Saturday, October 31, 2009

Planning ahead for the Holidays can Save you Money

Sorry I haven't posted for awhile. Getting over my head cold, work and other obligations by the time I get home, I haven't felt like doing much.

So far I just had and head cold and not the flu that has been going around all over.

I was thinking today about that it's November already. Where has the year gone.

With the holidays coming up so do the bills, but they don't have to be so bad. One way is to make a list of people you plan to buy gifts for. By each person put down a set amount you plan to spend and any ideas you may have. Then you have an idea of how much you plan to spend. Also make a list of additional expenses you plan to have, parties, and other get togethers. Even though you only have a couple of months you can start setting aside extra money each pay check to help cover these additional expenses instead of putting it all on your credit card. With these ideas you can have a head start next year, by being able to save each month and keeping an eye out all year for gifts when they happen to be on sale.

By starting to think and look for gift ideas now, it saves going shopping for all of the gifts at the last minute when you are probably busier anyways.

I will be having future posts with other ideas about saving on holiday expenses.

Also, with the current economic situations you may want to consider if you need to purchase as many gifts as you usually do. If you visit with some family and friends they may also agree you don't have to exchange gifts. Or instead of buying gifts you could give your talents such as babysitting, meals, or other things.

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Walgreens deal

Today i got over $40 of items at Walgreens for $6.

Red Baron pizzas were on sale 2/$6 i bought one and had a $.75 coupon
vicks (nyquil, etc) were on sale 2/$10 (when you buy 2 you get Register reward, a coupon you can use on a future purchase for $5) and I had two coupons, they were in today's newspaper.

Scope outlast mouthwash was on sale 2/7 ($4 RR when purchase 2) i had two coupons, one was in today's paper.

zinc lozenges were 1/2 price at $4.99

2 bags ricola drops (coupon in todays paper buy 1 get 1 free)

total was $30 before coupons and i had $8 of RR from previous purchase.

final total was $15 and I have $9 RR to use in the next two weeks.

final cost $6

Saturday, October 3, 2009

Review of Find Your Strongest Life

Find Your Strongest Life by Marcus Buckingham

I have read some of Marcus Buckingham’s other books and was excited to get a chance to review this one. The ideas in the book help women to marry their professional and personal lives so they can have it all. In recent years women have been able to accomplish more in their professional lives but are not happier than women in earlier decades.

Access to a strength test website is included in the book. You take a 20 question multiple choice test to see what your top 2 strengths are. Then there are descriptions of each of the roles along with suggestions of how to make the most of your Lead and Supporting roles.

Another chapter deals with how to accept what you find from taking the test. If you accept what you find doesn’t mean Another chapter deals with how to accept what you find from taking the test. If you accept what you find doesn’t mean you have to settle for a lesser life.

The final part of the book deals with Strong life tactics. How to apply what you learned about your strengths to different areas of your life, career, relationships and your kids.

The book was an easy read, was informative and I am sure I will be returning to it for ideas several times in the future. I recommend reading this book to find out what your strengths are and how to apply them to both your professional and personal lives.

This is a review for Thomas Nelson publishers

Friday, October 2, 2009

The Bank of Mom and Dad

A new show "The Bank of Mom and Dad" debuted on the Soap Net on Wednesday night. its a weekly series about 20-30 year olds that are in trouble with their finances. Their parents move in for a week and with suggestions from a money coach they try to get them on the right track to get the spending under control.

I feel this is a real problem. with young people (and older people) thinking they can buy whatever they want and worry later about how to pay for it.