Since I stared blogging again, I've been reading a lot of blogs written by stay at home moms. I am also completely convinced that all bloggers fall under this category, with me as the exception. This is only because I blog while I'm at "work" and they pay me to do so....they just don't know it. A lot of the blogs I read are about surviving on a single income and making the most of the money they do have. I have started to take interest in this subject even thought we are not limited to a single income, but one day I may consider it. You see I like to work, use my brain, talk to people and have a productive adult life outside the home. I never pictured myself as the Stay-At-Home type. I mean I paid/still paying a lot of money for a college education and to think that it's all wasted money kind of bothers me.... but that's a personal opinion.
I decided to start changing the way I do things. Small changes of course. Some of these things actually make no sense to me right now but I hope in the long run I can see a difference with positive results. A few of my first resolves are listed below with detailed steps in how I plan to achieve them.
- Clipping Coupons - TPG does 100% of our grocery shopping and 99% of our cooking, and we eat at home A LOT! He actually despises taking GG & I to the grocery store with him because our bill almost doubles and we buy a lot of things that go unused or simply wasted. Today I subscribed to our local paper in order to get the Sunday advertisements and as long as I save $25 in the next 13 weeks, it was a pretty good idea. I plan to clip coupons for the items we already shop for at the local stores we already shop at. I know TPG doesn't want to be bothered with the task of coupons at the grocery so I'm planning on helping him by creating my famous "list" before going and sticking to it while we're there. I think we can really save a lot a money in trying something new like this.
- Free Grabber - I found this website on another blog and it instantly "grabbed" my attention. What a great way to get coupons and try new products for free. I've already signed up to get many free samples and you get to pick only the ones you're really interested in. I'll keep you posted on how this goes but you really should check it out for yourself.
- Save My Money - The only reason I truly have to work full time is because......I can't believe I'm actually saying it...... OUT LOUD ....... but I addicted to spend money. TPG and I still operate on separate bank accounts. Mostly because of this reason and how I feel that as long as I work that I should be in charge of my own finances. Now don't get me wrong, we do have several joint accounts that we both contribute funds that pay our household expenses. I used to call this "fun money" but I recently renamed it "the pot we both piss in". TPG is amazing with his his money and for that I am so thankful! It's just something I don't even have to worry about and it's a good feeling. That's how we compliment each other and never fight over money. He covers a large part of household expenses and I cover mine & GG's expenses. That kid cost me a fortune for the record. I know I could do better at pissing more into my personal pot and I'm challenging myself to do this.
- Going Green...or at least "Green'ish" - Going Green is such a commitment! I want to start doing a few easy things like recycling. We have a lot soda cans because.....well come on....... I am married to The Pepsi Guy and all, so disposing of my cans properly while making a nickel or two sounds like a win-win for everyone. I also think recycling the newspaper I just subscribed to would be a good idea. I can already hear him bitching about the paper laying all over the house after I clip the coupons & GG gets a hold of it!
1 comment:
haven't you been a busy little blogger?! I'm not the best person for 'going green' tips...something i'm still working on myself, but the saving $$ part, possibly. I can give you some advice since you are planning another baby (how exciting btw!) If you don't already have it, get AFLAC insurance!! A friend told me about it, & it sounds too good to be true, but believe me it isn't. We picked it up after we realized we were preggers. It is two personal policies on myself...premium was roughly $130/mo. But when the baby was born automatically paid out approx $6000, & it also covers 4 of your copays/yr at $25 each. and tax-free mind you! Then you can cancel a couple months after collecting the payout. Well, our situation obviously was different since Ty decided to make his entrance early, but because of my 'condition' we not only recieved the $6000, but $200/day for the first so many days he was hospitalized, & then $300/day for every day after that. He was in the hospital for 133 days, you do the math, we ended up with a huge payout. It was definitely the best thing we could have done. A good piece of mind in the midst of our nicu agony. and thanks to my 'cheap, penny-pinching hubby' we haven't touched any of it - socked it away into a money market acct where it happily makes more $$ for us every month. With me staying home, it's reassuring to know it's there in case something happened with scott's job & we needed it. So I know aflac has changed some rules since then. first rule, you can't be preggers when you start the policy, so just to be safe you should enroll & wait 30 days to conceive. also, the payout has gone down to about $3000. But, the way I look at it, you still come out ahead after paying 9-10 months premiums & if god forbid you had any complications, you would be covered. Btw, Loren also had aflac when the girls were born!
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