Friday, September 30, 2011

September Savings Series: Part 4

Part four of the September Saving Series is the last of this month, and it is all about coupons and freebies that can be mailed to your home.

One of the most popular coupon books is the P & G coupon booklet that is mailed out every 2-3 months. They change the name of it often but it's always similar to the "P&G Everyday Savings" or "P&G Everyday Solutions." It always has P&G in the title so it's easy to locate. The plus side of them changing the name is that every time it changes it becomes availible again. You are only one able to recive one of each of the books so this gives you the opportunity to recieve multiple books in one season. http://pgeverydaysolutions.com/pgeds/pg-brandsaver-samples-coupons.jsp If you follow this link you'll find the resources to sign up for it and possibly get some FREE samples too! As of publication the booklet is NOT available but I will write a seperate post to the blog when it does become available again. So check back often because they do not always last very long.

Other great sites for freebies and coupons are http://www.walmart.com/ and http://www.target.com/. I know it sounds obvious, Walmart and Target, two of the most popular super stores, but they send out freebies for well known items all the time! Most recently I've recieved samples of Scope mouthwash, Crest toothpaste, Dove body spray and Zantac, and that's just to name a few. Go to either of these websites and type "Free Samples" in the search bar in the upper right hand corners to find out what they're offering. As of publication Walmart is offering a free sample from Poise Hourglass and Playtex, plus coupons for Reynold's foil and other products.

One last idea for getting free samples and coupons mailed to the house is to contact the companies of products you already use or want to try. If you've never tried a certain product from a company, send them an email and ask if you can try a sample or get a coupon to make trying it that much more enticing. And if you already use a product, look around the companies website for coupons and samples, try typing "coupons" and "samples" into a search bar if they have one on that specific site.

A great website for coupons and freebies is http://www.beechnut.com/! They have not only sent me coupons for their products in the mail, but also by email and I even recieved a coupon for one FREE product.

So don't be afraid to get your opinion out there or to ask for coupons and samples! These can also be a really fun thing to sign your friends or famliy up for if you know they may like the product, even more so if you find something your wife may like(She'll know you remember her favorite products and be happy that you thought of her). In the age of technology a little something special in the mail box is always nice to see. K.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Tip Of The Day 09-29-2011

Do you hate trying to clean popcorn textured ceilings? And having all of those pieces fall down into your hair and face? Well I have the ultimate solution! Pop a couple of lint roller refills on to an empty paint roller and Ta-Da! You can now dust and remove cob webs without wearing a shower cap and painter's mask. Plus this is a great use for that old paint roller that's taking up space in the garage. K.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Tip Of The Day 09-28-2011

Supplies needed for today's tip include:
*Liquid Fabric Softener
*A clean hand towel

Completely soak a hand towel in liquid fabric softener. Let it dry completely over night. Then it's ready to use in your dryer, in place of a regular old dryer sheet and it lasts up to 40 loads!

With this tip there's no need for the more expensive dryer bars that are now popular (unless you have a great coupon, that is). And you can always leave it in the dryer so you won't forget next time and end up with a dress full of static. K.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

National Coupon Month!

Guess what September is?
http://www.nationalcouponmonth.com/

That's right, National Coupon Month! "By just spending 20 minutes a week clipping and clicking, you could save over $1,000 annually." What would you spend an extra $1000.00 on? In case you didn't know, that's over $57 an hour. K.

Tip Of The Day 09-27-2011

Today's tip was picked up when I worked at a major coffee shop, can you guess which one? ;-)

When cleaning windows and mirrors use a (clean) coffee filter, instead of a cloth or paper towel, and a window cleaner of your choice. The coffee filter will leave the surface clean and free of any streaks. It will also keep it clean longer. K.

September Savings Series: Part 3

Part 3 of the September savings series is all about... Daily Deals! Here's the information you need to know about them:
     *The deals change every 24 hours.
     *The prices may go up depending on how many other people take advantage of the deal.
     *The prices may go up if the 24 hour window is almost closed.

From there, these websites are just like any other website that sells a product. You select the item you want, put it 'in your cart,' and 'check out.' (For a faster time checking out you should have your credit/debit card with you at the computer if you don't have your information memorized.)

Here are some great daily deal websites:

www.tanga.com (Tanga is great for magazine subscriptions. You can snag a one year subscription for as low as $3.99! And you can subscribe up to 4 years at that same price per year. NOTE: If you already subscribe to that publication your purchase will be added to the end of your subscription). Today Tanga is offering up a 1 year subscription to Bridal Guide Magazine Subscription for just $3.99! They also sell t-shirts, mens watches and other items.

www.1saleaday.com (1SaleADay offers different categorized deals each day. For example, today's Family category deal is a "6-in-1 Solar-Powered Educational Robotic Kit With 6 Models" for only $4.99! Be sure to hurry over there and check it out if you're interested, as of publication this deal only has about 15 hours left).

www.walmart.com (Walmart's website actually has a "Value of The Day" tab at the top of the homepage that offers items at a discounted rate, in case you have any trouble finding it I've listed the link below. This item changes daily and can be anything from a flat screen TV, outdoor grill or today's deal, a Hanes - Girls Fleece Crew Sweatshirt and Sweat Pants Value Bundle for just $9.00!).
Value of The Day Link: http://www.walmart.com/cp/Value-of-the-Day/1058864?povid=cat14503-env172199-module101210-lLink1_VOD

Other great Daily Deals websites to check out:
www.woot.com
www.dailysteals.com

BONUS TIP: If you subscribe to a magazine through one of these websites be sure to look for coupons. Many times you can find enough coupons to cover the cost of subscribing, making it free for a whole year! K.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Tip Of The Day 09-26-2011

When purchasing new decorations for fall look for items in solid colors. Specifically in Orange or Red so that you can leave them displayed from the back to school season through Thanksgiving.

Bonus Tip: Red is a great color to invest in when it comes to seasonal home decor as long as the item is a basic, plain item (table cloth, napkins, door mat etc.) Red can be used for Fall, Christmas, Valentine's Day and the 4th of July which helps to stretch the decorating dollar. K.

Fall Update

Yes, you're on the right page, this is still Story Of A Wife! I just did a little fall updating to match the season!

Something else that's new around here: A Tip Of The Day post! So check back daily to see which great ideas get posted! K.

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

September Savings Series: Part 2

Part two of the September Savings Series is all about Online Couponing. The easiest way to begin online couponing is by going to www.coupons.com. It's easy to remember ("Where did she say I should go for online coupons? Oh yeah! Coupons.com!") and it's a website that's easy to use.

With this website, and others like it, what you are really doing is printing out manufacturers coupons that you can clip and take to the store. Just like other coupons in the newspaper they all have an expiration date, they are for the specific product/s listed and they are for well known products.

HINT: When you print online coupons you can almost always go through the process twice, gaining double the savings! What "double the savings" means is that you will end up with two coupons that you can use on two products. You can't use more than one manufacturer coupon per item. But if you think the coupon is of good value it is also of good value to stock up on the item, the savings are even greater if paired with a sale or stacked with a store coupon. NOTE: It is okay to use one store coupon and one manufacturer coupon on the same item.

How to use www.coupons.com

Step 1: Click on the link or copy and paste to your browser.

Step 2: Enter your zip code in the top left hand corner. You can try your own zip code, or the zip code 90210 (also easy to remember if you've heard of the show 90210) to sometimes find different coupons or the same coupons with a higher value.

Step 3: "Clip" the coupons you would like by simply clicking on the box on each coupon.

Step 4: Page through. You can page through the coupons without printing on each page. It's better to go through all the pages and click on each coupon that you want to print as you go, then print at the very end. Otherwise you could end up wasting alot paper (which wastes money ultimately).

Step 5: Printing. Make sure that your printer is on, loaded with paper and ready to go. (To even save on printer ink you can set your printer ahead time to print only in black ink).

Step 6: Clip your coupons. They don't have to be perfect just make sure that the bar codes and expiration date and product details are still visible. The main reason for clipping is so that no two coupons are attatched to each other. Feel free to leave all the margins that you want.

Step 7: Take them to the store and start saving! If you have any questions about how each store uses coupons ask a sales associate or manager as soon as you enter the store so there won't be any confusion while you're shopping. You can also look at each stores website and print off there coupon policies for more information.


Other websites that offer printable online coupons:
www.target.com
www.riteaid.com offers what they call "Video Values" where you watch a short video about the product, usually the length of a tv commercial and then earn the rights to print a coupon for that product.
Gerber and Beech Nut baby food websites offer a variety of coupons.
You can also search any of the products you use in your household and sign up for their monthly emails or newsletters that often contain coupons. Chili's and Pizza Hut are just two of the many restaurants that email you coupons for free appetizers or desserts when you sign up for their emails.

So instead of reading that 14th post about what your friend ate for breakfast lunch and dinner, start looking for a coupon to save them some cold hard cash at their favorite restaurants. K.

Friday, September 9, 2011

How To: Revamp Your Kitchen Counter - 25 Cents - $1.50

Here it is! The 25 cent kitchen revamp!
For my 25 cent revamp I purchased one bottle of a Glidden's Paint Tester (originally $3 and I used a $2 coupon making my end total $1 plus sales tax at WalMart, go to http://www.gliddentesters.com/ for the latest paint coupons). I used only 1/4 which is why my revamp only cost me 25 cents. Attention! Coupon Tip: You can print this coupon twice, just print, close the window and use the link again. You can also go to http://www.coupons.com/ which has the same coupon, as of today, and you can do the same thing to print twice. So you could score a pretty big savings with a total of four coupons. Even better, if you have multiple computers in your household, or a friends, you can print again. Just make sure that you purchase the correct amount of bottles for the amount of coupons you have. It's not okay to try and use 6 coupons on one item. Also you could purchase multiples of the same color for larger projects or lots of different colors for different rooms, think of the possibilities: painted towel racks in kids bathrooms, a new desk color, painted drawer handles. The size of the project is up to you, your time and your budget. Painting an entire desk could take you a weekend but painting the drawer handles could take just a few hours.

 I chose to spruce up my regular old knife set with a fresh coat of lime green paint! My kitchen theme is a mix of blacks, whites and lime greens with a little silver here and there, so lime green paint was perfect. But you could repaint this item in any color, and the paint testers come in a variety of colors(really any color they offer in larger sizes is offered in tester size). So, let's get stated...

Step 1: Print your coupons!
http://www.gliddentesters.com/
http://www.coupons.com/

Step 2: Decide which items you would like to paint and what color/s you would like to paint them.

Step 3: Go to the store and purchase your paint. (You do not need to buy any paint brushes or trays with this brand of testers. The brush is attached to the lid just the same as a bottle of nail polish, however you may want to shop on a Sunday and also buy a newspaper so you can score some more coupons and have a drop cloth when your done reading).

Step 4: You may also need to buy primer if the original color of your item is darker than the tester you purchased. A white primer will help the color of your tester to look it's best and look the closest to what you hoped for based on the paint label.

Step 5: Dust and clean the item with a damp cloth to remove any dirt and dust.

Step 6: Sand the item if needed.


Step 7: Prime the item if needed. (I didn't need to prime)

Step 8: Paint the item! Finally! Remember to paint one coat at a time and paint in one continuous direction so your brush strokes all go the same way.

Step 9: Let the paint dry for 2 hours and then decide if you want to re coat the item. I only used one coat of paint.
After it has dried it's ready to use! Check out my newly vamped kitchen counter!


I love the end result! The newly green block really helps to brighten things up next to my white mixer, and white walls.

If you have a room that is in need of a new look than this could be just the thing your looking for! It's inexpensive, fun to do and it comes in the perfect color and size. Now that you're done reading go print your coupons quick, before the sales change. K.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

September Savings Series: Part 1

Let me start by saying that I know I promised a post about kitchen revamps but that can wait for tomorrow. Tonight I'd rather post what's on my mind...

September Savings: Post One!

The first post of  the September Savings series is about coupon basics. First things first, you need coupons! The easiest way to do this is to buy a Sunday paper, but they can also be found online or in magazines. Inside of each Sunday newspaper will be 1-3 coupon inserts. When I first started to coupon I would try to find coupons (for products I actually use, or wanted to try) that added up to the value of the newspaper. For example if my newspaper cost me $1.25 I tried to find at least $1.25 worth of coupons to make my money back, though I usually found more. This is an easy way to find out if couponing is 'for you' or not. You can also try what's called "stacking" to get more for your money. Stacking simply means using a coupon for a product while that product is on sale. Let me break it down for you... And this is just an example of prices too.

The store sells diapers at $20.00 per box.
You have a coupon for $2.00 off of this brand of diapers.
This week the store also has a sale on diapers.
Original price: $20
Sale price: $18
Price after coupon: $16
So now you've doubled your savings by "stacking" your coupon with a store sale!

Resources to find great coupons:
     All You Magazine
     http://www.coupons.com/

That's all for Post One of the September Savings series. It's a short post but a huge foundation for later information. I hope you all enjoyed your holiday weekends and hey, only two more days until the next one gets here. K.

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Labor Day 2011

Have a great holiday weekend everyone! I'll be back to work on Wednesday with a How To: Revamp  Your Kitchen Counter... For only 25 cents! Be sure to stay tuned!

Also on the to-do list
*How To: Paint a bookshelf
*How To: Redecorate a bookshelf (using just the things already on your shelves)
*Monthly Money Saving Tips: September (I've been working on this one for a while, so I'm pretty excited about it :-) So clean out your wallets- You're gonna have to make room for more money!)

Safe travels this weekend. K.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

How To: Chore Charts

Today's Goal: Not only tackle those chores but a chore chart as well to help make things easier on us day to day. Now all chore charts are going to be different. They can be different colors, sizes, shapes, they can chart out the week or month, they can be set in stone or they can be a chore wheel to mix up the activity for each person in the household. They can even have different names: Chore Chart, Chore Wheel, To Do Chart, Cleaning Wheel, anything that works for you or your family.

Before you gather your supplies you need to decide what type of chart you would like. Would you like a chart that is clear and direct or something you can play a game with that adds variety? Keep in mind whether or not you would like to make a new chart each month or keep the same chart all year long. You also need to determine the number of people you will have listed on the chart and ALL of the chores needed to be done in the house (Dust, vacuum, dishes, sweep, clean the windows, laundry etc.) You can be as detailed as you need to on the types of chores depending on the number of and ages of people on your chart. For example a younger child may need to be told to "fold the laundry" and to "put the laundry away," whereas a teenager could simply be told to "do the laundry."


I'll show you how to make a simple and direct chore chart. This type of chart is great if you have a busier schedule, need more discipline or have many people living in the same household.

Supplies:
Poster Board or a Dry Erase Board depending on your budget. (The size really depends on the space you have in your home, but you should roughly estimate size by one sheet of 8x11 paper per person in the house).

Markers, Pens, Crayons, Colored Pencils, Dry Erase Makers (Anything that offers you a variety of colors).

A ruler or tape measure

Names of people who will be on the chart

List of ALL the chores that need to be done in your house.


Step one: Decide how many days you would like on the chart. Do you want to do chores on the weekend, if so you need 7 days, if not you only need 5. Add the number of days you want on your chart plus one (so you have a space to write names). Measure the width of your poster board and divide by the number of days plus one. (A 5 day week needs to devide by 6, and a 7 day week needs to devide by 8) So if your poster board is 30 inches wide and you devide by 6 columns, you should make a vertical line every five inches.



Step two: Decide how many people are going to be on your chart and add one (So you have a space to write the days of the week). If you have a family of four you need to measure the heigth of your poster and devide by five, drawing horizontal line each time. You should have what looks like a checkerboard pattern now.



DONT write anything in the TOP LEFThand corner!

Step Three: Write in the days of the week across the top, writing one day in each square, remember to skip the first square.

Step Four: Write in the names of your family members down the left hand side, one name per square, remembering not to write in the first box.



Step Five: Start filling in your chores!

Step Six: Hang it up on a common wall or on the refridgerator or the back of a door. Just make sure it is some place that everyone can see often and that its not too high on the wall for little ones to see.



Then you're done! And ready to clean!

Variations: You can use lots of different colors or just colors that match your homes decor. You can make a new chart for each person and hang it in there seperate rooms. You can use brightly colored poster board to draw attention to it. You can also double up on chores through out the week by having one person sweep on Monday and another perosn sweep on Thursday.

I recommend adding in a reward system as well. For each person that does well that whole week they earn a sticker, if you have four stickers at the end of the month, you receive a special treat: dessert, allowance or picking the movie or restaurant on family outings.

So go make your charts and send pictures of the end results back to me. K.


You Have To Begin Somewhere

The idea to begin blogging came partly from my ability to form an opinion about everything and partly my ability to craft. My friends and family know about my rants, some of which are repeated as needed, and a few of them encouraged me to blog about them. So this is where they'll end up now. I love to share my latest craft or money saving tip with them as well. Add to the list that I love to cook and bake, that I'm a mother and obviously, I'm a wife. A wife to a United States Marine none the less. So expect some recipes and marital or parenting tips as well. I hope you enjoy and I hope you visit often. And I hope "you" are not just my mother.