A few posts ago, I shared some great tips for using Dryer Sheets. This week I learned another one (of course it has to be AFTER our camping trip :).
My neighbor swears that dryer sheets keep bugs away. When she goes camping she hangs one in the door way of her tent and no bugs come in. I wish I would have known this last week! Oh well, live and learn.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Free Shipping from TheCouponBinder.com
As you are all aware, I LOVE to use coupons to shop. I LOVE to save money, and I LOVE to help you do the same. This week I am doing a Complete Coupon Binder system giveaway on www.5dollardinners.com. Along with this I am offering FREE shipping when you buy a Complete Coupon Binder system. Use promo code "VALUEDCUST" when checking out. Offer good until 8/31/09 so visit www.TheCouponBinder.com and get one of my most valuable tools for saving money!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Our Budget Vacation
We went on vacation this week - YEAH! DH took a whole week off of work (can't remember the last time that happened :) and we went away. However we were determined not to break the bank. For a vacation that lasted Monday through Friday I think we did pretty well.
Many of my friends have been interested in what we did. So I am going to tell you here and break it down into what we spent. We already had the equipment and borrowed what else we needed.
MONDAY thru THURSDAY
Camping at a State Park for 4 days 3 nights $57
motor boat rental 1 hour $30
swim pool entrance fee + swimmy diaper $24
Fishing + worms FREE (We brought our own compost worms)
Wendy's on the way home $24
FRIDAY
Zoo + rides all day FREE (we have a membership)
FRIDAY NIGHT
DH and I go see Harry Potter $10 (we used a gift card to help pay)
Babysitter $35
(the girls had their own sleepover this night and got to stay up until 11 pm. They LOVED it.)
FOOD
Ice cream at zoo $16 (we packed a lunch, snacks, and water)
Food for the week $150
GAS to get to all these places $30 (both camping and the zoo are close)
GRAND TOTAL for 5 days of vacation fun $331
We went camping not only because it was inexpensive, but it also gives an entire experience. It is something that once you are there you don't feel like you need to go and find something else to do.
At the campsite, the kids are content finding bugs, playing in the tent, throwing things into the fire, playing at the playground, etc. When we stay at hotels we usually feel like we need to go find something to do. That "something" usually costs more $$, and takes us away from the place that we spent a lot of money to rent.
I also have to say that we chose this particular State Park because it was 1)cheap, 2) had a nice pool, and 3) we could go fishing. We also found out that State Parks are cheaper than privately owned campgounds. One night at a private campground would have cost $50/night.
Now, I am not going to try to sugar coat this into sounding like it was the perfect vacation. It wasn't. Camping takes a lot of work in gathering the stuff, packing it, getting there, unpacking, setting up, cooking over a fire, fighting off monster insects, etc. By Thursday I was ready to come home.
However, it is a process that you all contribute to. It is something that the whole family has to work at together and that is a beautiful thing. It also teaches the kids that getting dirty, doing without, forgetting something and making due are all great things.
It also forces you to talk because there are no phones, t.v.s, or computers. We played a lot of card games, read "Lord of the Ring" books out loud, and ate a lot of junk food (DD2 LOVED that aspect. We rarely get junk food.) I learned that our girls pick up really fast on card games and LOVE ganging up on dear old mom. (All the times we played card games I lost, and not on purpose, they really whooped me.)
We came home with a car full of mud, hearts full of memories, and money still in our pockets. LOVE IT!
I would love to hear about your fun, frugal vacation ideas. You can either leave a comment at the end of this post or email it to me at info@thecouponbinder.com
p.s. If you are wondering what we did on Saturday, I am going to potty train DD3 today. It is a one day process that requires DH to take the other girls away. I have no idea what they are going to do. It is his job to figure that out.
Many of my friends have been interested in what we did. So I am going to tell you here and break it down into what we spent. We already had the equipment and borrowed what else we needed.
MONDAY thru THURSDAY
Camping at a State Park for 4 days 3 nights $57
motor boat rental 1 hour $30
swim pool entrance fee + swimmy diaper $24
Fishing + worms FREE (We brought our own compost worms)
Wendy's on the way home $24
FRIDAY
Zoo + rides all day FREE (we have a membership)
FRIDAY NIGHT
DH and I go see Harry Potter $10 (we used a gift card to help pay)
Babysitter $35
(the girls had their own sleepover this night and got to stay up until 11 pm. They LOVED it.)
FOOD
Ice cream at zoo $16 (we packed a lunch, snacks, and water)
Food for the week $150
GAS to get to all these places $30 (both camping and the zoo are close)
GRAND TOTAL for 5 days of vacation fun $331
We went camping not only because it was inexpensive, but it also gives an entire experience. It is something that once you are there you don't feel like you need to go and find something else to do.
At the campsite, the kids are content finding bugs, playing in the tent, throwing things into the fire, playing at the playground, etc. When we stay at hotels we usually feel like we need to go find something to do. That "something" usually costs more $$, and takes us away from the place that we spent a lot of money to rent.
I also have to say that we chose this particular State Park because it was 1)cheap, 2) had a nice pool, and 3) we could go fishing. We also found out that State Parks are cheaper than privately owned campgounds. One night at a private campground would have cost $50/night.
Now, I am not going to try to sugar coat this into sounding like it was the perfect vacation. It wasn't. Camping takes a lot of work in gathering the stuff, packing it, getting there, unpacking, setting up, cooking over a fire, fighting off monster insects, etc. By Thursday I was ready to come home.
However, it is a process that you all contribute to. It is something that the whole family has to work at together and that is a beautiful thing. It also teaches the kids that getting dirty, doing without, forgetting something and making due are all great things.
It also forces you to talk because there are no phones, t.v.s, or computers. We played a lot of card games, read "Lord of the Ring" books out loud, and ate a lot of junk food (DD2 LOVED that aspect. We rarely get junk food.) I learned that our girls pick up really fast on card games and LOVE ganging up on dear old mom. (All the times we played card games I lost, and not on purpose, they really whooped me.)
We came home with a car full of mud, hearts full of memories, and money still in our pockets. LOVE IT!
I would love to hear about your fun, frugal vacation ideas. You can either leave a comment at the end of this post or email it to me at info@thecouponbinder.com
p.s. If you are wondering what we did on Saturday, I am going to potty train DD3 today. It is a one day process that requires DH to take the other girls away. I have no idea what they are going to do. It is his job to figure that out.
Cash Only Experiment
Next month I am doing an experiment on myself - CASH ONLY for one month. My hypothesis is that I will spend even less money than I currently do if I have only cash.
I have wondered about this quite a lot lately. The tipping factor was an article I read on CNN about shopping. (Look at my "Must Read Article" post for the link if you are interested.) In one study they found that people that used credit cards payed 300% more for an item than those who had only cash to spend. WOW!
Now, I am really good at keeping a budget, even with credit cards. However, if I am under budget I do find myself "indulging" more in little expenditures. So next month I am going plasticless. It will be interesting to see how my spending habits change. It will also be interesting to find out how it feels to see the green backs actually exchange hands.
I am devising a TOOL to keep my categories straight. So far it includes envelopes and a small baggie for change. If any of you have a whiz bang way of keeping a budget with cash only I would love to hear about it.
Make sure you stay tuned in for the results of my "highly scientific" self-research :)
I have wondered about this quite a lot lately. The tipping factor was an article I read on CNN about shopping. (Look at my "Must Read Article" post for the link if you are interested.) In one study they found that people that used credit cards payed 300% more for an item than those who had only cash to spend. WOW!
Now, I am really good at keeping a budget, even with credit cards. However, if I am under budget I do find myself "indulging" more in little expenditures. So next month I am going plasticless. It will be interesting to see how my spending habits change. It will also be interesting to find out how it feels to see the green backs actually exchange hands.
I am devising a TOOL to keep my categories straight. So far it includes envelopes and a small baggie for change. If any of you have a whiz bang way of keeping a budget with cash only I would love to hear about it.
Make sure you stay tuned in for the results of my "highly scientific" self-research :)
A Must Read Article
As I was cruising the news this morning I came across a fantastic article about shopping. It detailed the findings from studies done by Stanford professors. (I loved that part too. My DH spent over five years there and my DD1 took part in their children's studies.)
I won't go into the details of it, but it gives a lot of good scientific details about how the brain reacts to spending, what factors drive spending, how credit cards are dangerous and how we justify spending more when we use them, etc., etc.
Here is the link http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/personal/08/13/o.six.shopping.traps/index.html?iref=werecommend
Happy reading!
I won't go into the details of it, but it gives a lot of good scientific details about how the brain reacts to spending, what factors drive spending, how credit cards are dangerous and how we justify spending more when we use them, etc., etc.
Here is the link http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/personal/08/13/o.six.shopping.traps/index.html?iref=werecommend
Happy reading!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Online Coupons
A frugal friend of mine, Ellen, suggested I blog about online coupon sites. I am not talking printable grocery coupons. I am talking about discount codes for online retailers.
There are several websites out there. Ellen suggested http://www.retailmenot.com/ and http://www.savings.com/. She used these while planning her daughter's wedding. There are other ones too like http://www.couponcabin.com/ or you can Google "discount code for _____" and insert the store you are looking for.
Many retailers (especially in this economy) are running promotional deals to generate business. It is well worth the time to look for codes to use during your check-out process. It only takes about five minutes, but you can find great deals.
Thank you Ellen for this blog idea and the links! You are fab!
If any of you have frugal ideas or tips, please email them to me at info@thecouponbinder.com
There are several websites out there. Ellen suggested http://www.retailmenot.com/ and http://www.savings.com/. She used these while planning her daughter's wedding. There are other ones too like http://www.couponcabin.com/ or you can Google "discount code for _____" and insert the store you are looking for.
Many retailers (especially in this economy) are running promotional deals to generate business. It is well worth the time to look for codes to use during your check-out process. It only takes about five minutes, but you can find great deals.
Thank you Ellen for this blog idea and the links! You are fab!
If any of you have frugal ideas or tips, please email them to me at info@thecouponbinder.com
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Deadly Vinegar - for some
If the garden abundance, is also bringing on an abundance of fruit flies, try this trick. In a tea cup pour about 1" of apple cider vinegar. Then put two drops of liquid dish soap in the vinegar. This breaks up the water bonds on the top of the vinegar. The fruit flies will be attracted to it, go to land on it, and then fall in and drown. It works like a charm.
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