At the beginning of this year my goal was to work on getting out of debt. I was prepared to push full steam ahead. I must admit it was much easier at the beginning. I did pretty good those first few months. But then so many other issues have required my attention that I lost my focus. I am still saving money but I am not choosing the best way to use that money.

I have been curious about how far off track I have fallen. So when I heard about the BillsIQ test I could take at Bills.com I was a little anxious. I did not expect anything over failing. Well I took the test and got 74% a C. My lowest scores were on the budget and life plan areas. This is no surprise to me. Sticking to a budget has always been hard for me especially when I come across so many bargins. I think one of the main issues I need to deal with is planning better for the future. I do not have as much as I should in savings. Luckily I have been making some good decisions regarding our 401k.

After looking around the bills.com website I saw that it is not only full of resources to help you save money. There is also information that could help those of us who need to know a little more about Debt consolidation,Debt help and Debt relief. Here is a little haiku I wrote. I don’t think it is too bad.

To save is so hard
credit is easy to spend
debt is not my friend

How do you think you would do on the BillsIQ quiz?

I am sure there are a lot of people who are looking near and far for ways to save money. Groceries are usually the first stop when you want to cut costs. It is one of the few expenses you can control if you really work at. By working at it I mean taking the time to check your local store flyers and clip coupons. This can be overwhelming at times because it is hard to know where to begin.

Well, I found this site that may be one of the keys to helping me to get organized when saving money. It is called My Grocery Deals. This site is really easy to use. You have to register to become a member but don’t worry it is free. After you register you can start your sale searching journey. First you enter your zip code. Then you choose what stores you shop at and you are done. There are at least four way to search for deals.

1. Search by individual items
2. Search by category
3. Search by store
4. Search by your starter list

The starter list is really nice. You can customize to the products that you buy most often. If there is a sale on it , My Grocery Deals will show it. You can even filter deal if you have allergies, need low fat or cholesterol free products.

There are a few other bonuses this site offers. You are able to print coupons for some of your favorite products, the ability to print a shopping list (that you can email if needed) and a free ebook, Grocery Saving Tips. I can’t lower gas prices but I can share any useful information I find that will help to stretch money a little further.

I am super excited to have found this site. The site is simple to use and makes looking for deals quick and easy. I tested it out by searching for a few things like water and miracle whip. It worked with no problems.

Let’s see, with the rising costs of um everything, I am constantly searching for even more ways to save money. These are some suggestions my husband has come across that I would love to share.

• When you call to make a appointment, ask for an estimate of what the costs may be for your visit.
• If certain charges are not covered by insurance, ask for a discount. You will be surprised at how many doctors will actually work with you. I used to work for one.
• Explain to your doctor if prescriptions cost too much for you, he/she may have samples. All you have to do is ask.
• Ask what procedures may be performed during your visit. Then double check with your insurance company to see if those procedures are covered.
• Some insurance companies have “nurse lines”. Call the nurse and discuss whether you need to go to the doctor or not. I have started using ours. We have had it for years, I never paid it much attention.
• If you need to see a doctor right away, but it is not life threatening, consider going to urgent care instead of the emergency room. Most times urgent care will be cheaper, especially if you have an emergency room co-pay.
• When you get prescriptions, make sure you ask about the generics as a option. I have been doing this for the last few months and it makes a huge difference!
• Usually insurance plans cover annual physicals. Make sure to keep up them. Preventive care can save you tons!!
• Keep in mind where you get your prescriptions. Places like Walmart offer a majority of prescriptions as low as $4 !!

If you have any suggestions, please share. I love tips on saving money!

Today I was on one of the many mommy sites I love to visit, Mommykaboodle.com, and found a post full of great ideas. The post was basically about craft ideas that you can do with your kids that will not cost you tons of money. Some of the crafts used magazines, coffee cans, milk jugs and paper towel tubes just to name a few. This is something I will be adding to my Lifetips book since summer will be here in a blink of an eye and I plan on being prepared this year.

Well next month Americans should start getting their rebates either through mail or direct deposit. I have gotten a few what if questions that I have never thought of.

Will my rebate payment affect any benefits I receive such as food stamps or SSI? It should not affect your payment but check with the IRS  to be sure.

Exactly how will I get my check?  Your rebate payment will be issued in the same manner your refund check was issued for your 2007 taxes. If you did direct deposit, your rebate will be deposited into your bank account. If you chose to get a a check in the mail, your rebate will also be in check form.

What if I did one of those “Refund Anticipation” loans?Unfortunately you will receive your rebate payment through the mail in check form.

What if I filed my taxes after April 15th?  Your rebate payment should come about 2 weeks after you get your refund check.

I will not be getting a refund but I want my rebate check to be direct deposit. What do I do?  Make sure you fill out the direct deposit line on your tax form.

I owed taxes and had the IRS debit the money from my bank account, will my rebate be deposited in that account? No, you will get a paper check in the mail.

My refund was divided between 3 different account. Which one will my rebate payment be deposited in? None of them. You will get your rebate in check form through the mail.

My bank account that I got my tax refund in is closed, how will I get my rebate payment? If the bank account is no longer active, you will get your rebate in check form through the mail.

The IRS has lots of answers to questions that you may have about the Stimulus Payment Rebate. The last day this page was updated was April 17, 2008.

The past few days I have come across a lot of interesting posts. Well, two of my favorite bloggers , CheapAzz.net and beingfrugal.net, came up with a combined total of over 250 tips to save money. I could not wait to share so that is why I am postin at 1:30am instead of in the bed, lol.

Cheapazz.net has come up with 101 tips to save money, but in a classy way
These two are my favorites.
Number 21. use leftovers for lunch is a favorite in my family. Just ask my hubby and his friends. They love my leftovers
Number 32.  shop the dollar store.  I love the dollar store. I get tons of stuff from there. You can always find something there. Even those fancy helium balloons.
CheapAzz is even giving away a free ebook of the list so you can share it with others. Now you know that is a great deal so go grab yourself one and tell him thanks.

 Beingfrugal.net has really put some hard work into this one. She was able to put together over 150 tips to help us hold on to a little more money. She was even sweet enough to sort them into categories. One of my favorite tips is to shop year round for Xmas gifts. I believe that is the only way to get the best deals.

Beingfrugal even had a free ebook for download back in February. If you missed, go and get it now. It is something you will want to read.It is a collaborative effort between 16 personal finance bloggers.

For some reason I honestly thought during spring break I would really get a lot of “internet” stuff done. Well big surprise I didn’t, but that isn’t all bad. I love my kids dearly and we had some fun. Let’s just say today is a nice quiet day.

But lets get back to frugal things. Last week my husband found a really deal at Target. Pillows. I know, pillows? Yes adorable “Pirates of the Caribbean” pillows. Some have that microbead stuff in them and some are those regular throw pillows. I guess the big question is why and how many. Well my husband picked up 8. Why? My son has recently became obsessed with “Pirates of the Caribbean” so my husband bought 2. When he told me the price and the other 3 kids saw the pillows he had to go get 4 more. The pillows were regular price $13.99, on sale for $1.50!!! And oh my goodness they are soooo comfortable. It does not hurt that my favorite color is green and the pillows look nice on the couch.

I have not started my make ahead cooking yet, I hope to start soon but I am still cooking at home. We have eaten out a few times but it has definitely been in moderation and with coupons!! Last week my dad came over and we got pizzas from Sam’s club his treat. That was nice and as usual the pizza was good. I took a few pictures to show I am cooking at home which hands down is always cheaper.

this is way cheaper than shake and bake $.99, and gives chicken a nice crispy golden skin.

still one of my favorites, quick and you get 4 for $1.00

quick and easy to fix, only need to add water. $1.00

really good treat, and easy for kids to make.$1.50

the chicken wings I fried that were really big. $5.99 for a bag at my favorite store, Aldis!!

My oldest daughter turned 14 and I did not go overboard spending. My hubby went to Dollar Tree to get balloons, you really can not beat the price especially since we used to spend lots on balloons from Factory Card Outlet. We got her a pair of K-Swiss athletic shoes for $40 and a Sansa mp3 player on clearance for $25 (a really good price. Plus both hubby and I have one which we paid much more for and we love ours) She was really happy because those were the only things she really wanted. She has been asking for both of those things since her birthday last year. We are not big fans of birthday cake (DH used to work at a bakery for 7 years) so we got her the cheesecake sampler from Sam’s Club for $12.99. She really loves cheesecake so Jazz was definitely surprised. I also thought it would be a good idea to treat Jazz and a friend to a movie since I was not doing the party thing. She got to see Step Up 2 and spend time with her friend. The best part of all is we used cash so no paying for it twice!! I think it was a pretty good day all around, now I have to prepare for Nannah’s birthday which is April 30th.

Today I hope to grocery shopping, but I doubt it because I am not prepared. No list is made and no coupons are cut. It is so quiet, I just want to enjoy the peace and relax.

Sorry for such a long post but I wanted to catch up.

Well, DH is not getting any overtime next week. He did not get any this week either. That is not really bad because he is home and we are able to get some stuff done. I just budget according to checks with overtime pay not regular pay. I always say I am not going to do it but then we go long stretches with lots of overtime and I forget. Well guess what, I have been reminded!!! I will try to better. So remember, always budget somewhat beneath your means not at the very top or over. I know, seems like common sense, but for some reason I have lost my sense for this week. That is probably why this post is all over the place. But my next one will be better, promise!! I have just been working on my sites, trying to spring clean with 4 kids driving me crazy, read some of the great things I have picked up from the library, my baby was sick for 2 days and do some finance stuff! Whew, a busy week. And there is even more but I will have to tell you about it later today.

A lot posts I read across the blogosphere have a lot to do with groceries and money. You know, “how much should you spend, how much is too much , what are other people spending” and stuff like that. It is really hard to come down with a definite dollar amount. Food is a need, a want, an addiction and just tastes sooo good. It appears to be that you need to spend as much on food that is required to survive since food is a basic that you can not live with out. But that is not the go ahead to buy the most expensive brands of food either. You have to find a healthy medium. Now before I continue please keep these 2 things in mind; always remember you have to do what works for your family not everyone else, the rule is you should only spend 15 – 20% of your income on food. What methods work for you?

There are a lot of things that need to be considered when setting your grocery budget:

• how much income do you have
• how many people do you need to feed
• do you clip coupons
• do you plan menus
• do you have other sources for food? Maybe your own garden, free breakfast program at schools, you know someone with a garden?
• are you brand loyal? this is not always a good thing. There are some items that I always buy generic: salt, pepper, sugar, cooking oil, flour, pancake mix, panacake syrup, bread, potatoes and applesauce just to name a few.

For our family of 6 we roughly spend $420-$477. So far this is working for our family. I am hoping this will go down if I ever can get started with the once a month cooking. I am a little curious though, what are you spending on groceries?

I know, I am a little late with the updates so far for online income. It is not a lot but I am still hopeful and I am continuing to stick with it. 

sendearnings $6.79 

inboxdollars $7.96

snapdollars $6.92

payperpost $50

A.W. Surveys $10