After Bill Pay

Ugh, right now my finances suck. Not really terrible pleased with where I'm at currently.

What I have
Checking: $17.68
Savings: $1823.94

What I Owe
Student Loan: $83.750.71
Credit Card: $165.86

I realized something the other day. My spending freeze is like an extreme diet. Instead of going slow and steady, hitting the gym and watching my intake I'm starving myself and running marathons. I'm really proud of how much I've paid off on my student loans but right now I need to work out a livable budget.

I've tried to balance too much on too little. My budget is perfect when things are going right but when they're not or when something comes up (car issues, birthdays, computer problems) it leaves me scrambling and without any money (example: I have $17 bucks to live off of for the next two weeks).

When I get paid again on the 15th instead of immediately paying a huge chunk payment and living off the rest, I'm going to pay off my credit card and pay any remaining bills (I think my utilities should be due around that time) with the remaining I'll then get food and maybe a tank of gas AND THEN I'll pay a chunk towards my student loan. I'm bummed because I won't see the huge decrease I like but I'm getting so tired of being so stressed and broke. I realized the other day that I'm not really broke at all, I make awesome money and I'm causing myself financial hardship by living outside of my means with my student loan repayments. Living within your means doesn't just refer to spending habits but saving habits and debt repayment habits.

In happier news: Can you believe how freakin' close I am to paying off 10k in principal on this loan?!?!?!?! Realistically I consider myself only in repayment for this year (I think the first year I only knocked off something sad like $900 in principal). In 6 months I have paid off $6,250 in principal!!!!

Financial Update: After Bill Pay

So I did a Pay Day check in a few days ago but I wanted to re-check in (checker in? No, that's not right...) to see my finances after I spent a late Mother's Day with my Mom and after most of my bill payments went through.

Checking: $152.42
Savings: $1822.20
Pocket Book: Like $2 bucks?? I spent the remainder of my cash on Powerball tickets (that did not go well).

What I owe on my credit card: $119.92
What I owe Wells Fargo: $84,162.72

I treated my mom to lunch which cost $50 (put on my credit card) BUT she treated me to a full tank of gas, a hair cut, and a mani/pedi. I might go ahead and pay another $50 or so on my credit card but probably closer to next pay day. I still need to go grocery shopping but that should only cost me around $50.

I can't believe how far down my loan has gone in only 5 months. I'm so close to paying off $10,000 in principle. I think once that happens (and I potentially get a raise sometime in October) I might start shifting around how much I pay. I want to help my mom with the student loan that she has for me. She owes around $38k and I'd like to help her pay it off so she can save for retirement.

I keep looking at the financial road map I made; in just two years I will be close to only owing around $50,000. Then I can slow down on the payments and start saving for a house. I try to broach the idea of buying a house with my boyfriend but he doesn't really seem that into it which is a bummer but not terribly unexpected. Like most things in life I'll probably do that on my own (or with the help of my mom, haha). I figure I can easily save up the $20,000 or so down payment and I should have rocking credit so hopefully I can find a cute little house to call my own.

Birthday on the Cheap!

I just spent an amazing birthday weekend with my sister and I'm pretty proud of how I kept my spending under control.

Here's the wrap-up

Food:
I mentioned in my last post about how cheap and easy home made birthday cake and ice cream is. But, most people don't like to live off of just cake and sweets so we had to pick up some food and drinks. If you've read this blog at all you know I fancy booze and my absolute favorite liquor store is Cost Co. You don't have to be a member to purchase liquor (at least at the one's in Texas, they have a separate room for the hard liquor and any one can buy from it). My sister and I picked up a giant bottle of Tequila for only $20 bucks and then went to HEB and got some regular house food (morning and lunch staples like bagels, bananas, eggs, and yogurt) as well as ingredients for quesadillas. My total bill was only $44 bucks which isn't the best but not too bad for food for a week.

Entertainment
My sister loves coming up to Austin and shopping at stores they don't have in her town. We entertained ourselves for hours on window shopping. We're also both pop culture shows so we watched a ton of TV and movies. She had purchased the tickets for the show earlier so that was a cost I didn't have to worry about.

Unnecessary but lovely purchase:
Bought my boyfriend lunch at a great gourmet burger joint (my sister insisted on paying for herself): $28 bucks
A new pair of Betsey Johnson sunglasses: $20 bucks
A new wall plug and 3 new scents from Bath and  Body Works:$20

Yes, it was unnecessary and not really apart of my budget to spend $68 dollars on these things. BUT I manage to live off of around $300 a month (covering my utility bill, gas, food, and social life) because I spend every other dime on student loans. I haven't purchased new sunglasses in more than 5 years. The one's I have been using were a pair of Betsey Johnson's my ex bought for me years ago.

Here are my new glasses:

They were originally around $70 so paying only $20 for them was a steal. Plus they came with an adorable bright pink sunglass case.

I feel pretty good about this weekend. I have around $70 in my checking account and around $100 on my credit card. I don't have any bills on my credit card due and when I get paid on the 15th I can pay off my credit card and add a little more to my savings. 

I've mentioned before how much I really enjoy And Then We Saved. Their big idea is a spending fast. Basically spending on only the absolute necessities (food, housing) and either saving the rest or paying off debt. I realized that even though I sometimes spend some cash on unnecessary things I'm pretty much on spending fast. 70% of my income goes towards student loans (literally, I did math to figure that out, that's not just a guess). And like I said above the rest is spent on rent, food, gas, and utilities. Yes, anything after that probably could go into savings but I'm glad it goes into fun things like Fun Run races (I did the color run this weekend and it was amazing!) or shoes or sunglasses or unnecessary scent thingies from Bath and Body Works. 

My Sister's Bday Weekend

My sister is coming up to celebrate her birthday weekend and I'm excited/nervous to host and entertain under a budget. We're going to go and see a show and then spend the rest of the weekend hanging out and enjoying quality time.

I'm hoping that I can keep track of my spending this week. Here's what's gone down so far:

Birthday Cake:
$1 on chocolate cake mix
$2 on 2 chobani yogurts
=
$3 cake!!!

Ice Cream and Cake Icing:
$1 on small container of whole milk
$3 on large container of heavy cream
=$4 birthday extras!

I have an ice cream machine and I'm a pro at making my own icings from my vegan days so whipping up the cake extras was a breeze. It's pretty incredible to spend $7 bucks for cake and ice cream.

Birthday Gift:
$1 on basket
$12 on two bags of specialty coffee
$2 for 2 cute dollar store mugs
=
$15 Bday present

Pinterest has been a great inspiration for cheap but great basket gifts. My sister loves coffee and presenting coffee plus mugs in a basket makes it seem like such a bigger gift. I really hope she enjoys it.

Once she gets here we're going to stop by the grocery store to pick up food (eating in is much cheaper than dining out constantly). I'm so incredible excited for this weekend :)

How to Cope with Spending Money

I recently had to drop close to $200 on car repairs. My monthly "take home" pay (after bills) ends up being around that much. It's very hard to live off of $200 a month and it's even harder to have to spend 100% of that on unexpected life hiccups.

I pushed off my car repairs for MONTHS. I really, really, really didn't want to do them. It was big-ish stuff; the usual oil change stuff plus new transmission fluid and coolant. Unfortunately my car started acting so funny and so off that I just had to go in. Luckily, I've been a pretty steady client of Jiffy Lube and I was able to use a 35% off coupon to help.

It's really hard to live on a budget. Paying off debt feels amazing but it also creates a lot of anxiety and guilt. The idea of spending un-budgeted money caused me great stress. The total bill was around $300 but I ended up spending less than $200 because of the coupon. Even though I saved a boat load and got the best deal that I could I still felt stress/sadness/guilt over it.

That's what I want to talk about today. Ways to cope with spending money

1. Recognize that you are not spending money on frivolous things.
I could have easily spent $200 on clothes or shoes or trips. On anything really. It's so sad because sometimes I honestly day dream about that. About taking half of my extra $1000 student loan payment and buying so many new clothes. But I don't. I work really hard and buy just what I need and unfortunately, at this time, my car needed some work.

2. You can't budget life
It pains me to say this but you simple can't plan for life. You can try and come really, really close but life just has too many bumps and turns. So yes, I budget as best I can and 90% of the time I'm right on track but I have to accept and EXPECT that life will throw me a curve ball every once in a while.

3. You will always be able to more later
My budget won't always be this tight. I will get raises and bonuses and unexpected windfalls in the future. So yes, I feel guilty now for spending money but I know that if I ever come into more money I will be responsible with it and budget accordingly. Reminding myself of how responsible I really am helped with the feelings of guilt.

4. Spending a little now prevents big spending in the future
Okay, spending $200 bucks sucks. Badly. BUT, spending $1000 + dollars because I ignored my car would realllllly suck. So I pay a little now and I prevent big catastrophes in the future. No break downs on the side of the roads, no towing fee, or rental car hassle. By keeping the things that I have now nice and in good condition I am preventing future unnecessarily spending.

Now this list isn't as comprehensive as I would like but I felt it was really important to get it down. It makes me feel better. I'm trying really hard to budget well and pay off my debts and set backs hurt. In the 4 months that I have been making extra student loan payments I have paid 400% more than I did my entire first year :) I am doing amazing and I sometimes have to remind myself of that.

14 Days of Love

So I had an amazing plan to do all these blog posts about easy DIY gifts for Valentine's Day. I was going to do one post each day before Valentine's; I had even made a lovely Word Document with links and helpful hints. Of course my computer chose that time to die out on me and now it's February 3rd and I've done nada but oh well! I figure I can do my best to try to post some amazing, helpful, lovely ideas for love day.

I swear we our on the tail end of a money hemorrhaging season. The holiday's drain you, there's tons of money spent on Thanksgiving food, Christmas presents, New Years booze and sparkly dresses (or maybe that's just me). THEN the end of January just happens to be my anniversary and then 2 weeks later I'm supposed to get all romantic and gift-y again for Valentine's day. That's a lot of stuff to deal with. I already told my boyfriend that I can't deal with all that so we went on a trip right in the middle of our anniversary and Valentine's day and on the actual day of love I'm just going to order a pizza or something. It's just too much pressure to try to be romantic all of the time.

However, there are so pretty easy ways to show the one you love that you really do care during this time of year and most of them you can do with out breaking the bank. Since it's already the 3rd day of February here are 3 easy/cheap/fun ideas to try to up the romance this love day.

Day One: Breakfast in Bed
This one is incredibly easy. There's nothing more lovely then waking up and realizing your partner has risen early to create a wonderful meal for you. I love breakfast but it usually takes my stomach a bit to wake up but whenever I wake up and my boyfriend has gone out of his way to make coffee for me (a drink I love and he is not very interested in) it warms my heart. Valentine's day (to me) is all about sweet gestures to show someone that you care.

Here are some great breakfast ideas:

Day One: Breakfast in Bed

Photo Courtesy of SweetCDesignes

Cocoa Kissed Red Velvet Pancakes

Day Two: Handmade Cards and Poetry

Jade Louis Designs

A handmade card is so much more thoughtful than a store bought one. I'm in no way artistic but I like the idea of taking time to create something for some one I love.

Day Three: Scavenger Hunt:
I've never done one of these but I've seen them on movies/TV and they look pretty adorable. Thinking of significant places you share with your mate and taking the time to lay out clue is just really sweet and thoughtful. I think it's pretty obvious that I value thoughtfulness over material objects. I'd rather have a really sweet gesture from someone who really gets me than a generic store bought gift.

Need Some Inspiration

There comes a time in everyone's journey (towards whatever) that you need a little motivation/inspiration/fuel for your fire. I'm about to end month one of a two year journey towards financial freedom. I keep looking at how far I have to go instead of looking at (and appreciating) all the progress that I've made. So while I sit here and enjoy my morning coffee and eggs here are some easily Googled stories of other people who have faced the student loan debt monster and survived.

Paying off $22,000 in debt in 18 months

Paying off $15,000 in Student Loan Debt
Does it make me a monster to sort of eye-roll when people talk about "debt" that's under $20k? I'm pushing triple digit debt over here and would KILL for some itty bitty amount like that.

Advice for those with Medical School Debt
Apparently it is not uncommon for those with Medical School Debt to make student loan payments of $3,000 a month. I'm sure they probably look at my debt situation and eye-roll, haha. Also, in order to keep things in perspective this article talks about how there are still senators making payments on their student loans.

I had found other articles but I've already featured them before, there's the crazy kid who ate rotten food to save money (don't do that, just buy fresh food, paying off debt isn't that important) and then the jerk face who managed to pay off $90,000 in student loan debt in one year (and he just happens to make $100k a year).

This isn't the greatest blog post of all time but every once in a while it's important to remember that you're not alone in debt. Millions of people have money problems and there's so much inspiration and good advice out there. I'm going to make it through this mess, it's not going to be easy and it's going to take some time but in 2 years I'm going to be in such a better place.

Crunching Numbers

Source

Way, way, way back in September of 2011 I posted my monthly budget. I was trying to figure out ways to save up for my student loan bills. It was after that time that I was mailed the letter saying I owed $821 a month in student loans. I want to take a look back and update the numbers to see how far I've come in a little over a year.

Looking back I have no idea how I managed to scrap an extra $745.60 out of my 2011 finances. I know I couldn't really afford to make any more payments on my previous student loan which was embarrassing and frustrating. Luckily, my Mom was able to help me with that. I am very proud to say that I have made every student loan payment now myself and even though it's hard I feel very accomplished for doing this.

How I saved money this past year:
-Got a better job where I make about $10,000 more a year (thank you Lord!!)
-Moved in with my boyfriend, splitting the costs of bills is a life saver
-Free cable and Internet due to my boyfriends job (yes!)

I've been taking the bus more and more which is great at saving on gas costs. I've been terrible about it this past month because it's been really cold and I've been working two jobs. Leaving the house at 5am or 6am and getting off at 10pm is hard enough without having to wait for a bus. But it's definitely my goal to take it more this month. Got to pinch pennies where ever you can!

If you noticed above the difference between what I spend now versus what I make leaves a nice little chunk of ~$1000 left each month. This would be the extra $1000 I plan on spending each month on my student loans. I had contemplated just making an additional payment each month and putting the rest in savings but the difference is pretty astounding:

I remember every time I called Wells Fargo and asked for help I never understood why they only thing they suggested was paying more. Now I sort of get it, it's the interest that kills you. I'm at about 8% interest right now and most of what I pay doesn't do anything to chip away at the principal loan. They way I see it, this year I'm paying around $6000 dollars in interest no matter what, I'd rather pay a little extra and pay off $3000 more of my loan. I've done the math for about 2 years out and if I keep making huge payments I could knock it down to around $50,000 which is so much more manageable than close to $100,000. Now, this math is all based around my interest rate staying at 8%, knowing my luck it'll skyrocket to a million and I'll just die. However, if that doesn't happen, or if *gasp* luck could smile down upon me and LOWER that interest rate I can make such a huge interest in 2 years. I'm a little bummed about not being able to save for a house but once I pay off this thing I'll have so much extra cash it'll take me a year to save up.

So that's it. That's my financial goal for this year. Pay as much of this silly, stupid, God awful loan off as I can. However, here's the catch. I want to be able to do it and still have a life. I read an article recently about a guy who managed to pay off $26,500 in student debt in 2 years. This is great. Except dude did some CRAZY ass shit, like not turning on the heater in Atlanta winters. I turn on the heater and I live in Texas. He also sometimes ate spoiled food. I'm all about financial goals and sacrifices but I want to prove that it is entirely possible to save money and pay off debt without becoming a shell of a person. I can live life and live it BETTER than before because I'm becoming more and more financially sound.

Gifts on the Cheap // Attempting Pinterest Crafts

The month of May has been hard on me financially. I had to get about $360 worth of dental work done (trust me, it was a HAD to not a WANT to). I also had to get some basic car repair and then it's my sisters birthday, college graduation and Mothers day. Awesome. When it rains it pours. But just because I'm broke doesn't mean I still can't give awesome gifts. I managed to get my mother and sister pretty cute stuff and spent less then $15 total. Awwww, yaaa. So how did I manage that? A bit of craftiness, a bit of cheapness, and the knowledge that my family isn't that big on expensive stuff (thank God).

First, the wrapping. If you haven't stopped by Targets dollar spot GO NOW. Just stop reading this, it isn't even important. I got both of these cute bags for just $1. I KNOW, RIGHT? I also got a 4 pack of greeting cards for a buck. The dollar spot is the best place in the world.

Cost of 2 bags: $1
Cost of 4 cards: $1
Total: $2

My Mom likes to knit so I found a half done scarf that I had been trying to work on for a year now and unraveled it and tied it with a bow. This whole being broke thing has made me appreciate how much I have and how I don't really need all of this stuff. I for see a lot of giving away in my future.

Cost of Yarn: Free
Cost of ribbon: Free
Total: $0

Homemade sugar scrub. Pinterest has given me a ton of great DIY projects I want to try. Luckily I had all of the ingredients for this basic sugar scrub. You just mix up brown sugar, white sugar, oil (don't use sesame oil like I did. Trust me), and some vanilla and BAM. Amazing scrub and since I already had everything it didn't cost me a dime.

Sugar scrub ingredients: $0

The item I spent the most on? Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me and Other Concerns by Mindy Kaling. I found it for $12 bucks at Half Price Books. A friend got it for me a few months ago and I love it and I'm really hoping that my sister will dig it.

I've gotta go since I'm already late for work but I'll be back soon with more fun stuff!!

Sweet Tooth Mania

This week, I bring you recipes sponsored by my gigantic sweet tooth. I love sweets. I mean, really. LOVE. Luckily, I live a life that often has occasions where sweets can be included. The crazy thing? Both of the cupcake recipes I found ended up being vegan and totally delicious. In my 4 year stint of veganism I became an expert vegan baker but I didn't even mean to bake vegan dishes. Just goes to show, that food can be amazing AND vegan.

In this post I bring you:

-Birthday Stout and Chocolate Cupcakes (Vegan)

-Guajillo Chili Chocolate Mexicano Cupcakes (Vegan)

-Honey and Whiskey Ice Cream

First up: Stout and Chocolate Cupcakes

It was one of my best friends birthdays at the begining of the month. We usually throw a mini birthday part at girls night to celebrate. My friend has recently really gotten into beer so I wanted to represent that in the sweet treat I made her. I found this recipe on Chef Chloe and I loved it! When I first googled "Beer Cupcakes" all I could find were recipes that were filled with sour cream, heavy cream, and multiple sticks of butter (not lying, one had 4 sticks of butter in the recipe!!). Now, I love food and sweets but I wanted a light cupcake that really showcased the rich and fizzy flavor of beer. I liked Chef Chloe's recipe because it was simple and cheap (I had all of the ingredients and only had to go out and buy one bottle of beer). I wasn't able to find a single selling bottle of Oatmeal Stout so I used Leinenkugal Brewery's Fireside Nut Brown. The cupcakes came out perfectly and I really enjoyed drinking the remaining bottle of Fireside Nut Brown :)

Second Up: Guajillo Chili Chocolate Mexicano Cupcakes (Vegan)

During February a local grocery store called Central Market had a Chocolate Festival. A coworker and I went and I ended up spending around $20 bucks on specialty chocolate. I purchased bacon chocolate, sweet Mexican vanilla chocolate and a guajillo chili chocolate. The vanilla and guajillo chocolate were both from Taza and while they were delicious they were a bit too grainy to be consumed on their own. I went to the Tazo website and found a vegan recipe for guajillo chili cupcakes. I liked this recipe because (again) I already had all of the ingredients (except for the lemon juice) so it was super cheap and easy. I ended up using some of the left over icing from the Stout Cupcakes. I also used some of the vanilla chocolate to make a sweet ganache for the cupcakes that I didn't have icing.

Up close

Finally! Honey and Whiskey Ice Cream

I've mentioned before that I've started seeing someone new. He's awesome and I'm constantly thinking of ways to show him how glad I am that he's in my life. Those ways are usually food. We're both big fans of whiskey so I wanted to find a recipe that included some kind of bourbon. When I found this recipe for Honey and Whiskey Ice Cream I was so freaking pumped. Besides loving whiskey we both are bananas for ice cream. So, I'm about to say (type?) some craziness. I really enjoyed this recipe but I want to tweak the way it's made because it tasted too much like whiskey. I can't even believe that I'm critical of anything for tasting too much like whiskey. I love whiskey! I was just disappointed that the sweet honey flavor was completely over powered. I plan on making a batch for my beach trip next week and I'm thinking that if I simmer the honey and whiskey together instead of mixing the whiskey straight into the whipping cream that both flavors will have a chance to shine.

Despite the pounds and pounds of sugar I've been consuming my body is still looking nice which is good because I'm one week away from sitting on a bright and sunny beach with my honey. I'll be posting about ways to save money while vacation soon!

Ways to keep it cheap/save money while grocery shopping

Ever since rough money times hit I've been searching for the best ways to save money. I've found some great tips which led me to easy life changes and I've honestly seen real savings. I've also found some awful tips that, while I'm sure save money, seem like such a pain in the ass that it's just not worth it. So, because I care deeply for you my dear internet peeps I've compiled my top 8 ways to save money while grocery shopping that are easy and require basically zero effort.

Saving money on food

This chick knows what's up

1. Buy bulk meat and freeze: Due to the fact that I have a history of not playing well with others I live alone. I know I could save tons of money by having a roommate but honestly, living alone rocks. BUT that isn't the point of this tip. The point is that even though I live alone I can still save money by buying certain items in bulk. At H.E.B. (my grocery store of choice, apparently they're only in Texas? I feel sorry for non-Texans because H.E.B. rocks) they have family packs of chicken which contain around 12 thighs for around $5-$6 dollars. I buy one of these packs around twice a month and I'm set for meat. As soon as I get home I open up the giant pack and separate the pieces into different Tupperware containers (I used to use zip lock baggies but I hated wasting them, with Tupperware I don't hurt the environment AND I save on having to re-buy zip lock bags). I store everything in the freezer until I'm ready to eat. I've done this with ground hamburger, ground turkey, and sausage. It’s incredibly easy and I always have something to cook with (which means no extra trips to the store which I HATE).



2. Only buy vegetables that you will use that week: I used to have a really bad habit of just buying way too much stuff and not shopping smart. In one trip I’d buy 3 tomatoes, a package of mushrooms, fresh green beans, lettuce, onions, squash, etc. While this kind of shopping makes for a healthy diet it also makes for a trashcan full of rotten vegetables. Again, because I live alone, there’s just no reasonable way I can eat all of those vegetables before they go bad. Now I try to plan out what I want and buy accordingly; by buying only for what I know I’m going to eat I’m saving so much money AND guilt because I’m not tossing away un-used food.


3. Frozen and canned goods: Frozen and canned goods seem to have a bad rap but if you shop smart they can be tasty and save-y (don’t judge me on my lame rhyming skills). I love a diet full of veggies but a diet full of veggies can get pretty expensive. Things like canned corn and canned tomatoes last forever and honestly taste good. Sometime s when a large quantity of berries is about to go bad H.E.B. has insane sales (raspberries and blueberries for $0.98 a package!!!!!). When that happens I buy around 4 packages and either take them to Girls Night for a healthy snack or throw them in my freezer to later add to protein shakes or homemade ice cream. I’ll also buy sugar free fruit cups or cans. I always have fruit in my place but I don’t have to worry about it rotting. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had some store bought frozen broccoli that tasted like death but there are lovely canned and frozen products out there that taste just as good as fresh.


4. Buy bulk rice, beans, and pasta: A can of black beans is around $1.29 while a bag of black beans in $0.99. A can of black beans has around two servings (or one if you’re a fatty like me) while a bag of beans can make MANY, MANY, MANY servings. Yes, a can of black beans is much easier to cook but it’s honestly not that big of a hassle to remember to soak a pot of beans overnight. I have two bags of black beans, one bag of rice ,and one insanely big bag of noodles from my Mom’s place and I can live off of this stuff for the next month or maybe two EASILY.

5. Compare price per ounce: Most store labels have a small section where they list how much the item costs per ounce. What looks like a deal honestly may not be. I recently purchased some conditioner and while I spent around 10 minutes in the hair care area I ended up finding a conditioner that’s good for my hair but was a good deal per ounce. Let me give you an example: one conditioner is $4.99 while the other is $6.99. Taken at face value the first conditioner looks like the better deal, right? However, on closer inspection the first bottle contains 5.5 ounces of conditioner while the second bottle contains 10 ounces. For only $2 more you get nearly DOUBLE the amount of product. This can be applied to almost any product in the store (cheese, sauces, dips, etc).

I feel bad for other states that aren't fortunate enough to have Combo Locos

6. Combo loco: So H.E.B. has this promotional deal called Combo Loco where they have insane savings. It’s usually something like: buy one package of H.E.B. brand sausage and get a free pack of tortillas, salsa, and chips!!!! Sometimes the combinations that are promoted don’t apply to my lifestyle (I try not to have soda in the house….unless it’s coke zero for boozey time) but all I have to do is check the front of the store for the listed deals. Getting free food rocks and it only takes around 5 seconds of my life to check out the deals. I’m not sure if other states/stores offer this kind of buy one get one free deal but I hope they do because it’s pretty neat.


7. Coupons: I get exhausted watching coupon shows. It just seems like so much work for not a big pay off. The idea of spending my time clipping away seems like Hell. However, there are ways that coupons can help out without ruining/wasting your life. Again, at H.E.B. (has my love for this store been expressed enough????) they have an area at the front of the store which is just a wall of coupons. All I have to do is stop by before I start shopping and check out if there’s a coupon for anything I want. Sometimes there is and sometimes there’s not but it’s not out of my way at all. Also, a good portion of the times they have coupons posted throughout the store near the sale items. Just the other day I was able to get Silk brand soy milk with a coupon and it made it cheaper than the store brand. While checking out most stores have promotions where coupons will print out with your receipt based on the products you’ve already purchased. It’s easy to just tuck those away in your purse and store them for the next time you have to go grocery shopping.

So freakin' amazing

8. CROCK POT/cook in bulk: If you don’t have a crock pot GO OUT AND BUY ONE!!!!! It has been the best investment of my life. I purchased a fairly large crock pot for $29.99 and it has truly changed the way I eat (my Lord, I sound like an infomercial). Let’s talk about why crock pots rock everything: 1) they cook food for you while you sleep 2) big, hearty, healthy recipes 3) easy as shit. Best recipe: turn the crock pot on, put in some chicken, black beans, can of Mexican style tomatoes, some onions, and some broth or water. Let it cook over night. In the morning scope out the chicken bones, add more liquid and add rice. In 30 minutes you have an awesome stew like thing or taco filling thing. When I’m eating at home I just scoop it into corn tortillas and when I take it for work I just fill up a Tupperware container and it’s perfectly delicious on its own.