When money gets tight it becomes really easy to focus on the immediate needs and put aside anything else. In reality though with some expenses paying a little bit now even when things are tight saves you a ton of money later. (Think of your dad at this point giving you a lecture on taking care of your things).
Your car is one of the most important, and expensive, things you own. I don’t know if it’s because we only sit in it a little bit each day or because it can’t talk to you… but our cars are also one the biggest areas that get neglected. It is also easy to let some of those small things go (you know, “It is only a few miles over my time for an oil change…what’s a few hundred miles?”). But, as most car owners can tell you, small things can become big things and a missed $30 oil change can later become $1000 down the drain. (I’m writing this while my van is flashing that it is 300 miles overdue every time I turn it on…)
Here are a few simple things can be done regularly and at a low cost to make sure that your car stays in great shape:
–Oil Change – This may be a no-brainer, but it is a good reminder. Get your oil and the oil-filter changed every 3,000-4,000 miles to keep your car in the best shape possible. Depending on where you drive, city or long distance, you will also need to change your oil more frequently.
–Tire Rotation – According to Pep Boys, you should rotate your tires every 3,000-4,000 miles if they are high-performance tires. If you have a jack, this is something you can do yourself pretty easily. Here is a list of ways to rotate your tires depending on the type of car you drive.
While you’re at it you can check your tire’s pressure levels. This should be in your owner’s manual and can easily be readjusted at any gas station with an Air Pump.
–Fluid Levels –It is never a bad idea to do a cursory check of your oil level, your brake fluid, radiator fluid, and your transmission fluid. If your brake or transmission fluid is running low, you probably need to get professional help. It might mean that there is a leak somewhere in your system. The appropriate fluid levels should all be in your handy-dandy owner’s manual.
Just a side note, never check your radiator fluid while the engine is hot (this might be bad news for your hands/face).
–Air Filters – This one is a little less important than the others, but it is important nonetheless and is also the easiest one to do yourself. Check out your owner’s manual to find out where your air filter is and take a look at it. Put simply, if it is looking really dirty, you should probably replace it.
Even if you do one little thing like pull out the oil stick and see that it is fine I promise you’ll instantly feel more proud of your self just for trying!
Win FREE Car Care
While we are on the topic of cars, how about money towards car care/stuff at Pepboys?? Pep Boys has given me (5) $50 gift cards to give to you! (You can find the closest Pep Boys store here.)
To Enter
Leave a comment answering:
If your car could talk, what would it have wanted for Christmas? Be creative!
I will pick 5 different winners to each get $50 to spend at their nearest Pepboys. Winners will be picked Friday 1/07.
I got a package in the mail today and it made me so excited I had to share. A few weeks ago I found out that I was picked to travel with Operation Christmas Child to help distribute Christmas Child boxes! When we started posting deals and “how to” posts last fall my hope and prayer was that a spot would open up. I’ve been giddy ever since finding out that it was really going to happen.
I leave January 31st to head to the poorest county in the Americas, with 80% of the country living under the poverty line and 54% living in abject (utterly hopeless) poverty. This will be my first ever trip to a third world country and I hope to share as many of the experiences that I can (hopefully technology will allow). I think I’m the most excited about getting to see these children as they open their shoe boxes and the pure joy that we’ve seen through past trips.
Where am I going?
I would love your thoughts and prayers for a safe trip. Haiti is not the most political or health stable country right now, so pray for all aspects of this trip to run smoothly and that the children receiving these boxes would see the love that went into packing them.
I can’t wait to share stories, pictures, videos and probably a few tears with you.
(Don’t worry over grocery deals, I’m already training folks to get us ready for this week!)
Last week I shared two options of how to organize coupons that required the least amount of time. Today I’m detailing two other options that get increasingly more organized but also more time consuming.
Organization is really something that is different for every person so these are just ideas. I’ve seen lots of variations off the 4 options that we have gone through so find something that works for you.
In general for a binder this is so easy to make yourself so I would encourage you to NOT pay a ton of money to buy something someone else already put together. (In case you didn’t get my underlying feelings I wouldn’t encourage you to go with this method in the first place but…)
All you need to get to make your own binder:
- Pack of 6-12 tab dividers – label with sections of your store “refrigerated, frozen, meat” etc.
- Baseball Card Protector Sheets (sold on eBay 50 for $6 — tip don’t search for coupon sleeves they charge more)
- Large 3 Ring Binder that zips up
You can add different sleeve pocket sheets like photo sized pockets or even full sheet protectors to make larger categories rather than having coupon by itself. Another thing to add might be a zipper pouch for scissors or to hold coupons you plan to use, I’d wait for back to school sales when these are a penny.
In the end a binder should cost maybe $15-$20 to put together depending on how nice you go with your 3 ring binder. The one I have in the video above cost about $15 from Staples.
In the end, find a system that allows you to be organized to your liking and using the least amount of your time. Remember your time is valuable so blend things together and get creative to find a workable system for you.
I know many of you love your binder, so share with us ways that you make a binder take less time or more doable for the average person.
Couponing can be very overwhelming and the number one reason for that is generally the way that you pick to organize your coupons. So we are going to spend a few days going over a few options to organize things more efficiently and cut down on your time spent clipping and saving.
Watch below to learn about how to organize by not cutting coupons! (This is what I do and spend maybe 30 minutes getting ready for a shopping trip).
This video is only part one and I know that many of you are die hard fanatics for more intense methods… don’t worry we are covering that in the next video coming Monday.
A few tips to make the file system work even better:
- Print the weekly insert variation list for your area and put that list in each pocket with that weeks inserts. Now you can quickly see if you really got that coupon.
- If you need something that is not on sale, use the coupon database to find any coupons. (The database will even work on your phone in a store!)
- You only need to keep inserts for about 12 weeks. If there are any good coupons still in that inserts cut that one coupon rather than holding onto an insert for years.
Do you organize your coupons using the file system?
Have any more tips that have made it work even better for you??
I have two bits of bad news for you:
First: Weekly Cinema is going out of business. If any of you have ordered Groupons, Living Social or other daily deals for their movie tickets you’ll need to request a refund from Groupon or the site that you ordered through. Groupon has a promise that they will fix it, so you should be fine… just a little frustrated. Go here for more details.
Second: Toys R Us is no longer honoring the gift card in their weekly ad for the awesome Hasbro deal. They actually stopped around Wednesday and I haven’t had a chance to share. The ad stated that it was while supplies last and they meant it. The difficult part is that most cashiers and stores aren’t warning you, so many folks are getting frustrated at checkout and the cashiers have no clue about the gift card deal.
Anyone have any good news to share…
I have lived in the south my entire life, visited most every state down here, but I’ve never made it to Mississippi. Next week that all changes, I have two workshops scheduled in Jackson and Tupelo!
Normally I never really mention upcoming classes blog posts, but these guys are different. I just mapped it and turns out Mississippi is 10 hours from my house. This gets me thinking… the odds of me putting my kids in the car and doing this trip again in the future are looking pretty slim. Not saying I won’t, just saying if you want to come to a workshop and live in one of these cities, it’s time to seize the moment!
Want Another Reason to Join Us??
For either class (Jackson or Tupelo) if you bring a packed Operation Christmas Child box you’ll get in FREE. If you don’t bring a box that’s okay it’s still the normal $10, but all proceeds from both classes will go towards Operation Christmas Child to help ship boxes over seas! (You still need to register either way)
I hope you can make it out!
Got any fun ideas of things to do with kids in Mississippi?
I am very excited to bring a new feature to Southern Savers starting today. We now have our own Community!!
There are only so many hours in my day, so this is a new way to help you get involved. You can post deals that you find in the store or online, ask questions, help others find answers, or just vent for a moment. I have also enlisted some great community leaders that are going to help us with fun frugal tips, craft projects, quick frugal recipes and more!
It’s very easy to get started, just login and click to join our community. From there you can comment and post.
To make it more fun we are going to have a lot of giveaways over the next week that are only in the community. I will pick random active community members across all forum posts to win Amazon gift cards, grocery store gift cards, iPods, and more!
At the end of our first week I’ll also pick one person to win a $300 Apple Gift Card!
The only way to win anything is to just to take the plunge and get plugged in. (I promise it won’t hurt, you might even make a new friend or two!)
There is so much that can go in a box, and nothing needs to be expensive or flashy. The kids that receive this will love everything that you give them no matter what it is.
For our box most items came from Dollar General thanks to a gift card they sent me a while ago (though I doubt they intended it for this) and using their $5 off $25 printable coupons.
If you can’t decide about making a box, I urge you to watch this, it’s a glimpse of pure joy!
Reminder:
As you pack your box to take pictures of a box and submit it for the “Best Box” contest. One reader will win $300, for so many of you that would be a huge help over the holiday’s or for others think about how much more you can donate and help others with $300!
