July 2015 Debt Progress Post

It’s time to go over the debt progress for July!

July is the month of vacations, hot weather and family BBQ’s!  July is also a very bad month for couponing – only 2 coupon weeks in the month.  Dag-nab-it!

Our debt also took a backwards turn this month, as we decided to purchase a car – on a loan of course! Now, we didn’t go all out or anything.  We now have a 2003 Honda Civic 2 door with…wait for it… 21,000 miles on it!!! WHAT??? (Don’t worry we still have the MINI) His old 1999 Nissan was leaking fuel, so it was time to go.  We sold it for $1100 and got the Civic from my Aunt.  It used to belong to her mother, so it’s been gently driven for 13 years! And it’s a Honda, it will last forever.  So that set us back $5,000 deeper into the hole.

But as Honda’s have great resale value, the car is worth more than that.  So while our net-worth went up $1500, our debt took us deeper into the hole $5000.  Stupid cars. Hooray for reliability!

July’s Extra Expenses:

• His Mom’s Birthday – $xx
• Family Reunion – $150
• Attend Wedding – $200
• Replenish the Emergency Fund from last month’s car repairs – $1,000
• Buy 2003 Honda Civic – $5,000
• Total Extra Expenses: $1,350 ish + $5000 loan
  

Back On to Baby Step 2: Pay Off All Our Debts

Hello Baby step 2 again!  This time we greet you even worse off than we were before by $5,000.  We cash flowed the vacations and out of state wedding, we successfully replenished the Emergency Fund to $1000, but now we are still $5000 deeper than we were.  Back to Nazi like fanaticism on the budget and the debt.

While the main focus is still paying for this wedding of ours (only 79 more days to go!!!), the debt will get an extra $200 in August and an extra $400 in September.  Then after we are done cash flowing our wedding, that debt is GOING DOWN. I can’t stand looking at it.

Summary:

June Debt Balance: $35,413.44

Total Debt Payments: $495.27

Remaining Debt: $40,982.35

June 2015 Debt Progress Post

It’s time to go over the debt progress for June!

Oh June, what a month for money! Unfortunately June was not kind to our budget or our emergency fund.

June’s Extra Expenses:

• Mom’s Birthday – $xxx (family reads this blog, sorry! This also included a dinner)
• Father’s Day – $xx
• Bridal Shower Gift – $xx
• Chiropractor Visit – $25
• MINI repairs – $1,060 – Includes Brakes getting a total workover, spark plugs, serpentine belt, air filters, sensors, oil change, alignment, tire rotation and balance.
• Total Extra Expenses: $1,350 ish
  

Where did that money come from?

Well $1,000 of that came from our emergency fund for the MINI, essentially putting us at $0 savings. Brakes are essential to safety in a car and it was just non negotiable.  Also, I had been driving on crappy brakes for a month already, so I couldn’t put it off any further.  The Birthday and Fathers Day gifts came directly out of our grocery and dining out budget, so we skimped on groceries. The bridal shower gift I under budgeted for, and so I had to use all of my “Pocket Money” to cover that.

Back to Baby Step 1: Get $1,000 in an Emergency Fund

So we are officially now on Baby Step 1 again, which means no extra money towards debt.  That means debt progess for June is the extreme bare minimum.  The payment I would have been making to debt this month has already gone back into the emergency fund. It will most likely take all of July as well until we are fully funded again, and then debt payments can resume.

On a good note, even though we paid only the minimums, our debt goes still goes down since there is no interest on the old car loan. The student loans gain some interest of course, but not too much.

Summary:

March Debt Balance: $35,908.71

Total Debt Payments: $495.27

Remaining Debt: $35,413.44

CHEAP $0.72 to $0.86 Sunscreen Deal at Target Thru Saturday May 23rd!

Banana Boat Sunscreen is really really cheap, just in time for Memorial Day! Usually sunscreen is around $8 per container, so hurry up and get into Target today and pick some up! Faster!

 

According to my price checking tool, the Banana Boat Men’s Triple Defense sunscreen is as cheap as $6.49 per bottle in some neighborhoods, and then in others it is as high as $7.99.  The Banana Boat Sun Comfort is the same price everywhere, as is the Banana Boat Sport Performance Lip Balm. I have posted two scenarios depending on what neighborhood Target you shop in:

•  (If you shop in Glendale, Denver, Sheridan, Stapleton or select other locations pick up the following 2 items:)
  Buy 1 Banana Boat Men’s Triple Defense Sunscreen 6 oz – $7.49
  Buy 1 Banana Boat Sun Comfort Sunscreen Spray 6 oz – $7.99
  ~Use $5 off $15 suncare purchase threshold coupon from Target Ad
  ~OR text SUN to 827438 and get Digital threshold coupon for $5 off $15 sent to your phone
  ~THEN use $1 off 1 Banana Boat sunscreen Target coupon
  ~AND use $3/2 Banana Boat Sunscreen products from 5/17 newspaper
  ~AND use 10% Cartwheel off of Banana Boat Men’s Sunscreen products
  ~AND use 10% Cartwheel off Banana Boat Sun Comfort Sunscreen
  ~Pay $9.32 at the Register, Recieve $5 giftcard
  ~THEN submit to Ibotta for $1.25 off Men’s Triple Defense Sunscreen
  ~AND submit to Ibotta for $1.25 off Banana Boat Sun Comfort Sunscreen
  ~Get a $1 bonus from Ibotta for redeeming 2 Banana Boat Offers
  ***Still need to sign up for Ibotta? Click Here to sign up and join my Ibotta team!***
  ~Final Price: After giftcard and rebates – $1.43 or $0.72/per item!!!!
• (If you shop in Aurora, Littleton, Highlands Ranch, Golden, Arvada, Lakewood and select other areas pick up the following 3 items:)
  Buy 1 Banana Boat Men’s Triple Defense Sunscreen 6 oz – $6.59
  Buy 1 Banana Boat Sun Comfort Sunscreen Spray 6 oz – $7.99
  Buy 1 Banana Boat Sport Performance Lip Balm SPF 50 – $1.97
  ~Use $5 off $15 suncare purchase threshold coupon from Target Ad
  ~OR text SUN to 827438 and get Digital threshold coupon for $5 off $15 sent to your phone
  ~THEN use $1 off 1 Banana Boat sunscreen Target coupon
  ~AND use $3/2 Banana Boat Sunscreen products from 5/17 newspaper
  ~AND use 10% Cartwheel off of Banana Boat Men’s Sunscreen products
  ~AND use 10% Cartwheel off Banana Boat Sun Comfort Sunscreen
  ~Pay $11.09 at the Register, Recieve $5 giftcard
  ~THEN submit to Ibotta for $1.25 off Men’s Triple Defense Sunscreen
  ~AND submit to Ibotta for $1.25 off Banana Boat Sun Comfort Sunscreen
  ~Get a $1 bonus from Ibotta for redeeming 2 Banana Boat Offers
  ***Still need to sign up for Ibotta? Click Here to sign up and join my Ibotta team!***
  ~Final Price: After $5 giftcard and rebates – $2.59 or $0.86/per item!!!!

FREE BABY WIPES at Target Plus a Money Maker!!!

FREE HUGGIES BABY WIPES DEAL AT TARGET!!!

If you don’t have the Target Cartwheel App, you need it! Click here if you need to download the app.  Once you get it installed on your phone, you can scan store items and check for discounts, and load deals to your “barcode”.  At the Register, be sure to hand the cashier all of your coupons first, and then have them scan your barcode and apply more savings to your order! Keep in mind you can have one Target Coupon, one Manufacturer coupon, one Cartwheel offer and then use your 5% Redcard and/or Pharmacy Rewards Card, all on one item. Most of the deals offered on Cartwheel give you a percentage off the PRE-MANUFACTURER COUPON price of the item. Score!***The price of the wipes depends on which Target store you go to***. This is unfortunate, but at some Denver stores they are $2.39 and at other Denver stores, they are $1.97. Both scenario’s are below:

• Buy 3 Huggies Baby Wipes -56 count – Get different kinds of wipes with different UPC codes– $2.39/container
  –Use 3 $0.50 off Huggies Baby Wipes printable coupons (must print from 2 different computers to get three coupons)
  –Use $2.50/2 Huggies Diapers or Wipes Target Mobile coupon (to get this, text OFFERS to 827438)
  -Use Cartwheel offer 5% off Huggies Wipes
  -Use RedCard  and/or Pharmacy Rewards card for 5%
  -Pay at $2.79 at the register, then submit rebate to Ibotta for $3 off any 3 different Kimberly Clark Products (Get different kinds of wipes with different UPC codes)
  -Final Price: FREE + $0.21 MONEY MAKER!!!! When you buy 3
  
• Buy 3 Huggies Baby Wipes -56 count – Get different kinds of wipes with different UPC codes– $1.97/container
  –Use 3 $0.50 off Huggies Baby Wipes printable coupons (must print from 2 different computers to get three coupons)
  –Use $2.50/2 Huggies Diapers or Wipes Target Mobile coupon (to get this, text OFFERS to 827438)
  -Use Cartwheel offer 5% off Huggies Wipes
  -Use RedCard and/or Pharmacy Rewards card for 5%
  -Pay at $1.65 at the register, then submit rebate to Ibotta for $3 off any 3 unique Kimberly Clark Products (Get different kinds of wipes with different UPC codes)
  –Final Price: FREE + $1.35 MONEY MAKER!!!! When you buy 3
  

April 2015 Debt Post

It’s time to go over the debt progress for April!

Unfortunately there is not as much progress as I would like to see this month, but there is still progress.  Beggars can’t be choosers, so we will take it!

A couple of things popped up this month, that lowered our debt payment amount.  First, I finally bought my year long supply of contacts (I’ve been holding out since February).  I am not the kind of person who likes to go every month, or every six months to buy contacts (who has time for that?) so I buy all of them at once.  That can get a little pricey, since the prices are mostly fixed by the manufacturer’s.  I also needed an expensive cosmetics item, which is also a once a year purchase.  We are also planning to attend an out-of-town-wedding in July and we need to book a hotel room for that as well. The last reason is it’s “Birthday Season” in my family, so we’ve got dinners and birthday gifts to purchase every month, all the way through July 2015.

April’s Extra Expenses:

• $220 – 1 year supply of contacts
• $27 – Clinique Face lotion (once a year purchase)
• $50 – Birthday dinners and presents
• $218 – Hotel for 3 nights in July

Our debt payments were well over $1500 every month, but with the wedding looming in 170 days (read more money into wedding fund than into debt payoff) and our extra expenses we only put $700.09 towards our debt this month.  However, this puts us below the $36k mark! Woohoo!

The exciting thing is that we were able to cover all of those extra expenses in cash, without digging into the emergency fund.  And then we were still able to pay $164.00 over minimum payments on our student loans. Awesome!

Summary:

March Debt Balance: $36,608.80

Total Debt Payments: $700.09

Remaining Debt: $35,908.71

Hey Denver – Free Beer + Money Maker!!!

Did someone say FREE BEER? This is not a joke. We are past April Fool’s Day.

If your Walmart carries alcohol, you are in for a free 6 pack of Shock Top Belgian White Beer! Some of the Walmart Neighborhood Market stores also have alcohol in them. You can always look up your local Walmart before you go and see if they carry alcohol – click here to get a list of stores that carry alcohol!

• 6-Pack Shock Top Belgian White Beer – $7.97
  ~Submit receipt to Ibotta for $3 off 1 6-Pack Any Flavor Shock Top Rebate (Sign up and use code pcmmyhk to get bonus cash back!)
  ~Submit receipt to Shopmium for $5 off 1 6-Pack of Shock Top Rebate (Sign up and use code KAAUCFKY to get a FREE Lindt Chocolate Bar!)
  ~Final Price: FREE BEER + $0.03 Money Maker!!!

You literally get Paid 3 cents to purchase a 6 pack. Now that is just Plain Common Cents shopping!

Our Top 5 Long Term Financial Goals

When you start budgeting and pinching pennies it is essential you have dreams for all that money you are saving.

In order to make those dreams a reality, you have to have some long term goals.  Short term financial goals are good, and those are essential too, but what happens when, six months from now, you feel burnt out on couponing and you just want to buy that $500 item you’ve had your eye on? (It does happen…)

That’s when you have to remind yourself why you are doing all this work, and bending over backwards to save $5 on groceries.  The dreams and long term goals go hand in hand to keep you on track in the long run.

Here are Hubster & I’s Top 5 Long Term Financial Goals:

• Goal 1: Pay for our wedding and honeymoon in cash, in full. – We want to pay cash for our wedding to the tune of $13,000, give or take a thousand. Why put all of those cash wedding gifts towards debt? The goal here is to have the wedding completely paid for before we walk down the aisle. This ensures that any wedding money we get will be used for what it was intended for – as a blessing for our new life, not for paying our debtors. We also want to pay for our honeymoon in cash, which is budgeted for $3500 or less. And we can do it! All we need to do is save a whole crap ton of money and only pay for things that we need, like the really cheap groceries that I list on this site! 🙂
• Goal 2: Pay off all of our combined debt – All of it. Not just his, not just mine, but all of OUR debt. We will be married, and it becomes our problem, not a mine and yours problem. Now 95% of our debt is student loan debt, with one tiny credit card thrown in there and an old car loan with a low balance. What we don’t want is the debt number to grow for any reason at all, at any point. Since we will have cash flowed our wedding and honeymoon, there should be zero reason why this number would go up instead of down. Our end goal with this phase of the plan is to have our debt paid off completely 1 year after getting married. And we can do it if everything stays the same or improves as far as incoming cash flow. Can you imagine, paying off $35,000 in 1 year? How awesome would that be?!
• Goal 3: Build up savings of 3-6 months of expenses in Emergency Fund – This will be hard the first month, because we will have all this money coming in and “nothing” to do with it – except save it instead of spend! Therein lies the problem, the not spending it part. So once we get over the shock of no debt payments and an abundance of money, we should be able to get this part done in 4 months. Ideally three months, but we won’t push it yet!
• Goal 4: Cash flow Hubster’s tuition – This is going to be the hardest part.  Once he goes to school full time at the university, he will lose his current day job. This means a drastic cut in income.  On top of that, we refuse to take out any more school loans, so that means we will be putting down a bare minimum of $1475/month (a rent check in it’s own right!) into payments to the school or into savings to pay to the school all at once. And we will be able to that, even on an income cut, because we won’t have ANY monthly payments except rent and utilities. I cannot even imagine what that is like!
• Goal 5: Build up a down payment on a house – Fast forward like 5 years.  Hubster has graduated, and has a steady job, and we are living wherever his job is. This is when we are debt free, and all income goes towards whatever we say it goes to, not towards paying the dreaded loan people or the University of Forever Payments.  This is when we just pay rent and save up 20% for a down payment on a house, to avoid PMI of course! This should not take long at all, maybe another year or so, and we get a house.  Or if it was ONLY up to me, we would just use that money to buy a house in another country… or travel… or buy a farm…

61% Savings – Target Grocery Haul – 4/1

My main couponing focus was Target this week, since Target has a giftcard promotion on groceries. In the ad this week they have a coupon that gives you a $10 Target giftcard when you buy $50 in groceries.  The ad also states that, if you buy 4 participating bath and body products you get a $5 giftcard.

So utilizing the above information, the weekly ad and all of my handy coupons I have cut out on things we actually need, I was ready to go! I ended up spending $42.74 on $110.78 dollars worth of stuff we actually needed!

Here’s a noob photo of our grocery haul – not pictured, Marie Callenders pie, Market Pantry Brown Sugar, Jimmy Dean sausage roll.

Here’s How:

Debt Thought Of The Day

I ran across this on Facebook today and thought I would share it with you. This is why we work to save our money and pay off debt. Our society is backwards. We don’t want to go backwards, we want to go forwards. Which means leaving debt behind. Which means being money savvy. Which is what I am trying to do here.

Thoughts?

5 “Plain Common Cents” Ways To Save Money At The Grocery Store

Everybody has to eat, but does it have to be so expensive?

According to the USDA, the average American couple on a “Moderate” food budget spends $618.60 on groceries every month.  In comparison, an average family of 4 spends between $893 and $1064 per month on groceries alone. Whhaaatttt??? (Check out the Official Chart from the USDA website to see where you are!) We can safely assume that the same average family probably spends even more money eating at restaurants, on top of the grocery bills!

This is just simply ridiculous to me, since anyone can save money on their groceries without difficulty. Right now, my fiance and I spend under $400 a month on groceries. In February it was $375, this month is longer and we are going to end up about $390.  This lands us safely in the “Thrifty” category on the chart, where an average Thrifty couple spends $389.90.

Here are 5 Plain Common Cents ways we save money on groceries:

1. Eat what is on sale –
   I was explaining to a coworker recently that I had to go to Sprouts Farmers Market on Wednesday for the Double Ad Wednesday Deals to get my vegetables before they went off sale.  Shocked, she looked at me and said, “Wait, you only eat what is on sale? You don’t just get what you want?” No. I need to be at least a 100,000-aire of that kind of nonsense. Sale flyers for the grocery stores come out every Wednesday.  Take a peek and see what is on sale, and then plan your menu for the rest of the week until next Wednesday and make a shopping list.  By meal planning from Wednesday to Wednesday and eating only what is on sale that week, not only do you save the most money, but you learn to cook different foods and enjoy seasonal meals.
2. Not every “sale” is a good sale/Read the Shelf Tags –
   You MUST read the shelf tags at the grocery store. For example, last week King Soopers had a sale on Fudgsicles. I don’t know about you, but I am a sucker for Fudgsicles. As part of the Mega Event Buy 5 Get $5 Off, the price for a 20 count box was 2.99. But you had to buy 5 items to get that price. I was at the grocery store for 3 pantry staples, not for 5 things I didn’t really need.  As I stood there hem-hawing in front of the freezer glass, I happened to glance up and spot an even better deal. The 8 count boxes of Fudgsicles were $1 box. So let’s do the math:
   • Scenario 1:
     1 20-count Box Fudgsicles is $2.99 if I buy 4 other items. Let’s say I get 4 $0.99 items to make the 5 items I need for the Mega Sale price. This box of Fudgsicles will end up costing me $6.95 since I did not come here for the 4 other items. Or I could pay $3.99 for one box without buying any of the other 4 items. Total Cost: $6.95 or $3.99 for 20 Fudgsicles
   • Scenario 2:
     1 8-count box Fudgsicles is $1. If I buy 3 boxes of Fudgsicles I get 24 Fudgsicles for $3.00. Total Cost $3 for 24 Fudgsicles

   By Reading the shelf tags, I got 4 MORE Fudgsicles for exactly $0.01 more than the advertised sale price, without buying anything I didn’t want or need. So remember, the advertised sale is NOT always the best deal so you have to read the self tags.

3. Don’t buy it just because you have a coupon –
   I always have my coupons when I go to the store. I usually have the deals I want to get paper-clipped together in a bundle. But sometimes you get to the item you want, and the price is way to high and you know it is not a good deal, even with the coupon. My usual rule of thumb is that if you don’t need it, and it’s going to cost you $3 or more at the register, don’t buy it. That’s when you put it down. File that coupon back in the stack, and walk away. But don’t throw it away, because next week it could go on sale, and if thats the case, you can come back and get a good deal.
4. Pay Cash – Thanks to Dave Ramsey, I now pay cash for my groceries and use my debit card for everything else. You should always have your list of what you need that week based on the sales flyers. That way you can GUESSTIMATE how much its going to cost you that week for groceries (we don’t have to be THAT anal-retentive).  Then you go to the bank and pull out slightly more than you think you are going to spend. Armed with your cash and your coupons, you know that you can’t put those Oreos in your cart, because you might not have enough cash for that. You can’t put 2 boxes of cereal in the cart because you only came for one, and you might not have enough cash for that. And those dollars stay safely in your bank account, not in the cash register.
5. Use Rebate Apps – I have been harping on my family and friends about rebate apps. It didn’t take long for my fiance to realize that taking pictures of the receipts is just something I am going to do. Any why the heck would you not use them? You get money back! Yes, they work, and yes, you get real money, not gift cards. Again, only use them on things you were going to buy anyways (see step 3 as rebates count as coupons for all intents and purposes).  My 4 favorite apps are listed below, so try them out!
   • Ibotta – My personal favorite! Not only are they a Colorado Company (awesome!), but you can also redeem rebates from King Soopers, Albertsons, Target, Walmart, Whole Foods, Sprouts Farmers Market, Safeway, and even more! It’s easy to use, and it’s easy to get your rebate in cash through PayPal. Download it on any smartphone and type in referral code “pcmmyhk” when you sign up through your phone to join my ibotta team. Once your on the team, the whole team can make extra money every month by redeeming our normal rebate offers!
   • Shopmium – This app is the best one if you haven’t ever tried a rebate app before.  Offers can be redeemed at any store and Shopmium doesn’t have a “minimum” transfer amount. That means that as soon as you redeem an offer and connect your Paypal account you get paid. It is really that simple! Download this app on your phone and type in referral code “KAAUCFKY” to get a FREE Lindt Chocolate bar! Yum!
   • Checkout51 – This app is in it for the long haul.  This Canadian company has your favorite brand name offers that change every Wednesday at midnight, so make sure you upload receipts before the clock strikes 12!  Checkout51 has a new feature where you can redeem more than 1 item on certain offers. For example, I can redeem 3 Boursin Cheese offers this week, instead of just one. Once you hit $20 in redemptions you can cash out and Checkout51 will mail you a check. It’s simple, but patience is key, since you have to earn $20 in rebates to get paid.
   • BerryCart – This is the app for Whole Foods and Sprouts shoppers! And you thought eating organic meant never saving any money! BerryCart has all your healthy offers on it, and most of the products can be found at Whole Foods and Sprouts.  Make sure to check each grocery stores website for store coupons before you go to save even more money! Join BerryCart here or download it on your phone and then type in referral code “y142UZ20” and start saving.