Tis the season to start looking for places to save some money. With all of the holidays coming up, traveling expenses, families getting together and gifts to give out, it all starts adding up fast, sometimes too fast. This year get the jump on all the holidays. Whether you’re looking for the best deals on turkeys and cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving, awesome gifts to meet everyone’s Christmas lists or maybe it’s just time to update the cabinets in your kitchen and shutters on your windows. Right now is a great time to start searching for those discount coupon codes online, in the local newspapers for coupons to clip and if your one of those Black Friday shoppers check out the Black Friday Ads to find the best prices and deals.
Here are some of the many places and ways to look for coupons and deals. My absolute favorite way to hunt down coupons is online. This way I can snuggle up in my pajamas, drink my coffee and compare coupon offers to find even more ways to save. For example finding a code for 20% off a single item and then adding a Free Shipping code on top of it, all from my couch! There are a ton of great coupon websites out there. I also like to grab the paper on Sundays and thumb through the pamphlets in there. They normally have fantastic ads for sales at ToyRUs, Wal-mart, K-mart etc. Not to mention the Redplum and SavingSource inserts which help you save money on your groceries and household items.
For all of you Costco and Sam’s Club members, don’t forget to go to their Customer Service Counter each month and pick up a Coupon Booklet to find out what sales they are running, and pick up those yummy free food samples while you do your shopping! If you are a military family, you can pick up a free coupon booklet as you are walking into the commissary and there is even a nifty box that you can look through already clipped coupons that people either didn’t use or didn’t need that you can dig through to help you save even more. Not to mention all the coupons they have hanging off the shelves.
Nowadays with all this fancy technology we have, you can find coupons on Facebook coupon swapping sites, Ebay.com and even find a local coupon swapping group on craigslist for you to join or make your own group. If you’re new to the world of couponing I suggest finding a Free Coupon Class to take to help you learn about coupon stacking, doubling, how to use expired coupons and even how to store and organize your coupons. This is the perfect time to start learning how to coupon so that you and your family can save on holiday gifts, groceries or household items and take out some of the unnecessary stress of the holiday season. Have a happy, safe and a little less expensive holiday season this year.
My family of five and I are an average family. We make messes, break a glass here, loose a fork there, forget about homework until the morning its due, you know the normal things. I have no magic up my sleeves, though I check daily to see if I’ve missed it. I have two boys under six, a husband in the military and my grandmother all under the same roof causing all sorts of chaos and havoc! This was all just fine until we added moving across the country into the mix. Upon the news to move we decided to put our house up for sale. Now, I know how to handle two kids on my own for months. I can change the oil in my car, mow the lawn, build a garage, juggle soccer, work out, and a whole lot more while my husband is deployed. But moving my family to the opposite side of the country…aahh, I don’t even know where to start and he’s home right now!
So I figure like anything else I might as well just jump in. My OCD allows me to keep my house clean on a daily basis, even if it’s a never ending battle, but now the OCD is in overdrive waiting for these showings to happen! Like I’m sure many of you are aware cleaning up after a two and five year old is no laughing matter. Then trying to keep the house spotless for the drop of a dime phone calls is a full time job in itself! When the two are combined we’re lucky if we can even remember our names by the end of the day! Here’s a few tips I’d like to share with you and remember I’m still going through this myself so bear with me!
- There’s no point in trying to make the house spotless until before the kids are awake or until after they’ve passed out
- Find all the local parks
- Keep snacks handy in your car..purse..bag in the pantry
- Plan on eating out on the weekends
- Find a book, crossword or pick up knitting because you’re going to be at those parks for a while
- Those Swiffer wet pads and dusters really are a time/life saver!
As you can see it’s mostly common sense things BUT when you’re trying to vacuum, chase a kid around attempting to get their socks on, sticking the dogs in the crate or car, finishing those dishes and quickly hiding all the miscellaneous things laying around, they tend to be forgotten! We all know moving is hard and we just can’t wait until we finally get it over with. Just remember that your house is as clean as its going to be because, well, you’re still living in it!! Chances are you’re going to be more stressed about the appearance of your house then the potential buyers are, they understand that you’re living there! Remember moms, your little ones are going through a lot too right now. Either they are simply too young to understand what is going on, or are just as nervous as you are about this new chapter in your life. Just breathe, laugh off the small things and make the most out of what little down time you have. Everything will fall, in one form or another, into place! Even for a super mom moving is mayhem!
