Saturday, March 31, 2012

2012 Goals: March Monthly Update

At the start of the new year, I listed my personal & financial goals HERE. I have printed and posted these in my closet so I look at them EVERY DAY! It helps me keep motivated and on track. At the end of every month, I will be posting an update.  Here are my March results:

Personal: (a lot of these are continuous)
* Lose 30 lbs - I have lost 12 pounds since 1/1/12.  Slow and steady wins the race, right?
* Cut coke from Diet - No drop of coke since 1/1/12.
* Eat more fish - I’ve been eating tuna for lunch a few times a week.
* Spend more time reading and relaxing - I have been taking time out of my evening to lounge on the couch with my blanket, a cup of hot, green tea and a book.  In January I read Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow.  In February, I read 168: You Have More Time Than You Think by Laura Vanderkam.  In March, I read The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.  I read this book in my leadership class in college, so I thought I might revisit it.  I'm all about self-improvement.
* Load dishes in dishwasher as we dirty them - Honestly, we have slacked off this month, but not to the point where dishes are piled up.  I plan to get back on track in April.
* Research home flipping and put together business model - I still have my outline from February, but have done nothing more in March.
* Earn extra $600-$1,000 by any means possible - In March, we earned an extra $141.50 from our garage sale.  Grand total earned since January 1st: $561.75.  I'm hopeful we will meet our $600-$1,000 goal for the year.

Financial:
* Save & Pay Cash for Spring Break Trip - We stayed in DFW for spring break this year.  We did go fishing one day, but all we paid for were drinks and snacks, plus 2 fishing licenses - less than $100.  Oh, and our fresh fish tasted SO GOOD!
* Pay off school loans - DONE in February!
* 3 months of expenses saved in Emergency Fund
* Start IRA, Contribute monthly
* Start investing ($150/month) - We are going to cut this so we can concentrate on saving for the other things...like a family :)
* Save & Pay Cash for Summer Vacation - We purchased our 5 yr anniversary vacation this month.  We put it on the credit card BUT we do have the available cash to pay it off next month.  We used our credit card because we got 5% cash back!  If we already have the cash to pay it off WHY NOT use our card?
* Save & Pay Cash for New Car - see explanation HERE
* Walk Dusty Bottoms (our dog) more - We haven't been walking him as much this month...poor puppy.
**NEW** Pay cash for Brian's Master's Degree - Brian will start his master's program in June.  We plan to pay cash for each class for the next 18 months.

With our $800 worth of repairs needed in February, we had to replenish our Emergency Fund in March, meaning we weren't able to save as much as we wanted to.  BUT - we look on the bright side...we have no debt and are actually saving for things!

Sacrifice today for a better tomorrow!

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Thursday, March 29, 2012

Aldi Deals 3/28 - 4/3

I love shopping at Aldi because they have the lowest produce prices around. Here are this week's specials:

Strawberries - $1.29 per 1 lb. package
California Navel Oranges - $1.29 per 4 lb. bag
Cantaloupe - $.69 each
Garden Salad - $.49 each
Russet Potatoes - $1.69 per 10 lb. bag
Sweet Potatoes - $.99 per 3 lb. bag
Other Great Deals:
Hyacinths, Tulips, Lillies 6" - $3.99
Large Eggs - $.89
Cream Cheese - $.99
Spiral Sliced Half Ham - $1.69 per lb.

Check out more deals HERE.  And don't forget - you can always price match at Wal-Mart!!

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Monday, March 19, 2012

Studio Movie Grill: FREE Movie Tickets

Studio Movie Grill is yet again giving away 2 FREE tickets to the the first 10 people every hour from now until May 2, 2012. Go "Like" their Facebook Page and click on "Win FREE Passes" to get yours! Who doesn't like a FREE date night?

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Friday, March 16, 2012

Half Priced Books: Up to 50% off

HPB has issued several great coupons. Their prices are already low, but use these coupons to lower your out of pocket expense even more!

3/19-20: 40% off
3/21-22: 30% off
3/23-24: 20% off
3/25: 50% off

Go HERE to print these coupons!

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FREE Science Diet Dog or Cat Food

There is a new rebate offer for a FREE bag of pet food. Purchase a 5 lb bag of Hill's Science Diet Light Pet Food from now thru 4/30/12, and get your purchase price back!

Go HERE to download the rebate form.

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Sunday, March 11, 2012

Tom Thumb: FREE Cereal & Milk (say it isn't so!!!)


Here is how you can get 10 boxes of FREE cereal and FREE milk!

Through Tuesday night (3/13), Tom Thumb has their Kellogg's Corn Flakes (12 oz) and Raisin Bran (20 oz) on sale for $1.99 when you use the coupon printed in the ad. Use the $4.00 off 4 boxes printable coupon HERE. THEN - when you buy 4 boxes of cereal in one transaction, you will get a catalina coupon for a FREE gallon of milk.  There is a $10 rebate HERE when you submit 10 UPC labels.  In order to get enough labels for the rebate AND the FREE milk coupon at each transaction, I had to buy in multiples of 4, scoring me 12 boxes.
This is what I did this morning:

Buy 4 boxes @ $1.99 with in ad coupon
Pay $3.96 OOP
Get a FREE milk coupon

**I did this same transaction 2 more times to get 12 boxes and 3 milk coupons.  We used 1 coupon today, and have 2 more for later.**

Then I will submit a mail in rebate for $10.00 back when you mail in 10 UPC labels.

I paid $11.88 for 12 boxes of cereal and 3 coupons for a FREE gallon of milk. Minus the $10 rebate I will get back = $1.88 total.  Like I said, you don't HAVE to get 12 boxes.  You only need 10 UPC labels for the rebate, but we thought the 12 boxes and 3 gallons was a better deal for us!


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Thursday, March 8, 2012

Redbox: FREE Rental Today (3/8) ONLY

Redbox has reached 2 billion rentals!  As a thank you, you can enter code "THANKS2U" to get a FREE rental, today (3/8) only.

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