Changes & Reflection

Changes are coming!

The weather is changing, it's getting "cooler" and actually kind of cold the next few nights, the days are getting shorter, the sun sets by 5pm, but it's getting to be that time of year. The holiday season if you will.  It seems once school starts, the year starts to fly by until January and then it slows a little bit. 

When January comes this time, there will be some changes in my life too. I am stepping down from organizing my moms group.  If I continued until Feb 14th, I would be organizing for 7 years. Do you hear me? 7 YEARS! My middle daughter is going to be 8 in March, so the majority of her life, I've run a playgroup.  Crazy.  To think she was just 10 months old when I joined and she's going to be in 3rd grade next year, makes it all so bittersweet.

While there has been lots of ups and downs during my 7 years of organizing, I really did enjoy it.  During those years there were hundreds of happy moms and of course some that didn't agree with me or left for whatever reason, but I did my job, I helped them make friendships with other moms and ultimately that is the purpose of the group.

The last several years has really made me realize how important friendship is.  I can have hundreds of acquaintance but only a small group of true friends. That's OK with me, I love my friends, even though I don't get to see them as often as I would like, they helped me when I needed it the most. They will never know how grateful I was and still am for their help, compassion, advice and love.  So those of you reading this and you know who you are, THANK YOU! <3 p="p">

I hope in 5, 10 or 15 years I can look back at this experience and say, it was still worth it!

Money Saving, Coupon Crazed Moms Club

I have to admit, when I first heard about all this couponing and people saving 50% or more on their bills, I was quite skeptical.  I grew up in a house that never did the couponing thing, until my stepdad came along.  He was cheap  err I mean frugal and kept  a coupon box and clipped religiously on Sundays. If we didn't have a coupon we pretty much didn't buy it etc.  I am sure we saved money, but being military we did 90% of our shopping at the commissary where they do take coupons but unheard of for doubling, stacking or taking competitor coupons.  So you see I did not know of this elite club of couponers who were stacking coupons, using coupons that double, trading online etc until the last year. Even then I was to chicken to look into it, I mean really could I save 50% on my bill?

I wasn't to optimistic about any of this until the last few months, when moms in my group started posting all these deals they were getting, free things (not samples) and how much t hey had saved on groceries. I became intrigued, a member does a couponing 101 class and I was able to get some one on one time with her.  She taught me about SouthernSavers. I had looked at this website before but did not understand the lingo and was thoroughly confused. I was a newbie and did not know what RP or SS meant along with the other mile long list of acronyms. I listened and ingested what she said and decided to give it a try.

The first couple of weeks, I collected Sunday papers with coupons, read on SouthernSavers, tried to make a list etc.  I was still very overwhelmed, so I started off small, looking only at the Bogo sales at Publix and using coupons for those items. I began to save money but still not enough that I felt like I got it. I did not have enough coupons or the best deal, I was only getting 1 paper on Sunday and that just isn't enough. Now I buy at minimum 2 papers on Sunday, recently purchased a copy of All You magazine (has TONS of coupons) and am watching for good internet printables.

So all in all I have learned it takes some time to get to the point where you feel you know what you are doing and start seeing the actual savings.  My last trip to Publix I spent $300 but I saved $100 in sales & coupons, so I saved 25% on my bill. Not great, but it's a start.  I also went to CVS (that's another way to save) and bought 3 packs of diapers, 2 bottles of body-wash, and a tube of toothpaste for $27.52.  I saved $31, so a savings of over 50%! Plus I have some ECB's to use towards my next purchase.

So yes I admit it, I am a member of the Money Saving, Coupon Crazed Moms Club and proud of it.  Are you?

Old As Dirt or Just Alabama

So yesterday over dinner, J asked me "so was Alabama a state when you were little?" I about choked on my soup! Apparently I am over 191 years old, gee thanks for making your mom feel good about herself.  Even today I still don't think she quite gets what she said lol Thankfully I am not QUITE that old but sure does feel like it some days. 


Not much has been going on since my last post, and seeing all these other bloggers posting on a daily basis, makes me feel like a slacker. Thanks guys! :) Just kidding,  I wonder if because most of the blogs I read are from moms of small children, and well mine aren't exactly small anymore. They are entertaining to read though, because it takes me back to when mine were that small and to think I'll have another one to add to the bunch in May.  Perhaps then my blog will pick up? Hmm lack of sleep with a newborn, somehow I don't think so.  


So to my blogger friends, what inspires you to post?