New Year's Goals for 2012

My apologies for ringing in the new year here at Thrifty and Creative a few days late.  :-)

I haven't forgot you, Thrifty and Creative...just busy with lots of other online stuff.

I am not a huge fan of "resolutions." It looks as it is the cool thing Not to be a fan.  LOL  I do; however, believe in "goals."  One has to better themselves by trying to achieve something greater than the ordinary, everyday.  For me (us) and finances...my (our) New Year's "Goal" is to pay down that same massive credit card I have blogged about before.  I suppose it is official...we have been working on that particular card for over a year now.  The point?  We aren't giving up but continuing to plan to get it paid down and eventually off.  This year...saying we get back a tax return (hopeful)...90% of it will be dedicated to that card.  From my estimate...it won't pay it off, but it will bring down the monthly payment enough to be able to pay MORE than the monthly and "snowflake" it down.  The other 10% (again saying we get a return) will go to savings and to pay off our usual Lowe's Home Improvement card (it will be less than $400 at tax time).  We always make at least one or two home improvements (small or large...depends on our current financial situation) with the Lowe's Card at Tax Time and take advantage of the 12 or 18 months, no interest specials.  We always pay off whatever remains each tax season.  I enjoy this tradition as we love to better our home and continually increase its value.  The dream?  LOL One day borrow against our home's equity and buy a second one in a foreign country for retirement.  Crazy?  Perhaps!  We have to have Goals and a Plan to reach them!  This is one of ours. 

Happy New Year!
What are your Goals for 2012?

Merry Christmas and Thrifty New Year to you all! :-)

Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone a Thrifty New Year as well..where we all watch carefully how we spend our hard earned dollars. 

What will I do different?  Not much where month to month is concerned. 

I am, however, hoping to do well at Tax Time (Oh man...I said it..can you believe that is already around the corner?).  If I can do decent at Tax Time ...my 2012 financial goal will be to put a huge dent into one credit card that has spun out of control and caused us the financial problems we are having right now.  We are getting by and I am proud to say that, but something needs to happen with that card and that is the reason it is the goal of 2012 for us/myself.  The card got like it is for important, unfortunate reasons: Death in the family in 2010 and replacing an engine in one vehicle Summer 2011.  Both could not be predicted and nope...we weren't ready financially.  Granted, this has taught us some lessons on finance.  But we have to start with getting that card paid down (and off) and then start a "real" savings. 

Merry Christmas!

Cheers to a New Year of Smart Financial Decisions!

TV Update

Well, I did call and found out I am still in a contract from when I added HD for life til June of 2012.  No problem.  They allowed me to lower my bill still by simply changing our programming.  We still get to keep our four tvs and two dvrs.  The only thing we lose that we liked was Disney.  It lowered the bill by $40 per month.  I can't complain.  By June, either we will be doing better, or we cut all TV out like we had originally planned. 

Keep in mind, we lowered our Phone/Internet by $30 per month by making a phone call as well...this all together lowers that bill by $70.  I am happy.  Now onward on making our own Liquid Laundry Detergent. Once I do this...I will write a post update on that one as well.  :-)

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Need to Lower Bills....starting with the TV

We currently have Dish Network and we love it and love DVR and all the bells and whistles; however, can no longer continue to pay it. 

We want to know what other alternatives are out there and have found a few but do not understand them, etc... We aren't sure what to do next.

I am hoping a reader out there can shed some light on this.
I have found so far, Netflix and Hulu Plus (and figured the product Roku to watch them on).
Has anyone made this switch and how do you like it?
I know either are $8 per month and the Roku (bottom price) is $59.99 (which is a streamer for either and makes it where you don't have to be hooked directly to a PC).

This is a question for anyone out there that can help us out with some information. I am looking for personal experience...you have A or B and you like it...don't like it and miss your cable/dish, etc...

Thank you for reading and looking forward to all responses on this issue.

DIY: Make your own Hand Soap!

I don't know about any of you all out there...but lately I am slightly addicted to Pinterest!
While there I have found some awesome money saving ideas from other great bloggers and savers out there!

The one I want to share with you today is Making your own Liquid Hand Soap!
I am amazed as it calls for only One Bar of Soap and a few other ingredients that aren't expensive...and whamo...you have 2 liters worth of hand soap!  I am totally trying this one as it would be nice to make something that I will not have to buy!  Check the Article/Recipe out for yourself!  If you try it..please comment about it..I would love to know of your experience.
This article and recipe comes from a great blog Titled:  Savvy Housekeeping!  I will be frequenting this blog for more great DIYs and Housekeeping advice.  I surely can use it.  :-)

Have a great October!

Yay for Autumn!

Love this time of year! 
The weather feels great.  Everything feels fresh and new.  I also have a two week Fall Break that I intend to enjoy and figure out some of our finances that I posted about last.

Good news to report...my husband is working on a drawing and I have some new listings up in our Etsy Shop!  We are getting motivated for the upcoming Holiday Season!

Click the picture above to see our new listing for Custom Photo Bottle Cap Pendants, Necklaces, Keychains and Ornaments!  We made these last year and they were a huge hit at craft shows, etc... Now we offer them online to the Etsy shopper!

I pray to continue to bring you good news on our financial status in the upcoming posts.

We have really been paying attention to sales flyers and coupons we have for Everything and believe we have saved quite a bit already from doing so. You really have to be careful not to buy things just because you have a coupon.  Unless you are Excellent at it..sometimes it is less money to buy store brand or another brand....shop around for EVERY item!!!  No matter how small the price...as you know...every dollar and penny adds up.

Happy Autumn!



Time to seriously tighten the Financial Belt!

Oh boy, we had our engine go out over the summer and had to be replaced and a death in the family last year.  Both of these instances created a financial crisis in our home and we are still paying for them and it will take forever (it feels) to pay them off.  Now, my babysitter for my daugther has went up $100 per month!  This is soo much for us right now.  I feel like I have no more "tricks up my sleeve."  We have kinda cut just about every bill we can cut.  If I find any solutions, I will post.

As imagined, we will simply watch every dollar we spend like a hawk.  The only thing I can come up with at this point in time is to sell more of my jewelry, which means I need to get busy...luckily people will be buying for Christmas soon.  This is sure to help. 

I'll keep you posted.

Thank you for visiting.
Sincerely,
Melanie

Trying to figure out a schedule!

By schedule I mean...simply....trying to balance trying to save with comparison shopping and couponing, etc...
Since joining a gym, starting back to work (summer vacation is done), trying to coupon and comparison shop...I am trying to also to have normal quality family time with my two kids, dog and husband; as well as, my jewelry making.  My jewelry making has taken a back seat lately...and that is fine...family First!  What I am trying to figure out...to drop the couponing, etc..and bring back the jewelry making.  I was making money with that..but with the comparison shopping (with coupons) I am saving.  I really....like everyone...wanted to be wonder woman and do it all.  I am realizing...I just can't seem to balance it all.  I am in the step back and assess mode to see if there is a way to do everything fairly...if not...something has to go....it may be coupons.  It isn't like I spend a ton of time at it...I really don't.

I don't expect responses to this...I just wanted you all to know that I am still here...but in deep thought.  :-)  On top of it all..my son's soccer season starts this week....that means one practice per week and one game.  It will all get straightened out.

Got some Deals at CVS this weekend! (and Kohl's)

Forgive me for not reporting in this summer.  The summer months have been packed as we were enjoying the company of my sister-in-law.  It was so awesome to have her here all the way from Romania!  So exciting!  Just so you know I have had a great reason for not updating.  We had fun shopping and she got to see how our sales and coupons work here.  Of course, I am fairly new to "couponing" but have always been an avid bargain hunter for quality and best prices on pretty much everything.

Alrighty, you came to read about my weekend deals.  What I have learned to do and for most of you it is a big "duh"...is to match up sales to coupons.  Well, I did pretty good.
Saturday:
I got $56 (appx) worth of items for $23 (Saturday) and today $20+ worth for $10 and some change.  Not bad!
Okay, what I used was my two Buy One Get One Free coupons for Axe Spray and Gel (total of 4 items)..they were on sale at CVS for $4.49 each.  So I paid $9ish for four...and they are typically $5.89ish at CVS each.  Not bad at all!  I also got a $3.00 off ExtraCare Bucks for that particular purchase. 
I also found some infant Vitamin D drops (reg. $8) for $2.00 on clearance.  Anyone that has to buy those knows that is an incredible price...no coupon needed for that kind of deal!
I got our brand of toothpaste we love (Colgate Total Whitening Paste)...Buy One Get One Free and I had a $.75 coupon...making them $2.10 (appx) each...regular $4.99 each.  (I am just a newbie, I know all the experienced couponers don't pay anything ever for toothpaste.  I haven't figured that one out yet. LOL  :-)  I also had a $4.00 off $20 total (for signing up for their emails) and $1 extracare buck for creating my online extracare bucks account...just linking my my CVS card.
(those were my best from Saturday)
Sunday:
Skintimate Shaving Gel..on sale for $1.99 (reg. $3.39 each)..I had a $.75 coupon..making it like $1.25.
Gatorade (reg. $1.99 each)...Buy One Get One Free (bought four total) (equals a $1 each)
CVS brand Wipes on sale for $4.99 (three pack) regular ($7.49ish)
I had my $3.00 extracare bucks from yesterday and applied to the total!
I think we picked up gum (for my son) and marshmellows for hubby...not on sale..but my total for all the above only $10..not bad!

That is my CVS for this weekend. 

We also went to Kohl's and had a 15% shopping pass and only shopped clearance (good stuff) and had also a $10 off total purchase.  Saved $122 and spent $54...got four shirts, two sports pants and a jean jacket! That was exciting as well!

Summer is a great time to sign up for gym memberships!

For some reasons I have noticed gym memberships are cheapest when you sign up in the summer months.  Or at least that is what I discovered with a women's fitness center 2 minutes from my home.  I am very excited. 

They were running a teacher special (and really a special for just about anyone signing up in July).  Also the registration fee is 1/2 off.  So I got to sign up for $25 and $19.99/month with a year contract.  They have aerobics classes (cardio dance, zumba, etc...) and weight and workout machines And free childcare!!! ding ding ding!!  :-)

I decided I needed to do something for myself and my health and this is what I chose.  I will be careful with all other spending to make up for another monthly bill.  I feel really good about the place, location and price.  I also feel I will really take part in the classes and even the machines.

Happy Day to Me!
Take care!