Coupon Starter Kit

So.. I've started to coupon! I know, I'm kinda late of the craze, but we're just now getting back out into the "real world" so we are depending on me to be frugal with our money. There are tons of great sites and blogs that I've read lately to help me start out.

Here's Fake It Frugal and that's pretty nice - it shows all these "faked" items for cheaper! I just saw fake Windex...!

Coupon Mom has a database that allows you to search for your zip code and then the store you shop at and it hooks you up with the sales that go with the coupons in certain inserts you get in the mail. Simplifying your work. - I use this now because I'm just starting out, but I'm sure I'll continue it!

This website is helpful, Coupon Lingo can be confusing, but with this you can figure it out!

There are SOOO many I can share - I have a lot ;) - Here is the last one, for now. Kansas City Mamas have tricks of the trade and they also share the hot coupons available.

So the purpose of this post is to share my starter kit for couponing!

This is what I started with. I bought a clear box with a lid, a 1 in. binder, sleeve protectors, & tab dividers. All at Walmart. I would have waited until school started because most everything you will need will be on sale up to 75% off within a month of school starting, but I needed it sooner.

My wonderful husband collects sports memorabilia and these are sport card holders we already had so I didn't buy any new. You can get different or more Pocket Pages there. <-- that website also offers binders and starter kits you can buy from them instead of making your own!

I put the sleeve protectors in the front - I'll put print outs here. Like the downloadable ones from Money Saving Mom. They have shopping lists & menu planning. Also, most anywhere online they have e-books and printable coupon 101 pages that you can add in here so you'll have it with you. You can also stash the ads of the stores you shop in so you'll have that too.

Then I spaced out the tab dividers throughout the binder. You can section it into coupon categories like - "baby, food, snack, laundry..." 

 Wonder what the box is for? I put my coupon inserts in there and keep them for awhile since couponmom.com has the database and it will tell you the date the insert is in and which one so you can maximize your savings!

I mark the date with a sharpie in the corner so I know what date this insert came out on. (I got all these tips from couponmom.com & other great websites I shared up there ^).

I was given some extra coupons and I wasn't sure which date these inserts were from... so I clipped out what I think our family will use and put into my coupon pocket pages. If I won't use them I can always give them away.

I haven't mastered this, yet and I'm sure I'll come up with things that work better for us later. This is just a starter kit I've put together and wanted to share! Maybe you can coupon too! You're always welcome to share your great ideas with me. Go make your coupon binder & start saving money!

Oh My!

It's been so long since I posted. Well, It's mostly my fault. I've gotten distracted and started my summer class so I ignored this! =( Bummer. But I'm back. Really.

It's been a little over a year and a half since we've been married and lived off our seemingly small income. I look back now and see that we were just bad with money. We had credit cards that we would have been paying off for the rest of our lives if Grant didn't lose his job. It's amazing how the one thing you would think would ruin us - saved us.

A year ago this month, August 6th actually, will be 1 year since Grant said bye-bye to his first job. I remember it so well. It was a friday & I was 7 months pregnant washing the HUGE piles of clothes at my grandma's house because we did own a washer & dryer & I was NOT going to the basement of our our apartment to wash. Grant called me earlier than usual. He wasn't supposed to be out of work for at least 2 more hours. I was excited because I was washing Aubrey's clothes we got from the baby shower so we could get everything ready for her. It seems like a month long nightmare now... Grant called angry and I was confused. He said he got fired & I actually thought he was kidding. Nope. Not kidding Sam. I told him that's okay, sweetie, we don't need that job. We'll find a way through this.

Well, before this.. 12 hours before, around 2 am, I started my unpaid maternity leave because I was unable to preform the job due to pregnancy related illness. Get the picture? We had no income. Bills to pay & a baby on the way. My 7 month pregnant hormones went wild. I laid first on the floor and cried (sounds dramatic, but I was already sitting on the floor folding clothes), then moved to my grandma's bed. I didn't want Grant to see how scared I was. My grandma kept saying I need to calm down or I'm going to go into labor. Pshhh. I didn't & when I was 9 months pregnant & 1 day - I wish I had gone into labor. =)

We decided that since we needed 1 stable job to pay all our bills & we didn't have that so we broke our lease with the apartment September 1st & moved into the back room at my grandparents. I didn't go into labor at all through the whole crazy period. Luckily - since we weren't ready for her. Most of our wedding gifts we didn't get to use, yet are packed away in a shed my grandparents bought for everything so we could move in. We have our dressers, bed, Aubrey's crib, a TV and furniture so we can feel like it's just a studio apartment.

Let me tell you. It's not ideal, but I like it. I like being this close to  my grandparents and did I tell you my mom & dad live right next door? Yep. My little brother moved back from his junior college this summer so we had everyone together! I got the much needed help with having a new baby & then I started school in January & had babysitters. I have sitters anytime I need or want. I'm spoiled, really.

So after 1 year of living with my grandparents we've finally got on our feet and are moving out. The end of August actually.. which will almost be exactly a year from when we moved in. I will miss this like crazy, but we have to do what we have to do. Our society isn't meant for multiple generations to live together anymore. This will be good for my husband and me! I hate to take away Aubrey from such loving family, but she will see them everyday - they still are my babysitters even if we live in another town, not too far, but farther than I expected. 

The Lord knows what we need & will always provide for what He sees fit. I have come to the conclusion this past year is that He will provide. No matter how deep you are drowning in something, debt, hate, sickness... He will never leave you nor forsake you [Deuteronomy 31:8].