Savings Tips

For those of you who know us well, we try to be good stewards of what we have been blessed with and creatively manage it in the meantime. Matt is always thinking of the next best invention or idea that is sure to be a success. He frequently quotes the book Millionaire by Thirty, and he keeps me on my toes with his different investment/entrepreneurial ideas. We wanted to pass along a few tips that have been beneficial for us in hopes that they will be helpful to you.

1. Budget, Budget, Budget! – Matt and I love budgeting. Matt is an Excel whiz, and we have quite the spreadsheet to manage our finances. He calls it Budget Software 1.2 (because there have been several editions). Call us frugal, but this actually works! Every month, we see where we went over or under in every category, and it reflects every single transaction (both purchases and deposits) because we record everything. It’s helpful to see what we are spending our money on too.

2. Give! – One of our investments is sponsoring a Haitian child through Compassion International for only $32/month. We received one of her letters this week, and it is always rewarding to know we are blessing others with all that we have been given. We have much to be thankful for!

3. Sales Ads – I rush to the mailbox on Saturday afternoons to see what the latest and greatest grocery deals are for the coming week to help plan our weekly menu. When grocery shopping, make a list and exercise self control to prevent unnecessary purchases. Also, there are special day sales around random holidays like Columbus Day or President’s Day. Who knew? Thank you Columbus! I bet he had no idea he would save us money when he discovered the New World.

4. Coupons – It is amazing how much you can save by clipping grocery store or manufacturer coupons. For those of us who don’t get the Sunday paper, manufacturer coupons can be found online too. Pair a manufacturer coupon with an already in-store sale, and you get a steal of a deal! There are coupons for EVERYTHING, literally!

5. Check your receipt – I am now in the habit of checking my receipt before I leave the store (thanks to my mother and husband). Honestly, there has been a mistake every time; either the quantity and/or sale prices are wrong on my purchases, or the coupons didn’t ring up correctly. A few days ago, I received $5.40 back on a $32 Target grocery trip, and it took 5 minutes of my time. Savings because I checked the receipt?! Yes, I think it’s worth it!

6. Reusable Bags – Matt doesn’t like this idea, but it is totally up my alley. Save 5 cents/bag, and it’s good for the environment. Sign me up! Helpful hint – leave the bags in your trunk so they are always there, and you can’t use the excuse, “I left them at home.”

7. Gas Card – We have a Roundy’s Card because we shop at Rainbow. Benefits: It’s free, and by purchasing food, it saves you cents/gallon gas. We rarely gas up for the advertised price. Our local BP has special deals too. Matt likes visiting on Monday mornings because he gets a free cup of coffee with gas purchase.

8. Twin Cities Gas Prices – Sign up online to get free texts to warn you when the gas prices are going to jump. When you are close to empty and learn that prices will be up 20 cents in a few hours because of wholesale prices rising, this is a fairly convenient text to receive. This website is also helpful in telling you which suburbs/stations have the cheapest gas each day.

9. Carpooling – Saves on gas, allows us to spend more time together each day, good for the environment, and better for our cars. I like to bike home from work too which is good exercise.

10. Random Sign-ups – Sign up for Redbox online to recieve a free promo code text on the first Monday of every month. The first Mondays of every month are now movie night in the comfort of our home… and for free! Hey, it saves us $1. One of my favorite places, Punch Pizza has some awesome marketing tactics too. They send free pizza deals out on random occasions (bring in an food donation, get a free pizza, or the Vikings lose to the Saints, but get your free pizza to keep your hopes up that they will someday win a Super Bowl – not that Matt and I needed our spirits boosted anymore than they already were at that point).  Did I forget to mention Birthday Clubs?  Everything from Noodles & Company, Caribou, Coldstone, and everything in between means free things on your birthday, but you need to sign-up in order to be eligible.

12. Craigslist – It’s amazing the deals to be found on Craigslist. If you come into our home, we have a lot of Craigslist purchases, but you would never know it unless we told you. One of our favorite finds is our Super Love Sac which was almost new and cost $150 (retail price is around $600).  Seriously - start searching!

13. Libraries – Not just books anymore, but loan DVDs and seasons of your favorite shows by just having a library card.  It's how we made it through the first five seasons of The Office in a short amount of time.  Helpful hint - reserve items online to save time and to be on the waiting list for certain items.

14. Participate in Market Research – A good way to earn a few extra bucks and have fun at the same time. I’ve been paid to see Transformers/take a survey and to discuss branding for Hard Ciders ($75 for an hour of my time). It’s totally the PR part of me that loves this stuff. Check out Fieldwork Minneapolis on Facebook for different opportunities.

Yes, I think my husband’s frugality has won me over, but I love it and love Him. Have fun saving and being creative all at the same time!

Celebration & Country Cooking

It’s been a busy week between work and house shopping. We have had a lot of late dinners and not a lot of free time so we have been looking forward to this weekend.

For those of you who haven’t heard, we fell in love with the first property we looked at but have continued looking around to make sure and to see what else is out there. We figure if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be, right? So needless to say, we have been comparing every property we see to the very first one we saw. Not a lot can surpass a quiet, waterfront, cul-de-sac location in the school district and community we love. When I heard there would be river otters in our backyard, I was sold. As Nancy would say, “You can change a lot about the house but not the location.” Matthew has loved the house shopping experience and the investment opportunities that come along with it, but in all honesty, it stresses me out, partly because I’m particular and partly because I love where we live now and am not ready to leave. It has been an adventure to say the least!

Last weekend was our Wisconsin weekend of the month, and we loved being at home and seeing our families and friends. The Knoll wedding was beautiful and a lot of fun. We love Stratford weddings! I wish I had some flashback pictures of the four of us at our high school homecoming and prom to post along with the most recent picture, but unfortunately they are all tucked away in scrapbooks. Oh the memories… with many more to be made in the future! Congratulations John and Jackie!

the Knolls and the Kramers

Papa & Grandma could have been the newlyweds on the dance floor;
they are adorable! 

Love you Mom & Dad

Clara!

Mom and me

Us with Uncle EJ

Our feet were sore from dancing!

Using the apples from the orchard, Grandma taught us to make and can homemade applesauce this weekend too. What a process, but totally worth the effort and healthier than the typical store-bought applesauce. And we now have applesauce for the winter. Yum! I treasure time with Grandma in the kitchen. It brings me back to my childhood.

The cooking crew!

Hard at work.

The visits are way too quick and not often enough, and it always takes us a couple of days to recover back to our normal life here. We love you all so much and missed you from the moment we left!

Fall Family Fun

Yesterday, the Kramer children, their spouses and children ventured to Taylors Falls for the afternoon.  It was a beautiful and warm fall day, perfect for family time and hiking along the St. Croix River.  The leaves were just past peak, and it was a gorgeous day to be outdoors, complete with picturesque views. However, despite our advance planning and lack of children ourselves, we (Matt, Andrea, and I) probably overlooked the fact that we had three young children and two babies along for the trek.  They were troopers though, with Elliana being the fearless leader on our hike along the River Trail.  For a glimpse of our trip, see pictures below. 

If you're ever looking for a day or weekend getaway, Taylors Falls is a scenic place for an adventure - close to home (about an hour drive from the Twin Cities) but yet quiet enough to escape city life for a bit and come back feeling refreshed.  The old fashioned ice cream and soda shop is worth a stop too. 

Sisters

Maddie is precious.

Elliana, the leader

Uncle Matt with Maddie and Ellie

Our adorable oldest nieces

Auntie Andie and Maddie on the hike

Proud Uncle Matt and company

Sibling Love!



Fall Favs - Part 1

We welcome our favorite season in many ways, which is why I have entitled this blog Part 1, because I'm sure there will be more to follow.  Fall is our favorite time of year for so many reasons:  the colors (both outside and in our everyday wardrobes), foods (we live for and crave anything pumpkin), crisp air, fall scents, farmer's markets, flannel sheets, football, need I say more!? 

We both took Tuesday off of work to get a jump start on some of our fall favorites. We are experiencing an indian summer here (the high for tomorrow is 80 degrees), and we are LOVING it.  On this particular day, we decided to visit the apple orchard (the one we were engaged at) and spend the afternoon kayaking on a neighboring lake.  Our fridge is now literally stocked with apples for making applesauce, apple cider, and chai, and our home smells of spiced cider and autumn leaves (love fall candles!).  Although the leaves have started to change, we continue to wait and watch for them to be at peak color.  For all we care, fall could last until December, and we would content...

In other news, the house search has begun!  We are actively looking through listings in the evenings (special thanks to Nancy), and Matt is constantly driving through neighborhoods in search of homes.  It is an exciting time for us, but a little stressful too!  There is a lot to consider when becoming a homeowner so we have been trying to narrow down our specifications (mostly mine since I'm more particular than Matthew) and school districts, for you know someday when we decide to have kids.  Yikes...