your think into a thunk means suggesting free things to do with your friends or, even staying home when they go out to dinner or the mall. That can be hard and it takes a commitment. 

Many people in this time are upset about big banks and how much money they make. But, isn't America complicit in this and isn't America guilty when people regularly volunteer to pay big banks and credit card companies interest every day simply by the choices they make? Not only that, but every time you swipe your credit card, (never mind the interest) a percentage goes to the credit card company, rather than your local establishment. This is paid for by the local communities to the banks for the simple convenience of swiping the card. Not only is America in debt, America somewhat puts itself into slavery by the choices that are made. It's time to stop.

So, first, how to get the money to start paying down your personal debt? Here are some ideas:

1. Stop going out to eat. Brown bag it for lunch for work.

2. Instead of going to see a movie, watch one at home and make your own popcorn.

3. Check your insurance rates to see if you can find better rates elsewhere.

4. Check your phone/cable rates and see if you can get better rates elsewhere.

5. If you have a mortgage, check and see if you are paying Private Mortgage Insurance, otherwise known as PMI. You are required to pay this if you don't have at least 20% down on your loan. After you have 20% down, you can drop this, but it is not likely anyone will tell you this. You could save around $100.00 a month.

6. Stop buying convenience foods and learn to cook at home. Crock-pots are a great time-saver if you work and want a hot meal ready at the end of the day when you get home and they are inexpensive to buy. 

7. Start drinking water instead of soda or coffee. Good for your health too!

8. If you buy coffee out, make it at home.

9. Stop paying for cable and get Netflix instead. You will also save time because there are no commercials and you won't see ads trying to convince you to buy more things!

10. Use your local library.

11.Shop at thrift stores for clothing. There are many like new and even new items at thrift stores.

12. Sell things you are no longer using on eBay or Craigslist.

13. Look into credit cards that have better interest rates.

14. Install a programmable thermostat and save on heating and cooling bills. 

15. Shop ads for groceries. 

There are different ideas on how to pay down that debt once you start generating money. Dave Ramsey believes in paying off the smallest card first according to his debt snowball plan: https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/get-out-of-debt-with-the-debt-snowball-plan/ Others believe you should start with the highest interest rate card first. I think you should do what you are most comfortable with. The important thing is not how it's done, but that you start.

It feels SO good to pay down that debt and know that you are helping yourself in the process. Change your think into a thunk and.....

Happy Savings!!

Change Your Think to a Thunk: Frugality Means Freedom!

Many people, when they think about frugality think of an austere, miserable existence. They perhaps envision huddling beneath a blanket in a cold room, eating an unheated can of beans. To me, this is not what frugality means at all. To me, frugality means........FREEDOM!

There are many ways in which frugality can mean freedom, but the way I think of it most is in time. Basically, when you work a job, you are selling your time for a fixed rate. Many people don't think of their jobs in this way, but in actuality, that is exactly what people do. Some people sell their hours for $10.00 an hour....some sell their hours for $26.00 and some sell them for $76.00. But no matter what you do for a living, you are selling your time for a fixed rate. 

When you think of your life as hours selling time in order to pay for things you want or need, and turn these thoughts around, you can see that any time you save money on something, those are hours of your life you do not need to sell in order to get what you want. 

Once you get your head wrapped around this idea, you may find yourself wanting less. Wanting less is one way to having more freedom to do what you want. Another way is finding ways to save money. If you make $10.00 an hour in your day job and you save $30.00 clipping coupons and the time it took clipping coupons was 1/2 hour, you save $25.00 or 2.5 hours of your time that you would have had to otherwise spend on your job making money for the same things.

I read a book recently that said "We can't retire, we went out to eat instead". The same concept applies with frugality and freedom. The more money you save, the less you have to work and the less you feel stressed about the money you don't have. This means freedom to perhaps work a part-time job instead of a full-time one. It could mean staying home with your kids. It could mean the freedom to start your own business. It could mean the freedom to retire early. 

Frugality truly is freedom. It means options. It means empowerment and taking your life into your own hands rather than feeling like you have to do things a certain way. It all adds up and when it adds up, it means you have the power to do what you want more than you thought. Change your Think into a Thunk and Change your Life!!

How a 4 Night Trip to Branson MO cost $322.00 vs $850.00/ Get Paid $66.00 an Hour

My husband and I recently returned from Branson MO for a 4 night trip. We had great fun! This trip cost roughly $322.00 for four nights. This included all hotels, food, gas and entertainment. 

The first night, we stayed in Iowa City Iowa as we were driving down. When I saw that Kalona Iowa was nearby, we decided to do a little driving and shopping there as Kalona is the largest Amish settlement west of the Mississippi. This was an awesome bonus! 

We ate at Burger King on the value menu for supper which came to $6.84. I used some gift certificates I got last winter on a buy $20.00/get $5.00 free. For the sake of this article, I just included the whole $6.84 in the figures. 

I didn't do as good a job on this trip taking photos of meals and the like, so I will just be giving numbers of what we spent on what. The first night, we stayed in a hotel I found on Priceline for $40.00/night. With taxes and everything, it came to $49.99. This hotel had a great breakfast, so we didn't have to pay for a meal the next morning. I must say that this hotel was not the nicest hotel, and some might say that that is what you get when you bargain shop. I don't agree with that though as you might get a place you are not too happy with and pay full price too!! Anyway, I would not want to stay there again. Most hotels I have gotten on Priceline have been good, but once in a while you can get one that isn't too great. Anyway, we got on our way. 

We drove until late and paid $25.80 for our dinner meal but had enough leftovers that we were able to use it for another meal later on since our hotel in Branson had a refrigerator. We stayed at the Radisson, which was a very nice hotel. We were signed up for a timeshare presentation and the timeshare people put us up in this hotel. The 3 nights at the Radisson for us were a total of $169.00 and then after doing the timeshare presentation, we were given $75.00 in gift cards for Bass Pro Shops, which my husband will use for hunting gear etc so the hotel was basically $94.00 for three nights vs the $267.00 it would have otherwise been. 

I did a search on free things to do in Branson. We went to Table Rock Dam which was a very interesting free thing to do. 

 We also took the free trolley downtown. This was a fun ride and it was also more convenient than driving. (The driving in Branson can be chaotic!!)

We spent time walking downtown and seeing the sights.

The trees were in bloom and it was beautiful!

Before we left, I did some searches on specials. I found this Groupon special for a concert. It was normally $34.50 per person and I got it for $17.00 each. We had a great time!

We went to Wal-Mart and bought some breakfast items and a couple lunch items. We ate breakfast in every morning and ate lunch in one day. One day for lunch, we had a picnic down by the lake.

We did have to sit through a timeshare presentation. We said no, but we did learn more about timeshares and are seriously considering buying one. If we do buy one, however, it will be on the used market. This is something we are researching. In the meantime, next winter we will be taking the free 4 day cruise that came with this package for our 30th wedding anniversary. We will need to pay the taxes etc for the cruise but the rest is supposed to be free. :)

We traveled about 1500 miles for this trip. I figured our gas cost about $63.00 because my Prius gets about 45 MPG this time of year (50 or more in the summer) vs $126.00 for a car that got about 22.5 MPG. 

On our way home, we were privileged to stay with some friends and do a little sightseeing with them. I haven't included that into these figures and we didn't stay in a hotel on the way home so I cut that out of both the lower and higher cost figures so the dollar figures are just for the Branson part of the trip. 

So, we saved about $528.00 dollars on this trip with some forethought and a willingness to sit through a timeshare presentation. The presentation took about 3 hours (they said 2). I spent about an hour in pre-preparation looking for free things to do and coupons etc. plus a little time to go to Wal-Mart. (But eating in actually took less time so I will say 1/2 hour for the Wal-Mart trip.) So, 6 hours for two for the timeshare, 1 hour for two for Wal-mart and 1 hour for me preparing is 8 hours total spent for a total of about $66.00 /hour we were paid for what we saved on this trip!

Happy Savings!!

Buying Used Furniture

 I recently bought this leather sectional. It has five pieces that connect together so the sectional can be changed around a number of different ways.

It also has recliners on both ends. This was originally a $4000.00 set and I recently saw it on a used site for $500.00. I bought it for $450.00!!

Almost all of the furniture in my house is used. I have been buying used furniture since we first got married, almost 30 years ago now. Things have changed in that time and buying used furniture is easier than ever. In the old days, a person had to scan the classified ads and there were no pictures. Now, with the internet, you can see pictures and there is so much at your fingertips!

I like Craigslist and I am also on a local Facebook page for used items which is where I found this sectional. I also shop garage sales in the summertime.

Some pointers are:

1. If you have a item in mind you are looking for, have some ready cash for these types of purchases. Items go fast and they will get snapped up if you have to wait to go to the bank. A lot of people want cash for these types of purchases and won't take a check.

2. When you see an item that interests you, call immediately. Be ready to drop everything and go look. We were packing for a vacation when I saw this sectional and we dropped everything. This isn't easy but it is the way to get the best items.

3. I always try to remember to ask if it is from a non-smoking home. I don't want to smell smoke every time I sit down.

4. I ask how old the item is, if there are rips or tears. I ask for dimensions so I can measure my area and save a trip if need be.

5. When I look at photos, I look at the area surrounding the piece. If I see a lot of trash, dirty socks laying around etc, I am much less likely to call. Chances are, if they didn't care enough to clean up to take a photo, they also didn't care enough to take care of the item you wish to purchase. Exceptions can be made but they are exceptions.

6. Always offer less than what the seller is asking for. I offered $400.00 for this sectional. The lady said no because she said she had 2 more lookers waiting in line after me. I told her she didn't know if they would show up or buy but I would offer her $450.00 right now and she took it! Afterwards, she said I drove a hard bargain but then laughed and said she would have offered $250.00!

7. When I get the item home, I usually clean it as much as possible because it just makes me feel better knowing I cleaned it!

So, like I said, I can't think of a single piece of furniture in my home that was bought new! We have saved a lot of money buying used over the years. People sell for many reasons and not just because their furniture is old and worn out. They might be moving and not want to take the piece because it won't fit into their new place. There are many like new items for sale. One of the best pointers I have is to be patient. It might take months to find exactly what you want. Be flexible and know that saving money equals freedom in the long run.

Happy Savings!

Free Cone at Dairy Queen March 15th!

You can get a free cone at Dairy Queen March 15th! 

Here is a link to Dairy Queen's Ad.

http://www.dairyqueen.com/us-en/Promotions-US/?localechange=1&

Restaurant.com Coupons $4.25 for a $25.00 Certificate

Right now, Restaurant.com has $25.00 coupons for $4.25. These coupon certificates never expire and can be exchanged. A number of years ago, I bought about 20 certificates and my husband and I have been enjoying meals in cities all over the US. If you don't mind following the small print and some other rules, you can have some great meals and meal experiences for very little. We have had a few times where the restaurants were closed or had some other issue, but most times, this has been a winner. Also, their website is very quirky but with persistence you can usually get what you want. 

I don't know how long this deal is going to last. 

www.restaurant.com

Happy Savings!