More on Using Your Smart Phone to Streamline Couponing

When I wrote about how my new Droid phone has changed the way I organize my coupons, SoCalKal asked for more details. So here's what I do (sorry it took a while, Kal!):

I have three wallet organizers (like this)in which I keep clipped coupons. Each week, I clip the coupons that I would definitely use from Sunday's paper and put them in the wallet organizers - we're talking coupons on things that I would buy if I saw a good deal, like my preferred brands of body wash or dental floss, wipes, etc. The wallets also hold all of my other coupons - that's coupons from All You and other magazines, printable coupons, snail mail coupons, etc.

I keep the wallets in a shoulder tote bag, and take the tote whenever I go shopping. So I always have the wallets with me in store.

I leave the Sunday coupon inserts mostly intact, aside from the coupons that I clip right away. I write the date of the insert on the front cover, and slip the inserts into an expandable file folder (like this).Each week, as I prepare for my shopping trips, I review the store circulars and applicable deal posts online and clip whatever coupons I need for that week.

When I go shopping, I leave the expandable file in the car. If I'm in the store and see a good sale price on something I think I might have a coupon for in the inserts, I pull out my Droid and access Coupon Mom's regional database. There are quite a few coupon databases out there, but I like Coupon Mom when I'm out shopping because it's regional and limited to the inserts and a few printables. The fact that it's regional means I don't waste time looking for a coupon that people on the east coast got but wasn't put out here on the west coast.

If I find a coupon listed on Coupon Mom that I hadn't clipped, I can go out to the car to get it. Sure, it's a hassle, but it's something that happens very rarely since I clip the coupons that I know I would want to use if I happened across a great sale. The time I save by not clipping and filing every coupon is more than worth that hassle.

Ways to Make & Save Money #13: Keep a Gift Wrap Center

You can read the rest of the Ways to Make & Save Money series here.

I've mentioned the gift box before - it's a stash of gifts bought on sale for when you need to give a gift. But being out with a friend who bought not just a birthday gift but also a gift bag and tissue paper reminded me of the corollary: The Gift Wrap Center.

My gift wrap "center" is actually a bunch of containers in a closet. There's a tall plastic bin for rolls of wrapping paper, a bag stuffed with gift bags, and boxes of ribbon. I also keep some cards on hand - inexpensive all-occasion and blank cards. Back in my pre-motherhood days, I also kept some handmade cards around but I don't have time for that anymore.

The paper, bags, ribbon and cards are items I've collected over the years, and which I'm constantly collecting. I buy wrapping paper when it's on clearance after the winter holidays - there are always a few patterns and solid colors that can be used year round. The same goes for ribbon and tissue paper.

I'm also a big believer in reusing gift bags. They're expensive for what they are, and it's rough on the environment to discard them after just one use, or even a few uses. So whenever we receive a gift and the bag is in good shape, it goes into the closet for when I need to give a gift.

My gift wrap center reduces stress, because I'm never scrambling to find wrapping paper or a gift bag. And it also saves me money, because I never have to over spend on last-minute supplies.

I love electronic filing and direct deposit

Our accountant electronically filed our taxes probably early last week, and now the IRS web site shows that our refund will be deposited on April 21. I'm old enough to remember when everyone filed paper returns and everyone due a refund received a paper check, so it's just amazing to me that we can get our refund in less than two weeks. (Funny how that makes me sound so much older than I am. It's really just a reflection of how quickly technology has progressed in the last 20 years, since I first started filing my own tax returns.)

I used to pride myself on doing my own taxes, and did quite well in personal income tax law class in law school. But once we had kids who had investment income, along with blog income, I didn't want to risk making any mistakes. Especially since tax law changes so frequently that what I learned in school isn't that useful anymore, beyond a basic understanding of how the tax system is set up. I do think that knowing something about tax law makes preparing the documents for the accountant and reviewing our returns easier for me than it would be otherwise.

I guesstimate what our accountant's bill is going to be each year and include that amount in my monthly Infrequent Bills total. (Learn more about how I budget for annual and semiannual bills with my Infrequent Bills Account.) From what I've gathered from my friends, we pay quite a bit more than they do, but our taxes are probably more complicated and I suspect we're paying more for quality/professionalism since we just with my in-laws' accountant. I'm okay with that, since to me it's added peace of mind.

Coupon Organization Revisited (Or How My Droid is Changing The Way I Organize Coupons)

As I mentioned last month, I finally got a smart phone, a Motorola Droid. I’m enjoying my new phone so far, and one thing it’s done is change how I organize my coupons. Again.

I’ve tried multiple methods, including clipping only those coupons I need for the week and filing the inserts at home, but that made me feel I was missing out on deals because I’d be in the store and not have a coupon for a clearance item. So then I tried carrying the unclipped inserts with me, but that proved too unwieldy. I’d be in a store, knowing I had a coupon, but not be able to remember which insert it was in so I’d be standing in the aisle flipping through page after page (yes, that was me). Plus, after a couple of months, the inserts got heavy.

I went back to clipping every coupon, and filing the coupons in organizer wallets that I picked up in Target’s dollar spot. But my grocery wallet always threatened to explode, and clipping every coupon that comes my way is time consuming.

About three weeks ago, it occurred to me that I can easily look up the source of a coupon now that I have my Droid. I don’t even have to log in to Coupon Mom to view the regional coupon database.

So now, I’m clipping coupons for those products that I am likely to buy if they’re on sale and I have coupons, but leaving the inserts mostly intact. I’m filing them by date in an expanding file folder that OfficeMax sent me a while back (similar to this one). I bring the folder with me when I go shopping, but leave it in the car. If I see an incredible deal in the store that I just can’t pass up, I can always go clip the coupon, but that doesn’t happen too often.

My coupon wallets are so much more manageable now, and I’m a happy camper because I don’t have to spend nearly as much time clipping and sorting coupons!

Update on my New Year's Resolution: End of March

Back in January, I shared my financial resolution for this year, which is to save a crazy amount of money to create a large cash cushion. I promised a monthly update, so here it is: we've saved 20.3% of our goal so far.

I'm pretty pleased with our progress - I knew starting out that this goal is a tremendous stretch, so to be at 20% with 25% of the year gone is satisfactory to me.

The good news is that I've been doing fine with my big oven, so there's no imminent need for a new oven - something I was afraid of last month. The bad news is that we've got some pretty substantial and un-budgeted-for expenses coming up, so I'm mentally preparing myself that our savings total won't grow as much as it has been.

As always, I continue to do the things I recommend in my Ways to Make & Save Money series. Also, I can't believe how little we spend compared to how much we used to spend before kids. It's been a while since I tracked our spending this closely, and it's wonderful to see the difference.

Ways to Make & Save Money Update: The Proof is in the Pudding - Er, I mean the Winnings

Every Monday, I share a way to make and/or save money, as I strive to achieve my New Year's Resolution of banking a large sum of money by year's end. You can read the rest of the series here.

Today, I want to follow up on Ways to Make & Save Money #10: Enter Blog Giveaways and Sweepstakes. Shortly after I published that post, I won a $25 Visa gift card by playing Huggies Enjoy the Ride Rewards. And then a few days later, I won a $25 Barnes & Noble gift card.

Not long after that, A Thrifty Mom wrote that her husband won a cruise (!) from JetBlue. I was particularly struck by her reaction to her brother's comment that she always seems to win:

HELLO you have to enter, yes MOST the time we do not win….but sometimes we do!!!

It's so true. I usually don't win, but sometimes I do. As I mentioned in my original post, I don't drive myself crazy over it, but it's a more productive way of spending my time than just sitting around, and most contests take just a couple of minutes to enter.

One thing to keep in mind: I never pay to enter anything. That means I never play the lottery, gamble, etc. There's no risk to what I'm doing, so it doesn't matter if the odds are long. (Note: I am careful to only enter contests and giveaways that seem legitimate and don't ask for more information than necessary. There's no sense in taking unnecessary risks with my privacy and identity.)

Have you ever won anything?

CFO Exclusive: 50 Free Yoplait Greek Yogurt Coupons tomorrow at 6 a.m.

This is just a heads up that tomorrow (4/2) at 6:00 a.m. PDT, there will be a special post with a link to a coupon for a free Yoplait Greek Yogurt (thanks, Yoplait!). The offer is limited to the first 50 readers who click through, so don't be late!

Making Adjustments To Your Budget

Reader Kim sent me an email with an interesting question that I thought was worth addressing in a full post since it’s something that everyone has to deal with at some point: How do you pay for irregular expenses?

Let me start with a caveat: there are many ways to handle this issue, and I’m definitely not an expert. However, I have a few ideas, and I can share what works for me.

BUT.

There is one thing you must do before any of my suggestions can work for you, and it’s this: You must live below your means.

And by that, I mean that you must spend less than you bring in each pay period. Because if you are spending more than your income, then there is simply no way you will be able to set aside money for those irregular expenses.

But let’s assume that, like Kim, you have a budget that’s pretty realistic. So, for example, each month you set aside $500 for groceries and household expenses, $1000 for daycare, $200 for utilities, etc. Then the question is: How do you prepare for irregular expenses?

Kim specifically mentioned expenses like kids’ sports and car repairs as her budget busters. Personally, I am usually able to absorb such expenses with my regular income – in other words, I pay for such expenses with money that would have gone into savings instead.

But I realize that I am in an unusual position, because we are able to save a substantial amount of money each month because we’ve paid off all of our non-mortgage debt. And, being an attorney, I make a pretty good salary that’s higher than most.

So what should you do if you don’t make enough each month to be able to pay an unexpected $300 car repair bill?

Let’s go back to that budget, and what I said about spending less than you bring in. Part of your monthly budget should be earmarked for savings. Hopefully you are saving for retirement, and maybe you even have enough to invest in a 529 or other investment account. But when I say savings in this context, I mean a taxable, liquid bank account that you make a regular deposit to each pay period. You can call the account a savings account or an emergency fund, the name doesn’t really matter. What matters is that you’re setting aside money each month for future expenses instead of spending every dime that you receive.

The amount you deposit each pay period will depend on how much wiggle room you have in your budget, and how much you tend to need on an irregular basis. Parents who have to pay for seasonal activities will have a greater need than someone who just needs money for car maintenance.

The basic idea here is that when it’s time to enroll Junior in baseball for $150 or the mechanic tells you it’s time to replace the brakes for $300, the money is there in the bank. Therefore, your budget is intact.

If you find that you never have enough in the bank, then you’re not living within your means. You need to cut back somewhere, whether it’s going to the movies less often, spending less on groceries, or reducing the amount you save for retirement. I’m not advocating that you cut back on retirement savings, but you have to make a choice about where your money goes. And that’s the "secret" to a balanced budget.