I’ve still been pluggin’ along, trying to figure out the whole coupon thing. I think I do ok, although I know the hardcore couponers save a lot more than me. I try to plan out my visits to CVS and Walgreens because those are the easiest to me. Like yesterday I went to CVS and got 1 Crest pro health toothpaste, 1 Colgate Total toothpaste, 2 boxes of Frosted Mini Wheats, 6 bags of Easter Candy (the good stuff like Hersheys and Reeses!) and a gallon of milk for about $5 out of pocket. I also left with $4 in Extra Care Bucks, so really I only spent about $1. YAY! I was stoked to pay $0 for the cereal and only 24 cents for a big tube of Colgate toothpaste. How cool is that to bust out with a quarter to pay for a transaction?  I’m still learning how to work it at the grocery store. Some times it’s a no brainer, deals just fall into my lap. Other times I have to work harder for it. Yesterday I got a bag of rice for $.09 and a men’s Gillette deodorant and Gillette body wash for $.34. I was stoked about that. BTW, if you need any men’s deodorant my house is the place to come. I have about 15 sticks under my bathroom sink…

Anyway… on one of my shopping trips to Walgreens I ended up with two boxes 3-in-1 Purex detergent for like $2. I wasn’t sure what I’d think about it. I mean, I’m not real picky about my detergent because basically I do a ton of laundry for our big family and I do it on a small budget. Usually, however, Purex was the best deal anyway. Although the 3-in-1 is a little more expensive. That makes sense though since it’s detergent, softener and anti-static all in one. Sorry, I’m rambling… My point was that I now have tried the Purex 3-in-1 and I LOVE IT. LOVE it.  It smells good, it washes great and then I get to just throw the sheet in with the wet clothes into the dryer. It’s awesome. And it’s safe for all types of machines- including front loaders.  Anyway… I think I love it and will be getting it more often. I love how I don’t have to worry about dryer sheets or anything. If you want to try it out you can go HERE and get a free sample.

This weekend is Career Conference for Mary Kay. I am excited to learn more, grow, become closer to the girls in my area, etc…  I am really enjoying being a MK Lady. I’m not all hardcore, Caddy driving… yet. But I am making money and having fun while doing it. YAY! If you’d like to learn more about what I do let me know!

I’m writing this with a fuzzy, flu-head, so I hope it makes sense. It’s October already. OCTOBER. Christmas is in less than 3 months. I’m freakin’ out big time here. I have 5 kids to buy for that will be here, plus my 2 step-daughters who won’t be with us this year, extended family members, teachers… I’m starting to hyperventilate. I’ve been trying to come up with ways to save money, although this year with all the lawyers fees we’ve had it’s been next to impossible. I’ve been trying to come up with cheap gift ideas. Or maybe one BIG gift for the kids rather than a bunch of little ones. Sei and I actually talked about building a skate ramp. That’d be rad. And since we have so many kids to buy for it’d probably be cheaper to go that route.

I just hate the stress of the holidays because it overshadows what it’s all about. Celebrating our Savior’s birth shouldn’t stress us out or force us into major financial crisis. I had a friend who one year just wanted her son to have a great Christmas so she took out one of those small payday loans. At the time that was her answer. My answer so far has been to start picking up things now. If I see something on sale I try to buy it and put it away. My only problem there is that I usually end up with waaaaay too much because I forget what I’ve purchased. I’m also trying to stick a little from each paycheck into savings so we have a little to work with. I have to remember that heating costs will be going up- thankfully I’m in Texas so they aren’t that bad. But before that happens – like most of Oct. and Nov.- we basically don’t use our heat or a/c. I don’t think the a/c has clicked on all week. We should take advantage of that and put the money we usually use towards heat or a/c towards Christmas instead. I need to learn to be more disciplined.

What are your best holiday savings tips? Or savings tips in general??