I pulled out my wrapping paper from last year to see how many rolls I would need to buy for this year (hint: The Dollar Tree is my favorite place for wrapping paper!) and was happy to find all my rolls in good condition because I used toilet paper rolls to save them!

It’s super easy to do with any roll of wrapping paper- simply cut a slit in the toilet paper or paper towel roll.  Slide it around the roll to keep it from unrolling.  I used a piece of tape to secure the wrap around the roll.  As the roll gets smaller you can re-tape it smaller and smaller.

We all know that coupon math is a special math!  It’s one where 2 + 2 might not equal 4.

BOGO sales and BOGO coupons seem to be the most confusing for people so here is a little primer with a graphic to help explain it even better.

The drug stores and grocery stores run BOGO (B1G1) sales differently.  At drug stores in a BOGO sale- 1 item rings up full price the other rings up $0.00. At the grocery stores each item rings up 1/2 price. So that has an effect on how BOGO coupons work at each store.

BOGO Sale + BOGO Coupon

Drug Stores: The sale gives you 1 free and the coupon gives you 1 free= 2 Free
Grocery Stores: The sale gives you 1/2 off each and the coupon gives you 1 Free= 1 1/2 free , Buy 1/2

BOGO Sale + B2G1 Free Coupon

Drug Stores: You will need to buy 4: The Sale gives you 2 Free and the Coupon Gives you 1 Free= 3 Free, Buy 1
Grocery Stores: You will only need to buy 3.  The Sale gives you 1 free, the Coupon Gives you 1 Free= 2 Free, Buy 1

*This is assuming the coupons do not “auto deduct” which means take off the maximum value of the coupon regardless of the sale price.

Joyce sent me this request: “Hello! I have a friend that is only eating all natural, organic, clean foods. Could you PLEASE post some coupon sites aimed towards those specific types of foods?”

There are few printable sites that focus on organic items but there are several that offer a few:

Hopster: carries coupons for several organic companies

Mambo Sprouts

Then visit the websites of Organic Foods companies. Sign up for their newsletters. Here is a list of some- please comment if you know of others!

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Do you have t-shirts that seemingly have three arm holes because they are so tattered? Clothes that are so tattered they can’t be donated?   Recycling and reusing clothing that’s too old, worn and torn helps the environment by keeping it out of the landfill and in return you get to save some money on ordinary household items. Here are some ideas to re-use that old clothing.

In the Garden

1. Strip clothing into sheets and lay them out onto the ground before planting a garden.   The strips of clothing will help prevent weeds from peaking up while keeping plant beds warm.
2. Tie strips of clothing into knots and create strong netting for squash and fruit plants. Train plants up a trellis and allow the fruit to lie on top of the netting.  Snagged pantyhose is especially great for this.
3. Use strips of clothing to hold up tomato plants and other vegetable plants that tend to need spiking.
4. Create produce harvest bags to store freshly picked fruits and vegetables.
5. Create smocks to protect clothing from dirt and water during gardening sessions.

In the Kitchen

1. Create oven mitts and coasters from heavier fabrics.
2. Use old towel material to create rags, dish towels or new mop heads.
3. Use scraps of fabric inside the bottom of vases for fake flowers.
4. Create a tablecloth from old fabric scraps.
5. Use lighter cotton fabrics for produce in the fridge to help keep them separated.

In the Bathroom

1. Create bath rags to clean the toilet, sink or tub.
2. Use softer cotton as facial rags or use as exfoliate clothes.
3. Use strips of cotton towels to create a unique bath rug.
4. Line baskets with fine scarves or silk blouses.
5. Glue to canvas and paint over it with acrylic paints for unique textured wall art.

Other Uses

1. Create backseat garbage bags for the car.
2. Use old sheets as practice fabric for pattern pieces
3. Use torn, knotted pieces as clothes line.
4. Create a sensory table with strips of fabric, glue, glitter, buttons and paper for young children.
5. Create dog pee pads for your home from heavily absorbent pieces.

I’ve had several emails lately about getting back into Couponing.

So how do I get back on the Coupon Wagon?  How do I fill my stockpile without emptying the bank account?

Just like any lifestyle- if you fall off the wagon- jump back on.

If you have the “coupon skills” you’re already a good part of the way there. So you need to jump back on. Hopefully you’ve been getting your Sunday coupons even if you haven’t been using them. If so- jump back in. Look at the matchups for the current week and start back in.

Now- remember not to go overboard. It’s almost like you are a “newbie” couponer- don’t chase the savings. Seeking that high percentage of savings can be euphoric but will cost you in the long run. Seek to reduce your SPENDING not increase your SAVINGS.

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Confession: We’ve been eating out WAY to much this month.

Excuses: Get ready for a lot of excuses!  I had my 4th child May 30th and we started a BAD routine.  We’ve been eating out way to much.  From ordering pizza and Chinese, running through a drive thru…it’s been a bad few weeks.  Last night I decided to put a stop to this.  I’ve been a big advocate of eating at home: it’s healthier and less expensive.

Challenge: So for the month of July, my family is participating in an “Eat at Home Challenge”.  There will be 2 scheduled exceptions: My grandparents are coming to visit and my extended family plans to take them out to eat at a local BBQ restaurant.   Secondly, my sister;s birthday is at the end of the month and traditionally our family all dines out together on birthdays.

So for the month of July I will be sharing the tips I am going to be using to stay out of the restaurants and in my own kitchen!  No more paying $7.99 for a hamburger and fries that would cost me less than $2 to make at home!  No more $9.99 pizzas delivered to my door!

I hope that by the end of the month we will have 30 tips that will keep us from crossing the threshold of a restaurant simply because we were too busy or too tired to cook!

Anyone want to join me?

We have a guest post today from Jayme. Jayme is an independent Disney travel agent for Wishing Well Travel. She’s had a lifetime of experiences at Disney Parks on both coasts and overseas. Jayme is always happy to share her tricks and tips as part of her free service to clients. You can look her up anytime on Facebook or jayme@wishingwelltravel.com

Disney can be an expensive place to visit, but there is room for savings. I’ve seen people spend as little as two thousand or as much as ten thousand on one trip for the same duration. Needless to say there are many little tips to help you along the way.

Packages

One of the first decisions you’ll make can also be one of your most costly, which is when you will travel. If you are able and willing to travel during off peak times (fall and winter except the holiday season) you can save significantly on your booking price. Many items will be discounted such as rooms and dining experiences. Traditionally during these times Disney has also offered Free Dining promotions which allow you to purchase your room and tickets and then receive a certain number of counter service or table service meals. This can shave hundreds of dollars off of your package cost.
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5/23 Update:I am SO excited that on 5/17 we paid off a LARGE debt that we’d been working on for 3 years.  It was so motivating to pay that off.  In fact, I called them and asked them to send me a confirmation that the debt has been paid in full- just so I can have it to remind us if we ever contemplate pulling out a credit card or taking a loan out!

Has anyone else started a Debt Diet?  I’d love to hear your stories!

*The following is a post I made about a month ago!
I’ve written briefly about my family’s journey towards paying off our debt before. I just wanted to tell you something that may sound funny “I LIKE paying bills now”.

We’ve been a one income family for a long time (going on about 8 years now) and we’ve had many struggles. From major emergencies to travels out of the country (trust me it wasn’t for leisure!) and we racked up some (ok a lot of debt). For years (yes years) we rolled that credit card debt from one 0% interest card to another – each month we were making minimum payments and we’d pay off one here or there…but we really never made any REAL headway. Please don’t think we were out buying luxury items we couldn’t afford- we’ve always been frugal but we made choices to put things on credit cards instead of trying to find other ways to pay for them. We took the easy way out- plastic-and paid for it!

I felt like we were living with our heads in the sand…never really sitting down and adding it all up- adding up the total debt, the total interest charges, the total monthly payments….the total number of years it was going to take to pay it off at minimum payments.

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I LOVE flowers.  Really love them. I love to place vases around my house with a stem or two and sometimes fill an entire vase with them

They are expensive though.  Even a simple bouquet costs $10-$12!  And they don’t last very long.  Instead of paying for fresh cut flowers at the farmers market, florist or grocery store- I grow my own!

One of my favorite flowers is the peony.  They are gorgeous and HUGE.  Instead of spending a lot of money on pre-cut flowers (which honestly last how long- 3-5 days?) I buy live plants and plant them around my house.

A pack of 4 peony bulbs is $24.00 at Home Depot (check out their garden club to get discounts!)  It may take a while to have a garden that supplies color all spring and summer but it is so worth it!   At almost any point during the warm seasons, I can go into the garden and snip beautiful buds to bring them inside!

A few of my favorites are Forsythia (you know those gorgeous yellow bushes in early spring?  They are so easy to grow!  PLUS you can even grow your own from them!  Peony, Lillies, Tulips, and Daffodils.

What are your favorite flowers to grow & cut? (P.S. My thumb is far from green & I grew the flower above!)

Free Trials are always fun- you get to try out a service and see if it’s for you.  Sometimes it is…sometimes it’s not.  Here are my top 10 tips for avoiding paying for a service that just isn’t for you.

1. All good things come to an end. That free trial isn’t endless- there is a time when they are going to charge you for it.  (Aren’t you glad that MSM isn’t a “FREE TRIAL” but is {and always will be} a free service for you!).  Know when that end point it. Set an alert in your phone’s calendar for 3 days prior to that.  I include the account number and contact info in my phone for when I need to cancel.  Then my calendar alerts me within plenty of time to cancel.
2. Read the fine print.  When I share a free trial offer here on MSM I try to give you ALL the info available to me.  Sometimes I try a service before sharing it but that isn’t always possible.  But always be sure to read the fine print of any offer yourself  before accepting it.   Know the terms of cancellation especially for offers that send monthly shipments, etc.
3. Know what you are getting and the cost.   Many “free” offers have some cost associated with them.  They may not charge you for the product, but shipping & handling may not be free.  Know what you  will be paying and what you will be getting.
4. Know the red flags: If a company asks for your social security number it’s probably a red flag.  They don’t need that to bill your credit card.   Name, Address, telephone number, email, credit card number are all commonly needed to process the free trial and subsequent services.  Social Security numbers are not usually necessary (an exception to this is a credit monitoring service such as Manilla or Credit Sesame both of which are reliable and reputable services) to process a free trial of a movie subscription.
5. Go Prepaid whenever possible. I keep a prepaid credit card near my desk for free trial offers I am just not sure about.  It might be a company I am not familiar with or one whose terms are murky.  This keeps their hands away from my bank account.  I keep less than $10 on that prepaid card.   Not all free trial offers will accept a prepaid card but it never hurts to try!
6. If not repaid- go credit.  It’s rare that I recommend placing items on a credit card (that’s a whole different type of trap!)  I would prefer to fight with my credit card company over unauthorized charges than have someone drain my cash out of my bank account through my debit card.
7. Check your statements. It’s so easy just to pay a bill when it comes in or quickly glance at a bank statement.   Check it each and every month line by line.  Check on any charges you don’t recognize.
8. Get it in writing.  When cancelling get a confirmation number as well as ask the company to confirm via email or USPS mail.   Keep this until at least 2 or 3 statements check out clear.
9. Know where to complain: Hopefully all your free trials will run smoothy & you may even find some great new services.  But if your free trial just didn’t work out for you- know where to complain.  Start with the company.  If they don’t give a satisfactory response (such as cancelling the service and ensuring you are not charged) you can report it to your local consumer protection agency. You can also contact the FTC if you were wrongly charged for what was supposed to be a free trial or file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau.
10. Know the old saying “If It’s too good to be true….” it probably is.  A free trial of a movie service for 30 days from a reputable company is something that is reasonable.  A two year free trial for lawn mowing…probably not true.  Again, here at MSM I try to only share offers that are true and valid. Most offers have been vetted by organizations I work with however I simply share offers and can not make any guarantee to their customer service.  It’s always a good idea to follow the tips above to avoid getting a shocking bill for a free trial offer.