Thrifty Adventures

Our Personal Gift-Giving Plan and a Merry Christmas to Your Family

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by thriftycas on December 24, 2011

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Just like last year, we wanted to share what we are personally doing and giving this year.  We share this for a few reasons:

  1. To get to know us even more (we don’t like being just known as a computer screen ;)
  2. To see the progression that our family is making in our own financial lives to become more and more financially disciplined and challenged in being better than before, and
  3. To inspire, encourage and generate more ideas in your own families finances both in the present and in the future.

First, we have been sharing with you our story of how we got so deeply in debt and in the new year we will start sharing how we got out (which includes our successes, failures, struggles, savviness, weaknesses, strengths, ideas and hard work).   But with what we have told you so far and what we plan to tell you about in the future, one thing remains ever true in our lives…… our weakness and temptation with attempting to justify expenses, make more purchases than necessary or making non-budgeted purchases, etc.  The Christmas season is no exception to testing this temptation that grew out of our past financial woes and burdens.

Because of these temptations and our past, we require ourselves to have a strict financial plan  at the beginning of each New Year to start planning for a budgeted and sane Christmas.  We will be talking about this more in depth when the new year begins so that your family can join us and start off with a healthier financial year.  But in brief, we determine a budget and contribute to our Christmas/complete holiday season (i.e. Thanksgiving to New Year) and set a little money aside each month.

This allows two main things to take place:

  • Keeps us out of debt and prevents us from overspending and
  • Allows us to have the designated funds available even early on in the year to catch deals that will allow us to “spread” more of those designated holiday funds!

But one thing that we have learned the last few years of sticking with this budget plan is that even with a small budgeted amount of money…you can go overboard with STUFF! Especially when we are hunting for deals like crazy!

So we still have the same budget we’ve had for the last few years for the holiday season, but we had decided early in the year that we want to cut back on “stuff,” buy less items for our children and make them better quality.  We came to this realization on Christmas 2009 when it was the first full-year we stuck to our budget (remember that although we have been The Thrifty Couple for over 7 years, it has been (and still is) a learning and growing process and many different stages to grow into) and ended up with soooo much stuff!

Sure, we didn’t overspend, we didn’t go deeper into debt (it was in 2010 we paid off our debt), BUT WE OVERBOUGHT!  We realized that we were not teaching our children true financial responsibility, contentment or even the true meaning of Christmas if we only focused on “look how much stuff we got for this small budget.”  They were spoiled – we had done it in previous years and we had done it again.  They didn’t learn anything from our “smart buying and budget stretching” if it ALL ended up under the tree and in their arms. We also thought about this from the perspective of our own struggles of wanting “stuff” earlier on in our marriage and how this could possibly be setting them up for the same attitude when they are adults and preparing them to experience many of the same financial woes that we experienced because of their desire for stuff.  We wanted to change those thoughts now.

With those thoughts then, over the last couple of years we’ve had the same Christmas budget (even though we have an extra child this year ;) ) and a different plan and goal.  We will only be buying them a few items and 1-2 toys each.  We wanted to get them higher quality for a great deal and the rest of the money would be used to bless others – not for more “stuff!”

There are 3 main themes to our Christmas buying this year:

  1. Quality over Quantity,
  2. Kohls Deals and
  3. Daily Deal Sites galore!

Here’s what we ended up with for each of our Children:

We have a 6-month old boy, 3 year old girl, 5 year old boy, 7 year old girl and 8 year old girl. They all received a spinbrush and PJs on our Christmas Eve to kick off the festivities.

First, our 7 and 8 year old girl – they are practically twins, so we usually buy similar things for them!

  • The Chronicles of Narnia from Christian Book Distributors for our 8 year old – (awesome story, she started reading these books this November from the library and then we saw this deal on CBD.com and knowing that she was enjoying them and there were 4 other kids so far behind her that probably will too, we decided to get this deal.  A few days later when she had her nose stuck in one of the borrowed books, she came up to us and said “I don’t care if I only get these books for my own for Christmas so I can read them over and over again.  I would be perfectly happy and thankful! We both looked at each other and we’re so thankful we had that insight because she got them for Christmas!
  • The Little House on the Prairie Book Set for our 7-year old from CBD on the same order and similar sale as The Chronicles of Narnia (we received FREE shipping because the order was then over $35).
  • Personalized Shirts for our 7 and 8 year old made to order to match personalized skirts that they made earlier in the year from Fashion Playtes.  THIS IS A REALLY COOL AND FUN ONE! Earlier this year, we picked up a couple of Fashion Playtes.com vouchers for 50% off through the daily deal site called FamilyFinds.com.  We then went on and our two eldest daughters were able to customize and design their very own long skirts (we LOVE the Amanda Style as it is very comfortable, long, modest, and feminine – things our girls and us love!).  They are great quality and so we were excited to get these vouchers and they had fun with it.  Here’s a couple of the skirts they made:

The top skirt is really beautiful, but it is an odd color – Geranium.   We were able to get plain shirts for cheap at stores around here to match all of their other skirts in many different colors, but the top one, we could only find black that would work.  So – through the daily deal site Mamapedia, we were able to get another voucher at 50% off.  I then went into the FashionPlaytes site and designed two of these shirts that they are getting to match their beautiful skirt!

Second, for our 5-year old son

Third, for our 3-year old daughter

Fourth – the adorable, smiley and just-so-cute 6-month old boy!

Fifth – We also got these family gifts:

So in the end, we feel like we bought simpler items as well compared to past years (we still know we can become even better about both of these still!), purchased higher quality and got all of it for a steal-of-a-deal by starting in January!

With that all in mind, we had quite a bit of our small budget left to use to “bless” others. In the past years, we usually grab 3-4 Angel Tree kids requests for Christmas.  This year, we were able to grab seven kids.   In addition, we also know two single moms – one with two kids and one with one child, that we decided to also surprise them with Christmas.

This is a picture of the items we donated this year.

First, the Angel Tree items were mostly all bought for a great deal – but Angel Tree can be a bit of a challenge in the sense that you only have less than a week normally to buy gifts for the kids.  They are also specific, so if they are not sale that week, then you have to make due!

So here’s how we fared for the 7 kids from the Angel Tree:

In addition, here what we got for the Single Mom and two kids and the third child of the other single  mom.  Since this was just something we were doing by surprise and specific requests were not needed, we were able to scour our gift bins that we talk about all throughout the year to be able to provide most of the gifts.  We have talked about the value of a gift bin many times when you find a super rock bottom deal on anything from apparel, toys, household and more – we encourage you to grab it so that you have a nice gift that doesn’t wreak havoc on your budget.

For the mom

  • 2 pairs of Chaps pants (these are normally around $55 and $75 each, but…. believe or not, we were able to get them for only $1 a pair a couple of years ago! Kohls was majorly clearing inventory and they had a bunch of racks with clothing priced at only $1 each item.  We grabbed a ton of this clothing for an Ebay business we were running at the time to sell in lots.  We have since set aside our Ebay business and now giving those items to those in need.  We plan to take the rest of the clothing to church for our friends to go through and the remains will be given to the homeless and women’s shelters.
  • A pair of designer sunglasses from a Graveyard mall deal a while back.  This was a set of 12 that we have been able to use as gifts!
  • A designer watch sold at a rock bottom price from No More Rack (I think we paid around $5 for it).
  • A bracelet from ShopLately site that we were able to get for FREE on a past promotion.
  • Slippers from an online group buying site that was also FREE.
  • A nice hand bag from The Limited that was pennies on the dollar.

For the 7 year old daughter

  • One of the $5 Toys R Us Teddy Bears
  • A Barbie doll that we paid $5 for from No More Rack (and we saw it in-store for $30 later)
  • Dress-up clothes and accessories (can’t remember where – it was in our gift bin too!)
  • Pictureka Card game that we got for FREE last year around Christmas (we stocked up on these and have quite a few in the gift bin ;) )

For the 1-year old boy

For the 3-year daughter of the other single mom

As far as gifts for our extended family, we did utilize the Daily Deal sites and Amazon quite a bit and also took advantage of photo deals we could find as these are the most beloved gifts!

So that is what we did this Christmas with our designated budget.   As we are celebrating our Christmas today (kids were happy it was 1 day earlier ;) , we are enjoying our family time together today and we pray that you and your family have a very Merry Christmas!

We hope you will join us in this upcoming New Year to save even more, give even more and to reform your finances to help you meet your goals for you and your family!

Alex and Cassie

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Do You Get Rain Checks? You Should!

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by thriftycas on November 10, 2011

Have you ever asked for a rain check?  Do you ask every time that you can?  Well,  you really, really should!

But first, some of you may be asking…..”What is a rain check?”

A rain check is a voucher that extends the sale price of an item for you, so that you can return to the store on a different day, even after the sale ends and get that same item for the previous sale price.   What this means is that if your local grocery has ran out of an item that was on sale that week, you ask for this rain check and you can still get this same sale price in the future.

For example, let’s say that Cheerios are on sale for $2 this week.  You go to the store only to find them out of stock – instead of leaving sad and disappointed – head to the checkout or the customer service and ask for a rain check!  You can then return a couple of weeks from today and take your rain check into the store, find the Cheerios that were on sale for $2 but are now back up to $4 a box.  But at checkout, you hand over your rain check and they will adjust the price back down to $2.

It is not just the grocery store though! Many other stores also offer rain checks for items they sold out of and you were not able to get from clothing, electronics and more!

Why should I ask for a rain check?

Sales, saving money, and using coupons are becoming an increasingly popular activity for many households.  This means that there are many more people going after the same sale items from something small to even larger items.   This also means that those items disappear off the shelves very quickly or even very early on in the sale. So for this reason, rain checks are becoming even more increasingly necessary too!

For us, we are a big family! Running to the store at the drop of a bucket to grab the latest hot deal is just not going to happen; it makes saving money way too stressful! Instead, we go when it is convenient for us and if they happen to be out, then we will get our rain checks so that we can still get the same deal later on!

Another important reason to ask for rain checks is so that the stores themselves know that they are not keeping up with demand in hopes that they will increase their stock of sale items.  Honestly, the stores do not want to have to give out rain checks.  It hurts their bottom line as they cannot get those same items for the same discount that they did for the bulk order cost that they got for the sale! But many stores do not realize the impact their low stock  on consumers or not keeping up with demand has unless there is something to alert them – like issuing dozens of rain checks on the same item.

So the benefit is not just short-term gain, but potentially a long-term gain if the stores in your area are keeping better stock because of it!

The process:

The process of retrieving a rain check is very simple.  The hardest part is remembering to ask for one! We make a note on our shopping list to help us remember when we are in the store.  Or if you have coupons that you intended to use with that sale item, your left over coupons will give you the reminder!

Once you are at the checkout, just simply say, “You were out of this item, may I please get a rain check?”  The cashier is usually the one that writes up your rain check (some stores like Target do it all electronically!).  Then simply slip your rain check in your coupon binder/organizer with the coupons that go with it for you to use the next time you are in the store.

When they fill-out the rain check, they will ask you how many you want.  We recommend asking for them to write down a larger quantity, at least the amount equal to the number of coupons you have – and maybe a couple of more.  Some items already have a limit – so ask for the maximum quantity allowed for the sale to be written on your rain check. By doing this, you keep your options open.  When you actually redeem your rain check, you are not required to by the exact amount listed on your rain check.  So if you ask for 10 of something on your rain check, but then when you return, you decide you only want 5, then you can get just 5.  But by asking for a larger quantity, you prevent the opposite from happening where you ask for 5, then when you return to the store, you really wished you could have gotten 10!

Do rain checks have expiration date?

This answer is going to vary greatly from store to store and area to area.  In our area, most all of our stores do have an expiration date that is 2 weeks, 30 days and 90 days out. This means that we have to “redeem” our rain check before then.   However, this is a fairly recent change in our area, as we used to not have any expiration dates and so today there are still many stores and areas nationwide where the rain checks have no expiration dates.  Just learn the policies at your local stores (knowing that they too can change at any time!)

Can I Use Coupons with the Rain Check?

Absolutely! It is not any different than when you buy the item on sale and then use coupons! It is the same thing.  The only exception would be if the store themselves had a policy against it – but we have never ran into that, but we cannot say for sure nationwide at every local store.

So the next question you could be asking yourself is “what if my coupon expires before the item is back in-stock for me to redeem my rain check?”  This is a tough question and one that will happen on occasion.   If your rain check has no expiration date, then just hang on to it as the coupons for that item will most likely come out again soon, so then you can redeem your rain check with the coupons.

If your rain check has an expiration date and you think that there is a very good likely hood that your coupons will expire or that other coupons will not come out before your rain check expires, then you can raise this concern with customer service manager.  Honestly, they will probably not be able to do anything, but there have been a couple of times for us that there was an item we really wanted, it was gone and our coupons were expiring soon.  We explained to the Customer Service Manager our dilemma and they allowed us to “pre-pay” so that we can use our coupons! We just kept our receipt (with special notations and signature by the manager) and then returned to the store when they were back in stock.  We tell you this trick, but this is a very new and rare approach to couponing when an item is out of stock, but it is worth trying for an item you really want!

See more Money Saving Tips

Photo Credit

Alex and Cassie

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Guest Post: Cloth Diapering 101

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by thriftyal on November 8, 2011

Cloth diapering is a great option for parents looking for frugal ways to care for their baby. I used cloth diapers for my first three babies, and have used paper for my last three. Overall, while paper has an edge on convenience, I prefer cloth. I love the simple and the natural, and I hate feeling like I am wasting anything!

The world of cloth diapering is, however, less simple than it used to be. There are many, many options available! To start, cloth diapers can be broken down into two main categories: diaper services and home washing.

A diaper service is a laundry facility that will, on a weekly basis, come to your home and deliver the desired number of clean, prefold diapers. They pick up the week’s soiled diapers, which do not require any rinsing or special care. (You do, however, need to purchase and wash your own covers. They typically run between $8.00 – $15.00, and four or five will serve. They are not difficult to wash and only occasionally become very messy.) A monthly fee is charged, which varies considerably by region, but is generally comparable to paper diapering in cost for a single child in diapers. There are two major savings involved with a diaper service: 1) cloth diapered babies tend to diaper train significantly earlier than babies who wear paper, because the child can feel the wetness and develops self-awareness about the whole process more quickly. 2) I loved this one: if you have two (or more if you are so blessed!) children in diapers at the same time, you save a ton of money. Diaper services usually charge a flat fee which covers delivery and washing, plus a few cents on each diaper that you order. So, if you add a new baby to your account, your monthly diaper bill will only go up by literally a few dollars. A good place to start for more info on diaper services is http://www.diapernet.org/.

Then there is home washing – this is where it can get complicated. There are a lot of options out there; you can go with a good quality flat prefold diaper, used with a hook-and-loop closure cover like you would use for diaper service diapers, or there are dozens of newer systems out there that might be a little more expensive to get started with, but are more convenient. Some of these, like bumGenius, are one-size deals that will fit your baby from 7-35 lbs, so while the initial layout is a little higher with these, you do not have to buy progressively larger sizes like you do with the flat diapers and covers. Your toddler can wear the same size diapers as your newborn.

Regardless of which style you choose, you’ll have to wash them. While baby is exclusively breastfed, there is no rinsing needed, but once solids or formula are introduced, the diapers need to be rinsed before being tossed in the diaper pail. This job can be made easier with some convenience items such as a diaper sprayer, but can also be accomplished with a dedicated spatula and a swish in the toilet. Most people wash their diapers several times a week, investing an hour or so of their time. Washed properly, your diapers will not smell bad and they will not usually cause a rash. The extra work pays off – even considering the initial outlay and the ongoing expense of washing, this is by far the least expensive way to diaper a baby. The savings over the years one child spends in diapers can easily hit four figures – and then, you can reuse the diapers for your next child, and often resell them when you are done.

One of the best places to get started washing your own diapers is Cotton Babies. I have also had good experiences with Green Mountain Diapers. For even more information, including very detailed cost breakdowns, visit Green Baby Guide.

Some of you may be now wondering, “Why, if she loves cloth diapers so much, doesn’t she currently use them??” Ahhh…long story. There are a lot of factors that go into deciding which diaper system to use: cost, convenience, time, environmental concerns, personal preference, spouse’s preference, baby’s preference (in terms of rash issues – some babies rash with paper and not with cloth, some vice versa). Hopefully I have helped you consider which might be the best fit for you!

Desiree is a homeschooling mom of 6, wife to Mark, and blogs about homemaking and homeschooling in faith at Diligence Without Fear.

A note from The Thrifty Couple: Please be watching our site as we have shared some amazing deals on cloth diapering products in the past and will continue to do so as we find them to help you save more.  Be watching our Baby Deals!

Photo Credit: Thank you to Green Parenthood for the use of the photo.

Alex and Cassie

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Walgreens Shopping Trip Results This Week – Cheap Wipes, Free Blush and Cheap Kettle Chips

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by thriftycas on October 29, 2011

We went to Walgreens this week for our shopping.  We really wanted to stock-up on wipes this week and so Walgreens was the place to go! We hope you were able to grab some too!

Here’s what we bought:

  • 2 Kettle Chips sale for $2 each = $4. Then used two $1.00/1 coupons – $2 = final is $2 for two or $1 each!
  • 4 CoverGirl Blush sale for buy one get one 50% off – regular price of $4.79 = $14.36 for 4. Then used two $8.00/2 from the 10/2 Procter and Gamble Insert – $16= final is FREE plus $1.64 OVERAGE.
  • 3 Huggies Mega Pack refill wipes sale for $4.99 each = $14.97.  Then used the $2 off Walgreens coupon (-$6) and stacked with two .75/1 Huggies wipes from mailers and one .50/1 from the 10/23 Smart Source insert – $8 = final is $6.97 for three or $2.32 each (see the details of this deal on our Weekly Diaper Deals list)

Summary:  The total AFTER sales and BEFORE coupons was $33.33.  We then used $28 in coupons = final total was $7.33 for all of the above!

We are planning to donate the blush to the women’s shelter.

See more of Our Shopping Trip Results

 

Alex and Cassie

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Target Shopping Trip Results: Cheap Q-Tips, Free Blush, Produce and More with 76% Savings

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by thriftycas on October 22, 2011

We ran to Target this week to verify and check the deal on Q-Tips.  In the process, we grabbed some essentials for a great deal too!

  • 4 Q-Tips 375 ct. normally $2.69 on sale for .44 each after discounts (see our previous post for the deal scenario!) = $1.76
  • 2 2-lb bags of organic carrots marked down to $2.07 each bag = final is $4.14
  • 2 gallons of milk for $1.99 each = $3.98. Then used two .75/1 coupons – $1.50 = final is $2.48 for two gallons or $1.24 each
  • 1 package of mushrooms marked down to $1.59 = final is $1.59
  • 1 Spinach quiche normally $3.99 marked down to $2.39 = final is $2.39
  • 4 Cover Girl Blush sale for $3.74 each = $14.96. Then used 2 $8.00/2 from the 10/2 Procter and Gamble Insert = final is FREE plus $1.04 OVERAGE
  • 1 Eggland’s Best Eggs dozen normally $2.99 marked down to $2.09.  Then used .35/1 from the 10/2 Smart Source Insert = final is $1.74
  • 2 bunches of Boston Lettuce marked down to .74 each head = final is $1.48

Summary:  The total AFTER the sales and clearance prices was $41.39.  We then used $21.85 in coupons which brought our total down to $19.54.  And then we also received a $5 Target gift card for buying 4 Q-Tips = final total of $14.54 for all of the above! With the coupons alone, this saved us 50%, but considering the sales/clearances and the free gift card, we saved over 76%!

Alex and Cassie

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Would You Like To Have A Money Saving or Coupon Class?

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by thriftycas on October 20, 2011

We are very excited to introduce a new resource to help you save even more money!  We love being The Thrifty Couple and helping others learn from our mistakes while providing the tools and money-saving skills we have learned in our long journey from Deep in Debt to Debt Free!  We have additionally loved hearing from each of you in how you have benefited and been impacted by our own mistakes, trials and financial/money-saving successes that we pass along to you!  But now – we want to come out and meet you and provide you our hands-on advice, resources and tips to continue helping you save even more money!

One of our ongoing goals is to help as many as we can in as many ways as we can! We shared recently how Alex now works from home now and all of his work is computer/internet based.  This means that we can travel and work from anywhere. So the next step in sharing our money saving tips, advice and resources is to be able to be out there, meeting you and sharing with you, your friends, family and neighbors in a money-saving or coupon class.

We have taught hundreds of classes since 2007 and took a break from teaching this past year, but we are ready to start up again – and this time not just in our own area, but all over! We are working these classes in some of our planned family travels to be able to come to many different areas! This means that a class could be available to you in your area!

What is a Coupon Class?

A coupon class is where we will spend around two hours teaching you the tricks of the trade, coupon organization, where to find coupons, how to use your coupons, how to find the deals, tips and tricks for shopping and help answer any questions or concerns that you or your guests may have!

What is a Money Saving Class?

This class provides information on general financial and household stewardship and covers topics such as budgeting, family and marital finances, ways to drop your budget and save more money, ways to earn extra income as a couple and family, how to meet financial goals, tips to becoming debt-free and more with Q&A! This class can also be customized to one category as desired.

How long is each class?

This will vary depending on what group we are sharing the information with and what topic is discussed. As a general rule, each class is generally just under two hours, but can be longer/shorter to meet the specific needs of the group!

How much is a class?

We will do our best to make the classes as cheap and even free when we can.  Our goal is to help others as much as we can for as cheap as we can, but we generally ask for a $5 suggested donation per person with some classes requiring no charge at all – feel free to ask us for more details when you contact us.

Where are the classes held?

This is where we rely on you! We love to teach in homes in a more intimate setting, but we also love to speak to larger groups as well in any type of facility!

If I decide to host/organize a class, what is involved?

Very little really.  It is just a matter of providing a facility (home, church, business, etc.) and inviting your friends, family, neighbors and/or coworkers to attend (we can provide you sample text to make it easier for you!).

We have a form that you can fill out below if you are interested in hosting or attending a class.

Here is a schedule so far (if your area is not listed yet, feel free to submit a request as it will help us to determine where to go next!)

We are looking to book Southern California and Las Vegas immediately!

November 1st – November 9th, 2011:

  • Southern California including Orange County and San Diego (Booking Now)

November 10th – 15th, 2011:

  • Las Vegas including surrounding areas (Booking Now)

February and March 2012 (exact dates to still be determined):

  • Midwest including Chicago and surrounding areas
  • Jackson, Michigan and surrounding areas
  • Denver and Surrounding areas
  • Lincoln/Omaha, Nebraska and surrounding areas
  • Des Moines, Iowa and surrounding areas
  • And More along that route from Utah to Michigan!

Anytime in our schedule that is open:

  • Utah
  • Southern Idaho

Feel free to enter your information below and we would love to contact you about possibly setting up a class!  We would love to meet you and get to know you better – we can’t wait!

If you are reading this by RSS or email, please click here to see the form.

Alex and Cassie

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Earn Additional Income by Starting Your Own Snow Removal Business

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by thriftyal on October 4, 2011

It’s time for the next money making post.  We hope that our list of over 100 ways to earn extra income and articles are inspiring you and your family to pick up pen and paper and jot down ideas for your own family business.  We will continue to share ideas with you on how to make money on the side with the hope it will encourage you in meeting your financial goals and with the thought that maybe one day one you can transform one of these ideas into a full-time money-making venture!  Please don’t forget to continue sharing with us any ideas that you have as well.

We want to now discuss running a snow removal business.  We do write this with the understanding that some of you might be blessed to live in an area which may snow every few years and where the city shuts down on that one day.  :)   We will try to catch you on the next article.  But for you families that know what snow is, love the first snowfall and possibly start dreading it on the second (or love it through the end!), this article is for you.

One of the things we love about this business is how many members of the family can play an integral role.  Don’t forget whenever you look at a business to consider developing a family economic – each member of the family can play a role.  We will discuss this more thoroughly in another article, but instilling a solid work ethic into your children will prepare them for life.  Training your children to be the ant (referencing Proverbs 6:6-11) instead of the sluggard, will train your children to work hard, learn that money doesn’t grow on trees and that hard work is necessary to reap later and make it through the lean times.

Why are we talking about Snow Removal business when the snow hasn’t even fallen in most parts of the country?  Because if you get started now could mean less time each day to prepare, the ability to find cheaper tools and materials, and especially more time to find committed customers!

Steps To Start A Snow Removal Business

Set a goal about what you hope to make or achieve in this money making venture. 
Ask yourselves whether this business will this cover a bill (like the heating bill) or the car payment?  Will it perhaps pay for your next family vacation (vacations are always much more enjoyable when everyone worked hard to meet the goal!), or even help you get closer to your financial goals.

Remember to keep that goal in front of you as you make your decisions.  You don’t want to under-prepare if you are hoping to make a significant income from this, nor do you want to over-extend yourself when you were only hoping to make a few dollars.  It can and will become what you make of it.

Figure out who in the family will be doing this money making venture and what roles each member would play
Do you have some in the family that are more adept at handling the snow blower?  Do you need someone to handle the phone calls and all the marketing?  Maybe you have some younger children that would love to be in charge of the de-icer or a snow shovel for those areas a snow-blower can’t easily reach such as the steps.  Your family is unique and as such you will need to decide just how each family member can play a role in your business.

Determine your price point
Research what past snow removal businesses have charged and try to beat this.  Each area will be different so ask around what a going rate is for snow removal in your area either from home owners, business owners, etc.  You will also need to determine how much area you can cover per hour (obviously the level and type of snow fall will affect this). Determine if you want to charge per job or per hour.  In our opinion, we suggest charging per job as the time will vary based on snowfall, and businesses will pay more per job than a homeowner would.

Decide what equipment you will need
Try to think a bit out of the box on this one.  Do you need a certain number or types of shovels?  What kind and how much de-icer might you need for the year?  Consider the size of snow blower you might be willing to purchase.  Again, this will depend on your ultimate goal and size of the business, but if you can clear a path with a larger snow blower in a fraction of a time of an entry-level snow blower it just might be more economical to purchase the larger blower.  Make sure to consider whether you will need to purchase heavier coats, insulated underwear/overalls, and gloves as these are items you might not initially consider as a cost but find yourself spending money on later.

Decide how you will pay for the equipment
Do you have most of the equipment already?  Do you already have funds set-aside to invest?  Can you borrow the equipment from someone to get started and then buy your equipment once you are making money?  We have learned the hard way how using debt to pay for a business venture can be a detriment so again, our encouragement would be to try to consider options that don’t require pulling out the credit card even if you just know its going to be a great business.

Find the equipment now when its cheaper
If you can look for a snow blower and equipment now before the snow season hits you will have more options and probably an even cheaper price.  Possibly even consider finding a cheap snow blower as well if you know what you are looking for.  Once the snow starts falling, this equipment will become high in demand and that means higher prices!

Advertise your business
We recommend taking advantage of free advertising services in your area like the online classifieds or the newspaper (if yours is free). Consider approaching businesses, HOA’s, apartment complexes, and homeowners before the snow season starts and getting some contracts or simple agreements to take care of their snow removal that season.  You can do as much or as little as you want – you will control your commitment.

After the first snow fall, consider placing fliers on cars in parking lots advertising your service.  You can also take it snow-by-snow as it is unpredictable when you will be working.  Don’t forget the old trick of going door-to-door after a good snow day offering to remove the snow for a predetermine amount of money as your time allows.  Very often people are thinking they are ready to clear their own snow but when someone else offers to do it for a reasonable price – it just might encourage them to not get cold and exhausted.  :)

Offer incentives to your current customers
Consider offering an incentive to your customers if they send you a referral such as “$5 off your next service” to help your business grow.  It always seems that word of mouth referrals are the best kind.

Use social media to your benefit
Start a Facebook page and/or Twitter account for your business to spread the word and to avoid costs associated with running a website – this is free and a free way of advertising your business.  This is also a great way to keep past clients in contact with you. Of course, a website is a very good investment if you want to turn this into a business even more, or if you decide your first year was worth it to invest even more into it in the future!

Keep detailed records
Be organized and keep good income and expense records as you will need them for reporting on your taxes.  What?  Yes, this is a business so you will need to report your income, but don’t forget those receipts for all your mileage on your car, equipment and marketing supplies.  Of course, we encourage you to talk to a good accountant to help you through this.

Finally, don’t forget to have fun making that extra money
We have found some of the greatest joys in working together as a family in our different ventures.  And all that extra exercise and time working instead of lounging in front of the television just might help bring your family closer, make you a bit healthier, and help you achieve that goal you are trying to meet.

See our previous post Ways to Earn Extra Income: Over 100 and Counting.   We would love for you to make suggestions to help us continue expanding our ever growing list of ways to make money to help your every financial goal!

Photo credit:  Thank you to CityOfEvanston.org for the featured photo.

Alex and Cassie

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What is YMMV and How Does It Affect You?

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy here.

by thriftycas on September 9, 2011

what is ymmv

Has anyone ever asked you “What is YMMV?”  Have you ever asked yourself “What is YMMV?”

Here are a few example definitions it does NOT mean:

  • “Yes Mom, More Vegetables!”
  • “You’re My Main Valentine” (as opposed to my kid Valentine’s)
  • “You’re Making Me Very….” (insert rest of phrase)

You May be getting the Main point Very clearly now.  So what does it really mean? Well since this phrase was formed during the Internet age (we assume you’ve heard of that before) we turn to Wiktionary for help:

Phrase definition: Your Mileage May Vary (YMMV or ymmv)

“It may work differently in your situation, or be different in your experience.

e.g. Those batteries last nine hours in my laptop, but your mileage may vary.”

So this is the textbook web definition, but how does it affect couponing and saving money?  This is a phrase that the world of money-savers has adopted like no other phrase, and for good reason.

What is YMMV?  It means “your mileage may vary.” It means that when someone has told you about a deal they found or were able to get or even posted a deal on their site, “your mileage may vary”  – i.e. translation – you may get a totally different experience or outcome if you try to get the same deal or use the same coupon.

In this world of saving money and couponing, one must ALWAYS assume YMMV.   Why is this the case?  In our years of money saving experience and especially sharing deals with you, we find there are just so many variables that will affect the results that each of us will have when deal hunting, coupon shopping and trying to save money in every area of life.

Some of the factors are going to be:

Coupon and price match policies in your area at your store

  • How many coupons will the store take?
  • Even stores in the same chain will interpret the same couponing policies differently
  • Will they take internet printables?
  • Will they stack store and manufacturer’s coupons?
  • Do they allow buy one get one free sales with buy one get one free coupons?
  • Will they price match? If so, what are the specific policies?
  • Do they allow free product coupons?
  • Will they override overage coupons if they do not go through the first time (i.e. the register beeps)?
  • Will they allow the overage to be applied to my balance, or do they adjust the coupon?

Your store’s stock

  • Each store carries different quantities.
  • Each store carries different types of products – even from the same manufacturers.

Your stores prices

  • Depending on where you live will affect the price – Several years ago, there was a report concerning Walmart prices and how they changed so dramatically depending on the store’s location to appeal to the local crowd.  This example mostly affected the fresh produce, meat, etc. but many name brand shelf items too! This still applies today as not all Walmart prices are the same as you will find some variance.  Walmart is just one example, but this theory is applied across the board with all stores!
  • Clearances are definitely a YMMV, but some clearances have spread across the entire store’s chains.
  • Someone may have grabbed a deal at their store because it was marked incorrectly and then they tell everyone about it and others expect to get the same deal.

The mood or attitude of the cashier as well as their knowledge of the store’s coupon policy

  • In our opinion, this could be one of the biggest factors in whether or not you end up with the results you expected! The cashier is ultimately the one that makes or breaks your couponing success.

Coupons available to you

  • Each area receives different coupons as well as different values of those coupons.  In addition, there are so many sources of coupons that it can be difficult to get the same exact deal in one area compared to another!

Your own effort and resources

  • Honestly, this varies for us week to week and it may for you too! What we mean by this is that there is just times in which it seems like too much work to spend 5-minutes to get that $3.00 off coupon if it requires a survey to print (or even registration).  Or it is just going to take too many steps to pull this transaction together and “I am just not in the mood!” I think you get the idea ;)
  • We each have access and availability to different resources.   For example, we have seen many deals which will require internet printable coupons and you will need two or more computers to get all those coupons! Possibly you don’t get the newspaper.  Maybe you didn’t receive that same advertisement in the mail that had “all those coupons.” These are just a few examples, but the list goes on!

We recently shared a bad experience at a Walmart that we have shopped at with coupons for the last nine years and had a first-time terrible experience – a YMMV.  After posting, we received tons of comments from many of you demonstrating you know exactly what we are talking about above!

Hopefully after this article you can give an answer when someone asks you:  What is YMMV?  We wanted to share this with you because it is a phrase that is seen everywhere in the money saving world, but we also wanted you to understand that in order to feel successful as a couponer or as one attempting to save money – your mileage is going to vary! This is a fact!  But once you understand that everything should be approached with a YMMV attitude, you will become a more successful money-saver because you won’t allow those experiences to bring you down as you are prepared to handle each and every YMMV situation.

Alex and Cassie

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Our Smiths (Kroger) Shopping Trip Results and Case Lot Sale Grabs

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy here.

by thriftyal on September 9, 2011

This week we shopped at our local Kroger affiliate  – Smiths.  They are have Procter and Gamble promotion where you saved $4 instantly at checkout for every four qualifying items!  This gave us an opportunity to grab some personal care essentials.  In addition they are offering a case lot sale, so we grabbed some items that we go through very quickly and staple items in our home that we use every day.

We always love to share the matchups (see below) so you can get the same deals as well!

Here’s the breakdown of what we bought:

  • 2 Cases of Kroger All Purpose Flour, 5 lb bag 8 count case sale for $12 each = final is $24 for 16 or $1.50 each bag
  • 1 case of Kroger Oats, 42 oz buckets 12 count sale for $24 = final is $24 for 12 or $2.00 each bucket
  • 1 20 lb bag of Natural Brown Rice (actually purchased at a local chain store) sale for $9.99 = final is $9.99 or .49 each lb. 

Total Spent on Bulk Items: $58.01

Procter and Gamble Promotion where every 4 takes $4 off – Mix and Match!

  • 4 Febreze Set and Refresh sale for $2.99 each = $11.96 – $4 PG Promo = $7.96. Then used 4 $1.00/1 from the 8/28 PG Insert – $4 = final is $3.96 for 4 or .99 each
  • 6 Gilette Body Wash sale for $2.99 each = $17.94 – $6 PG Promo = $11.94. Then used three buy one get one FREE coupons from the 8/28 PG Insert – $5.97 = final is $5.97 for 6 or .99 each
  • 2 Febreze Air Effects sale for $2.99 each = $5.98 – $2 PG Promo = $3.98. Then used 2 $1.00/1 from the 8/28 PG Insert – $2 = final is $1.96 for 2 or .99 each
  • 4 Old Spice Deodorant sale for $1.99 each = $7.96 – $4 PG Promo = $3.96.  Then used 2 $1.00/2 from the 8/28 PG Insert – $2 = final is $1.96 for 4 or .49 each
  • 4 Secret Deodorant sale for $1.99 each = $7.96 – $4 PG Promo = $3.96.  Then used 2 $1.00/2 from the 8/28 PG Insert – $2 = final is $1.96 for 4 or .49 each

Total Spent on Coupon Items: $15.81

Summary:  The total AFTER the sales and BEFORE the coupons was $109.79.  We then saved an additional $20 with the PG Promotion = $89.79.  We then used $15.97 in coupons = final total of $73.82. 

We really don’t know the percent saved because when you buy in bulk, you get special bulk pricing and we didn’t check the shelf price of the bulk items we bought, but we are happy with the savings this week.

Check out our current list of Store Deals as this promotion is continuing this week at Kroger stores!

Alex and Cassie

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Deep in Debt to Debt-Free: One Year Later and Our First House

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy here.

by thriftycas on September 6, 2011

Here we were approaching our first anniversary and house hunting with a quickly declining credit score due to the amount of debt we had already accumulated in the first year.  But thankfully there were lenders that were willing to lend us money to buy our first house!  In fact, they somehow thought we could afford a house 60% more than we had “budgeted” for (yes, we think its funny we use the word budget from that part of our lives).

You know as well as we do that its the American Dream to finally “get to the point”  when you can buy your first house together! It is the symbol that we attach to success, to happiness, and to your dreams.  But what became reality was for us was a mortgage that when we added all our other bills and expenses the monthly outgoing equaled that of the monthly incoming.  It especially meant new financial stress as we put no money down, was barely approved, and ultimately would become the biggest ding on our credit score (you’ll have to read later to find out why).

But who cares?! It was our first anniversary and we had just moved in to our own house (we didn’t see it as the bank’s house of course!).  We can remember the day well.  We were in our new kitchen celebrating with the leftover wedding cake top (who came up with that nasty tradition of eating year-old cake? :) ), with just the two of us and having barely moved in.  Here we were, not looking at each other but rather noticing that our new, big house seemed so empty.  Our apartment seemed so complete – especially after all of those purchases we made to fill it up! But the new house afforded us a space three times bigger.  We just couldn’t leave it empty!

Our conversation quickly turned to our upcoming housewarming party (because that is just what you do) and our guests needed a place to sit and visit and entertain themselves.  This can only mean one thing – before that first mortgage check was even due, before the big mortgage purchase was even counted on our credit, we would drive right to the furniture store to locate those pieces that we knew were missing.

I found the perfect pieces for my living room with paintings and all!  So out came the credit application that the furniture salesman was so helpful in providing.  Don’t think it was just the living room pieces, but a few other things that we felt we needed to make our house a home.

As we drove home, adding thousands to the debt-load, all I could think about was how perfect life was as we were well on our way to achieving that American Dream even after just one year of marriage.  I truly did not realize the impact of the major purchases we had made.  We justified the expense by the fact that we would not have a house payment for a month.  But you and I know it was not just a month’s worth of furniture we bought.

We really were getting credit so quickly right around our first anniversary that the idea of the obligations in payments to be due soon had not hit us or our creditors either because the other credit wasn’t yet showing up on our report or just that fact that even with how thinly spread our finances were they still had no problem approving us!

The foolish part of all of this was that I was not content in where I was or with what I had been given.  I always wanted to have everything right now! I suppose you could call this the “microwave mentality.”  I look back on this time in my life and am completely ashamed of my attitude and more importantly how I did not honor my husband by requesting so much.  Its not that I was dishonoring by spending money on things he didn’t want to purchase, but rather I was taking advantage of his desire to provide for his newlywed wife at any cost. Most importantly, I was not honoring God in my desire for more, nor in my desire to have the perfect life by the world’s standards.

The truth of the matter is, although we were so deeply in love, we were so foolish in how we thought we could make our lives better. Our communication was greatly lacking in this area.  We seemed to communicate about so many things, but one thing we did not discuss with each other was the subject of money and finances – it was unofficially named the mute topic.  Soon we will address why this lack of communication was such a problem and the dangers of not having true, open and honest communication.

But don’t despair too much for us because we continued to travel, eat out luxuriously and spend like crazy during the first several months we were in our new domain.

If you’re new to the series or just want to catch up, please check out our whole Deep in Debt to Debt Free series!

Photo Credit:  Thank you to seabunny.net for the awesome open room.  This part of our lives was prior to the amazing digital age and we’re missing this picture.  We’re sure though that if we had a digital camera we would have justified purchasing the best with our “savings account” credit line.  :)

Alex and Cassie

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