Coupons and sales!

I know not everyone likes to cut coupons and go through the trouble of shopping the sales. But I have learned this is one way of saving money on the grocery budget. I have been lacking in my couponing lately due to many reasons. But I am going to get back into the groove of it again.

I will not go through my haul. I got bath products mostly and pet treats. I saved 1/2 on my bills and I also gave myself a budget too. So I know what I can and can not spend. I did not spend the whole budget today because well lets just say that Walmart was a zoo and I was in no mood to shop among those who go out once a month. I did got to places like Dollar Tree and Dollar General and the K-mart.

While out shopping today I was thinking of my mind set in the past. I always was a frugal shopper but at some point I let others lead me to believe that there are things you just can not buy cheap. That they are not good enough. And for a long time I did with out because I could not afford the better things. One reason I went back to school was because of this mind set. What if something happen to my husband, what would happen if I did not make enough?? What if we could not afford this and that??

Guess what?

Who cares!

See after spending 4 years of school, another year or so with a my mom who was sick and passed away last year. My life kind of came undone in that amount of time. I did not have time to stick to my frugal ways, I was stressed to the point where I no longer enjoyed it either and I just went through the motions of life and taking care of the basics. This is how we ended up where we are in debt. As this year comes to an end I come to realize that no while its nice to have the nicer things in life it does not mean you have to wait and do without and be miserable. Lately I have DYI a bathroom cabinet that looks great, found a shower curtain for .80cents and its so cute. My bathroom is not finished but it looks better these days just because I care enough just to do a little something to brighten it up a bit. I know strange but your home is your home and you can do with it what you want and be happy with it.

Same goes for my personal self. For years I did not buy make up. Really its expensive stuff to buy the right foundation, eye shadow, eye liners and what not. So I went with out. I'm not a big make up person but I do like to fix myself up from time to time. Guess what! I found makeup can be bought for 1.00 or free with coupons and it works just as nice as the more pricier stuff. Work with what you got and be happy. There may be a time you can invest in really good products but when you owe 60,000 in Student Loans. Lets just say the dollar store stuff is just as nice and no one will know any better. Its not like they are in your face taking a sample of your foundation.

So yes I have found laundry detergent that works for 1.00, fabric softener sheets that work also and smell good, cleaning supplies for cheap or make my own.


I have been thinking of this silly stuff because I do have debt to pay and I want to take the steps to pay it off. But I am not fooling myself I do enjoy decorating my home and getting myself a little something for me from time to time. Just keep myself sane so to speak. But I do not have to spend money I do not have on it either. My budget is small so I work with what I have  and I am OK with that too. I figured out that trying to keep up with someone else never works and will not make you happy. Being happy is a state of mind and I was there at one time. I am finding my way back and looking to enjoy those small things I used to at one time that did not cost much of anything at all. I really did not mind seeing a bill in the mail because I saw my progress in paying it off. I'm looking to that again. Watching the hard work pay off each month. At some point we can celebrate and take a vacation or something we want to do. But it will be on our terms and no one elses. We do what we want with what we have and be happy with it.

So yes its a big scary debt. The things you do to save money toward that debt does not have to be terrible. Sometimes it can be fun and rewarding.

This is just the beginning. I hope to discover some new frugal and saving things in the next year.

I will wear my dollar store makeup, decorate my home with my 90% off items, sell my ebay stuff,  cook the majority of our meals at home and not worry about who is looking into my life. Because I no longer care. If you have a problem with it you can pay my bills then. Until I am debt free this is how it is. And most likely from now on. Life is too short to worry about what others think about how you are living. Its your life make the best of it.