When it comes to spending time and money I don’t have a lot of either. For a rewards program to stick out to me there has to be immediate benefits to my joining. Here are three programs that I have been involved with for a while now and have seen the benefits.
- Starbucks.com I know your saying…BrokeMom why are you spending your money at Starbucks.
Well I enjoy coffee and it is the one little thing that I do for myself. How the program works is you put money on a gift card at the store and register the card on their website. I load $5 a week on the card which allows me to get of my favorite coffees. Once you buy 5 coffees through the card you receive free upgrades including free syrup. My favorite coffee in case anyone wants to buy me one is a Grande Iced Coffee with Vanilla Syrup and Skim Milk. Before I joined the rewards program this would cost me $2.97 but now that I have joined I get the syrup for free a .40 cent savings every time I go. After I buy 30 coffees I will start to not only receive free syrup but I will get a free coffee after buying 15!
- Huggies rewards program enjoytheriderewards.com anyone who buys diapers can participate in this program. When you buy packages of Huggies products there are codes inside. When you enter them they tell you how many points you win plus there is a tool bar where it shows what you have accumulated. Right now I have 187 points and I am aiming towards a pack of diapers for 300 points.
- Earth Fare Every Wednesday you receive in your inbox a free coupon for something. Last week it was for a box of granola and a pound of Organic coffee, a $13.99 value for free. They are always offering something one week it was a box of blueberry’s another it was all the fixin’s for pizza. They don’t abuse your email address either I only receive the one email a week or as long as you live close they are really worth the trip. It’s great to get quality products for a low or free prices, makes me feel like a good mommy.
Here are the three big ones that I participate in. If you find more let me know I always enjoy getting free stuff or at least a big discount. I will post more as I find them(as long as they are worth it).
Written by
robin@brokefamily.com
Sunday was a fun day couponing! I went to four stores Earth Fare, Publix, CVS and Rite Aid. Here are pictures of my hunting…
Total Cash spent: $51.55
Total Saved: $83.47
What have I got to show for it:
$20 rite aid gift card
$16 Single Check Rebates
$25.98 Extra Care Bucks
$50 towards $100 coupon book
=
$61.98 a total of $10.43 Profit and coupon book
Written by
robin@brokefamily.com
Recently BrokeDad and I discussed one of us getting a part time job. While we hate to be away from family time, it might be necessary to get ahead. We both already work long hours at our primary job and were having a hard time cutting out extra time for a part time job.
I started thinking about how much time I spend couponing and the savings that I incur. I feel that if either of us were to work outside of the home extra I would have little time to put into couponing. Here is a little formula I worked out to decide if we needed to get part time work just yet.
I will be using our savings from the month of February as an example. For lack of math skills sake we are going to input the salary at $10/hr before tax.
Our savings for the month of February was $562.44. I average 1 hr Wednesday night preparing my list and organizing coupons. 1 hr on Saturday’s shopping at grocery stores (because of my list it takes me minimal time to run through the store) 1.5 hours on Saturday night preparing for Drugstore couponing. 2 hours Sunday morning shopping at drugstores. My total hours spent couponing per week is around 5.5. A total of 22 hours per month.
562.44/22= $25.56 For my effort of 22 hours worth of work I saved $25.56 per hour.
Say I got a part time job working a total of 22 hours a month. I would earn before taxes $220.00.
By couponing the same amount of time I am saving twice as much as I would earn plus I can be at home nights and weekends when time with BrokeBaby matters most.
Written by
robin@brokefamily.com
by Robin on March 3, 2010 in Goals
I know resolution time was in January but there are a few things I would personally like to work on for our family and myself. Apparently it takes 21 days to create a new habit that has some chance of sticking.
Here is my list of things I am going to commit to doing everyday for the next 21 days:
- Some form of exercise – I have many resources at my disposal. Jazzercise, walking at lunch, walking after dinner, wii fit and wii active. Even if it is just 15 minutes, I need to start moving.
- Sorting Mail – We have a problem of putting it in random places throughout the house and when I find it we have either missed a bill or find an expired coupon that we could have used. My goal is when I pick it up from the mailbox to immediately find a home. Whether it’s a coupon that needs to be filed or a bill that needs to be entered into online banking.
- Have lunches and coffee made the night before – This can be a huge headache in the morning and can lead to eating out which wastes money.
So there is my list. It looks relatively easy but this Mom has a lot going on. Hopefully after 21 days they will be ingrained in my brain.
Written by
robin@brokefamily.com
Sorry for the long absence but well Brokefamily has been a little busy.
It all started in December when I got H1N1 that turned into Bronchitis and then Pneumonia.
Luckily enough there were no hospital visits and Brokebaby did not get sick. It was brutal and I was out of work for two weeks. Luckily I did have some sick time but not enough. My workplace was patient with my recovery but I was still out 30 hours of unpaid leave right around the holidays.
It took us around 2 months to recover and we accrued some more credit card debt. Now we are refocused and healthy and ready to get back on track.
Our mission statement with this blog has always been to watch us achieve our personal American Dream and hopefully add to yours.
We have learned many steps along the way and secrets to making it in this economy. We hope that you enjoy the posts whether they are informative, interesting or just plain funny.
Written by
robin@brokefamily.com
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