my feelings about credit cards

Well today was kind of a bummer of a mail day. I got a free Martha Stewart Living magazine and the rest was mostly junk- but that's ok we also learned that Kjell is going to win the Publisher's ClearingHouse 100 million dollar prize just like everyone else in town. So we will be counting on that money coming in soon. ;) The biggest bummer was today was the day that I got TWO credit card bills. We only have two credit cards that we use so to get them both on the same day... not so fun.

So as a money saver- I just thought I'd throw out there how I view credit cards. Use them if you can and only if you know how. I know a lot of people who can not use them who if they see a 299 dollar chair that is screaming their name if they were a CC user they would buy it, but if they had cash they wouldn't even think twice. Those kind of people don't need credit cards and that is fine they are not for everyone. I like credit cards because they pay me. I only use a card that has no annual fees, and ones that "pay me back" in cash. Right now we have a discover card and a chase freedom card. I like it when they do the 5% back- which both of these companies do (on certain items changes every few months. ) The discover card only makes you .25% up to a certain amount if it's not their 5% back promotion so that is the only time we use it. Chase is 1% back on everything and 5% back on certain items. Here is the most important part of Credit card usage. YOU HAVE TO PAY THE WHOLE PAYMENT DUE EACH MONTH. I can not say that any louder. :) Take for example my newest bill if I pay in full this month I'm done paying if I pay the minimum I will have it payed off in.... 17 years. Never pay the minimum!!! That is probably enough about CC if you have any more questions feel free to ask.

what to do what to do

Ok so when we bought our house Kjell and I got into more debt than ever before. Some people would say "aw it's a house payment debt is good" but sorry to me I hate any kind of debt so the goal in our family is to pay off a 30 year loan in 7. (we better since our adjustable rates kick in in seven years and can raise our rate by 2% a year. I love our loan company ING because when I called in they said here is the amount to pay off the house in 30 years. (of course they are going to give that to me) and then they said- and here is the amount to get it paid off in seven.. I was surprised they gave it to me without me asking. They said well we are in the business of giving loans not owning homes so we want to help you as much as we can. OK long story short we started out with a 60K loan and wanted to do something special every time we got 10K paid off. Because we truly sacrifice in other ways- hardly ever eating out, limited shopping, garage sale for clothes etc. So Next month we will hit our first 10K off and I was wanting help finding a way to celebrate for our family. I had thought eating out at a nicer restaurant with the family but I just didn't feel that was "special" enough. So I wanted some ideas. Kjell thought maybe we should start with an eating out meal and then progress a bit more each time we hit another 10K however I have no ideas of what to do. I know some people can't post to the blog so feel free to post on facebook! Thanks! Oh yeah we know what we are doing when we get it all paid off. going on a big family vacation because... well we never have unless it was with our parents minus a trip we got to take when we went to CA for a wedding a few years back but we had major help paying for our airline tickets.

am I an extreme couponer

I was asked am I an extreme couponer and my answer would have to be no I am not. The main reason for this is that I live in such a small town that does not even double coupons (yet! I'm still working on my courage to go talk to the manager to get a double day going) and we have basically three very limited places to buy groceries at. Now would I be an extreme couponer if say I lived in Independence MO like we did when we first got married. I would look over three sales papers and figure out which places have the best deals (with coupons and sales) and then pick up the rest of what we needed at Aldi. I do not have that luxury any longer and am only able to make it to Dodge or Liberal about once every two months and so I can only REALLY coupon shop then. Now do I stock up on items when there is a good sale BY GOLLY YES!!! My biggest things I stock up on are cereal (anything at or under $1.50 a box is a great price) I also stock up when diapers are on sale. (if you are a coupon shopper, and I think I have said this before you want to Almost always buy the smallest package to get the most out of your coupon. ) When I can get diapers on sale at 8.99 is when I usually buy them. But do I go crazy, no and since that stupid TV show came out I can't ever get a tube of toothpaste anymore.

I think you should buy what you need and know what you can use. When they have toothpaste at dillons I want to go in with my TWO 50 cent coupons and get my 88 cent toothpaste for FREE because dillons doubles but anymore I go in and all the toothpaste is GONE because somewhere someone needs 30 tubes of toothpaste and that gives them a rush. Now I know some people donate these to homeless shelters and that is a GREAT idea but seeing that show on tv where it looks like people have their own little stores that bothers me. Maybe it shouldn't but I see it more as hoarding than actually saving. If I have that many items I am sure I can find someone who could use them more than me having 30 enter item here sitting on a shelf.

How does it affect the economy- well companies like it because you are buying their product with your coupon. Stores don't mind doubling because they hope you will buy other items if they can pull you in.

Some of you who want to start couponing may ask how do I get coupons- best answer if you know someone who gets the Sunday paper just ask if they use their coupons- we have never bought a Sunday paper but we have family or friends who are willing to save them for us every week. Get one or two of these people and you are pretty well set. Another GREAT place to go is to the recycling center and look through sunday papers. Somedays you will find some someday maybe not but it's worth a shot.

survey site

Well in my mailbox today I only got free return address labels. I was excited to get some cute ones from St. Jude's hospital.

One of the survey sites I use a lot has openings right now. It is usually closed but they are looking for new members. I have been with them a long time (long enough I don't remember my user name so I can't see my history for how much money I've made ) Well since i can't log in the only thing I can tell you is this year I know I have made $10 not a whole lot of money but they also aren't pushy only getting maybe 1 or 2 surveys a week, I know in the past i have gotten to try a lot of products for them. boy this one just sounds fun doesn't it.... sorry for some reason I can't find my log in stuff... grrr. anyway it really is good lol here it is.

https://www.globalopinionpanels.com/landing5?lang=en_US&sourceid=1135&cid=3661

Also another blogger I follow that I won a prize from this week so I figured it was time to give a shout out is: www.mommieswithcents.com I try to enter all her giveaways and have won.... 4 I think in the last year. This time i won a velco bulletin board. I've won a book, a whole bunch of kids lip gloss and makeup kits, a book, and some toiletries. I've never won the products I really wanted to win but it's still fun to win.

Fun mailbox monday- first giveaway!!!

My mail was full of good stuff today! I was excited to get some freebies. I got a 6oz bag of Purina Beneful dog food from Walmart- we don't have a dog but the kids love taking dog food to Topeka and feeding Grandpa and Grandma's dogs when we go!

I got my Santa card for Kiah today in the mail. I posted this freebie on my facebook wall, not sure if it is still available. I LOVE tinyprints and once again they didn't let me down. Still trying to figure out when Kiah should get this I was thinking maybe the Sunday after Thanksgiving.. (if I don't lose it before then!)

Also got a Woman's Day magazine in the mail somehow I have a free subscription until April 2013! Nice

I got a coupon for a free can of cat food which I need since a cat has adopted us to be it's feeding family. I used to have like five bags of samples for cats but he's ate all of those so I may actually have to break down and buy my own bag.

I also got 2 $5.00 coupons for Enfagrow toddler formula. I will try selling these on ebay never have tried selling the toddler kind I'll get back to you on how well I do. I always start them at a penny and then have shipping at 44 cents to cover my stamp only once has something gone for the penny.

OK NOW for the giveaway. I'm gonna go with five winners and each person can have UP TO 3 coupons. Often companies send me a great value coupon and then several a bit lower value coupons to pass out and I've been slacking so here is the giveaway. Open for 24 hours, I will just take the responses as I get them- if I get any... we shall see. Here are your choices

I have FIVE 50 cents off one package of Glad OdorShield with Febreze Freshness trash bags, vocalpoint sent me a sample bag I never thought I'd say a trash bag smell great! but they do

just remember if you use these at Dillons they double so it would really be like a dollar off. got them from vocal point in a cute little trash can container

I have TWO 55 cents off One 64 oz bottle or One 8 pack of 6.75 oz juice boxes of any flavor Mott's for Tots. Also vocal point the kids got a juice box in the mail. They thought that was pretty good, they have 40% less sugar and I could tell but the kids both loved it! May have been cuz it was free and in the mail?? also from vocal point

Ok I have THREE $1.00 off any Fresh Express Bagged Salad also from vocal point. I got this with a free bag clipper and a free coupon for me.

Lastly since I don't have a dog my dog food came with three coupons they are all different so let me know if you want 1, 2 or # 3

#1 Buy one bag purina beneful dog food any size get one 10 oz bag free

#2 Save $2.00 on any one bag of Purina Beneful Dog food (just a tip when you have coupons buy the smallest size you will get more bang for your coupon!!)

#3 Save $1.50 on any package of Purina Beneful Snackin Slices dog snacks. any size

there ya have it. I will contact winners and then ask for you mailing address.

Hope and the ultimate freebie

This update is a bit different than the ones I have written in the last week, but one I feel I need to write. Yesterday an old friend of mine decided to take his own life and it has hit me very hard because of some of the conversations I was able to have with him at least ten years ago. He was looking for hope all those years back and I just feel he was still looking for hope until yesterday when he decided he didn't have anymore. It makes my heart hurt, I hurt for his family, I hurt for his kids, and I hurt for him in those final moments. I just can't imagine having no hope or feeling so very very alone. Unable to sleep last night I thought a lot about my hope and where it comes from so this morning I felt I had to read one of my favorite passages in the Bible Psalms 139:1-18

"O Lord, you have examined my heart and know everything about me.

You know when I sit down or stand up, you know my every thought when far away.

You chart the path ahead of me and tell me where to stop and rest. Every moment you know where I am.

You know what I am going to say even before I say it, Lord.

You both precede and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to know!

I can never escape from your spirit! I can never get away from your presence!

If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the place of the dead, you are there.

If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans,

even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me.

I could ask the darkness to hide me and the light around me to become night-

but even in darkness I cannot hide from you. To you the night shines as bright as day. Darkness and light are both alike to you.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.

Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous- and how well I know it.

You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.

You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

How precious are your thoughts about me, O God! They are innumerable!

I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand, And when I wake up in the morning you are still with me."

And this is when I understood why I am able to have hope- why I don't feel alone. I've been given the ultimate freebie ever a relationship with Jesus Christ. This wasn't something I deserved, it doesn't make me better than anyone, it shows that I am a SINNER (All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God Romans 3:23) But the same God who loved me in these verses in Psalms is the same God that sent His son to earth to die on a cross for all the ugly things I have done. (For God so loved the world, that He gave his one and only son that whoever believes in Him will not parish but have everlasting life. John 3 16) All I had to do was "sign up" so to speak in my freebies terminology - admit my sin and admit my need for a savior without Christ I am nothing. (For by grace you are saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is a gift from God not of works so that no one can boast Eph 2:8-9) . The Christian life isn't easy it's hard, and it doesn't make you rich, or healthy. But when you are poor you can see God's hand and when you are sick you can see God's hand and when you are alone.....and when you feel alone...... You know that God is watching over you, God is walking with you, He's been there with you since you were in your momma's tummy how amazing is that. And He CARES about us, no matter how messed up we are. But He's not a God who is going to push and shove His way in, nope He is polite and stands and the door of your heart and knocks. He gives me hope in the hard time, and He gives me hope of a future. And no matter how many good freebies come in the mail nothing can beat that. I just wish that my friend would have seen this, I pray that God's peace will be on his family and his kids as they deal with this loss.

score samples if you are pregnant or have a new baby

Well today my sample was free shampoo (told you I'll never have to buy it again!) It was Garnier Fructis Anti-Dandruff shampoo, the little pack has about 2-3 usages in it. Anyways as I was walking to get my mail a friend stopped me because she had gotten a can of formula in the mail today and that is what got me thinking about my topic for today. Freebies for new moms
Here is a website to check out https://www.babiesonline.com/offers/ skim through them but the highlights at least to me are the two free magazine subscriptions. I LOOOOVE these two magazines they are short and informative exactly what a mom needs. I am now trying to clip out any breast-feeding articles any of them have but since Karis is one I no longer get them! But they usually had some very good articles plus some coupons sometimes. The other two that I would sign up for are the Pampers and Huggies sites. They want you to buy their product so they will send some high value coupons. The gerber one is good too. They send you formula "checks" (coupons) which I have sold on ebay before and probably made about 40bucks doing that this last year. And if you think you are going to formula feed you can check the enfamil one- or check it anyways you get a cute bag. I always saved all the formula I got and put it in a spot in case I died. I know that sounds silly but I wanted to make sure if I passed away and my breast-feeding infant was left with just their daddy he would be able to find at least a months worth of formula in the house.