Resolutions

The end of the year will be here in a few days, so that means New Years and Resolutions.  I only had 1 resolution this last year and that was to weigh less on Dec 31st 2012 then I did on Jan 1st 2012, and I have done that.  Did I lose as much as I would have liked?  No, but that is ok, I am still down for the year and that is the important thing!

I don't have too many Resolutions for 2013 either.  I don't like to make a ton of huge big plans that I know I am just going to fail at LOL.  I prefer to have a few things that I can focus on and do.  There is nothing worse then setting yourself up for failure, no thank you!

So here they are my 2013 resolutions.  First up is I want to successfully complete the Insanity 60  day DVD workout program and earn my Insanity T-Shirt.  To go hand in hand with that, I want to weigh less on Dec 31st 2013 then I did on Jan 1st 2013, obviously if I can do the 1st one I can do the 2nd one LOL.  Next, I want to buy less.  I know that sounds weird lol, but what I mean is, my stockpile is really great right now, so I don't really need more shampoo, even if it IS free.  I need to learn to say no to free stuff if we have more then enough of it.  It's time for us to reap the benefits of our stockpile and live off of it!  I also want to find some place local that I can donate food and personal hygiene items to through out the year.  I want to help others, and this will help to keep my stockpile being used.

So there you have it my New year's resolutions.  I only have 4 for this upcoming year, but 2 of them go hand in hand with each other, as do the other two (kind of).  Do you have any New years resolutions for this upcoming year?

I love my stockpile

What do dish soap, hand soap, body wash, shampoo, shaving cream, laundry detergent, stain booster, toilet paper, paper towels, mouthwash, and toothpaste all have in common?  They are all items in my stockpile that my family has needed in the last 2 weeks.   Most of the items  are items I got for free at some point too.  My family needed the items and they just grabbed them from the stockpile when they needed them.

2 weeks ago, my oldest daughter had the flu, so she was washing her hands, a LOT!  She came up to me one day and told me she was out of soap, I went out to the garage and grabbed another soap and refilled her dispenser.  My oldest had been told to do his laundry about a week ago.  He said he couldn't because we were out of the stain booster and the laundry packs that him and his sister use for their laundry.  My hubby and I just laughed at him as I had him follow me to the laundry room where I had a  cabinet full of laundry detergent and stain booster.

I love that I don't have to go around and check how everyone is doing with everything (cause we all know kids aren't going to tell you they are low, they are going to come running to you when they are out of it and they need it!).  I don't have to make lists and try to remember to buy stuff.  I already have it all at home ready to go, and it was cheap!  If I had to run out just to buy the laundry detergent and the Tide stain booster I was looking at around $15, no thank you!

Deciding to stockpile was one of the best decisions I have ever made!  Do you coupon and stockpile?

A year of savings

Well, I didn't do all of 2012 like I had planned.  Like I said in my last post I didn't keep track of nov or Dec at all.  BUT, I did do Nov and Dec of 2011.  So I can share my savings from Nov 1, 2011 til Oct 31st, 2012.  August and Sept are missing, due to our move, but I am fine with that.

In 10 months I saved our family:

$9,337.87

How awesome is that?!?!  That is my KNOWN savings, savings that I actually kept track of!  If I add in an estimate for July, August, Nov, and Dec I can confidently say I saved between $11,000 and $12,000 for my family this year (if not a tiny bit more!)!

I am so excited for over his number!  I love couponing and I can't wait to see what I save in the following year!  It's never too late to start!  Every little bit saved is more then you had before, so what is stopping you from saving money?  It's a new year coming up in less then a week, don't be afraid to start saving money!

A tiny white lie

So, I told a small white lie to you.  I said I was going to keep track of my weekly saving/spending and share it with you, and I haven't.  Nov and Dec were just too darn hectic for me with 3 birthday's and the holidays.

Sorry!  I am REALLY going to try to do it in the new year.  I've tracked my savings, but I really want to track my savings vs my spending and also see what my over all savings are.  In order to do this, I have to track it!

With 3 birthday's, a trip to TN for Thanksgiving and the hustle and bustle of Christmas was just too much for me to keep up with everything I wanted to do, so my tracking went to the wayside.

I need to get better with my blogging too!  I am always thinking "I need to blog about this" or "that would make a great blog post", and then I don't do it LOL.  So I am going to try to blog more often!