My first tip has been published on Daytipper.com!!

It's the "Good gifts for couples" tip under 9/27.

My other tip will be published on Sunday!

Plus, a tip I submitted earlier this week has been accepted. So, I look forward to receiving an email letting me know it is going to be published!

So, in 7-10 days, I'll have $6 to add to my Adobe fund!

I am decreasing my Adobe Fund to $500! I just realized that I need the Adobe CS3 Web Premium instead of the Design Premium. Design comes with Indesign and Web comes with Fireworks & Contribute. I already have Indesign and having Fireworks & Contribute for $100 less would be a nice bonus!

So, that's $100 less I need to save up for my software.

Sadly, the curtains had to go back to Walmart. Our comforter apparently is NOT burgundy. It is more of a burnt orange/red color. So, burgundy curtains are definitely out. I'm going to have to find gold.

Good news though! I'm adding $90 to my Adobe fund! It's the money I got for my birthday!

Adobe Fund
Previous Total: $10
New Total: $100

I'm getting closer!!

I just received notice that my 2 accepted Daytipper.com Tips are going to be published. One on 9/27 and the other 9/30. This is so much sooner than I expected! Yeah. That'll be $6 more for my Adobe fund. I'll add it when it arrives.

This definitely is encouraging to submit more tips. I think I might have to keep submitting.

I'm so happy!

Some background...
DH and I have been working on decorating our apartment. But, things can get very expensive. My sister gave us some cheap curtains that they were getting rid of, because we NEEDED something. There is a light post right outside our bedroom window. But, they are pretty ugly and boring. So, I've been watching all the sale flyers, checking ebay & craigslist and also the clearance everywhere I go.

Well, this morning, I stopped into Walmart for a CD mailer envelope. And, I passed by the clearance aisle. And, there they were...$7 curtains! It's a 5 piece set including 2 panels, a valance and 2 tassel tiebacks. I'm really hoping they look good with our bedding.

I want to go back to look at the clearance more. They had some canvas artwork on clearance for $15. I'm thinking I might pick something up for our bedroom.

Yesterday, I was reading up on Walmart's price match policy. So, I think I might try that out as well and do all our grocery shopping there. I'm currently NOT the biggest fan of walmart. But, it is growing on me. It really isn't too bad if you go at non-busy times.

A lot of the printable coupons I've printed aren't that great of a deal. But, I scored this weekend!

I had printed a ton of the Target $.50 tuna coupons. I had 1 tuna coupon from the paper. We got one 7oz pack free and then bought a bunch of $.62 cans for $.12! We are getting more this weekend.

I had two $2 Bertolli meals and went ahead and bought two of these from Target.

I had a $1 off Nature Valley Granola Bars Target coupon x 2 and $1 off purchase of two boxes manufacturer's coupon. Plus they were on sale 2/$4. So, we got 2 boxes for $.50.

I used the Target $1 off Oscar Myer Turkey at Target.

I also had a printable mustard coupon, for $.50 off. So, I went ahead and used it before it expired.

I had a printable coupon for $.50 off 2lb of bananas, which left them at $.27/lb.

I also got $.50 off something else, but can't remember at this time what it was.

I never knew how much could be saved with printable coupons! I'm definitely going to keep printing!!

I'm adding $10 to my Adobe fund! I finally have actual cash to put into the fund. I helped one of my co-workers with some Excel stuff for his company and he wanted to pay me for helping him. I've decided it's going right towards my software!

I have another $90 coming when DH finally gets his paycheck. He ended up borrowing my birthday money b/c he wasn't getting paid until the 30th for the whole month. But, we found out he actually did get paid on the 15th. They just didn't have the correct address (which he submitted with his employee paperwork). So, the check should arrive real soon. So, I'll get the $90 back to put towards my fund.

Also, I've been completing a bunch of surveys. I probably have about $20 worth completed. But, I won't add the money to my fund until I actually have it.

Lastly, I've been working for my dad's company and he'll pay me when I've accumulated enough hours.

Previous Adobe Total: $0
New Adobe Total: $10

It's been a few days since I posted last. Things are going well.

DH and I spent some money this past weekend, but we kept it to necessities. Like new driver's licenses! But, seriously, we didn't go out to eat at all this weekend. For us, that is an accomplishment. Friday night we made some absolutely AMAZING nachos. Yummy, yummy, yummy!! Much better than we could have bought anywhere! The best part, we really only spent about $5 on a whole pan. It ended up being enough for two meals!

We did go to Aldi for some groceries. We stocked up on some stuff, but still only spent $34.

I've been completing surveys online for the past week or so and that is going really good. By the end of the year, it should give me a good amount of money towards my Adobe software.

Plus, my sister just asked me to help her one day in October with her business. It isn't guaranteed unless she gets people to sign up. But, she will pay me if she ends up needing my help!

Also, I've been doing some miscellaneous business stuff for my dad's company. So, when he pays me, that will go towards my Adobe software budget as well.

So, plans are in place to get that adding up.

I've also decided that once I buy my software, I'm going to put the money I earn from these type of activities into a clothing fund. I'll be starting teacher next fall and I'd LOVE to get new clothes. But, it really isn't a need. I have a good amount of dress clothes. At least enough. But, I'd love to have a few more items. I feel guilty pulling the money out of our paychecks because it is just not necessary. So, I'm hoping this plan works out.

I've been wanting to start my own web design company for a while now. I've taught myself a lot about web design and I feel I know enough to make simple websites for people who may not be able to currently afford one.

I've already decided that I just really can't take on this workload before I graduate. But, I still want to start planning for it now.

Although I could do without any additional software, it would make my life easier to have Adobe CS3. Or, at the very least, Photoshop & Dreamweaver (and maybe Flash).

Unfortunately, this software costs money, lots of it! Thankfully, I am a student and can purchase it at a discount. So, I'm looking at about $600 that I need to save up in order to get the software.

I've decided that I'm going to figure out a way to save up this money before I graduate in May 2008. The only rule is I will not spend any money from my weekly paycheck.

I've already signed up to do surveys. So, I've decided that any money I receive in the form of a giftcard, I'll go ahead and exchange it for cash out of my paycheck. Then, I'll use the giftcard for something that I would have normally used cash for.

I also am going to try to sell some items on ebay and craigslist. This includes quite a few wedding items, which I should be able to make a little more for. I am also going to include the sale of my wedding dress in my savings.

So I think with selling a few things and doing quite a few surveys, I could save up enough money to buy my software.

Anyone have any other ideas to earn more money?

Ever since I got my credit cards, I've used them for everything. Food, Gas, Shopping, etc. But, I paid them off every month. Even when I charged a $1,000+ car repair one month, I found a way to make sure I paid it off in full.

My DH was doing the same for a while. Then, he lost his job and was unemployed for 2 months. We were only dating at the time, so our finances weren't combined yet. He ended up charging a lot of his expenses and racked up a little bit of debt. When he took his new job, he took a pretty significant pay cut. I ended up paying for all the wedding expenses and my DH tried his best to pay down his cards. Now that the wedding is done and paid for and my DH has a new job (with much higher pay), we've been working on paying down the credit cards. So, I'm happy to say that we paid off one more this week! YAY!

So, now we only have two left. One has a very small balance >$300 and the other has a higher balance (for us) but isn't earning interest (at least until next April).

Last week, we worked out a plan for our finances. We are going to continue to use my income for all of our expenses except part of the rent & utilities. Then, DH gets paid twice a month. We are going to use one full paycheck towards debt and the other one towards rent, utilities and his gas money. We plan to start implementing this once he receives his first paycheck from his new job. Which should be on the 30th.

I also wanted to add that we are kind of doing Dave Ramsey's plan. We have $1000 in the bank for an emergency fund. Now, we are paying off our debt. Then, we'll put that money into savings to increase our emergency fund.

I forgot! Over the weekend we purchased our Entertainment Book. We got it for $20, which is $5 less than the online price for our city.

Also, I called Ingles yesterday and the manager actually answered the phone! I asked what I needed to do to complain about some bad produce we purchased. He said he'll replace the avocados and also reimburse us! So, next week when we go in, we'll get $8 back and 4 avocados! YAY for great customer service!!

Today, I got a card from my parents. It had a check for enough money to cover dinner on Saturday night. So, now I don't feel so bad about the amount we spent!

So, I looked at my credit card rewards and I'm up to a little over $300. My DH had $130 worth, but we used that towards a car repair he had done. I'm really trying not to use the rewards on something we need. I really want to use them for something fun. I'm thinking we'll keep saving them up. I'm thinking we might use them for a Bose sound system, a flat panel TV (small one), a fancy digital camera, or towards our Cruise in December. The cruise would be practical, but would allow us to do more while we are on the boat. We'll see.

Wow! This weekend was tough. Things didn't exactly go according to plan on Saturday, so we ended up spending more than we expected.

Friday was ok. The concert wasn't what I expected it to be like. Kenny Chesney moved his Atlanta concert to Hifi Buys Amphitheater this year and it's an outdoor venue. Consequently, the GA no smoking law does not apply. So, there was a huge cloud of smoke over the whole venue all night. Everyone around us got completely drunk. One guy completely trampled over (yes, actually walked on) my little sister and my dad had to chase him down. But, the music was good. I liked Sugarland more than Kenny though.

Saturday, DH and I got up really early to get a move on grocery shopping and what not. We ended up buying a few items that weren't on our list. We spend $20 unexpected dollars at Target. But, we used a giftcard for that purchase, so it wasn't too big of a deal. We went to Walmart to buy some healthcare stuff that we needed. Only to find out yesterday the same stuff was on sale at Rite-Aid this week. We could have saved another $5. Oh well. We went to Macy's to use up a giftcard and a coupon I had. We only spent ~$9.08 of our own money. I really wanted to not go over the giftcard, but I'm happy about our purchases. Lastly, we went to Ingles and bought groceries. We really didn't splurge, so I'm happy about that!

We purchased avocados to make guacamole for a meeting we went to on Sunday. But, they were all brown on the inside. I called them today and the manager said that they'll reimburse me AND give me new avocados! So, YAY for good customer service! I'll go on Saturday to get this!

Next, we headed to the GA Tech football game. We know one of the players really well, so we get free tickets when we go. But, my DH spent way more than I wanted to. We went way over budget. We did discuss it and agreed we won't be going to the games for a while. Although we get free tickets, the cost still adds up with parking, food, drinks, etc. So, we are just cutting it out for now.

Then, we went to dinner with my friends for my birthday. We didn't plan this until half way through last week, so it was an unplanned expense as well. We really wanted to enjoy ourselves since it was my 21st birthday. We did use a coupon, but we did spend a good amount as well.

So, this week we are going to keep it really cheap. We were going do a garage sale with my sisters this weekend, but we are pulling out. We just have time to properly prepare for it. We will sell all our large items though. So, we should be making money instead of spending it this weekend! YAY!

So, that's the weekend update.

My mother used to buy these books every year when my sisters sold them for marching band. She'd use them probably enough to make her money back, but wasn't too faithful at using it.

I've been debating for a while now if it'd really be worth it.

I did some research and I found out that Entertainment.com has printable coupons that you get free with your registered entertainment card. I did the trial and got 3 coupons which we'll probably use this weekend for my birthday.

After a little more research, I found the following sites, which have the same printable coupons:

3 Free coupons per year per registered email address
http://www.saversguide.com/custom/hotels/default/jsp/content/pages/login.epi

4 Free coupons per month
http://www.saversguide.com/custom/demoprint/default/jsp/content/pages/splash.epi

It didn't even appear you had to register for the second link!

So, now I have access to all the printable coupons I could need. So, that is no longer a selling point for the Entertainment book.

I did notice that the online coupons don't really have any of the national chain stores that the actual book has. To me, these would be the most valuable. I know the Atlanta book has the following coupons that I would find very useful:

Kroger - $5 off $75 purchase (one for each month)
Target - free 4x6 photos
New York & Company - $25 off $75 OR $50 off $150

In my research I also heard about the new

Maxcard. It seems like a pretty interesting idea. It is also $14.99 more than the Entertainment book. I didn't see any coupons there that would make it worth the extra cost. I couldn't find out if it included Kroger discounts or Target. I did notice it had a 10% discount for Kauffman Tires, which is where I get all my car maintenance done. But, I already get a discount there because we are valued customers.

So, I think I've decided to go ahead and get the 2008 Entertainment book. I really think, in the end I'm going to save more than I end up spending. Plus, I'm going to see if some of the high school students I know are selling them this year. That way, I'll be helping them out as well.

So, do you buy the Entertainment book? Do you find it worth the money? Are there any tips or tricks to getting the most out of it?

DH started his new job on Tuesday! One perk of his new job is that he no longer has a 20 mile commute. But, he found out Tuesday that he'll be making that same 20 mile commute for at least another week while he is training. Thankfully he'll be getting mileage with this job!! ~$20 a day! So, yay for that!

We've been doing really well at packing our lunches and not eating out. Aside from our mini-vacation last weekend, we've only eaten out once in the past 3 weeks. For us, that is a huge accomplishment!!

Last night we finally set up our ING checking account with the $25 referral link from my co-worker. My DH is a bank teller and his old bank offered their 3% interest bearing account to all the employees. But, we had to downgrade to free checking since he no longer works there. So, the ING account will make up for that loss and still have a higher interest rate. It's going to take at least a week or two to get things all situated with how we are going to make things work. But, I'm sure it'll be fine.

I still need to get my name changed with SSA and the DMV. It's becoming pretty difficult with work, school, banks, etc. going by two different names. It's about time I get everything finalized and official. I think I'm going to go to the SSA tomorrow and then on Saturday morning, I'll head to the DMV.

Tonight I'm stopping by Walgreens to pick up some business envelopes. They are running a sale 2/$.99. That is a great deal! And, we really really need some. When I was living at home, my parents always had envelopes available. I have about 4 things I need to mail out and no envelopes!

Speaking of mail, I'm sending in my Walgreens & Kellogg rebates tomorrow. I ended up purchasing my Kellogg products from CVS and paid less than $2 an item for them. I also had a $4 off coupon for CVS. So, I'll end up spending only $5 for 10 Kellogg products! As for Walgreens, I spent a gift card I had, so I actually won't be spending any of my own money when it is all said and done.

So, this week has been going really good. This weekend should go well also. Friday night my dad is treating his girls (all 6 of us) to the Kenny Chesney concert. Then, Saturday is my birthday! I think we are going to the GA Tech football game and maybe using up some BOGO bowling or putt putt coupons. Sunday I have an all day church meeting. So, this weekend should be pretty good on the wallet!

I tried a Google search and didn't come up with much.

This week's Rite-Aid ad has some Manufacturer's coupons in it. I know normally you can use only one manufacturer's coupon per item. But, the Rite-Aid coupons say they are only valid at Rite-Aid. Does anyone know if I can use both the Rite-Aid coupon and one from the Sunday paper?

I found one place online saying you could, but it hadn't been tested yet.