Weekly Menu 12/2/12 - 12/8/12

Sunday, December 2, 2012
Slow Cooker Sunday!
Crockpot Cube Steak & Gravy
Green Beans
Mashed Potatoes
Rolls
Brownies

Monday, December 3, 2012
Leftovers

Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Creamy Chicken Spaghetti
Salad
Garlic Bread

Wednesday, December 5, 2012
Leftovers

Thursday, December 6, 2012
Chili Dogs
Baked Chips

Friday, December 7, 2012
Leftovers

Saturday, December 8, 2012
Out to Dinner

** Currently I make my menu plan to include dinners only.  For lunches, we either take leftovers or make sandwiches. **

New Year's Goals 2013

Okay, so here I am talking about the New Year and I haven't even written a post about Christmas yet...no worries, it's in the works.  :-)  I've had a lot on my mind about this next year about how it would be a good time to start working on organizing my family's life and living a more simple and less stressful one.  I wouldn't call the things I've been thinking about 'resolutions', but instead, more like 'goals'.  Here's my plan that I will really start working on after the holidays are over:

~ Get back into menu planning.  I used to do this and it helped us eat healthier, save money on groceries and dining out, and was just overall less stress because I knew what we were having for dinner each day, and didn't have to go to the store everyday.  This will be the number one goal I work on.  My plan is to also include my menu plans here on the blog to share with you...I would also LOVE feedback or comments from you if you see ways I could improve! ~

~ Get back on a budget and on the Dave Ramsey Baby Steps plan to get out of debt.  Same here, I've done this before, but just got off track.  My number two goal is to create and maintain a budget and a 'Baby Step' plan and stick to it.  I'm hoping to get the hubby involved in this.  I think we can make much more progress working together and knowing where all our money is going. ~

~ Get rid of clutter around the house.  I've been slowly working on this goal already, but I've still got sooooo much clutter around the house.  We have a spare bedroom that is just our 'junk room' right now that I have really really been wanting to make the office/playroom.  I'm determined to get that done in 2013...if not before...like when I am off of work during the Christmas holidays. ~

~  Build my businesses.  As most of you know, I am the owner of Jenn's Gifts & More and an Independent Consultant for Pink Zebra Home.  Jenn's Gifts & More is pretty much a gift shop that I run from home and online, and Pink Zebra Home carries home fragrances and decor.  I would love so so so much to make these my full time job, but I don't think it's going to happen without devoting more time to them.  I know you're probably thinking 'why do you want to add this stress to your life when you're wanting to simplify?'  Well, I feel that if I can schedule specific times each day (like early morning before I go to my full time job) to work on the businesses, it really won't be very stressful.  Maybe I'm wrong?  It's something I'd like to try though. ~

So, these are the four goals I've really been thinking about lately.  I have others that have crossed my mind, but I haven't put any thought into how to reach them yet.  So, possibly more to come...

Have you thought about your New Year's Resolutions or Goals?

Have a great day!

~ jenn ~

Zulily

I LOVE Zulily!  Awesome products at reasonable prices.  Check them out and start your Christmas shopping!

http://www.zulily.com/invite/jchandler709

~ jenn ~

Become a Pink Zebra Home Consultant

Pink Zebra provides an opportunity to own your own business for under $200, where you can achieve income, rewards, incentives, and personal growth based on the time commitment that works for your life. Are you looking for a new career? Pink Zebra offers a ground floor opportunity where you have the opportunity to develop a team anywhere throughout the United States, and earn a leadership income. Being on the ground floor means you are first to share the Pink Zebra products and opportunities with people who have never heard of Pink Zebra. Are you just looking for a part-time opportunity and income? Pink Zebra can provide you with a perfect fit allowing you to work around your schedule and earn a great part time income. (Source: Pink Zebra Home website)


Visit my site to learn more. www.pinkzebrahome.com/jennsgiftsandmore


~ jenn ~

  

Amazon Mechanical Turk

Recently, while Googling for ways to make some extra money, I came across a website called Amazon Mechanical Turk.  I started looking into it, signed up, and gave it a try.  What exactly is it, you ask?  It is a marketplace for work.  Basically companies post mostly small, some larger, tasks that they need completed, called HITS (Human Intelligence Tasks), and Mechanical Turk Workers complete these tasks.  Each task has a rate that it pays.  The majority of them are less than $1.00...eh, more like less than $0.50 per task, but the tasks are very easy and take less than a minute or two to complete.  My balance in my account is now $3.78...no it doesn't sound like much, but that was for maybe 20-30 minutes worth of tasks.  The more tasks you do, the more qualified you become to complete tasks with higher pay rates.  Anyway, I'm still learning more about this, but in the meantime I'm continuing to do some of the smaller tasks (like searching for sites on Google and recording their rank, as an example) in my spare time.  

My view on this opportunity as of now...it's definitely not a way to get rich or make a full time income, but it's definitely a way to bring in a little extra money (you can have your earnings transferred to your bank account OR purchase an Amazon gift card with them).

~ jenn ~

Filler Items

I mentioned purchasing some "filler" items in the very first post I wrote.  As promised, here is a post explaining those "filler" items.

Every store will be a little different and have a few rules to go by if you shop there with coupons.  (I am in the process of creating a page on my blog with links to the online coupon policies of some of the most popular stores.)  Walgreens' registers are programmed with a coupon/item ratio.  Basically, you can not have more coupons than you have items in the transaction...in store coupons do not count as one of these coupons, but Register Rewards do (and this is usually where the issue arises).

An example: Say you went to Walgreens and purchased some things and in that purchase was an item that earned you Register Rewards (RR)...say $2 for this example.  You do a second transaction (so that you can use the RR then) or go back another day to use them.  Your second purchase is say a box of cereal that is $3.00.  You have a manufacturer coupon for $1.00 off plus you have your $2.00 RR.  The cashier will scan the box of cereal, then your manufacturer coupon, and then your RR coupon.  The register beeps and will not take the RR.  This is because you are only purchasing one item, but trying to use two coupons.  This is where the "filler" item comes in.  For these "filler" items, I normally look in the clearance baskets, and find something cheap...like less than $0.50...that I can use.  The filler item I purchased during my very first couponing trip, was a pen for $0.20 I believe.  I can always use pens!  So, pick up one filler item, and there you have two items, and you can now use two coupons for your cereal.


So, I hope this clears up the meaning of "filler" items.  

As always, your comments/questions are welcome!

Have a GREAT day!

~ jenn ~

Swagbucks!

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My First Couponing Shopping Trip!

Well, I'll start off by saying my first couponing shopping trip was pretty successful...hit a few bumps during the check out process, but overall successful.  Since this was my first time, I figured I'd concentrate on one store.  I chose Walgreens.  I scoured through the Walgreens ad from the Sunday paper, looked for items I needed, or will be needing soon (you see, I don't have the space to stock pile, so for now I'm just purchasing items I use), searched through the coupon inserts to see if there were any I could "stack" on top of the items I was planning to purchase that were on sale, and made my shopping list.  I found that in order to have a smooth shopping trip, it's best to plan your purchases before you even get to the store.  I spent a couple of hours doing this.  I have a notebook specifically for my couponing shopping trips.  I wrote down each transaction I was planning, each item I was planning to purchase, and each coupon and/or Register Rewards (RR) I was planning on using.  My list looked something like this:

Transaction #1

Dove hair care products           4 for $15.00

(4) $2.00 off 1 coupons                (  8.00)

Earn $5.00 RR for next purchase

AquaFresh Kids Toothpaste               $ 2.00

In Store Coupon                          (1.00)

Manufacturer Coupon                      (1.00)

1 "filler" item  (I will discuss these in a later post)

Transaction #2

Coppertone Sunscreen                    $9.79

Manufacturer Coupon                     (1.00)

RR from prior transaction               (5.00)

Earn $3.00 RR for next purchase

AquaFresh Kids Toothpaste               $ 2.00

In Store Coupon                          (1.00)

Manufacturer Coupon                      (1.00)

1 "filler" item

Transaction #3

Lysol Disinfecting Wipes           2 for $6.00

Manufacturer Coupon                      (1.00)

RR from prior transaction                (3.00)

Earn $2.00 RR for next purchase

Lysol All Purpose Cleaners         2 for $6.00

Manufacturer Coupon                      (1.00)

Earn $2.00 RR for next purchase

Lysol Disinfectant Spray                 $3.00

Manufacturer Coupon                      (1.00)

Earn $1.50 RR for next purchase

Transaction #4

Purex Laundry Detergent  B1G1           $5.00

RR from prior transaction               (5.50)

Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner          2 for $3.00

Manufacturer Coupon                      (1.00)

Ban Deodorant                            $3.99

In Store Coupon                          (2.00)

Manufacturer Coupon                      (0.75)

Remember that those transactions written out above were my plans....now for what I got and the transactions that actually happened....

Transaction #1

Transaction #2

 

Transaction #3

 

Transaction #4

 

So, there you have the outcome of my first real couponing shopping trip!  Not too shabby for the first time...hope to increase my savings as I continue to learn how all this couponing works!

Stay tuned for future posts explaining all the coupon lingo.

I love feedback and comments on my posts, so post away! 

Have a GREAT day!

~ jenn ~