personal finance in a coupon blog

This Earth Day, I'm happy that...

...reusable bags are all the rage and that grocery stores are starting to give them away for free. Some stores like CVS and Target give you cents off for each bag you use.

...I can buy store brand organic products for much less than national brand organics. I'm not so happy when only the wealthy can afford to be green.

...my Target brand cereal box has been revamped to include 50% post-consumer recycled content and that they've done away with the inner bag all together. Hooray for store brands taking the lead!

...the combination of higher diaper prices and killer diaper deals has meant you can get greener disposables like Seventh Generation for the same price as Pampers or Huggies. Read More »

There's nothing more aggravating than hearing a child say "no!" when you ask them to pick up their toys after a play date. Sometimes it's hard to hide the fact that you're fuming at the embarrassment of your child talking back, especially in front of your friends.

Teaching your children how to complete chores, or perform tasks that you demand can be extremely stressful depending on the personality of your child.

There are several ways to tame the Chore Chart and help your child want to be on your clean-up team!

I always hear parents say, "If he had been my first child, he would have been my only one." I was one of the lucky ones who started out with a strong-willed child.

From the age of two, my son asserted his independence daily by demonstrating that he wanted to be in charge. It has been a roller coaster at times trying to teach him that there can't be several chiefs in the family. These next few tips are pieces of advice that I use as tools to help tame chore time in our house. Read More »

Parenting is one of the hardest but most rewarding jobs in the world. Unless you're a parent, you really don't know what a parent goes through. I remember after having my oldest daughter, people would often times ask me what I did. When I told them that I was a stay-at-home mom, they would proceed to ask me again what I did for a living. Just to clarify, the people asking these questions were not parents themselves.

Of course, now that my kids are older, I do have a "fulltime" job, but that does not take the weight off in parenting because it is a 24-7 effort. When you're parenting, there are so many pieces to the puzzle. You have to make sure your kids are well-fed, healthy, happy, learning, respectful, listening, cooperative and the list goes on and on. It goes beyond your selfishness, as their well-being is in your hands. Oprah once said, "I always say moms have the toughest job in the world if you're doing it right." This statement rings true to me (I must say that this is true for dads as well).

As parents, we're always looking for great resources to help us along the way. I've compiled the 411 on everything from potty training your child to having them earn their own income. Read More »

Having a big family is like supersizing life. It's more of everything- the good and the bad. I never grew up wanting a big family, but since I have one I've learned it means you are totally outnumbered for the rest of your life. Forget man-to-man defense, forget playing zone. It's like David vs Goliath, and you're the little guy.

Having a big family can be a supersized helping of fun as well. Here are seven tips for raising seven kids.

1. You will never have enough food, so shop smart and make a plan.

Kids eat, and big kids eat even more. You will spend a large amount of your time as a mom of many making food for your family. You will go to the grocery store, spend $400, and open the fridge three days later to find it practically empty. You can go broke feeding a half dozen (or more) little people every day.

Menu planning is the key to staying within the grocery budget. Plan breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for maximum savings, shop the sales, buy in bulk, use coupons, and eat more whole foods to save money. Teach your kids when they are young to eat grown up food. If not you'll go broke buying fast food and frozen food at the grocery store. Picky eaters can sabotage the grocery budget.

Make a meal plan and shopping list and stick to it. You'll still spend a lot of money every month on food, but at least it won't go to waste and you won't be making unplanned trips to the store. Read More »

(photo credit: Coco + Kelley)

I am on a quest to get my house organized. In my search for ideas and a better system I found some great ideas via Pinterest.

1. Place shower rings onto a hanger to keep your scarves organized.

Read More »

(photo credit: Rubbermaid.com)

Whether you're in the middle of your Spring cleaning or you're done with it, once the useless stuff is out of the closets and your homes, it's time to organize, organize and organize!

Organizing your home could have many different meanings to you depending on your lifestyle. It could be as simple as putting your shoes in order or as complex as getting your last 5 years of tax receipts and categorizing it alphabetically by category and year (for me this is difficult).

Whatever organizing means to you, we've got 4 tips that will help you along the way: Read More »

(photo: Getty Images)

It's Easter Sunday this weekend! While Easter can become a very costly holiday, like anything in life, you can drastically reduce the costs by making some small changes and doing things yourself.

From your basket to your dinner, with these easy Easter makeover tips you can cut costs to stay on or below your budget:

The budget-friendly Easter basket

Easter baskets can be very costly. However, if you follow these 8 tips on how to put together a Easter basket on a budget from Northern Cheapskate, your basket will be pocketbook friendly. You should also think outside of the box when you think of inexpensive ways to fill an Easter basket like Thrifty Tiff and/or consider these 32 cheap kids Easter basket ideas from Sami Cone. From hair ties to lip balm, these items can all fill a basket nicely and be reused. Read More »

Are you still waking up to frost? Or even worse, snow? Do you believe that the rumors of spring have been greatly exaggerated? While spring may not have arrived to your region yet, it is still possible to start your garden now.

Why would you consider starting a garden when you are still wearing long johns? First, you can't get any more local than your backyard. Second, you have complete control over how your produce is grown, so you know exactly what was used on your fruits and vegetables. Finally, eating homegrown produce is a great way to save on your grocery bill.

Here are some tips for starting a spring garden in a cold-climate:

Pick cold-hardy plants. There are a number of vegetables that can survive cold weather; many can even survive a light snow. Cold hardy vegetables can be planted 4 - 6 weeks before your last frost date. Read More »

(photo: Thrifty NW Mom)

It's time to roll up your sleeves, get your gardening face on and head to your own yard or maybe even your kitchen. But...what if you have no clue on where to start or what to do? Is there a book on gardening for dummies? I'm sure there are, but no need to spend more money than you have to.

If you're a newbie like myself, you might make the mistake of spending a ton of money to get all your gardening materials and then being overwhelmed. Like anything, you want to take it step-by-step and try to take on a smaller project that's not going to break the bank.

Here are 5 ways to garden on a budget: Read More »

(photo credit: Premeditated Leftovers)

I'm always looking for new ways to save on groceries because its not always just about the coupons. Like playing a video game, you can have multiple strategies to come out a winner!

It's all about planning, strategizing and putting those into action. While it can be as simple as using coupons and following the sales cycle, there's actually a whole lot more to it than that. With these tips from our DealPros, you can come out a big winner at saving on your groceries:

Buying bigger doesn't always mean cheaper

Have you every found yourself at a shopping aisle looking at a smaller product such as an 8 oz. can of tomatoes for 32 cents versus looking at a larger 15 oz. can for 67 cents. Should you buy two 8 oz. cans or buy one 15 oz. can? Which choice is cheaper? Laura of A Frugal Chick did this comparison and found that buying bigger doesn't always mean cheaper. She suggests you make sure you look at the price before grabbing things off the shelf. Read More »

How many of you want to save time and money, and still have a good meal on your table?

With our constant growing schedules, limited time and restricted budget, sometimes making time for a homemade meal sounds next to impossible. But lift your head up, shoulders straight and put your eyes on me. It is possible!

It's called meal planning.

Even if you're not a planning type of person, with these 4 tips from our network of DealPros, you should be well on your way to creating a satisfying meal, on time and on budget: Read More »

Spring cleaning is a special time of year. When the temperatures start to rise, the days get longer and the grass and trees turn green. It's a reminder to start cleaning the curtains, dusting hidden places in our homes and air out that winter air.

Sound like fun? Not exactly. Although spring cleaning is a happy time after the tasks are complete, it's not quite on my list of top fun things to do each year. But this year that is changing. I'm going to show you how to enjoy spring cleaning this year to accomplish a clean home.

Here are five tips to put a little spring in your spring cleaning. Read More »