Income & Expenses

This is a long post but there are THREE good ideas in here...

In 1oth grade, I took accounting with Mr. Doran. I learned about the two sides of the income statement (or was it the balance sheet). Anyway, the two main points I have retained from that class are: Income & Expenses. How do these apply to my household?

Expenses: Here are two things that I’ve done to save hundreds of dollars:

· #2: I just joined Couponsense (after going to a short orientation class last Saturday). Coupons have never been my thing (I'm not that organized). However, after seeing women on the news buying $100 worth of groceries for $1, I explored it and found that I could save $300-500 a month on food and supplies (including diapers for two).

Check it out: couponsense.com.

(The best part organizationally is that I don't have to actually clip the coupons until it is time to go shopping and they tell me where to buy what based on sales and coupons.)

Here is how it works: (Overall approach: match your coupons to store sales)

a. Organize coupons so you can find them when the sale starts (perhaps weeks after the newspaper publishes the coupons). Coupons last for 4-6 months.

b. Get the coupons each week and store them in a hanging file folder. Buy three papers and get three sets of coupons! (Couponsense even has a deal with the Arizona Republic to get extra Sunday papers for 75 cents each-just so you can get additional sets of coupons.)

c. Use the couponsense website to create a grocery list (They'll tell you what is on sale where and what coupons you have saved from the Sunday paper. They cover 13 stores in AZ. This may mean you need to shop more than one store to get the best deals. You can opt only one store if you want.)

d. Get the matching coupons from your hanging file folders (the website tells you which coupon is in which coupon packet in your hanging file folders).

e. Shop and save.

Example:
Couponsense tells you:
a) X-grocery store is having a sale on toothpaste (regularly $2 and on sale for $1) AND

b) You have a 50 cent coupon for toothpaste in your hanging folder.

You go to the store, which happens to double coupons and buy the toothpaste for $1. You turn in a 50 cent coupon from your hanging file folder system, which is valued at $1 (store doubles the coupon).

You get the item for FREE!

Seriously, that is how it works.

I tried it out last week: matching coupons to sale items and got shampoo and conditioner for free at Walgreens (I had to pay sales tax only). Um, yeah....I could handle this - as long as they do the organizing.

I'm going to try it for the spring. They said that you can really see a difference in your grocery bill by week 6. As long as they organize it and I save, I'll keep going!

(The ladies at the class said they no longer pay for toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, etc...they ALWAYS have coupons to match to sales = free!).

Also, there are so many things that I can get for free that even if I don't use that specific product, it is an easy way to collect items for free to donate to food banks or other charitable causes.

Cost for this program: $14/month for couponsense ($4 for 1st month) and ~$10+ a month for the paper. So, if I save at least $24, I can keep going. My goal, save $300+.

· #1 – I’m buying used clothes. Honestly, I’ve always done this. This might sound crazy (and it probably is) but I’ve always felt that once used, clothes have a story. Some other kid wore these shorts and they went certain places and did certain things and now my kid is wearing them and doing things. I know, strange. I digress.

I recently purchased an entire wardrobe for my son for $14 at a garage sale in my neighborhood (less shoes). For shoes, I exchanged some of my kids' outgrown clothes for shoes at a used clothing store (Kid to Kid if you are in the Phoenix area). My cost: gas to drive the 5 miles.

Seriously, $14 for a case of little boy clothes and shoes. Cute stuff. Gap, Old Navy, Gymboree, Children's Place, etc. That is savings in the hundreds of dollars.

Summary: SAVE wherever you can! The money is God's so commit to using His resources wisely.

Income:
OK, I know we covered the Proverbs 31 woman for 2 weeks (14 posts) but I have to bring her into this discussion. Verse 24 says that “She makes linen garments and sells them, and supplies the merchants with sashes.”

I interpret this to mean that she is resourceful. She was running a home-based business. She used her knowledge and abilities to produce something. Then, she was able to use her skills to get people to buy her products (individuals and other businesses). That is industrious!

I have had a photography business for ~5 years now. I primarily photograph high school seniors and infants. I guess that I’m industrious in that I have had a good amount of people purchase prints!

My example? My mom sews. She recently pulled out the ole machine and some thread and started making aprons for kids, bibs, blankets and bean bag sets – to sell to parents and daycares. That is industrious!

Summary-
Income: Does God desire you to explore bringing in extra cash to support your household? What could you do? $100 extra a month? $200, more? A product or a service? Where are your talents? Could you use your God-given abilities to help support your family in different ways?

Expenses: Be industrious. Be resourceful. Be creative. (Plus you might just enjoy the journey…the thrill of the hunt for good deals!)

,..And you might meet some incredible people along the way. I have!


Thanks, Mr. Doran…It really is about balance: income and expenses in this case! And from a Biblical perspective it is about using what God has given us both wisely and for His glory. That is - time, talents, money, physical resources, etc.

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Growing up I had to contend with Thrifty Tam. She was, after all, my mother. When we went to eat at sit-down restaurants, Thrifty Tam reared her ugly head and made us take in canned soda to have with our meal instead of buying a fountain drink. We could not go out to eat with Thrifty Tam unless she had a coupon. If we were out shopping and saw an outfit we liked, Thrifty Tam would declare, “I could make that for half the cost!”. Thrifty Tam sewed us homemade Jams (remember the shorts from the 80’s?). Thrifty Tam spent hours in line to get price adjustments of just 50 cents. Thrifty Tam still takes her own peanut butter and pickles in to Einstein Bagels. Now you might think I am not a fan of Thrifty Tam, but truth be told, she is actually my hero! Now that I make my own living and pay my own bills, I admit it - Thrifty Tam was smart! I could use some of her smarts, especially now with the present state of the economy.

Unfortunately Thrifty Tam has always told me I have expensive taste. After a conversation with a friend on how much is too much to spend on a purse and me declaring I would never go over $50, this cute green bag called out to me and no sooner had I thrown down the purse price gauntlet did I find myself purchasing said green bag for $70!! So now officially I will not pay more than $70 for a purse, unless something in the $80 range catches my eye…or $90? $100? Oh my!

I love to shop and I am a perfector of the impulse buy. I reason with myself in my own head at stores and can usually justify buying most things, you know, with “Amy” logic. I never met a Target I didn’t like and feel it is my duty as their #1 shopper to purchase items on a weekly basis. My favorite book is ‘Confessions of a Shopaholic’. Hello, my name is Amy and I throw caution to the wind and shop like it is my job.

So what would God say about my obsession? I am pretty sure I don’t take him with me on my shopping sprees. He might be with me, but I sure can ignore the heck out of Him. So what can I do about my obsession? I could blow it off and live by the motto – ‘Life is short, buy the shoes!’, OR I could follow the more biblical motto – ‘You can’t take it with you when you go!’.

“But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.” (1 Timothy 6:6–8)

I wrote this verse on a note card and put it up all over my house. I even clipped it to the strap of my cute green purse! Now every day this week I will be reminded to be content with God and not earthly possessions.

Now don’t get me wrong, I have been known to be a little thrifty myself. I mean you can’t live with Thrifty Tam for 18 years and not pick up on some things. If you catch me on a good day, you might see me putting back that impulse buy and actually leaving a Target with nothing more than what I came in with! I have also taken a drink in to a sit down restaurant and when I’m paying the bill, I realize it’s not such a mortifying idea. I often have stores do price adjustments and think of Thrifty Tam and how proud she would be. This is really a great idea, just pay attention to the Sunday ads because a lot of stores will adjust prices due to a sale for up to 2 weeks after you originally purchased the item.

Now Thrifty Tam has no idea how to turn on a computer, but I bet if she did, she would be all over on line coupons. If you are purchasing something online, they always ask if you have a special offer code. To get these codes all you have to do is Google the item and store and you can find working and valid codes that = big savings!! I do this all the time and it works like a charm.

My favorite thrifty date night is me and my hubby surrounded by books and magazines at the local bookstore. You don’t have to spend a dime, unless you can’t resist the cappuccino at the café. But even still, you can read magazines for free and play footsy under the table with your man – who can ask for a better date?!?

Here is a picture of me and Thrifty Tam last year...the yummy dessert was free because it was her birthday!!



Free to be me...