Comments on: Would You Do This If You Didn’t Have to?

By: Around the Blogosphere: 1/25/09 — Save Money With Coupons and More! Moms Need To Know ™

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 02:47:38 +0000

[...] I’m developing a full-blown “girl crush” on her)posted a great article entitled “Would You Do This If you Didn’t Have To?” It’s a great topic! I know that if money was no object, I would have a hard time [...]

By: whimsy

whimsy — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 19:24:48 +0000

I completely agree. When we had to close our business and DH took a job making about 65% of what our budget said we needed, I thought we were sunk.
Much to my job and surprise, we are living much better now, than we were then!

By: Chris from St. Mary's

Chris from St. Mary's — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 18:18:52 +0000

I recently did a post on whether I thought it was worth it to coupon.

By: candy

candy — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 03:21:50 +0000

Thank you for the tips im enjoying trying to be a better shopper and with all of this great advice i hope to be a great shopper but alot of the stores i see mentioned i dont have them in my area except for walgreens, walmart, and target. But thank you and my husband really thanks you (he likes saving and more rounded meals)

By: A.Marie

A.Marie — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 23:10:13 +0000

This is for Candy; I don’t know what other people do, but I take the money that I get back for rebates and deposit it in my checking account. I highlight the amount in my register, and that way, I know that certain deposit is for my food budget. I save my Walgreen Register Rewards and use them to either purchase more items and get more RR (register rewards)or to buy things that commonly do not spit out register rewards (like nylons, certain cleaners that I really, really like, etc.) Also, you should shop at Walgreens and check out the Rebate book, usually located at the front of the store. Purchase the items listed, and at the end of the month, either submit the receipts online or by mail, and you will either get a check (which I deposit in the checkbook – - and highlight!) or it will come on a Walgreens gift card, plus an additional 10%. Then, the next month, start the whole process over again.

By: Around the Blogosphere: 1/25/09

Around the Blogosphere: 1/25/09 — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:40:11 +0000

By: BEE

BEE — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:03:54 +0000

The reason that we have really tightened our straps and are living even more frugally then before is because we don’t want any debt. We are sick and tired of living as slaves to the banks and do not want any credit card debt, anymore! If we need or want something we HAVE to buy it with money we have, not on credit! We don’t even have that much cc debt but we have seen to many of our friends just spiral out of control, now owing $40,000+ on credit cards. We don’t want to go down that road but living how we use to, we very easily could of!

I was just thinking the other night if when we are out of cc debt, which Lord willing will be by June 09, will we still live frugally. The answer is yes! I want to teach our children to respect their money and that just because you want something does not mean you get or get it RIGHT NOW!

By: candy

candy — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 16:34:01 +0000

Im new to couponing,your site, stockpiling to start saving do you put away money from couipons used,rebates? How do i begin

By: A.Marie

A.Marie — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 12:13:26 +0000

Wow! Great Post! I love your blog, and I check it every day; sometimes more than once a day, just to see if you have posted any other great deals! I shop frugually, and try to live frugually, because we have to. My husband works full-time, but I am a stay-at-home wife and mom. He works too hard for our money, and I would feel really bad if I squandered it away on things we didn’t really need. Now that I have discovered this blog, I can get things for little or nothing, and not feel guilty! He loves it too! One thing that I would also like to add: With the extra money that some are able to spend, because of living frugually, try and pay down your mortgage. We refinanced in 2003 to a 15 year loan, and I am so glad we did. I continue to pay extra on it every month (I put it towards the principle), and it is exciting to see the balance going down. I just can’t wait until I have a house that is paid off, and I don’t have to worry that my family won’t have a place to live!

By: Lora

Lora — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 04:14:58 +0000

Even though I just started getting more serious about being frugal recently, it really isn’t because I had to. We budget more than enough money for groceries every week and the economy hasn’t affected us that much. I do it because I want to…I love having lots of money leftover after grocery shopping, I love being able to use it to build our stockpile, and I love the challenge of saving as much as I can!

By: Amy

Amy — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 03:31:25 +0000

I love reading your blog!

My husband has been our only income source for almost four years now and every day I thank him for letting me be here for our daughters.

Why not save money? It totally is a rush for me now when I look at my receipt and I see how much I have saved. When I share my deals with people, some look at me like I am crazy (as if they have never seen a coupon) and others ask me what they should do. Everyone is different, and I have learned that all that matters is that I am doing what is best for my family and that is all that matters!

I appreciate your blog so much, thank you!

amy

By: Susan

Susan — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 03:07:32 +0000

I have enjoyed reading this thread.

I would be doing this even if the economy was great! I started in March 2008, but have always shopped around for the lowest prices on everything except groceries and drugstore purchases. I wish I had discovered how much I could save on groceries and other items before I had my daughter. We might not have waited 8 years into our marriage to start a family, and I would have quit my job when she was born, instead of waiting until she went to preschool. It makes me sick to think of all the money we’ve wasted and how I could have been home with my daughter instead of dealing with office politics!

I have always been the main income provider in my home, so our income dropped quite a bit when I quit my job in mid-2007. I blew through my modest savings while getting my business going, and turned to a few coupon sites to find a way to not have to return to working for someone else.

I’ve learned so much from all the wonderful people who share their tips and advice and hope I am able to pass along what I’ve learned and help others too. Everyone is so willing to help each other. It’s a great community of people and I am so grateful that I finally got connected to it. Now that I’ve been bitten by the coupon bug, I can’t imagine stopping!

By: LouAnn

LouAnn — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 03:04:41 +0000

I don’t need to do this either – and I’m totally new to the coupon shopping thing for the last 2 weeks! But, I’ve always been a bargain shopper, and pay cash for everything, just never took the extra time to do coupons, compare with sale prices, etc. I’m amazed at how much I can save with this and am so excited to see this reduce our grocery bills – which is the one area we haven’t tried to save money before! (We were all about convenience, mostly shopping at Sam’s.) So I really appreciate all the help you have given me with couponing!

By: Andrea @ Mommy Snacks.net

Andrea @ Mommy Snacks.net — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 02:59:56 +0000

Mercedes, I agree with you on this..good post!

I started doing this because I was seeking God’s direction in providing somehow financially as we prepared for our son’s surgery. I *now* do this because I know how to. I think about the time when I had a professional career and too feel like we live much better now than when I worked too. It’s truly a blessing!

By: Debbie

Debbie — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 02:58:51 +0000

Personally I do not need to do this. My husband and I both have decent jobs (for now). I do this because I like to do it. I mean how exciting to come home with $100 worth of groceries for $40 bucks or so? By using CVS deals, I get make up, face cleaners, toothpaste, toothbrushes and so much more for pretty much free. It’s a high when there are really great deals out there. Sure, I buy things I don’t need, but I also get a lot things I would never spend the money on that I have found out that I really like. It’s awesome! And it while I never did this intentionally, I rarely dip into my savings anymore for extra money – I now have it without even thinking about it.

By: momstheword

momstheword — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 02:19:03 +0000

What a great topic. Some people have a two income spending habit even though they only have one income. I have some friends like this. I don’t like to worry about money, even though they don’t seem to mind it. To me, it’s just easier and less stressful to watch our spending and be able to save money for things (like a vacation) rather than putting it on a credit card and then worry about all that debt.

By: Shannon

Shannon — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 00:50:02 +0000

Since my oldest was born 8 years ago, we have been a one income family. We have also been fortunate to have a steady and consistent (and good) income. However, due to poor planning and bad choices, we were living paycheck to paycheck. I was tired of getting to the end of the pay period and praying nothing came up in the last 4 or 5 days, because we’d only have $5.00 in the checking account, no cash in our pockets and the savings account even drier than the checking. On payday, I would pay all the bills, then go shopping and spend about $700 and then come home and tell my husband we’re broke and have $50 (if we were lucky) to last us 2 weeks. I also had it set up so that on pay day there would be money transferred over to a savings account. Within a week I was transferring it back to checking to make the ends meet, and still praying nothing was needed. To add to it, the credit card debt was slowly sneaking up. Thankfully our credit card debt is still WAY below the national household average, but it is still something that needs to be paid off. I’m not really sure what turned the light bulb on for me, but about 4 months ago I realized that I was tired of everyone else getting my money, and I still had nothing to show for it. So it started as a personal mission to see just how much money I could shave off the bills, then that also made me realize that I needed an actual budget and one that I could adhere to. (My “budget system” was to check the bank account and see if we had the money to pay the bill or go out to eat. I was of the mentality that if I still had checks in the check book then I still had money! Bad, I know, but I didn’t overdraw the checking account!) So I sat down and started scribbling out ideas for a budget. When I came up with something where the numbers worked, I presented it to my husband to see if he would be willing to live under my new (and much more frugal) budget proposal. He was on board, and we haven’t looked back since. I’ve figured out the coupon world, weekly grocery sales ads and the drugstore/rebate game, and I’m hooked! I have reduced our grocery budget by 2/3 and somehow have more food in my pantry now than before. I cook at home more, I make homemade snacks to avoid paying for convienence foods. I meal plan. I meal plan. I meal plan! I can’t get over how much that alone has affected our budget. So this will be something that I continue to do because I now agree with the “why NOT” mentality. I love the thrill of the bargain. I love getting things for free or nearly free.

Since our paradigm shift, we have been able to save for a trip to Disneyland in 6 weeks as well as set us on coarse to have all debt (credit cards and motorcycle loan – we have no other car loans) paid off by December 31, 2009 as well as have a significant Emergency fund. That is HUGE for us! It made it easier to get my head in the game and keep it there with a goal on the horizon. Now I would say that I would do it all over again….I’ve learned my lesson and I like not feeling like I’m living paycheck to paycheck because I’ve learned to spend wisely. And I’m still learning, but I like what I’m learning!! =)

By: Anita

Anita — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 00:01:24 +0000

Now that I have learned the skills of being frugal I cannot imagine going back to wasting money. I love having what we need and not running out at the last minute to buy an item at full price. I love teaching my young adult sons these skills and seeing them already put some of them in practice. If only I had started this practice at their ages. I salute all of you young moms that are being wise with your family finances in this way. Our country is paying for years of excess and we all need to take note of that fact.

By: Susan

Susan — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 23:16:04 +0000

I have always been frugal, clippped coupons and I just live for double coupon day at PnS! I do tend to fall off the wagon but since I have been flowwing you and others I am confident that I will not fall off the wagon again. Thank you so much for doing what you do!!!

By: Kim

Kim — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 22:06:53 +0000

We are a two income family with no kids and I still ♥ to save money. Living well within our means makes it easy to splurge on a few luxuries a year and spend money on our hobbies with out debt and guilt. Like prior posters said… Why not save money if you can. I do feel really guilty sometimes when I have a stack of coupons and get a great deal. Even if it is 100% legit. It has a lot to do with society and I feel the guilt less now that the economy is crummy.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:51:06 +0000

You do not sound like you are bragging. I have always heard that the only way to have money is to save money. We have two very good incomes in my family, but we always look for deals. The way I see it is by not paying for basic household items like shampoo; toothpaste and toilet paper we can indulge in some luxuries that otherwise would seem wasteful. One thing I have learned is never to judge how people choose to spend their money. Even the most frugal have their vices. I am just hopeful the recent focus on frugality helps people to learn to live within their means, however, they choose to do it.

By: Gabrielle

Gabrielle — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:35:45 +0000

I’d add to that that while we do not have to be frugal it is still an important environmental action to take. I believe that we have a responsibility to future generations to take care of our world. To me being frugal and being and environmental steward goes hand in hand. Not being wasteful, not buying a bunch of stuff that just takes up space, minding a budget, cooking at home, etc are all ways to save money AND help the environment. Yes it is a choice, but with peak oil, global warming and rising pollution it is a moral choice as well as an economical one.

I agree with the WHY NOT question. I can’t imagine taking about $100 and throwing it in the trashcan, but that is the amount of money that I saved this week alone by using coupons and rebates–pieces of paper that a lot of people throw in the trash can. Many of the items bought this week are going to our church foodbank to help others in need. Some of the other items are for our home stockpile, and the rest are to feed our family and sweet dog (I picked up 8 free packs of dog food). Because of being frugal and websites like yours, we are much better off than we would be and are able to help out others. What a blessing people like you are to me!

Thanks for all you do!
Gabrielle
Knoxville, tn

By: Dana

Dana — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:22:06 +0000

Thanks for sharing! Even if money weren’t a bit tight for us, as its been since I became a stay-at-home mom 18 months ago, we would still continue to live frugally. Yes, we may allow ourselves a few more “luxuries” here and there, but we would still shop sales, coupon, stockpile, etc. It just makes sense to us now. Just because we’d have the money to pay for things full price doesn’t mean we should or would want to anymore. And frugalness has been so beneficial to our family, as we learn to be content with what we have, rely on God’ provision, and not get caught up with things. We wouldn’t want to revert back into the collecting stuff American mentality.

By: Shannon

Shannon — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 19:58:32 +0000

I would absolutely do this even if I didn’t have to. In fact, I was listening to Money Matters (from Crown Financial) the other day and they spoke of the exact same thing. Sometimes we are frugal to create a margin for ourselves (sometimes just to make ends meet). But when we already have a margin to play with, all the money we save can be given! To be able to save enough to allow you to be a blessing to others – now that is something to save for!

By: Sarah

Sarah — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 19:54:32 +0000

Great stuff Mercedes!!! My husband and I were just having a conversation about this very thing last week. We keep trying to keep ourselves in check that the things we are doing are life changes not just temporary fixes or solutions. There are some things I would just never give up even if we had Tons of money. For example this past summer I learned how to make homemade laundry detergent and there is not turning back for me. It takes less than five minutes to make, is super cheap, and works as well or better than the “real” stuff. So, why would I stop just because I could afford the $10 bottle every month? I won’t. I’m not quite sure why anyone would choose to pay more for items when you can get them free or discounted by spending just a little bit of time, effort, and creativity each week. There are definitely seasons. Sometimes keeping up with coupons and deals might be hard to do, but there are plenty of other ways to be “frugal” and creative with what we are given. Thanks for asking the question and for your blog. It’s a blessing!