I wanted to let everyone know I have a new blog about saving money and couponing and you can find it here! I created this new blog because when I first started “couponing” there was a ton of information but not compiled into one place. There is also a ton of misinformation and dishonesty out there and I want my blog to be a place that removes the confusion and brings simplicity to saving money. I plan to make this site grow and flourish into a great resource for everything from saving money on groceries to finding fabulous deals on toys. I want it to be a site with integrity and a place where saving money is explained simply. So, check it out and tell me what you think!

How Do I Coupon: Save 50% or More Using Coupons!

Since we live in a town that I would rather not be in, I have been on a search to find things to appreciate about living here. Why dwell in misery when I can try and find things to feel good about, right? I do have to say I have found some great places in this city. The 17th Street Market is a great place to grocery shop, outside the big box stores, and still get decent prices. They had organic pineapple for $1.49 and it was very good! The market also supports local musicians and it is great to hear live music while shopping . I ate at El Charro for the first time in the 20 years I have lived here.  It is a Tucson institution where allegedly the chimichanga was invented. El Charro is in a contentious rivalry with a restaurant in Phoenix over this title for decades. The food was good and the guacamole was decent even though it was not prepared table side (which I think it should be).  Another really great find is BICAS, a nonprofit organization, offers used bikes and bike parts. You can volunteer at the shop and earn credit to get a bike. There are classes available that teach how to build your own bike and you can rent space to repair if you need to. It is a very cool concept. I looked there first for a bike but none were built and ready to go the day I went. My brother found some inexpensive replacement parts for his bike that he needed. And, BONUS, they had a flier up for Youth Works, an organization that makes compost bins from garbage bins thrown into the city dump. The following Saturday I bought a huge compost bin made out of recycled materials for $40! It feels really good to buy and support local businesses and organizations.

That said, I have been wanting to buy a bike to ride around the neighborhood and I got this one last week:

I love the whitewall tires and the fenders . I ride it to my yoga class on Sunday mornings and around the neighborhood with Peanut.

I ended up getting it at……. Target (::sigh::). I wanted to buy local so very much but it came down to a lower price at Target (50% lower easily) on clearance for a pretty good deal. And I think that is a real issue that local businesses have to contend with: prices and availability. I would certainly buy local even if it costs slightly more. But, 50% less expensive; well, my wallet talks too and it says, “We gots to save somewhere!”

Helloooo. Here is the link to a free sample of True Lemon, True Lime. Has anyone tried this product? I am curious

P.S. My sample for the free oatmeal from Quaker Simple Harvest came yesterday in the mail; if you requested a free sample it should be arriving soon. It was Yummo!

I Scream You Scream We all Scream for ICECREAM! Here is a link to Cold Stone Creamery’s Burthday Club. After you sign up and when it is close to your birthday, you get a free coupon for icecream. Sounds sweet to me!

P.S. I signed up Slack for his birthday and it was super easy and the coupon is great!

Happy Wednesday! This week’s offer is for a Free pack of Stride gum. Enjoy!

 Slack has read The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss and has been bugging asking me to read this. After last week deciding I need to realign my goals and desires, I figured I should at least open the book and see what it has to offer to me, a stay-at-home mom with no current business established. The 4-Hour Workweek has been not only an interesting read, it has further fueled my need to be economically self-sufficient so I can truly obtain what I want in life. I am really truly excited about the rest of my life!

These are the parts of the book that have stuck with me personally thus far. Reading the book yourself might give you better insights and certainly different ones to ponder and execute.

 The 80/20 principle by economist Vilfredo Pareto.

Which 20% of sources are causing 80% of my problems and unhappiness?

Which 20% of sources are resulting in 80% of my desired outcomes and happiness?*

Right away I applied this to my current job and personal relationships. Okay…

My job took up a low percentage of my actual time but it sapped over 80% of my energy. Now, my job was certainly far from a terrible experience but the payoff was so little in retrospect. All the time I put into it from stressing about it to actually doing the job itself received such little payoff it is laughable.

Applying this to family relationships was obvious as well. For those of you who do not know, both of my parents are mentally ill. Not like, Oh those crazy eccentric goofs! More like, Wow, they are so truly disabled by their personal demons they cannot be parents in any real way. Yeah good times. I could write a series on them alone that would make your jaw drop and you might not believe it all anyways. I digress . Looking at these particular personal relationships and how much time and effort I put into them (which is far less than I have ever done previous), I see that I get, at best, 1-2% positive outcomes from 98% of my resources. Yikes.

I also thought of all of my close friends who I have constructed into my true family. Sadly, I spend 20% of my time with all of them due to circumstance, distance, etc. But during that time I do spend with them, I easily get an 80% positive return. That is just awesome .

This is my example of the Reversing Repression Exercise* that is in the book. Basically you write down what you would like to have, do, and be without any limitations:

What do I want to have?

Beautiful house in the mountains and 2 new cars.

What do I want to be?

Baker

Gardener

Vegan cook

Operate my bakery, move, let it self-operate and manage from wherever I live or travel to.

What do I want to do?

Travel Travel Travel Europe, Iceland especially.

Living Green

This exercise is quite difficult for me as I had to really think about what I really want. That is, think without restrictions,  and write down what I think is impossible bordering on ridiculous. Odds are for me, though, if you look at the percentage of people who attempt the impossible and win. That makes the impossible or far-fetched seem almost  doable. The book further explains how to calculate how much it would cost to live this way and how much $$ I would need to bring in each day to achieve these goals. When you break it down to a day by day it is not near as impossible as you would think.  That is what I have taken from this book thus far. I am enjoying the read and if all I get out of it is thinking about what I truly want then I think this book is a success for me .

*Ferriss, Timothy, 2007, The 4-Hour Workweek, pp. 54-59, pp.68-71.

I mentioned in a previous post that happiness is how I would like to measure success. IMHO, if a person is happy with their lives and themselves, then prosperity and material success should be a natural byproduct. Part of shifting gears for me is going back to doing things that have inspired me and have made me happy in the past. Baking cakes, breads, and cookies has always been enjoyable for me and I have not done that in quite some time. I used to make soaps, candles, and incense; that also made me feel good and inspired. I have not done any of these in a very long time. I also used to write more on this blog and I have not done that either. I want to keep momentum. I want to do all of these things. I want to write more, create more, be inspired more.

Enough about me…What inspires you? What makes your life good? Is there anything you want to do that you are not doing now? I want to hear!

I love me some Splenda I use it to make Kool-Aid for Peanut and sweet iced tea. Splenda also makes decent peanut butter cookies. Everything in moderation of course. Here is the link for this week’s sample. Enjoy!

Free sample of Splenda No Calorie Sweetener Flavors for Coffee.

Oh, if you want the uber simple recipe for Peanut Butter Cookies, here is one I have used since I was a kid:

1 egg

1 cup peanut butter (chunky or smooth)

1 cup sugar, or Splenda, or 1/2 cup of each

Mix ingredients. Place by teaspoonfuls on cookie sheet. Use a fork to make a criss-cross pattern on top of each cookie. Bake for 350 degrees for 8-10 mintues. Let cool for one minute. Remove from sheet and place on cooling rack. Easy!

It has been awhile since I have posted anything and I wish I could say I have been busy saving the world or even having so much fun I have not had time to write. Alas, this is not so. I have been, quite simply, lazy. And I know all you moms out there get that . Lazy as in so much energy is required to do the everyday things that insert miscellaneous side endeavor here is just too much at the moment. I am fairly certain I am lazy due to the 105+ degree heat here in the Devil’s Hemroidhal Asscrack and the fact that I have been thinking A LOT. Prolly more to due with the latter .

I have been thinking about my personal goals, what do I really want in life, so on and on and on….I have come to the conclusion that my end goals are different from the current path I am on. ::sigh:: I am going to concentrate on endeavors that will ultimately make my long-term goals viable and real. I measure my success in happiness and right now that is severly deficient. How about that?! I am scared out of my pants, but I know it is the right time and the right plan. I will succeed dammit! 

Sorry this is late, but I have been busy with everyday-life things. This is a link to a great website for free quality jewelery. Now before you say, “Free AND quality..yeah right!”, you do have to pay for shipping; which is $6.99 per piece. I was skeptical of this place so I thought I would order something to check out the quality before I recommended it. I have to say I am impressed. The quality of the jewelry seems to be great and the shipping did not take as long as the site said it could. The stone in my ring is beautiful although I am sure it is lab created. I don’t mind- less digging around in our beautiful earth . Check out Silver Jewelry Club. They offer different items that rotate every few minutes. Just keep an eye out for the ring size offered as you cannot choose what size you want. There are earrings and necklace pendants as well. I highly recommend! And, FYI, I am not getting paid nor endorsed to write about them .