Extreme Couponing

I am passionate about saving money in the grocery store. I believe that almost everyone can save some money on their monthly grocery bill with proper planning and revised shopping strategies. Many people have asked me over the years if I used coupons to save money. I did use coupons but not very often because places like Costco or the Grocery Outlet don't accept coupons. Oh sure, I used a cereal coupon now and then but I definitely didn't establish my grocery savings upon clipping coupons. That was then.

A few months ago a friend sent me a link to a website entitled The Krazy Coupon Lady  and since then I have slowly ventured into what I call "Extreme Couponing". Compared to folks who write and/or post on this site I am a complete novice, but by my own standards I have taken couponing to a new level. Look at the image I have posted here, it contains 10 grocery items that I purchased on Monday at Albertsons. The regular, non-sale price of these items is a combined $29.80. They were on sale for $18.00 and yet, Anneke paid ZERO to bring them all home. That's right, nothing, nada, zip, zero, free, free, free. The key to this example is that Albertson's regularly offers double coupons. These are coupons, found in the Albertsons weekly or Sunday newspaper flyer/ad, which will double any existing manufacturer coupon up to $1 in value. The paper contained 3 coupons and the store had a huge stack of extras. I made three trips through the check-out line each time using 3 of my own $1/off coupon in combination with the Albertsons based doubler. (3) $1/off coupons + (3) Albertsons doublers = $6/off each set of items x 3 = $18 in free groceries. This is just one example of my recent savings. In other cases during the past month the store has actually PAID me to walk out with certain items because of additional incentives, such as money back when you buy items. Completely crazy and yet it is totally legit. 

This type of couponing and the resulting shopping is definitely not for everyone. It requires paying attention to the Sunday coupons, keeping track of them, and of course reading the weekly grocery ads. However, with the help of web sites like the Krazy Coupon Lady or Discount Queens the research has been done for you. These sites point out where the best deals are and which coupons to use. Often there are links to online coupon sources and even unadvertised deals seem to show up here. By spending a little time browsing you never know what you might find!

I would start out slow if I were you as it can easily be overwhelming. Take a peek at the sites and see if there might be ways to include a few money saving tips and tricks into your grocery shopping. Be sure to let me know how it goes. And if you need further info, don't hesitate to email me.

Let the Savings Begin!

Last month I made my final student loan payment! I am only one month into my new savings plan (as opposed to the former debt repayment plan) but I wanted to report briefly on my progress. First there is the mental freedom which has been profound. Instead of being restricted in my choices by the debt ball & chain, I can think freely about the future. I am in the process of evaluating my work and income and am opening myself to possible changes. Additionally, with the money going into a savings account I can already see how quickly it will add up over the coming months. It gives me encouragement to save as I watch the money grow and can dream about choices in future spending as well.

Choice. How to earn, how to save and how to spend.....financial freedom gives choice. Don't underestimate this power.

My New Year's Resolutions

I have confessed this before, but I LOVE making new year's resolutions! This year is no exception as I look to our financial feedom on the horizon (see previous post). Taking stock of one's current financial situation is always a good idea, and equally important is looking ahead to where you want to be. You don't need to have an 8-hour family summit to determine this, but rather some time to think and focus are critical. Either by yourself or with your spouse, make time for finances. Here are just a few questions to get you started:
- What is your greatest financial challenge?
- What small step could you take this year towards a solution or a change in that area?
- Are you tracking your expenses?
- Do you know how much money takes to run your household annually?
- Where can you reduce your expenses in order to either make ends meet or increase your savings?
- What long term financial goal(s) do you have? Any that excite you and keep you moving forward?

My immediate goals include increasing my retirement contribution as soon as my school debt is paid off in late February. Another goal is to begin saving money like there is no tomorrow. This has been a constant challenge for me and my family as our household expenses are typically very close to our income. We will be able to put the same amount of money into our savings account that we previously used for debt repayment and begin to move forward instead of playing catch up. I have a specific dollar amount in mind for our savings account, and I look forward to meeting and perhaps even exceeding that goal. Finally, I would like to review my expenses for 2009 and tighten the belt where we've let it slide. I am guessing that will mean less meals out, which will be better for both our waistlines and our wallets. Any reduction in expenses is essentially a "raise" for us and will serve to increase the savings account. I look forward to hearing your resolutions/goals for the new year.

Financial Freedom

Financial Freedom, those words are like music to my ears and something I have been longing for since I graduated from grad school in 1996. Financial freedom means different things to different people. It might mean not having any debt, it might mean having only “good debt,” or it might mean having “extra” money each month that can be spent freely without guilt. Whatever your definition, have you been able to achieve it for you and your family?

My family and I have been on a 13-year-long journey to pay off all of our debt, aside from our mortgage. The debt in our well-educated household is comprised of $60,000 worth of student loans resulting in nearly $100,000 of principle + interest payments. The great news here is that persistence does pay off. In March 2010 my family will be free of the debt burden when final payments are made to our friends at the Direct Loan Servicing Center.

I Love Vacation!

Who doesn't love a great vacation?? Whether your idea of time away involves an outdoor adventure or leisurely site-seeing or lounging on the beach, this time is both valuable and necessary to recharge for the demands of daily life. Many of us don't make our vacations a priority for a variety of reasons, often due to cost. I want to share a few of my "secrets" as well as nudge you into considering just where your next vacation might take you. For me Living Large means having an annual vacation, outside of my city of residence, and I am willing to make some sacrifices throughout the rest of the year to make that a reality. In my family's first year of Living Large with Less we managed to save approximately $125/month on our groceries, this resulted in a $1500 savings for the year! We used this money for a trip to Kauai. Would you rather have name-brand groceries or a trip to Hawaii?

Free Babysitting!

The words "Free Babysitting" are strong enough to move almost any parent into action. Personally, I equate free babysitting with gold or some other precious commodity. Whether it is having the time for a date with my husband, a chance to go to the store by myself or simply getting to work, the need for childcare is the common denominator. In the early years of parenting I relied solely upon my parents and in-laws to provide care on an as-needed basis. Usually I tried to limit my calls for help to once/month for the truly necessary outings on the calendar. This worked fine for a few years but I find that as life has become busier (another child, more hours at work, and less time with the husband) that the need for childcare has increased. Where I live the going rate for childcare/babysitting is $13-15/hour for one and upwards of $15-20/hour for two kids. Sure, you can find a junior high student who will most likely charge less. But even at $10/hour, who can afford to stay out all night? Or get in more than one date night per month??

Giving myself a Break

Ok folks, it's confession time on ye ol' blog. As the originator of Living Large with Less I have to say that as the demands on my time have increased, (and this includes adding a child and returning to work) my ability to pursue all LLWL topics has diminished somewhat. The spirit is definitely willing, but the body sometimes craves sleep over processing receipts, balancing checkbooks, and being an efficient & wise shopper. I still love dispensing advice on the latest deals but I am having trouble with the day to day and even the month to month. I just needed to let you know that I am like so many of you, just trying to make it through the day with everyone safe and fed and hopefully keeping my employer satisfied too.

My encouragement to myself is this: Don't give up. Count each small victory as a success and when you have a free moment be sure to set one or two reasonable and attainable goals. My goal is to deal with the growing mountain of receipts, to input those and track them against our budget. This is something I used to pride myself on doing twice/month. Now I am lucky if it happens every other month! My second goal is to make a plan for where our "extra" income will be directed. I was fortunate enough this summer to pick up some additional hours and I don't simply want the extra money to vanish. I would like to be intentional about some savings and debt reduction, as well as a little bit for something fun. It's a new day and we can all move forward with grace and dignity no matter what happened the last few weeks/months etc of unattended finances.