dr. pepper update

On nov. 23 go to www.drpepper.com to get your free 20oz dr pepper.

Dr. Pepper

I read in the paper today that Dr. Pepper will be giving a free soda on 11/23. Something to do with a long standing joke they had with guns n roses. I'll keep an eye out for this one.

Free taco report

Zach and I went around to taco bell yesterday. We ended up with 7 free tacos. Yes, we spent a little gas, but it was fun to spend time with my son. He ate 6 of the tacos too! I doubt we saved any money, but I find having my kids in the car with me a great time for us to talk and connect. So even though we probably broke even on the cost, the time with my son was priceless.
This is part of an email I got today. It made me feel good about yesterday.

The sobering truth is that you can be in the same house or the same gym with your children but be clueless about what's really going on in their lives. Yet connecting can be something as simple as walking into each child's bedroom, sitting down and asking a few questions. It can be a quick outing for a milkshake or a hamburger. It can be stepping out on the porch together on a Sunday afternoon, just to check his or her plans for the week or ask if he or she needs to talk, to let your child know you're there to listen.

When you pursue this kind of heart-to-heart relationship with your children, you're actually following God's example. Wouldn't it be wonderful (someday) if your kids could say of you, "My parents have 'searched me and known me.' They know not just 'when I sit down and when I rise up,' but they also 'understand my thought' and are 'intimately acquainted' with who I am and what I'm like"?
That's the definition of an involved parent. Not just watching how well they turn a somersault.
I hope that Zach says that about me someday.

Articles

I worked a lot this weekend so I had the opportunity to read some magazines while I was at lunch. Almost every magazine has money saving tips in it now. Some are really great while others not so great. It's easy to see why we have so many problems with money. One article I read was about finding money. It started off good suggesting you turn in all the gold you might have in your house for money. Then there were several more suggestions on how to borrow. Borrowing is never a good idea. Jesus calls for us to be free from bondage, and debt is bondage. Bondage leads to ruin and destruction. Boy do I know that one. I'm still cleaning up the mess of debt from my previous marriage twelve years ago. I'm getting closer to the end of it but as you can see it has been a very long time. I have learned a lot from this lesson and continue to learn still.
I read another great article on an experiment a man and his family did on not spending any money for a month, other than essentials for housing, utilities, and food. Everything else like eating out, parking, clothing, toiletries, internet, and even gasoline were off limits. They even had a plumbing crisis in the middle of it but rather than calling a plumber for an expensive repair he borrowed the neighbors internet and repaired it for ten cents. (He says the look on his wifes face when he actually fixed it was priceless!) At the end of the experiment they save two thousand dollars and donated the money. Most of us have far more than what we need. I am evaluating myself what we really need and what we don't. Could you take the no spending challenge?

sticking to the plan

I'm spending a lot of time reviewing the spending plan and reading the crown materials. Ken and I also use the mvelopes program from crown that is attached to all of our accounts. Sticking to the plan is hard. Breaking old bad habits is hard. It takes a lot of discipline and time. I often find myself spending money that I shouldn't because I'm tired and I haven't kept track of where it is supposed to go. One thing I do that I wish I didn't is that I will often buy lunch at work because I am too tired to prepare something to take with me because I didn't have time to plan ahead. It is expensive to do that even at the hospital where food is less than fast food. My goal right now is to try to plan ahead for lunches so I can stick to the plan. I'm praying every day to just stick to the plan.
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it. 2Timothy:14

10 steps to get out of debt

Howard Dayton’s 10 Steps to Getting Out of Debt
by Crown Financial Ministries


1. Pray. Ask the Lord's guidance toward "D-Day" – debtless day. As you eliminate debt, the Lord blesses your faithfulness.

2. Establish a written budget. This helps with planning ahead and seeing where you can cut back.

3. List assets. Consider each item -- furniture, cars, etc. -- and determine whether you should sell any assets.

4. List liabilities. Most people don't know exactly how much they owe. A list of liabilities gives you an accurate picture of your current financial position.

5. Establish a debt repayment schedule for each creditor. Decide which ones to pay off first.

6. Consider earning additional income. Pay off debts with additional earnings.

7. Accumulate no new debt. Start pay for everything with cash.

8. Be content with what you have. Limit television watching and magazine reading. The more you watch, the more you spend. The more you look at magazines, the more you spend.

9. Consider a radical change in lifestyle. Temporarily reduce cost-of-living expenses.

10. Don't give up! Getting out of debt is hard work, but freedom from debt is worth the struggle.

Free tacos

Taco Bell is giving out free tacos on Tues Oct 28 from 2 pm to 6 pm because of a stolen base in the World Series.

Top 3 budget boosters

This is a good time to call the phone company, cell phone company, cable, satellite, etc. Find out what you can do to reduce yours costs. I call the phone company often as they are constantly lowering their fees. I changed cell companies and saved over $300 a year with better service! We needed a new roof on our house and I found a grant available with Fresno County. We should be receiving our new roof in a few weeks! Check out the link below for the top 3 budget boosters.

http://www.moneylife.org/2008/10/top-3-budget-bo.html

Free Haircut

Read about the new free haircut offer on SMPs of Herbal Essences. You have to buy 2 bottles, then enter the codes on-line, then print a redemption form. Mail the redemption form along with CRTs toHerbal Essences HairCut Offerc/o TLC Marketing1 Faneuil Hall Marketplace 4th FloorBoston, MA 02109A voucher will be mailed to you with a list of participating salons. Limit 2 vouchers per household. Expires 6/30/09.

Great deals Oct 19-25/2008

Walgreens Oct 19-25/2008
L'oreal cleanser 6.99
6.99 easy saver rebate (easy saver rebate booklet available in the store)
$1 coupon http://www.loreal.com/
Final price $1 profit

One touch glucose monitor $29.99
$29.99 rebate in box
Final Price FREE

Alka Seltzer plus cold original flavor only $4.99
$4.99 register reward (coupon given after purchase)
Final price FREE

Oral B cross action pro health or vitalizer toothbrush $4.49
$4.49 in register rewards
Final Price FREE

Pert Plus shampoo $3.49
$2.50 easy saver coupon
$1 coupon http://www.pertplus.com/
Final Price FREE

Rite Aid
Digital converter box with remote $40
If you applied for and received the government issued coupon this deal is Free with the remote. Awesome deal as the coupon usually just covers the converter box.

coupons/rebates

Did your mom ever cut out coupons? Mine did, so it has always been a part of my life. I get the sunday paper every week just for the coupons. (Well I do read it sometimes) Coupons has always dictated what food we had, what toothpaste we used etc. Why pay full price if you don't have to. Yes it takes a little time, but I think it's worth it. It frees up money you can use/give elsewhere. When Ken and I met I saved an average of 60% off my grocery bill. He could not belive it. Yes, I spent two hours at the grocery store, but I believed the results were worth it. It is a little harder now due to the end of double coupons in the central valley, but it is still possible to get really good deals. Walgreens has become my new favorite store. Every week there are many items to get totally free. You can do the same at Rite Aid and Longs, although their deals are a little harder to do and less plentiful. Since groceries are one of the only areas where you have some flexibility on what you spend I'm determined to make the most of it. We have had to totally revise our budget/spending plan due to the price of gas which has brought me back to coupons and rebates. I'm sorry I ever left it. I had forgotton how much fun it is to buy things for free. My kids love it because they never know what to expect. You also find new recipes based on what you come home with that have become real favorites. There is a great website http://www.refundcents.com/ that for a small fee you can learn about money saving deals daily. I will share the best ones, but I really encourage you to try it out. I have been able to save at least 2-3 thousand a year with coupons and rebates. Not a small amount. When I was doing this full time I literally received a check in the mail daily from rebates. Very often that was what we used to put gas in the car, or the free stuff became birthday or christmas gifts. Wouldn't it be nice to give the money you save or the items you get to others? You won't even miss it as you are spending it now anyway. It's a great way to be able to contribute, as if you did read the papers ,the homeless shelters and the womens shelters are bursting at the seams due to the economy.
When we give to the poor, the Lord will protect us, answer our prayers, and bless us with His joy. Isaiah 58:6-11

A beginning

Ken and I had another conversation about money last night. Wouldn't it be nice to never worry about money or have a need to talk about it ever again? Money is something I have struggled with my entire life. My parents never talked about money, and I never knew if we had any, if there were any problems, what they did with it, etc. I had an allowance for a short period of time in my early years but after my parents divorced that was the end of it. I was a saver in the beginning, always saving up for things I wanted. Then as money became tight for my mother I didn't have an allowance anymore so I skipped lunch at school so I could have some money. Sometimes I used my bus money for things and hitchhiked or walked instead. When I started working I had no idea what to do with such large amounts of money so I would tend to spend it all as soon as I got it. Later when I ended up on welfare with my own baby I learned more about budgeting out of necessity or we would be homeless. I still had no idea how to figure out how much rent I could afford in order to have money for other things. I did become an expert at finding money to pay for things I needed and resources for other stuff we needed. Eventually I went to school, became a nurse, and became self supporting. Sort of. I still had no idea what to do with money. My life has been one big crisis with money. When we had it we spent it, and when we didn't, we suffered. I made a conscious decision one day to get control of my money. I started reading lots of books to try to figure it out. One book said she guaranteed that we were spending $1,000 a month more than we thought we were. We laughed histerically until we added it up. A sobering $1,200. That explained why we never had any money even though we have a decent income. We attended a workshop on becoming financially free by Crown ministries. What a relief to find out we were not complete idiots, just bad planners. We are trying hard to be better planners. I'd like to say we have it all figured out and we have no more money problems, but we don't. We are still trying, but I would like to share what we have learned in hopes that others will benefit from it as things are very difficult right now in this economy. I hope that others will share with us also so we may encourage each other to reach our final destination of becoming financially free. I encourage everyone to start out with Crown ministries Money Map. It is a free program on their website you can sign up for. In destination one there is a guideline for starting a spending plan. We are in the process of revising it again. The Bible actually holds 2,350 verses dealing with money, so he obviously intended to give us a lot of help in an area that is important to us all. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the use of wordly wealth, who will entrust true riches to you? Luke 16:11