My Frugal Year » Saving Money

Vacation on the Brain

Becca — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 00:17:53 +0000

I can’t help it. I suppose that’s fair considering it’s our first family vacation. Circumstances over the years just haven’t allowed it before, but that’s all over and here we are a few months out from our fabulous Disney World vacation. I did get a great discount – 40% off the hotel room and picked the best time to go – when I’d already be in Orlando for a business conference so my airfare was covered.

SO…with summer coming up, I figured I’d go looking for some ways to save money for vacations and good vacation discounts out there to share with you!

First of all, I’m a fan of online surveys. As I’ve said before, you won’t get rich doing it, but every little bit helps, right? For over a year now I admit I’ve been horribly lazy about completing surveys, so the income isn’t what it could be. Still, last year I earned over $500 and so far this year close to $200. Here are some of my favorites:

Those are my favorites and ones I get checks from regularly. Now of course, there is MyPoints. While they don’t pay cash, you can trade in points for great vacation stuff like airline miles, Marriott certificates, restaurant gift cards and all sorts of wonderful things. You earn points by clicking on links from emails and shopping through the links on the site if you choose.

Now for some travel savings:

Expedia is a great place to shop for flights, hotels and such:

Priceline lets you set the price you’ll pay:

Southwest is running some great deals right now!

So there are some vacation savings ideas for you. I’m already throwing my spare change in a jar to plan for a real vacation next year too!

Discount on the Couponizer

Becca — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:34:12 +0000

The Couponizer is having a Mother’s Day special! You can get 10% off your order:

10% OFF

on select items with coupon code SAVENOW at checkout!

Hurry, coupon code expires May 31st!
10% off all Couponizer products
minimum purchase $19.95 for code to apply
expires: May 31, 2010
(excludes already discounted combo offers)

Click below to go to the site and start saving!!

Back on the horse!

Becca — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 19:35:29 +0000

It’s been quite a frugal year around here and I’ve been terrible about blogging it. So here I am, ready to get back on the horse again and do a better job of tracking the savings. One thing I did learn was that an event like a car accident or illness can derail the best laid plans. But enough about the past…on to the future of frugality and savings…with a NEW GOAL!

Something we were able to accomplish this year was to save enough to be able to take our first ever family vacation. We’re anxiously awaiting our departure this summer for Walt Disney World! It’s been so much fun doing the planning and plotting to make this a fantastic vacation. I’m happy to report that I found us great savings and are able to stay on property at a deluxe resort for our 5 night/6 day Disney extravaganza.

So…the new goal…now that we have a taste of what a real vacation is like – we need to plot and plan and save so we can do another vacation next year! Woo hoo!

Through a great Disney-related message board, I found a terrific budget board and joined a “Coupon Train.” Ever done this? It’s where each week you clip all the coupons you can find – set aside the ones you will use, then send the ones you won’t use along to the next person in the train. Each week you receive a lovely envelope stuffed with coupons in your mailbox. I’ve found this to be very useful as folks in other areas of the country get different coupons sometimes than we do here, so I’ve gotten some great ones to use and have been able to pass along some great savings to others.

Grab some of your own coupons here:

Catching Up

Becca — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 23:30:02 +0000

Yes, I know…it’s been a while. I’ve been overwhelmed with school work, work work, home work, family work and just a lot of work in general. I have, however, dutifully saved all my receipts to keep track of what the heck I’ve been spending/saving.

I just have time for a quick update today, so I’ll make it short and sweet. Since I last posted:

Spent: 291.92
Saved: 99.51
Transferred to savings $99.51

Year to date savings: $202.78

Don’t forget about great printable grocery coupons you can get free online!

I will post more over the weekend!

Day Twenty Eight and Twenty Nine – It’s a Time Thing

Becca — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 01:54:54 +0000

Wow. This really has been a busy week. This working two jobs, having a family and going to school thing can really kick my patootie sometimes. This week is one of those times.

This got me thinking – savings isn’t just about money. It’s about time, too. Now time is a funny thing. I hear people talk about “saving time,” but that really isn’t the right way of putting it. There is no time bank. You don’t save time and put it away to use later. Not technically, anyway. But you can use time more effectively, in essence giving you more time to do the things you want to do. Like take a nap. Or play with your kids, or just sit and have some coffee with a friend.

Time is a funny thing. It’s truly a “spend as you go” asset. It’s use it or lose it, period. It doesn’t earn interest and doesn’t magically grow. So how DO you figure out how to be more thrifty with time? Well, there are lots of experts out there with really good advice on how to use your time. I’m lucky enough to know one of them – and she’s truly an expert. She lives what she teaches and her life is evidence that what she teaches works. Her book, “Find More Time” is one of the best, down-to-earth, solid advice books I’ve read on the subject. It’s well worth the time to read it.

Trust me, you’ll love it!

Day 26 and 27 – Keeping Up

Becca — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 22:00:05 +0000

It’s been a ridiculously busy week and it’s only Tuesday! I’ve been, in the spirit of frugality, working on getting a working computer for the family member I mentioned earlier. The laptop I was trying to fix is sadly DOA. No hope. But between the cases, motherboards and hard drives we had laying around here, we managed to “frankenstein” a pretty decent computer. Got it installed today at their house and everything is working. Cost: $0! That is a beautiful thing.

My husband did a quick shopping run and saved a few bucks. Yay for guys who like to save too!

By the way…the crockpot creation from Sunday turned out great. Everyone loved it. Served it over tortilla chips and put some shredded cheese on top, a little sour cream and salsa. We’ll be doing that one again for sure!

Deal for today: Don’t forget about Drugstore.com’s Deal of the Day. You never know what you’re going to find!

Spent: $57.68
Saved:$10.79
Transferred to savings $10.79

Year to date savings:$103.27
I can do better than that next month!!

Day Nineteen

Becca — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 00:21:21 +0000

Monday. Yep. That’s about it. No shopping or fun stuff to report. Been working too hard and trying to get things done around the house.

Can I make an embarrassing admission? The tree. Yes, the Christmas tree. It’s still up. With decorations. Clearly, something must be done. That’s a frugal night – taking down the tree. Nothing to spend there. However I fear this may be the last year for the poor, decrepit thing. It’s probably ten years old. Hopefully I can find a screaming deal on a new one for next year.