No Non-*cents* November

Alternate title: Target, we’re taking a break… it’s not you, it’s ME.

First off, I can’t believe this year is almost over already. 2012 started slow for me, but the summer and this fall flew by… and now I’m almost a whole year older. Sheesh.

Of course the arrival of November means that Christmas is very much in sight… and that is always a stressful time for us tight-budgeted folks. There are gifts to buy, parties to attend, and food to make/bake. Add that to the fact that we’re Disney-bound in mid-January, and you see my need to get a grasp on spending so that we have maximum funds available for Christmas and our trip.

I am the sole “spender” for our house – I do all the grocery shopping, I fill up the gas tank, and I whip out the debit card for all other purchases {usually eating out and purchasing clothing, shoes, and other small odds and ends}.

Two things really need to be corralled:

Groceries/TARGET. I usually shop at Target {using my Red Debit Card to get 5% off!}, because I like one-stop shopping, and I’ve found that prices on several items at Target are better at “regular” price than local grocery stores {peanut butter, waffles, bread, most HBAs, etc.}. However, I’ve come to find that in the long-run, this is muy, muy no bueno for the old budget-o. For whatever reason, even when I think I’ve “done good,” I end up shaking my head at the register in disbelief that what I thought was "not much" is costing so much. I wouldn't say I go overboard with impulse purchases, but somehow it ALL. ADDS. UP.

Target Hypnosis, as pinned on Pinterest (originally from jennifermariemiller.tumblr.com)

I started receiving the Sunday paper, purely for the coupons. I've never been a huge coupon fan because I don't buy most of what there are coupons out there for - we don't eat much cereal and I don't buy many frozen meals/canned veggies/soups/etc. However, I've found that the $1/week I'm spending for the newspaper is offset by the few coupons I do use for HBAs and other houseware products {paper towels, Tide, etc.}.

I've also started to shop at grocery stores for our weekly food needs. My favorite is Kroger - whenever I shop at the neighborhood Kroger {using the kid-sized cart for Valentino to push, of course!}, I end up spending less and getting higher-quality produce. PLUS, I get fuel rewards {$0.10 off for every $100 spent} and they have some sort of rewards program too. I stick to only buying what is on sale, and so far I've been pleased with the amount of groceries I walk out of there with for the money.

@Super Target - I love that place. It's very super.
See the heavenly sunbeams illuminating the store?

This month, I plan to only buy absolute necessities from Target and get the rest of our groceries from Kroger, using coupons and taking advantage of the rewards. I also plan on sticking to a meal plan for our dinners and my lunch, which brings me to...

Eating food at/from Home. I'm no cook, that is FOR SURE. I don't enjoy cooking at all, and we have three different palates in this house - I'm picky, but open to adding in "health" foods for the sake of health; Vic is pretty picky and usually won't sacrifice taste for health; and Valentino is a horribly picky eater {whom I've created, no doubt}. Valentino usually gets his own meal {#1 on my "I'll never do that when I have kids!!" list... ouch}, and I make the same ol' things for us. Since I'm the one who cooks dinner, if I'm not feeling up to it... we order/go out. We have pizza far too often since it's a sure bet for all three of us. Obviously, this is not good for our health or our budget.

I've meal planned in the past, and I've always felt so happy when I was able to stick to it - it's truly a time and money saver. Lately though, I've fallen way off that wagon {story of my life...} and for the sake of our budget and our waists, I need to jump back on. So this month I will be planning out our meals in an effort to be easier on our budget and clean up our food intake.

So those are my major focuses for our budget this month. I also plan on bringing in some extra money by selling some items on ebay and through craigslist. Every penny helps!

How about you - are you taking steps to save money for the holidays? What are your favorite tips for saving money?

I know, I know... I should've been on top of this months ago. Severe procrastination is my Achilles heel.

Friday Love!

Four things I'm loving this week:

1. Strawberry pickin' season is here! Strawberries are my favorite fruit, and NC strawberries are some of the best berries I've ever had! If it doesn't rain tomorrow, I'm hoping to head out the fields and pick a bucket full. I've pinned several strawberry-based recipes, and I'm planning on freezing berries to use in smoothies and w/yogurt. YUM!

2. Planting season is also here! Well, it has been for a couple weeks now... but I'm planning on getting in on it this weekend. I have a flat of impatiens that need to be planted out front, and I'm contemplating planting some vegetables in containers. Valentino also has the planting bug - he asked me to clean out one of his yogurt cups last week so that he could plant a flower in it! Then we picked out a packet of yellow zinnia seeds to plant in it. I love that he's so interested in such a wide array of things. Vic and I are also planning on adding some edging to our front garden bed, which should be an fun task. Not.

3.  IKEA inspirations. I have a deep aching to go to IKEA. It killed me last weekend that we were within an hour drive of IKEA, but we couldn't go {no space to bring anything home - boo!}. I have been pining over some shelving and a new entertainment center solution to spruce up a very empty wall in our living room. I'm hoping that we can go to the Charlotte IKEA soon... it's only a 2.5 hour drive {ha}. Until then, I will keep preparing a mental list of things I want to buy...

4. A new found interest in saving money. In my last post, I stated that my coffee habit was costing too much $. I'm embarrassed at the amount of money that I've spent on coffee when it could be going towards something more useful and fun, like our upcoming vacation or our savings fund. I feel the same way when we eat out (which we do a lot). Like I said, I plan on cutting out the coffee and soda, and planning/cooking meals at home more often. Why waste money on silly things? I also want to seek out online coupons more, and try to shop our local supermarket sales when they have good specials {like Harris Teeter's double coupon sale this past week - they doubled coupons up to $1.98!}.

Speaking of spending money, I actually purchased a few clothing items for myself yesterday - a dress, cardigan, tank, and a shirt, all for less than $45 {thanks, Target!}. I also picked up a cute throw pillow for our couch {$10} and some $1 mother's day cards {score!}. I LOVE Target {don't we all?!}, and I feel that I was frugal with my purchases - everything was on sale, and each was something that was *somewhat* needed.

4 mile run {43:19} last night, and a 7 mile run scheduled for tomorrow. Last night I also started my mypublisher photo books! So easy and fun, and I can't wait to see the finished product!

Looking forward to a lovely weekend!

Friday Love!

Although I despise and cringe and shutter when I hear (or read) "Happy Friday!" I feel it necessary to say "Happy Friday before Easter!" (somehow, "Happy Good Friday" just doesn't seem right - I secretly want to post this someecard that I saw today, but it is highly inappropriate!).

Everyone's always giving three or five reasons why they love something. Well, my favorite and lucky number is 4, so I bring you my top FOUR favorite things this week!

1. Coming to terms with renting. We've gone back and forth since our lease contract expired last February (we're now month-to-month). Our rental now is affordable and in a wondeful area, but our neighborhood is, well... interesting. It can get a little wild at times, and it's not always pleasant. However, the rental market in Raleigh is so tight and competitive - as soon as a rental is listed, it's snatched right up. Plus, rent is going up. This is due to 2 facts: a. Raleigh is the 5th fastest growing metro area in the country b. with lending rules tightened, people can't/aren't buying homes as much as they used to and they end up renting instead. We've come to terms with the fact that, until we are able to buy a house, we'll be staying put and saving up. This has been good for me, as I now wish to make our little home as comfortable and ours as possible.
2. Springtime is here, which means more activities! Egg hunt last weekend. Birthday party and Easter this weekend. Cycling will be in full effect in no time. Soon there will be strawberry and blueberry picking, trips to the beach/MD/MI, and SUMMER! I absolutely love April-November in NC! I've started compiling our "Summer 2012 List" (of things we want to do over the summer) and I'm getting so excited!
3. My Grandma. My Grandma and I have always been close. I spent a ton of time with her when I was younger, and she and I have always kept in touch since I've become an adult. She has been the most constant person in my life, and we have a deep connection and bond. I'm always amazed at how she immediately knows if something's wrong, just by the tone of my voice. Now that I have my own child, she has been an amazing Great Grandma too! Valentino calls her several times a week, and she happily chatters with him about his day and all kinds of other silly things (sometimes I feel bad because he's being a little pest to her on the phone, but she insists that she just loves hearing his voice). She frequently sends him cards and small gifts in the mail, which is always ecstatic to receive - just yesterday she sent him a box stuffed with books and fun Easter things, including a sweet little Easter bunny that he slept with last night :-) Even though they haven't seen each other since he was 2 (which I'm sure he doesn't remember) they too have an amazing bond already. It really makes feel so blessed to have her in our lives.
4. My awesome husband and son. Valentino practically begged Vic to buzz his hair on Monday, and I finally gave in. I just didn't want to let go of my baby's beautiful blonde locks. Once the buzz was complete, Vic and I just stared (and continue to stare even now) at our beautiful son. With the mop of hair gone, we can see all his features so clearly and we are both amazed by his perfect skin and features. He is one good looking boy! It makes me feel so proud to know that the two of us have created and molded this child who is so beautiful inside and out, and I am so excited to someday hopefully create another sweet little being with Vic. We may have our differences, but in the end, we are a great team and we balance each other wonderfully.

And as a bonus, you get my FOUR goals for the rest of April. I plan to re-cap on 5/1, to fill you in on my progress.

1. Lose at least 5lbs. Enough said. Summer is so close (since it basically starts in early May here in NC), and I'm in no shape to be seen in anything put long sleeves and jeans. Fudge.That brings me to #2...
2. Keep to the 1/2 marathon training schedule. This week was a bust. 5 miles on Saturday, 3.5 miles on Tuesday. The rest of the days? Couldn't get myself out of bed (except Thursday - I had all intentions of going to the gym, but Valentino got me up at 4 and I fell asleep in his bed until 6). SO embarassing and shameful. However, I have been doing more pushups and arm exercises at home (and my arms feel it bigtime), so there has been some improvement in my work. But not much, nor enough. Tomorrow calls for another 5 miles. I WILL be out there pounding the pavement, you can count on that.
3. Add money to savings. We have so many things that we want (like a bike rack/hitch for the car so that we can haul our bikes) and so many places we want to go this summer (MI trip in June, beach weekends, trip to the mountains), so it's really important that we start socking away some cash to make these things possible.
4. Get stuff DONE. Procrastination is my middle name, so I'm resolving to actually take care of things. First on the list - meal and budget planning. For meals, I want to create a theme for each day (pasta, mexican, grill, etc...), and then get groups of recipes for each theme and rotate them out. For the budget, I'm going to take some advice from this lady, who has a family of six that lives on $28,000/year! AMAZING and so inspiring! If they can do it on so little, I'm sure we can figure out ways to shave our spending. I also need to get my front end fixed, which I screwed up by having a stupid accident in February (where I re-ended someone.. time to kiss $500 goodbye!). I know getting these things done and off the "to-do" list will make me feel so much better.

Happy Easter!