Vacation

My family and I recently got back from a fabulous San Diego vacation and I was able to do the whole trip "on sale."

I began by searching for our hotel room online. There were so many sites to choose from that I decided to choose them all. I went with kayak.com. I knew I wanted to stay at hotel circle, so that's where my search began. I ended up with a fabulous hotel (Mission Valley Resort) on Hotel Circle for only $30/night for three nights. The online rate was $97/night. On top of that fabulous deal, they upgraded our room when we got there because they were out of regular non smoking rooms. What a steal! Hotel Done.

Next we needed San Diego Zoo tickets. (We already had our Sea World tickets from a previous trip.) I searched everywhere for discount zoo tickets. A little disappointed in my search, I finally went with Ares Travel. Tickets were regularly $40 and I got them for $32. Zoo done.

We needed to get the oil changed before our trip. I jumped on my trusty GeoQpons app on my phone and found a seven dollar discount for an oil change at Jiffy Lube. Car Done.

During our trip, I was able to find the cheapest gas near us using my GasBuddy app. Sometimes I was able to find gas 30 cents cheaper than everywhere else. 30 cents x 20 gallons = 6 dollar savings! It may not seem like a lot, but what we saved on gas was enough to pay for one of our meals.

I was also able to find cheap, but amazing places to eat using my Yelp! app. If you haven't checked out this app, you are missing out. I was able to keep almost every meal at around 6 dollars a person.

Overall, I was able to save around $375 on our trip. (If you include what most people spend on food.)

I feel great and all that money that we saved can now go to something more important.

Direction

I have finally found some direction for all of the coupon clipping I've been doing lately. (About time.) My new favorite site is The Krazy Coupon Lady. This site tells you everything you need to know about coupon clipping, and then some. I have discovered, however, that it may take me awhile before I really start saving money. I may have to store my coupons away until the right time. Most stores will let you "stack" coupons on top of their already low sale prices. For example, this week at Walgreens you can get free deodorant, if you stack your offers correctly.

This is gonna take me awhile.

Going Android

With my new saving lifestyle, I was able to upgrade my phone. I am now the proud owner of an HTC Evo. This thing is a money saving MACHINE! The first thing I did after receiving my new contraption was to look up how this little device could save me money. There are hundreds of apps that I had to choose from. I finally settled on one called GeoQpons. (I think I'm in LOVE.)

All I have to do is click on the icon and it automatically finds where I am and tells me the best deals near me. I was able to get my husband two pairs of shoes at Payless on BOGO (buy one, get one) and stack a GeoQpon on top of it. I almost felt like I was stealing. I bought two pairs of $40 shoes for $36. Total. That's right, $36.

I also found an app that scans the barcode of my favorite groceries and tells me where I can find them the cheapest. It is simply called coupons. Next time I go grocery shopping, I will save $25 just because of that app.

Getting organized

Superbowl Sunday...It seems like a great day to work with my coupons. I finally got myself a coupon binder here at the local drugstore. (Isn't it cute?) I also found a list online that showed me how to organize my coupons. I chose to go by the basic store aisles until I get a little more used to everything. I'm still a newbie at this. The more I dive into this project, the more overwhelming it is becoming.

Day 1

I have decided to start saving money. Sounds simple, right? Hah! Sure, anybody can keep an eye out for sales, but I want to start saving a lot of money, like hundreds a month. This is the ongoing story of me and my attempts to do just that.

My inspiration came from a segment on the Nate Berkus show. (I know, it's my guilty pleasure.) Here is the segment. These women don't just clip coupons, they obsess over saving money. Imagine a grocery bill of $600 dollars and only having to pay $2! If they can do it, then why can't I?

I started today by picking up the local Sunday paper. There are almost 5 different coupon books in there. I usually just look at the sale ads and throw the rest away. Stupid girl! I now know that I have a lot to learn. There's a whole world out there to explore. Tomorrow I begin my online research.


If you have any tips and tricks, please post below!