It’s been a long time coming, but it needs to be said, publicized, and gotten out. My passion isn’t couponing, it isn’t photography, it’s not decorating, or even cooking. It’s really not even graphic design, even though I love doing it.

My passion is helping people, specifically in the area of finances. I guess it’s one of those things when you’ve been so completely transformed and you can’t wait to share it with others, that’s how I feel. Like, how we should feel about Jesus, that we can’t hold it in, we just have to share Him. It’s like that, but maybe I shouldn’t be comparing finances to Jesus, next I’ll be talking about politics, just to make this the most controversial post on the web.

A year ago Jeremy and I took financial peace and we will never be the same. We set out to make the baby steps a real part of our lives and we made lots of sacrifices while we were paying off debt. We saw God provide in miraculous ways, and the amazing thing is – he’s still providing. (It’s hard to know how God is providing if you don’t know where your money is going!)

In no way do I claim to know it all, and I don’t know every rule about heloc’s, estate planning, and tax write offs, but I know one thing. I know that how we’re living in regards to finances right now honors God, and that’s a big statement. There have been times in my life where living paycheck to paycheck was a reality, when I didn’t tithe, no, not at all. And now, with a paid-for car and no debt, we are thrilled to be able to give abundantly where we feel led. It’s such a freeing thing to know that our finances are not tied up in possessions or in 20% interest on things we don’t remember buying.

I’m definitely not bragging, so please do not hear me that way. I’m just amazed, and thankful, and glad that I now have some knowledge and experience to share with others, especially as people are being crushed by the economy’s foot.

I want to help. It’s my passion.

So a few have asked, how do you keep from driving yourself nuts from clipping coupons? In short: I don’t clip.

Okay, I do clip the ones we USE, but that’s it.

How?

Well, we file by the insert date – in other words, today’s date is 5/15 so the insert would go in a 5/15 file. Each week has a file. If we don’t happen to get the paper from that week, then we don’t have a file.

So, this is how it looks:

Filed by insert date, chronologically, so the newest date is first.

Then, when I go through the grocery game to get my coupons ready, they are listed in order by the date of the insert, wahlah! I go to that date, flip through that insert, and clip. A complete cinch.

I keep about 3 months of coupons, sometimes more. Then, I reuse the file folders by marking through the date, or by putting a small label to cover over the previous used date.

TIP: the coupon insert date is listed on the coupon insert’s spine in case yours get mixed up.

It’s your coupon system, so make it yours! We once upon a time had a really cute file box from Target, but it wasn’t sturdy enough to hold the massive amounts of coupons we would sometimes have.

Another TIP: thegrocerygame.com is so easy to use. Many don’t I fear, because it costs five measly bucks a month. We easily save that plus enough to buy the paper each week, plus some. This past week (a normal week, not super doubles, not triples) at Harris Teeter, we saved $62 on one trip. That included free wings, free diet coke, free biscuits, free cinnamon rolls, free milk… and more.

Shameless plug: If you’re thinking of signing up for thegrocerygame.com, there is a free 4 week trial, and I’d appreciate if you’d enter our email address: coupons.ilm@gmail.com we get a small credit for every 3 people that sign up under our email.

Which brings me to yet ANOTHER TIP: if you’re going to sign up for coupon websites, p&g, red plum, and manufacturers, I suggest getting a different coupon email address. That way your email address stays free & clear of unwanted spam.

Many of you have heard me talk about Dave Ramsey and why I think his simple principles are genius. Almost everyday on his show, he will say something like, “this is the way your grandma taught you about money.” It’s common sense, but yet, it’s so hard for people to grasp.

Many people have asked me, why I feel so compelled by the truth of Dave Ramsey’s message. I guess it’s because it has worked and quite simply I don’t worry about money any more. It’s changed our marriage and it’s certainly changed the way this little one kicking inside my tummy will grow up to think about money.

So, at the end of this financial peace course, Jeremy and I challenged the group to write a letter to themselves, detailing where they want to be one year from now mainly in regards to finances and the babysteps. You can of course mention other areas of your life, it’s totally up to you.  I’ve done this before and the exercise is always so interesting, because as you’re reading the letter, you’re remembering where you were and where God has brought you.  But, we’re almost to the halfway point of 2011 (Can you believe it!?) So now would be a good time to write a letter to yourself, thinking though where you want to be, where you see yourself, and just talking about what you’re learning now, etc.

I challenge you to do it. If you want, I can actually mail these letters to you in one year from today. Yes, real snail mail. All you need to do is hand me a sealed envelope with your letter and your address on the front, and I’ll send them off! I promise not to read them, they will be kept safe.

In the meantime, Jeremy and I are thinking of leading another financial peace group, we believe so strongly in this and would love to lead it, if you’re interested let us know.

This weekend, I tried my hardest to go and do the Walgreens and CVS trips (Harris Teeter too). I made my lists, I had my coupons all in a row (including separate envelopes for each store and the store ads!) Twas a pretty successful experience. But, I’ve still yet to see the results from out of pocket to in-store rewards. For instance, yesterday at Walgreens we purchased

1 Venus razor system at $7.99 (I had a coupon for $3.00 off) so – $4.99 – and you get back $4 RR (Register Reward), which makes it $0.99. (But, I am still paying $4.99 out of pocket)

There was a Jergens deal on the Southern Savers site, but it didn’t end up working at our store. We had the nicest cashier that helped us with this!

Then, 39 cents for cadbury eggs (this alone was worth the trip) and free chocolate with a $1.00 off 2 coupon. Which we paid $2 out of pocket (with no RR).

I know I could have gotten another $2 item so that I could have gotten my next transaction for free, but it seemed silly to me to waste the $4 RR on $2 of chocolate and another $2 item I didn’t need.

These 2 deals, along with another razor deal we tried to get for Jer, took us 45 minutes in store, probably an additional 45 in making lists and finding coupons. Hopefully I’ll get better.

Then, I tried CVS, I had only one deal to get at this store, so I thought it would be snappy!

The deal was:
(2) Oral-B Toothbrushes $2.99
Use:
-B1G1 Oral-B Advantage or 3D White Vivid manual toothbrush, max $2.99, RP 3/13
-$2 off Oral-B Pulsar, CrossAction, or Advantage manual toothbrush, PG 4/03
Total Due: 99¢
Get Back: $1.98 ECB, you make $1 profit

I still paid $1.47 out of pocket (with tax).

However, the lady at the register told me I couldn’t use those two coupons in combination because the B1G1 counts for both (which is true at Harris Teeter) but she gave it to me anyway, which I was grateful!

Then, on to Harris Teeter, it was my first time using the e-vic coupons that you load on your card. But, other than that small detail, it was another successful HT trip, to tag onto my super doubles, that we did really well on (even at the last minute). I have to give a shout out to the lady who was managing yesterday, I don’t know her name yet, but I will be sure to find out, she was so great, even gave us cash back when the e-vic coupons didn’t work.

Just to sum up, how great my trips to Harris Teeter have been:

Super Doubles trip: spent $26.61, saved $74.13, that’s $100.74 worth of groceries for $26.61!

Trip on Friday (this was no April Fools!), just to buy an item for a sleepover, spent $0.15, saved $4.76!

Trip yesterday (a non super doubles, non triple day): spent $9.62, saved, $20.94, that’s over $30 worth of groceries for $9.62! (including fresh produce!)

Total spent out of our grocery budget this month: $93 (including a trip to Sam’s)

Total spent out of toiletry budget: 7.47 with a $4 RR (at Walgreens) and a $1.98 ECB (at CVS).

Not too shabby. But, I’m still learning. How about you? Had any success with coupons lately that you would like to share?

$6 for a year of glamour magazine! Go to the Asheville, NC groupon page to get this deal! Hurry before the deal runs out!

A new deal I found on Amazon.. I’ve been wanting this magazine for a while, and I always grab it when Jeremy and I go to Barnes & Noble to read their plethora of magazines….. can you guess what it is?

Better Homes & Gardens, $5.99 for a one year subscription on Amazon!

Last week our financial peace class just wrapped the 5th lesson, Credit Sharks in Suits, which is a lesson about FICO, Credit Scores, and Creditors, it’s also a lesson about what to do if you can’t pay your minimum payments on credit cards (RESOURCE ALERT!).

The more & more I get into this stuff, the more & more passionate I am about helping others and educating myself about the INS and OUTS of the financial scene.

I know it’s overwhelming, especially if you are someone who is in a mountain of debt. Or, even if you have debt that you don’t consider to be a lot. It doesn’t matter. The Bible says in Proverbs 22:7,

The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower becomes the lender’s slave.

Regardless, there are tons of resources out there to help you, and I want to be one of them!

This particular post, however is about FICO and Credit Scores! It seems like you should do a certain list of things to get a better credit score. But credit scores are nothing more than an “I love debt score” according to Dave Ramsey.

Basically, your entire credit score is calculated based on debt: new debt, old debt, debt payment history, etc. Here’s a chart:

Why worship at the altar of FICO if you don’t ever want to borrow money again? Now, that’s a big assumption, especially for America, especially at this day in age. Most people can’t even think of their lives without a car payment or without a mortgage! But it’s completely possible. I want to help you get there.

Here’s the deal, Dave suggests pulling your credit report annually to check for inaccuracies.

There are three credit bureaus: Equifax, Transunion, & Experian. If you pull just one of the bureaus you can check your credit report for FREE 3 times a year!

To pull your credit report, go to: : https://www.annualcreditreport.com/ to check for inaccuracies ASAP. Do not put in your credit card info or be scammed by a site that wants you to sign up for FICO monitoring, etc.

YOUR RESOURCE:

Also, here is a plan from Financial Peace University called pro rata that helps you with what to do if you can’t make the minimum payments on your credit cards.

Do you pull your credit report once a year? Have you found inaccuracies? Have you ever been chased down by a credit shark in a suit, or know someone who has?

Coupons are an amazing way to save lots and lots of money on anything from groceries to movies to the GROVE PARK INN!

A few weeks ago, Jeremy told me that we could go to Asheville in April. He has a conference and I naturally would go to the Grove Park Inn while we have the advantage of a free hotel room! It dawned on me, that not only is Groupon available in nearby cities it is also available in cities I might be traveling to! So, I signed up for the Asheville Groupon, thinking that BY CHANCE the Grove Park Inn, might appear on Groupon, and it did! I was estatic! Maybe too estatic… I forgot to purchase the deal for myself before it sold out. (Thankfully a friend saved me from my lack of assertiveness).

TIP #1: Sign up for Groupon in cities where you will be traveling in the next 6 months. (in addition to your city). I think right now I am signed up for 3 cities.

TIP #2: You are tired of your inbox being bogged down by all of these coupon sites, sign up for a special gmail address just for registering for websites and deals. Ours is coupons.ilm@gmail.com

TIP #3: There are many other sites out there now, just like Groupon with super deals. Here are a list of some that are probably available in your city. Sign up on these sites and get on their email list (remember TIP #2)

• Living Social
• Twongo
• Half Off Depot

TIP #4: The Grocery Game – this site is amazing and so easy to use! Sign up for one store or multiples, there is a free trial available for 4 weeks. If you sign up, please use our referral email: coupons.ilm@gmail.com. (Disclaimer: After 3 people sign up I will get a very small commission that will help us pay for the subscription) After the 4 week trial period it is only $5/month and we save WAY more than that using the tools this site supplies.

Here is my process for using this site:

1. I check all of the items that I want to purchase
2. I sort the items by coupon date
3. I gather my coupons, from my super easy coupon filing method
4. I resort the list by aisle order in the grocery store
5. I reprint the list
6. I go shopping!

One of the major benefits to The Grocery Game is, if you stick to buying only whats on the list on this site, it will tell you your TOTAL order amount! How amazing is that?

TIP #4: SouthernSavers I know this site is NO secret to most of you, this Jenny lady is getting it with the deals she lists on the site, tons of free things, coupon booklets, magazine subscription, even free restaurant deals. You must add this to your RSS feeder. This is a good way to check out couponing for multiple stores (I shop solely at Harris Teeter, but often look at deals at other stores like CVS via SouthernSavers), but it’s a bit more confusing than the grocery game (at least to me). The key is to find something that works for you! She has a very comprehensive coupon lesson on here site as well. Check it out if you’re just getting started.

TIP #5: Don’t get overwhelmed. There are lots of ways to save money with coupons, but if it’s taking all of your time and you’re getting overwhelmed by it, it’s not worth it. Take a break.

Check out this post for my coupon filing method and how it’s helped us!

image by design nation

Balance is an incredible thing. It allows us to walk down the street, drive our cars, climb mountains, ride a bike, do yoga, and yet it’s so taken for granted.

Today, in reading Colossians, balance was mentioned a few times by the commentary, a few thoughts on balance were that it’s rare to achieve it in our Christian walks, again, taken for granted. We quite, honestly, think that we can live our Christian lives focused on just one thing, even good things. Take for instance – the study of scripture, Scripture is incredible, it’s God’s word, it’s meant for us to love & enjoy, and dig deeper, it reveals the general will of God, but is it everything?

Or even service and volunteering. While it’s such a good thing to volunteer, and serve, it is once again not everything.

Obedience, while great, & fantastic when done in combo with the above two (knowing God’s word & service) might still fall short.

While reading a book today by Warren Wiersbe, on Colossians called Be Complete, a point that was brought back time & again was that of balance, of completeness. What is it that defines your balance in life?

Of course there are many aspects of life to find balance in. Physical, Mental, Social, Spiritual, Family, & Financial. How are these acheived in your daily life?

For most this thought process is overwhelming, that’s why books like Choosing to Cheat by Andy Stanley have become so popular. A book on balance.

A prior chapter Wiersbe writes about how we, as believers, can all too often get caught up the wrong thing, devoting our time & energy to that thing. A few things that He says that really stood out to me from Chapters 2 & 3 are these:

Human nature has the tendency to want to follow men instead of God – to want “something new” instead of the basic foundational truths of the gospel.

Saving faith involves the mind, the emotions, and the will. With the mind we understand the truth of the gospel, and with the heart we feel conviction and the need to be saved. But it is only when we exercise the will and commit ourselves to Christ that the process is complete. Faith is not mental assent to a body of doctrines, no matter how true those doctrines may be. Faith is not emotional concern. Faith is commitment to Jesus Christ.

Wherever there is a relationship of faith and love, there will be a growing hope.

a beautiful balance, that can exist, one that produces hope!

Another quote on balance, by Wiersbe

Knowledge, conduct, service and character must always go together. We know God’s will that we might obey it, and in obeying it, we serve Him and grow in Christian character. While none of us is perfectly balanced in these four factors, we ought to strive for that balance.

oh and one more… please?

Worship and service are not competitive. They always go together.

I will try not to bore you with quotes from Wiersbe, but I have been incredibly refreshed by his writing style, the way he brings scripture into full view!

I want to learn the balance, I want to be transformed by love. I want to have a growing hope, a strong relationship between the three. I want to grow in knowledge, conduct, service and character. This is my prayer.

Recently Jeremy and I, along with a few families from our church hosted a yard sale. It was a cold November morning, clearly the coldest morning we’ve had yet, and there we were out there – with all our yardsale-worthy stuff, for people to pick & wade through, determining a price for something that would have been long-gone to goodwill by now.

our yardsale

So people asked if it was worth it, I’m guessing they mean, did we make what we thought we would? Or better? For us, it was more of a simple answer -extra money! In November, you see, we had a few extra expenses, well with moving & the holidays. So we figured instead of a trip to goodwill, why not see if we could turn that extra stuff into cash!

I learned a few things along the way and I wanted to share them here, so that you or I could refer back at any point to gain insight to the fabulous world of turning nothing (your junk) into something (cash)!

Timing - it’s everything. You’ll want to host your yardsale on a morning that isn’t freezing cold (like we did), it’s best to hold a yardsale in the spring or summer, people will buy more if they are comfortable, and seasons and weather make a huge difference toward this. In our lovely city of Wilmington, NC our summer is HOT and our fall is mild, so depending on the weather fall months may not be a bad idea if you don’t like the blazing hot temps. Time of day is also important too, most yard sales in the summer start at 7am, but lately in the fall, I’ve noticed they are starting at 8. So, think about that ahead of time. If you want to take advantage of the hard core (ie early bird) yardsalers, you might want to set your time at 7, if every other yard sale is at 8. It’s the black friday principle. The thrill of the hunt.

Location – it’s important in real estate, and it’s important in yard saling. Make sure to have signage out at least a few days before, people driving by will take note.

Pricing - don’t be afraid to stick to your guns when it comes to pricing. This past yard sale, Jer and I had a table that we knew what we wouldn’t go below, and we stuck to it. Make sure to price the item higher (if it’s a big ticket item) so that when bargaining comes into play, if people go below the listed price, it still may be above your lowest price that you’ll take. The same is true for something you are shopping for, but reverse, know the price you won’t go above and stick to it. Since learning of the unreal deals people can get when shopping yard sales, Jer and I bought a washer and dryer at a yard sale. Cheaper than craigslist… just saying. When it comes to pricing books, dvds, go here.

our new (to us) washer & dryer! found at a yardsale!

Organization - It’s just important as the above, if people don’t know how much something costs (or if you don’t) it can make for an awkward sale, and if anything, you want it to go as smooth as possible. We grouped our items by price and had signs (instead of individually stickering). We did sticker some items that we had one of (like an electric can opener). You can buy stickers with prices already on them at Walmart, Staples or Office Depot for cheap! For more tips on organization at a yardsale go here.

Advertising - I’ve mentioned signs (poster board + stakes work just fine), but with technology, don’t forget to take advantage of facebook, twitter, craigslist, wilmingtonyardsales.com (or see if your city has a site like this). Make sure to list the HOT items, like kid’s clothes & toys, big items like furniture, or types of clothes. When I was searching for the washer & dryer listing on wilmingtonyardsales.com I did a command + f search to find the terms I was looking for. For our yard sale I even created a facebook event. But it’s obviously totally up to you how far you want to take it.

Partnering- Do you know of others that want to have a yardsale too? Why not do it together? It brings momentum, and more people come if they know it’s multifamily!

Being prepared- It is important to price your stuff ahead of time, but make sure you’re prepared ahead of time with petty cash, I wore an apron with pockets which helped tremendously, that way you’re not worrying about keeping up with a cash box. Arrive early, Jeremy and I got there a teensy bit late (due to my I-must-have-coffee-zombie-face) which made for a frantic morning, with people trying to pick through your stuff in the pitch black. Just be mindful.

Let me know if these tips help, or if you have more tips to add! Happy yard-saling!