photo credit: ninjapoodles

Here is the Sunday newspaper coupon insert schedule for 2010.  Enjoy!

January
01/03/2010 – 2 SmartSource, 2 RedPlum & General Mills
01/10/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
01/17/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum & Procter & Gamble
01/24/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
01/31/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum

February
02/07/2010 – SmartSource
02/14/2010 – No Inserts This Week
02/21/2010 – SmartSource, General Mills & Procter & Gamble
02/28/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum

March
03/07/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum & Procter & Gamble
03/14/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
03/21/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
03/28/2010 – 2 SmartSource, RedPlum & Procter & Gamble

April
04/04/2010 – No Inserts This Week
04/11/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
04/18/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
04/25/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum

May
05/02/2010 – SmartSource, RedPlum & Procter & Gamble
05/09/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
05/16/2010 – 2 SmartSource & RedPlum
05/23/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
05/30/2010 – No Inserts This Week

June
06/06/2010 – SmartSource, RedPlum & Procter & Gamble
06/13/2010 – SmartSource
06/20/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
06/27/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum

July
07/04/2010 – No Inserts This Week
07/11/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
07/18/2010 – SmartSource
07/25/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum

August
08/01/2010 – SmartSource, RedPlum & Procter & Gamble
08/08/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
08/15/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
08/22/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
08/29/2010 – SmartSource, RedPlum & Procter & Gamble

September
09/05/2010 – No Inserts This Week
09/12/2010 – SmartSource & 2 RedPlum
09/19/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
09/26/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum

October
10/03/2010 – SmartSource, RedPlum & Procter & Gamble
10/10/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
10/17/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
10/24/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
10/31/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum

November
11/07/2010 – SmartSource, RedPlum & Procter & Gamble
11/14/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
11/21/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
11/28/2010 – No Inserts This Week

December
12/05/2010 – SmartSource, RedPlum & Procter & Gamble
12/12/2010 – SmartSource & RedPlum
12/19/2010 – No Inserts This Week
12/26/2010 – No Inserts This Week

photo credit: plindberg

If you are looking for something fun and cheap to entertain the little ones, try making this sidewalk paint.  I found this recipe at Easy Fun School:

¼ cup cornstarch
¼ cup cold water
6 to 8 drops of food coloring

Basically, add the water to the cornstarch until you reach the desired consistency.  Then add the food coloring!

We are going to make ours in some old Cool Whip containers so that we have lids for storage.  According to the website, if the paint dries out, just add more water. Also, since cornstarch is all natural, it won’t harm our plants.

I am going to make red, blue, and yellow so that the kid can mix the colors himself (free art lesson!).  Also, since food coloring can stain, we’re going to be sure to wear old clothes.  Have fun!

photo credit: ninjapoodles

I don’t bother to buy a Sunday paper unless I know that there are grocery coupons in it.  In addition, I can get away with buying a local paper if there are only SmartSource inserts, but need to buy the larger city paper if Red Plum inserts are printed.  So, I am always interested in knowing the coupon insert schedule.

The original link that I found was here on GottaDeal.com.  I also included a cut and paste of the information below:

2009 Coupon Inserts Schedule

January
4 – 2 Smart Source & 2 Red Plum
11 — Smart Source & Red Plum
18 –Smart Source & Red Plum
25 –Smart Source & Red Plum

February
1 — Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
8 — Smart Source & Red Plum
15 –No Inserts scheduled
22 — Smart Source & Red Plum

March
1 — Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
8 — Smart Source & Red Plum
15 — Smart Source & Red Plum
22 — Smart Source only
29 — Smart Source & Red Plum

April
5 — 2 Smart Source & 1 Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
12 — No Inserts
19 — Smart Source & Red Plum
26 — Smart Source & Red Plum

May
3 — Smart Source & Red Plum
10 –Smart Source & Red Plum
17 — 2 Smart Source and 1 Red Plum
24 — No Inserts scheduled
31 — Smart Source & Red Plum

June
7 — Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
14 — Smart Source Only
21 — Smart Source & Red Plum
28 — Smart Source & Red Plum

July
5 — Procter and Gamble only
12 — Smart Source & Red Plum
19 — Smart Source Only
26 — Smart Source & Red Plum

August
2 — Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
9 — Smart Source & Red Plum
16 — Smart Source & Red Plum
23 — Smart Source & Red Plum
30 — Smart Source & Red Plum

September
6 — No SS or RP Inserts – Labor Day One Procter and Gamble
13 — 1 Smart Source & 2 Red Plum
20 — Smart Source & Red Plum
27 — Smart Source & Red Plum

October
4 — Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
11 — Smart Source & Red Plum
18 — Smart Source & Red Plum
25 — Smart Source & Red Plum

November
1 — Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
8 — Smart Source & Red Plum
15 — Smart Source & Red Plum
22 — Smart Source Only
29 — No Inserts scheduled

December
6 — Smart Source & Red Plum & Procter and Gamble
13 — Smart Source & Red Plum
20 — No Inserts scheduled
27 — No Inserts scheduled

Happy coupon clipping!

photo credit: milele

In a previous post, I mentioned that we hoped to spend $250 total on Christmas this year.  We had $95 dollars left and quite a bit to still get.  So in the end, how did things turn out?

• We actually ended up with $105 to spend, since my mom wanted to contribute to the gift certificate for my stepfather (we had budgeted $20, but only spent $10).
• We spent $15 on my brother – we redeemed $20 in gift cards from Amazon, and split the cost of a Wii game with my grandmother.
• We didn’t get my sister-in-law anything.  Things have been tough for her this year, and she didn’t want to exchange gifts.
• We spent $48 on the tree, which was $13 more than we expected.
• We spent $20 on a gift card for my sister-in-law’s boyfriend, and $20 on a simple train to put under the tree for the kid.  I also spend $5 for some alphabet foam stickers (the kids only request to Santa).

Overall, that put us at $3 over budget for Christmas.  I can live with that!

I would highly recommend a Christmas budget for everyone.  It really forced us to pick and choose what was most important to us, and as an added bonus, we don’t have a ton of useless crap after Christmas!

Did you follow a budget this year?  If so, how did it go?

photo credit: Stuart Chalmers

This is one instance where I am so glad that I was wrong.  Yesterday, I was wondering if our truck had finally reached the end of the road.  It turns out that the rear brakes had iced up (it’s a pickup, which explains why warming up the truck for 45 minutes had no effect).

In addition to a free tow (thanks AAA!), our auto shop didn’t charge us anything.  Maybe they felt sorry for us, or are full of the holiday spirit, but I am so thankful that we didn’t have to shell out any money.

This did serve as a huge wakeup call, though.  I don’t like the fact that we don’t have a huge down payment saved up right now, especially considering the economy.  I’ve been thinking about our 2009 goals, and am reassessing our priorities based on yesterday’s experience.  I really don’t want any car/truck loan if we can help it!

photo credit: clspeace

I woke up this morning to find that the car was gone, but the truck was still parked in the street.  My husband always takes the truck to work, so I knew that this wasn’t a good sign.

I called the husband.  He thought that the truck just needed some time to warm up, since it was cold this morning.  He said that he couldn’t get it to move.

I went out and let the truck warm up for 45 minutes.  Basically, it will start and shift into gear, but it won’t move.  At all.  I called AAA, and it’s been towed to the repair shop.  According to the tow truck guy, “The transmission’s locked.  That’s never good.”  Hmmm….

My husband is in denial that anything serious is wrong, but I have a feeling that the truck may be at the end of its road.  After dumping $1500 into it earlier this year, ponying up for transmission work on a vehicle with about 200,000 miles on it falls into my “money in the toilet” category.

We’ll see what the auto shop says.  Luckily, we can easily do with one car until at least the end of January.

Anyone got a nice reliable car for sale?

photo credit: inoc

Wow – it’s environmentally friendly, and it’s free!  Treat yourself to a one year digital magazine subscription from The Read Green Initiative. All you need to do is pick your magazine and enter your e-mail address.

Then, sign up for an account with Zinio, which provides sales and distribution of digital content.  When I signed up for my Zinio account, all I had to do was provide an e-mail address and create a password (no physical address or credit card information was required).

Being a personal finance geek, I picked Kiplinger’s for my free magazine, but there is definitely something for almost anyone (US News and World Report was one of the choices, for example).

I also installed the reader so that I can download the digital issues to read at my convenience (sans internet connection).  If you’re really into supporting the green initiative, you can also purchase subscriptions from Zinio.

If you decide to try this out, please drop a line and let me know what you think!

photo credit: ArtemFinland

As the year comes to a close, it is always nice to take a look at the finances.  Although I love tracking our finances using Microsoft Money, the level of detail doesn’t always provide a clear look at the underlying picture.

For example, our net worth is approximately the same as last year, but this is due to losses in our retirement accounts, which I am not overly concerned about.  Since we are in our early 30′s, we make regular contributions and reallocate our holdings twice a year.  It’s pretty much on auto-pilot.

But what about our debt?  And our savings?  Are we doing better than last year?  Again, it is hard to tell with Microsoft Money.  I have all of my business accounts listed, as well as our credit card that we use to make our monthly purchases (and then pay off in full each month).  These accounts can give a skewed representation of our financial picture depending on the circumstances.

This is where Mint.com enters into the picture.  Basically, it allows you to track your financial accounts online.  This morning, I spent some time entering the login information for all of our accounts.  Then, I used the “hide” function to get rid of all the accounts that were causing “financial static”.  Now, when I log in, I can easily see the totals for the accounts which represent our true emergency savings, our credit card debt, and our student loan/mortgage debt.

As an added bonus, I am also able to quickly look at our credit cards that do not carry a balance to make sure that no mysterious charges have appeared.  Given our recent experience with this, this feature alone makes it worth taking a look at Mint.com.

I wouldn’t use Mint.com for making a budget or tracking our detailed spending – I have already spent too much time with Microsoft Money to tweak it to my liking, and our finances are tracked in the program from 1999.  But now I have another financial tool in my arsenal to help us keep focused on debt reduction, and I’m really excited!

Have you used Mint.com?  If so, what do you use it for?  Are you happy with your experience?

photo credit: naviniea

Christmas is going to be so much fun this year. Our little one is almost 3 years old, and he’s going nuts with all the Christmas lights around town. He’s been asking about a “Kees-mas tee” all week long, and today is the big day!

Since all of our Christmas shopping is done, it’s going to be a very relaxing holiday season. Here are some of the things we plan on doing as a family this year. Some do cost money, but we feel they are well worth it!

1. Cut your own Christmas tree – Yes, we are buying a real tree again this year. However, we planned ahead and included this cost in our holiday budget. There is a wonderful tree farm near our house – we take the dog and make it into a big event. There is a petting zoo, and you can print coupons for free hot chocolate online. As an added benefit, we always get some of our best holiday pictures on this day!

After the holidays, we cut off a small piece of the trunk and woodburn the year on it. After placing a small hook in it, we have a great holiday ornament!

2. Go see the lights! – Consider both going by foot and by car. I would also recommend seeing if there are any local light displays. For example, we travel to Baltimore each year to see Hampden’s Miracle on 34th Street, where every house is decorated. While many homes here could be considered just “over-the-top” with lights, there is also local art on display, including our favorite Hubcap Tree by Jim Pollock. Luckily, we have friends on 33rd Street, so we get parking earlier in the day and have made a tradition of visiting our friends and taking cider on our walk.

3. Bake some of your holiday gifts – It does cost money for ingredients, but I pick one or two recipes and scale them up to keep things simple. The kid always gets a special job, and after all the cooking is done, we have presents in a pinch. Besides, it’s nice to turn on some Christmas music and smell cookies in the oven!

4. Make holiday crafts together – It doesn’t have to be complicated! This year, for example, we are making construction paper rings for our tree garland. The fun is in the creative process itself – the end product is just an added benefit!

What are some of the fun and frugal things you like to do over the holidays?

photo credit: Fosforix

There have been a couple of times where I have disputed credit card charges in the past, but they were relatively straightforward.  Once, I was charged twice for the same item, and could not contact the company via customer service.  I contacted the credit card company, and it was taken care of almost immediately.  The second time, I was charged 10 times the correct price, and had the original receipt.  Again, the process was relatively straightforward.

Once a year, I tend to make small charges to all of our cards in order to keep them active.  I did this last month, and starting paying our bills last night.  Imagine my dismay when I found that one card had a balance of $62.10 instead of $2.10!  There was a $60 charge for a subscription to American Quarterhorse.  Not only was I clueless about what an American Quarterhorse subscription entails, but I was surprised because the $2.10 charge is the first time I have ever used the card for anything except a balance transfer.  This particular card sits in a drawer at home.

I immediately called the credit card company, and they are going to look into it.  I hope it gets resolved in a timely manner like the others!

In general, even though some credit cards allow you to file a dispute online, I like to call and talk to a person.  Getting a name and specific information helps put my mind at ease.

Have you ever had a mystery charge on a card?  What did you do?