Old Navy St. Paddy's 17% Sale

Luck of the Irish today only, in store and online.  If you are shopping online please use the word LUCKY when you check out.  To redeem instore - show this OLD Navy 17%  to the cashier.

Saving Makes Me Smile

My 'on sale' boots bought me this 1.94L Soap for FREE!

Earlier in the week, I received my Canadian Tire Scratch Card.  You know the one, where when you scratch and win up to $5000?  Well, of course I planned for it to be the scratch-and-win $5.00 card that most of us will get and looked for the deals.   I found a 1.94L Soft Soap Hand Soap Refill on sale for $4.51 regular $15.81.  Plus, I found my Rubber Boots (seen above) on sale for $23.72 regular $33.89.  Less my $5.00 Scratch Card - total savings were $26.47.  I paid $23.23 total! In other words - I paid sale price for the boots and got the hand soap free.  Savings of 53% overall.  Plus we earned a little Canadian Tire Money which we save towards Christmas Gifts. 

 

Okay..now...

 

On to Zellers.  I waited until the bitter end of this chain to get a few deals for our summer trailer. It was worth it.  Along with some much needed socks and brita filters, we purchased all our bedding and a storage unit for 60% off.   On our total bill we saved $95.88 ... but wait we only spent $72.65.  WE SAVED MORE THAN WE SPENT - It would have cost us $168.53 but we saved almost 60%.

 

Today we (hubby and daughter excitedly in on the deals) saved - $122.35. 

 

P.S. I really love my boots.

 

 

 

 

Kelloggs PB Cheerios - Truly Disappointed

I was truly disappointed today.  This coupon came out in February for a free box of Peanut Cheerios when you buy one of the Banana Nut, Apple Cinnamon or Chocolate Cheerios.  I went to 5 grocery stores (a true waste of gas money) and found that 3 had displays of Cheerios (BN, AC and Choco) but no Peanut Butter.  The other 2 didn't even have the Banana Nut or Chocolate.   My question - did Kelloggs know that this item was not stocked in many stores.  I know, I know - it's just a coupon and a box of cereal.  These things frustrate me though.

 I'd love to know if/where you were able to find  these this weekend on the shelves. 

 

Guess I will settle for the plain ones.... or a waffle.                 

                

 

 

30+1 Ways to Save a Buck or Two : Utilities

Ah, March Break.  I am a little excited to go out and explore with the daughter but also afraid of the holiday crowds and manic children.  Tomorrow, we will hit up the art museum and deal-hunt in the big city.  I can feel the end of winter trying to shake itself off and it teased us the other morning with the bright blue sky and clear sunshine.  However, we are back to the grey and my mood took a big hit with the palate change.  I found myself discouraged with everything.  I had to reframe and reconnect to what is important and I wanted to share that : I'm not in this blogger/Facebook couponing world to score friends or follower rather I find this sort of journaling and connecting a great way to track my journey of saving and to continue to convince myself of its benefits.  Hopefully along the way I may encourage someone else too.

 

So, past all the whino-babbling, Money Monday's topic is saving money on your Utility Bills

 

There are several advantages to lowering your Utility usage:

 

               1) You save money

               2) You conserve energy

               3) You help the planet

               4) You WILL feel good about yourself

 

Keep track of how many of the following you currently do.  On the sidebar, when you are done reading, you can answer the poll as to how many you are implementing at present. 

Ways to Save a Buck or Two: Utilities

1. Install a programmable thermostat.
2. Insulate your attic, hot water tank and hot water pipes.
3. Don't turn on the heat/air conditioning until you absolutely need too.
4. Use white curtains/blinds to reflect heat away from you home in the summer.
5. Use a de-humidifier to reduce moisture in your home making it feel cooler.
6. Use ceiling fans, floor fans and space heaters.
7. Close vents in rooms you are not using.
8. Open windows for fresh air and cool breezes.
9. Caulk around doors, windows, baseboards and use weather stripping where necessary.
10. Install storm doors and windows.
11. Turn off the lights in rooms you are no longer using.
12. Install CFL light bulbs.
13. Install energy-efficient appliances: freezers, stove, refridgerator, dishwasher, dryer, washer.
14. Unplug appliances not in use.
15. Install low-flow toilets and low-flow shower heads.
16. Don’t leave the water running while brushing your teeth or washing dishes.
17. Take 5 minute showers.
18.  Use your washing machine, dryer and dishwasher at non-peak hours (Ontario Hydro)
19.  Always use cold water when you run the washing machine.
20.  Only run full loads (washer/dryer/dishwasher)
21.  Clean out the lint trap in your dryer.
22.  Line-dry your clothing.
23. Wear clothing twice before washing, unless they are stained or very dirty.
24. Wash hoodies, sweaters, bedsheets and towels once a month unless they are very dirty.
25.  Fill empty spots in your fridge and freezer with jugs of water.  This saves on operating costs.
26.  Clean refrigerator coils a few times per year.
27.  Air dry your dishes.
28.  Use a slow cooker or toaster oven.
29.  Cook in batches.  Only use the oven once per day or less.
29. Turn the oven off during the last few minutes of cooking - residual heat will finish the job.
30.  In the winter, when finished cooking, leave the oven door cracked to heat the house (DO NOT do this if you have small children.
31. Use power strips and or timers for plugs, use timers for sprinklers, outdoor/Christmas lights.

Remember, learning to do these things is a process.  I usually try to practice a new idea (say number 24) for a month or two before I try to tackle another one.

Do you have more ideas about saving on Utilities?  Please comment below, enter your # in the sidebar Poll and happy savings!

The Art of Free Cycling

Free cycling is when a person passes an unwanted item on to another person for free. Rather than disposing of the item in the trash and having the item find its way into the garbage dump the practice of free cycling frees up space in landfills and cuts down on the need to manufacture new goods.  It is eco-friendly, economical, fun and a good use/re-use of resources.

 

Groups are arranged locally as it is easiest to trade/exchange and travel locally.  You can find these groups using Facebook, the Free cycle network, freecycle.org/.  Each group has its own rules that are for the benefit of the group.  Remember you are not just there to find stuff and resell it.  SO NOT COOL.  Etiquette is to offer items as well as seek them.

WANTED:  searching for an item.

FOUND: telling others you found what you were looking for

OFFER: letting the group know you have an item(s) to give away

TAKEN: informs the group that you have successfully passed the item on to its new life.

What can be free cycled or found on a free cycle network.

Any working appliance can find homes in shelters, low income households etch. Dumping an item when there others struggling to afford that same item is fundamentally wrong.  Computers are highly sought after ~ many children can use one to do their homework on.

Furniture.  From baby needs to adult furniture, these things move fast.  Many people are looking for items to creatively re-construct or cheaply makeover.  Mattresses are heavily sought after in low-income situations.  We even free-cycled a broken wooden bed frame and the family that came for it were excited to rescue, renovate and use it.

Children's play equipment such as swing sets and trampolines to baby rattles are also popular. Please check all aspects of safety on the product before offering as a free cycle item or  receiving as a free cycle item.   Some cribs, car seats and high chairs simply are not allowed to trade hands anymore.  The safety of a child is paramount. 

Collectables, clothing, compost, flowers, hardware, leftover housing renovation products, fish tanks, old carpet, pools, books and on and on and on....can be reused, repurposed and rehomed.

 

Here is our list of items we've acquired from Freecycle:

 

Garden Plants                             

16x10 decking                                 

1986-2008 Complete set of National Geographics

Roof for our chicken house

fencing

Futon Frame

 

Items I've rehomed

Garden plants

table saw (not working for parts)

Fish Tanks

Broken Bed Frame

Bedding

 

Items that cannot be free cycled include:  animals, tobacco, alcohol, guns, ammunition, knives and in other words anything illicit.

So try it.  I’m pretty sure you will like it.  The benefits will leave a smile on many faces.

 

 

Budget

I hate this word and frankly we fail at keeping to one.  We’ve racked up debt and both hubby and I lean towards impulse spending.  I’ve watched my own parents go bankrupt.  I recognized too that there are things I really want to be part of my life and future– and chasing the almighty dollar was not one of them. 

Past tense : We were unhappy and needed to take our financial lives by the reins.

The funny thing – wait for it – I am a bookkeeper for a local non-profit.  I track their money, reconcile their accounts, track the budget and suggest areas of improvement. I hear you laughing.     A debt-addled individual bookkeeping when she doesn’t even keep her own books.

Last April, I changed this.  I purchased (online) the same software I use at work and began to track our spending.  At first we didn’t change any of our habits but we looked at areas that we felt we spent too much.  It turned out that we found three areas that our money was ‘leaking’.

1.      Fast Food  (over $1800 per year? Chips, Pop, Convenience Stores, Take Out)

2.      Gym Membership ($700 a year and we were not getting there more than once a week)

3.      Vehicle Expenses (Specifically Insurance and Fuel).

These are the area’s we budgeted first and began to practice changing habits.  Fast food is now a travel-only treat.  Our Gym-Membership was cancelled except for our daughter – whose membership can be entered as a tax-credit on our federal forms.  And our vehicle expenses: 1) we shopped around for insurance rates and found one that saved us $1400 a year and 2) I decided that 3 days a week, May 1 – October 1^st,  I will be biking to work (That is 63 days of biking 9kms or 567km saved in gas.  It also makes up for the cancelling of a gym membership).

Budgeting is a learning curve.  We are still struggling in some areas but we continue to WATCH our finances and improve the ‘leaks’.

Here is a link to a great resource if you are interested in starting a budget.  Ten steps - just ten steps:  Canadian Budget Binder

 

 

Purging Your Life

 

 

I remember in university having one essay returned at least four times with the same failing mark and 'edit further' written in red pen.  I was careless with frivolous words so that many times my ideas became lost in fluff.  I learned to editing myself brutally (no sarcastic comments about why I don’t do that with my blog posts). I learned that if you cut out everything that’s not necessary you’ve got a more meaningful story.

 

I highly recommend editing your life.

 

Today’s edit: The rooms in your house, one at a time.

Are you surrounded by clutter in every room in your home?

 

Clutter is visually distracting and stressful — every item that you see demands your mind’s attention, and despite that it is subconscious, these little distractions add up. It’s difficult to have peace and to focus amid this clutter. I recommend that you edit each of the rooms in your house, one per week, until you have de-cluttered your home and made it a peaceful and calming place to be.
 

 

Here’s how:

 

Choose a room to do this week.

Focus on one room, and try to do 15 minutes at a time.  Seven steps to heaven!

 

1) Skip the closets and drawers that are out of sight for now. Focus on the things you can see.
 

2) Like Debt-Snowballing, start with the big things. Is there too much furniture in the room? What is necessary, which furniture do you love, which stuff is just too distracting.

3) Clear all flat surfaces. Desktops, tabletops, counter tops, dressers etc. Remove all papers, piles of stuff, little junk, knick-knacks, anything. Put it on the floor/bed. Now get a trash bag and two boxes. Sort through everything in your pile(s), one item at a time. Each item should be either thrown away in the trash bag, put in one box to give away/sell (to friends, family or charity), or in the other box to put in another room in the house.

4) Put back only a couple select items on the flat surfaces, such as a family photo or something that functionally belongs there.

 

5) Now go around the room and edit what's left.  This may be things on the walls. Be merciless and edit brutally - the more you get rid of the better.

6) Purge and Place. Put recycling out, throw out the trash and take the other box and put that stuff  away where it belongs. 

7) Sit down and look around - enjoy peaceful goodness.

 

Now, this editing process is not a destination, but an ongoing process. It won’t last long if you don’t have a system and develop habits to keep it de-cluttered.

Here’s the system:

SYS1 ~ "A place for everything, and everything in its place"

SYS2 ~ Inbox all incoming papers.  No Piles anywhere

 

SYS3 ~ Clean up at night before bed.

SYS4 ~ Every six months, declutter

Purge away little savers!

Thanks to Zenhabits uncopyright. Ideas taken and edited. He is a great resource.